The latest report of the Gates Foundation pointed out that to solve the problem of inequality, we must break the social customs of suppressing women; provide basic medical care for all; and help those poor farmers who are most affected by climate change to cope with the problem.
Editor’s note: This article is from WeChat Public account “Financial Magazine” (ID: i-caijing), reporter Yu Qin, editor Wen Zhuyu.
Although most people are more willing to believe that the future depends on hard work rather than birth, in the world today, the truth may be the opposite.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (the Bill Gates Foundation) recently released the 2019 Target Guardian Report, which states that where was born The most critical factor in determining a person’s future.
The Target Guardian Report, published annually by the Gates Foundation from 2017, is designed to track progress towards the global sustainability goals (1-6 goals). The 2019 report, based on the data model of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Indicators and Assessment (IHME), focuses on the current situation of the poor and poor areas and analyzes the geographical and gender factors that contribute to inequality.
The data in the Target Guardian Report shows that although despite the world’s significant progress in health and development, inequality – especially between the richest and the poorest countries The gap still exists and will seriously affect the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Bill and Melinda Gates said that the biggest inequality they have seen in the past 20 years is why children die from prevention through simple intervention. Even in the US, “If you come from a low-income family, a colored person, or both, you are less likely to be in a good school.“
The Target Guardian Report emphasizes that in order to solve inequality, we must break down the social customs of suppressing women, provide basic medical care for all, and help those poor farmers who are most affected by climate change to cope with the difficulties.
Regionality and gender determine fate?
Target Guardian ReportAt the beginning of the article written by the Gates couple, they wrote: “We were born in a wealthy country, and our parents are white people in good condition. They live in a thriving community and send us to the top. School.All these factors make us more likely to succeed.”
The Target Guardian Report shows that despite the improvement in quality of life around the world, even in the worst health and education, there are still 430 million people (about 1/15 of the world’s total population). Lack of basic health and education conditions. The “national average” indicator masks the huge differences and deep-rooted inequalities within countries, especially richer countries.
For girls born in the world’s poorest Sahel region, To live a healthy and productive life, her life There are many obstacles to overcome, including geography, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, ability, climate change, conflict, natural disasters, income, education, etc.
The data shows that girls living in the Sahel may have been starving to death many times in their lives. They may never have the nutrients needed for the full development of the body and brain; she probably won’t read or write. At the age of 20, she is pregnant and has children, even though her body is not ready for the test of childbirth.
In Chad, a landlocked country in north-central Africa, the probability of local child deaths is almost 55 times that of Finnish children; Chad has more children dying every day than Finland has combined.
Inequality is equally serious even in different parts of the same country. Located in Kollam County, Kerala, India, the local child mortality rate is 1%, and the per capita education period is 14 years, almost the same as the world’s most developed countries. In contrast, in the county of Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh, India, the mortality rate of local children is more than 8%, and the per capita education period is only 6 years.
In addition to geography, gender is also one of the main factors leading to inequality. Although the gap between the sexes is shrinking, girls’ lives are harder anywhere. In many cases, unspeakable hidden social customs limit womenDevelopment opportunities.
The lack of education and employment opportunities is a devastating blow to everyone. The Target Guardian Report shows that in sub-Saharan Africa, girls spend an average of two years less education than boys. Usually, the longer a girl is educated, the more likely she is to get a good job. However, in some countries, even with a good education, it is difficult for girls to find a formal job.
For example, in Botswana and Ghana, the average length of education for women is about 8 years, but the data shows that the number of women in the official labor force in Botswana is three times higher than in Ghana. One reason is that Botswana’s laws and policies are more progressive and gender-inclusive. This means that women are not equally able to obtain high-quality employment opportunities until the relevant customs and policies that discriminate against women are resolved.
Globally, there is a 24% gap in labor force participation rates for men and women. At the same time, women leave more time to their families. Globally, the proportion of girls who have to spend at least two hours of unpaid housework per day is almost doubled after the age of 15;< Strong>After adulthood, the average woman in the world spends more than four hours of unpaid housework per day on average—three times that of men.
In September 2015, at the UN Summit on Sustainability, member states adopted the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which covers 17 sustainable development goals, including poverty eradication, zero hunger, and opposition. Gender inequality, providing quality education, developing affordable and clean energy, addressing climate issues and environmental degradation. Since then, countries around the world have agreed to work to eliminate all forms of poverty, achieve equality and combat climate change by the next 15 years and by 2030.
However, the Target Guardian Report states that few developing countries can achieve sustainable development goals in health and education. According to the current rate of progress, in the low-income and low- and middle-income countries where nearly two-thirds of children live, the child mortality rate will not reach the sustainable development goal by 2030, and In areas where one third of children live, it is not possible to reach the standard by 2050.
How to change the status quo?
