Using Tech to End Proverty in Developing Countries

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Introduction

        In 1974 the United Nations held  an international conference where the international community adopted the ‘Universal Declaration on the eradication of hunger and malnutrition. In adopting the resolution, the international community recognized that the food and malnutrition crisis was effecting people in developing countries and that this crisis was threating more than a third of the world’s population.  The UN saw the elimination of hunger as an issue that would affect the whole international community and not just one country or one small village, because of this the UN recognized that eliminating hunger by fighting the cause of the issue and not just providing one stop solutions was the way most effective objective for the organization and its members^[1].

Background

Nearly 42 years after this resolution was adopted the issue of hunger is still a present in the world, especially in developing countries were the population lives under $2 dollars a day. However, the food and malnutrition crisis does not affect countries as simple as it did when the UN resolution was written and adopted. In the late 1900s, when a food crises effected a country, it effected the entire country. But now, there are two folds to the food crises, one is where the issue of malnutrition has been solved and the other is where people are dying of not having any access to food. An example of this would be in a country like Malaysia, a country that was having a food crisis in the 1970s and 1980s but currently Malaysia is experiencing the two fold issue, “Malnutrition in Malaysia is two-fold: there are many children who are underweight and suffer from malnutrition, while a good percentage of the population is obese”^[2].

Country Environment

        Malaysia is located in the southeast region of Asia, with a population of 29.73 million based on the World Bank 2013 report^[3], Malaysia is the 44th most populous country in the world. With more than half of the county’s population living in rural areas, and having a majority of the country being multi-ethnic and multi culture plays a large role in the politics of the country. For example about one half of the population is ethnically Malay with the minorities of the country being Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians and indigenous people. Since the majority of the people are Muslim the constitution declares Islam as the religion of the country but still allowing freedom of region to non-Muslim.

Since country’s independence in 1963, Malaysia has become one the most successful in its region (see Appendix 1) , with the best economic records in Asia. Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is $ 296.28 billion^[4] (See appendix 7)and growing at an average of “6.5% per annum for almost 50 years”^[5] (See Appendix 8). Malaysian economy is mainly fueled by its natural resources industry and expands into the technology and science sector. However, even though Malaysia has the best economy in Asia and is ranked third largest in southeast Asia and 29th largest in the world^[6], the country still has a large population living below the poverty line (a standard of living or level of income that is high enough to satisfy basic needs like water, food, clothing, housing, and basic health care). Most people in Malaysia who are living below the poverty line are based in rural areas of the country, are less educated than the ones that live in the urban areas. This people will address who to help these people create businesses and create a stable income that will lead them to addressing some issues facing their communities like the crisis on food and malnutrition.

Organization situation

        Created in the after math of World War two in 1945, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) is an international humanitarian organization dedicated to delivering emergency relief and long term international development projects around the world. CARE’s mission is to work around the “globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice”^[7]. With a remarkable success rate and operation history CARE is one of the largest and oldest nonsectarian, impartial and non-governmental organizations in the world. In there 2016 annual report, CARE reported working in 90 countries (see Appendix_), where they support over 880 poverty fighting and humanitarian projects, which reach over 72 million people annually^[8].

Potential Social Businesses

        To combat the crisis of malnutrition and food, CARE can partner with corporations in Malaysia that work in the food industry to help supply nourishes school meals to children that cannot usually afford it and to those that don’t get protein in their meals at home. By implementing a project like the One egg model that the class speaker, Chris Oldway presented would produce remarkable outcomes for people in rural areas of Malaysia. This project would help provide children in school the necessary protein they need to grow and live a health life that is diseases free. Thus benefiting the whole country and community because now less children are no longer malnourished and thereby less vulnerable to diseases.

        To solve the issue of hunger and malnutrition CARE must target the cause of the issue and not just fix the symptoms. CARE can implement of their successful program of microfinance loans in Malaysia. By providing these loans, CARE will be able to ensure that the loan receipts are creating small business and that there are now able to create a stable income. As the World Bank reported in their GINI index report, households with a stable income are better able to provide meals that are nourishes to their children^[9]. To make sure that small businesses that are started from the loans provided by CARE, CARE needs to develop strategic partnerships to provide access to technology (see appendix 10) based tools to their borrowers. The tools provided will work as a vehicle to helping the borrowers succeed, for example the organization can provide access to computer kiosks (see appendix 5) in the village (see Appendix 4). These kiosks can be used for electronic marketing which will give them a high chance to succeed since they will not be competing for a small market of people but instead competing on a global level. Another tool that can be provided is mobile banking and saving, were people will be able to access multiply financial transactions, like making a mobile payment, depositing their savings and having the ability to check their statement with seconds.