In the first week of November 2015, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, reported that the percentage of people living in extreme poverty is projected to fall to around 9.6 percent by the end of this year. While this is excellent news, and mostly due to Chinese economic growth, the fact remains that
Inequality is a phenomenon that humans have dealt with for millennia. No society has been able eliminate inequality and it’s unlikely to ever disappear completely. In the US, inequality has become an increasingly popular topic in the media as different groups advocate for higher wages or additional benefits. A recent poll conducted by The New
Uber’s takeover of the “I need a ride” industry can be compared to Amazon’s takeover of the “I want to buy something” industry. Some love it, some hate it, but like it or not, it’s happening. Uber’s success is indicative of a new employment movement sweeping the globe: the sharing economy. Take a look at
“We as people are not defined by the crises that strike our lives; we are defined by how we respond to them.”
The message above is one thought that Raj Panjabi, CEO of Last Mile Health, finds universal. Last Mile Health has sought to bridge the gap between health facilities and remote communities by bringing critical
Tzu-Chi is a Buddhist humanitarian aid foundation that has helped the world through many of its greatest hardships since its start in Taiwan in 1966. Its support in some of the U.S.’s most recent tragedies has been vital to our recovery. For example, on Sept. 11, 2001, only three charity organizations were allowed on ground
The American people are no strangers to the spirit of charitable giving. A phenomenal figure from Charity Navigator shows that as many as 50 percent of American households donated money when the 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti.
This giving accumulated to $1.4 billion. Another example of American goodness was the $1.6 billion donated to victims of the
In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war. Not a foreign war to be waged against another country fought with soldiers, tanks and bombs, but a war to be waged at home.
The enemy: poverty. The weapons: initiatives intent on improving education, health, skills, jobs and access to economic resources for those stuck in poverty. The
A natural disaster like a deadly epidemic inflicts tremendous loss of life but does not damage roads, buildings, or the countries material infrastructure. What it does damage is the social infrastructure like government, the economy and businesses. The good news is that those institutions can be revived and even strengthened despite the loss of human
The private sector of the economy is an important component in helping individuals climb out of poverty. In the last 40 years, we have seen dramatic examples of the power of the private sector. China’s recent emergence as a world economic power has helped lift millions of its citizens out of poverty. In order to
When you think of a hospital, what images come to mind? For most, the image of a hospital includes a spacious building with rooms full of complex equipment, beds and medical personnel. While common in the developed world, these familiar sights are largely unseen in the developing world, especially outside of large cities.
Unfortunately, this lack of medical infrastructure is not
The core of the American Dream — equality of opportunity and rewards commensurate with efforts and abilities — has enchanted millions of people across the globe. However, it is important to assess whether the reality bears out that ideal. Although two-thirds of Americans (69 percent) agree with the statement that “people are rewarded for intelligence
In 2010, malaria killed almost a million people worldwide and still infects about 350 million a year. These are large figures for a disease that is both curable and preventable.
Malaria is one of humanity’s biggest killers, ranking among the five most dreadful illnesses ever experienced, killing more than 150 million in the 20th century, and an
Ebola has been in the news. But much of the news has not offered background information about the disease.
The world may be facing the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of Oct. 15, there have been 8,376 cases and 4,024 people have died. These figures are
For hundreds of years, many societies have delegated the responsibility to care for the underprivileged to governments and charities. However, the past two decades have seen a surge in the number of businesses taking interest in providing opportunities and resources to disadvantaged individuals, families and communities. Perhaps the most striking examples have come from developing
War has more casualties than we know.
We learned in September 2013 that an outbreak of the deadly polio virus occurred in Syria. It was the first in that country since 1999. While the world-wide incidence of polio has declined dramatically in the last 25 years, we are actually seeing more cases in some areas. Syria
“Whatever else happens, this child will not be crippled by polio” is just one of the thoughts that go through your mind as you deliver the drops that prevent polio. With that thought and the fact that more than 350,000 cases of polio were diagnosed annually in the world in 1988, Rotary International, a humanitarian
Regardless of all operational, strategic and management factors, staff productivity can make or break a business. Recruitment and training are thus fundamental to any CEO’s efforts to ensure or improve worker output. Still, many firms struggle in these areas, and many others wonder what more can be done. Employee ownership is a complement to recruitment
Across the modern world today there are few topics more divisive and debated than health care. Governments are constantly in a struggle to ensure proper care is available to those who need it, while also combating risings costs and greater demands on existing systems. Often, the groups that are hardest hit in this process are
In the race for a cure for one of the world’s deadliest epidemics, it may sound insensitive to raise the issue of share prices. But at the heart of this crisis is a story of potential corporate winners and losers as each tries to address Ebola.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976. Despite all the progress
What does working for an ESOP company mean to an ex-ESOPer? Plenty!
In 1991, I joined the staff of Berkeley Policy Associates (BPA), a small social policy research/program evaluation firm in Oakland, California. In 2011, two months shy of my twentieth anniversary, I left BPA to enter the PhD program in English Literature at the University