The Gates and the couple pointed out that the average primary health care investment in low- and middle-income countries is only 36% of the overall health budget. Some governments give priority to a fewPeople provide advanced health care, and most people have to pay for their basic health needs. This inequality exacerbates the vicious circle of poverty and disease.
In 2001, 54 member states of the African Union pledged to spend 15% of their national budget on health care. Only a handful of countries have fulfilled this commitment, and only a handful of them can do it every year.
In the Target Guardian Report, Githinji Gitahi, the head of Africa’s largest non-government health organization, points out that Kenya’s annual per capita health expenditure is $36, accounting for $36. 7% of the government budget. “If you can reach $51, you can create more possibilities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data analysis, if the per capita health expenditure reaches $86, the government of low-income countries has enough funds to invest in primary health. Health care.”
So, if a country’s per capita medical expenditure is less than $51, how can we achieve universal health coverage? The answer given by Kissinge Ghentasi is:Invest in primary health care.
Kissingji Gitasie said that many countries have invested more in primary and tertiary care than primary health care. At a certain level, this makes sense, because MRI, X-ray and many other second- and third-level medical services are indeed costly. But African governments cannot spend most of their money to meet some of the needs of some people.
Kissingji Gitahi cites, as one of the countries with the world’s most complete primary health care system, the Thai government considers the huge gap in medical care between rural and urban areas, so the entire health base will be Facilities expenditures are redistributed to rural areas. Now, every village in Thailand has at least one health center. He believes that African governments need to make such a commitment: “We must prioritize the investment required for primary health care, before the second and third grade medical services can maintain the status quo.< /strong>“
In improving women’s status, digital inclusive finance expert Arshi Aadil introduced the India policy reform on cooking gas subsidies in the Target Guardian Report. This not only improves the government’s services to the poor, but also gradually weakens the foundation of male supremacy.
For decades, Indian households have been buying liquefied petroleum gas for cooking at a fixed low price guaranteed by the government. The Indian government has invested nearly $10 billion in various gas subsidies. However, this policy has resulted in the same subsidies for the rich and the poor because there is no clear subsidy target.
In 2012-2015, India will gradually implement the gas price subsidy to the current practice, that is, the government encourages the poor to open bank accounts, bind bank accounts, identity authentication and mobile phones, and people buy gas at market prices. The government will send cash directly into their account and verify the recipient’s information. In 2015, India launched a fully redesigned subsidy called PAHAL nationwide, making it the world’s largest cash transfer program.
Yashi Adil said that PAHAL solved the problem of the original subsidy method and deleted 36 million repeat or shadow recipients using the citizen information database. The government also encourages the affluent population to stop applying for subsidies, prompting 10 million Indians to take the initiative to move out of the subsidy list. These practices have increased the accuracy of subsidies and reduced the burden on the government, saving nearly $9 billion.
With the money saved, India has established a new third-generation gas program called Ujjwala, which aims to help poor women improve their lives. Ujjwala provides a 50% subsidy to eligible rural households for the purchase of gas ports and stoves. About 75 million women have benefited from the Ujjwala program.
Behind the efforts of countries to improve the lives of the poor, millions of farmers in the world’s poorest countries are also facing problems such as climate warming, frequent rainfall and bad weather. Previous studies published in The Lancet-Star Health showed that if global carbon emissions continue to grow at the current rate, within 30 years, core nutrients contained in major food crops such as wheat, rice, corn, soybeans, and potatoes, such as Protein, iron and zinc will drop dramatically. Although global food production will exceed current levels in 2050, the increase in crop yields will not compensate for the negative impact of a decline in nutrient value.
People living in low- and middle-income countries are more negatively affected than those living in rich countries. The total population of low- and middle-income countries is growing rapidly, and it is expected that there will be a serious shortage of nutrients in the future. According to a report issued by the United Nations, In the face of the climate change crisis, the gap between rich and poor is likely to lead to a “climate isolation” situation. The world’s poorest people cannot escape the disasters caused by climate change. Will also become poorer because of the lack of necessary resources to recover, thus falling into a kind ofVicious circle.
According to Kabbah Ogissa, Minister of State for Natural Resources and Food Security of the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, in order to help farmers cope with climate change, in 2005, the country launched a plan to hire farmers to participate in supporting agricultural-related public projects. This approach has two advantages: When an emergency occurs, the poor have money to buy food and other necessities; they build communities, such as terraces, dams, dams, deep canals, and micro-basins, to save water and prevent soil erosion. And eventually increase production. Three years later, the country launched another large-scale project to promote sustainable land management.
Kaba Eghisa said that Ethiopia has also hired one of the world’s largest agricultural extension organizations. The organization can provide a variety of timely information, such as early warning of drought, and provide farmers with appropriate response recommendations. “My harvest has almost doubled,” an Ethiopian farmer said. Agricultural experts will provide important information and training, teach her the correct method of weeding, and let her know how to protect crops from the sun and teach her. Use appropriate wheat seed varieties, “mature early, and more suitable for dry weather”.