Photographer Morgana Wingard reports on a USAID-funded water project in Afadjtator, Ghana.
When I wake up, I groggily roll out of bed, and half-asleep, I jump into a hot shower. Then, I fill up my water bottle with cold water from the tap, brush my teeth with water from the faucet, and wash my hands. These simple amenities that we take for granted are truly luxuries. Because in Africa, 70 to 80 percent of disease is related to water. Most people don’t have a faucet with running water, or even clean water nearby that they can drink or brush their teeth with.
We visited a joint project with USAID and Rotary International that provides clean water to thousands of people in Afadjtator, Ghana. As we arrived, the townsfolk swarmed us with welcoming cheers. Though we didn’t build the wells they are benefiting from, our tax dollars did. The United States is contributing approximately $13.4 million to improve water and sanitation in Ghana over the next four years. And thanks to this join project in Afadjtator, 86,000 more people will be able to wake up in the morning and get a glass of clean water.
Captions, from top to bottom and right to left: New well build through the joint water and sanitation project with USAID and Rotary International; Woman from the community carrying water from the well back to her house; Ed Goeas walks with children from the community; Jen Pihlaja walks with children from the community; Women filling up at the new water pump; Sheila Nix, ONE’s US Executive Director cuts the ribbon with local chiefs for the newest water pump in the community; Laurie Moskowitz, ONE’s Senior Director of US campaigns, laughs with local community members.
This piece was originally published on ONE’s Africa Blog.
Beyond being a season for being merry, this is also traditionally a season for giving. As we wind down the year, we at ONE in Africa are asking you to give a thought to the 13.3 million people in the Horn of Africa, who still face extreme hunger. If this thought leaves you unsettled, you’re exactly the person who should join ONE in Africa today together with our partners, the National Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition in Nigeria and the Agricultural Non State Actors Forum in Tanzania, as we launch our Hungry No More campaign in Africa.
Agriculture Griot Ofosu Asamoah talks about National Farmers Day, Ghana’s national holiday which commemorates the agriculture sector, an important part of the country’s economy.
Ignatius Agbo national best farmer receiving his awards from vice president John Mahama
Every year, on the first Friday of December, Ghanaians celebrate National Farmers Day in honor of the gallant farmers who feed the growing population and contributing to the nation’s GDP.
Many thanks to ONE’s members, our collective voice has helped raise UN Appeal funding for the Horn of Africa by $1 billion and elicit another $700 million-plus in pledges. If combined and fulfilled, these pledges would more than fill the $530 million funding gap.
Adria Saracino of Distilled, a creative digital agency, shares an interactive infographic on global food consumption and income using data from a surprising source: Food Service Warehouse.
Developing countries consume much less than Western nations, particularly in times of crisis, like with what we’re seeing in Somalia. However, despite a lower caloric intake, these poorer countries’ citizens spend more than 50 percent of their income on food.
Food Service Warehouse (FSW) created the interactive infographic to the left (click to launch) to explore the caloric intake of the 20 richest and poorest countries. They were expecting to see a lower average calorie consumption between the two sets of countries, but were surprised to find that the poorer countries spent more than half of their income on food.
Since FSW works with a lot of different organizations in the food industry, they have access to large sets of data. They utilize this data to explore its customers and industry, and in the process, often make startling discoveries. This food consumption infographic was developed after analyzing data for a competitive eating infographic. While conducting research on calorie consumption in the US, FSW noticed there was a huge difference in calorie intake among US citizens. These differences — attributed to factors like height, gender, activity level and geography — result in an average daily consumption of 3770 calories per person.
While people in the United States are celebrating a bountiful Thanksgiving today, many people in the developing world are not so lucky. This new report from Bread for the World provides an eye-opening look into world hunger and is a reminder of those who wake up every day without knowing when they will get their next meal — another reason why we should give thanks today.
This week, Bread for the World launched its 2012 Hunger Report. With the country focusing on family and food for the Thanksgiving holiday, it could not come at a better time. The report, “Rebalancing Act,” includes several recommendations for strengthening international food aid and policies. One suggestion, supported by panelists at Monday’s launch, which I had the opportunity to attend, is to make food aid more effective by allowing for more local and regional food purchases.
Kenya’s Ambassador Elkanah Odembo, one panelist at the event, drove home the importance of international food aid, declaring, “It is in the interest of the United States to invest in Africa to provide aid that is also an investment in sustainable livelihoods.”
The ambassador also talked about his hopes for the success of Feed the Future (FTF), the US government’s commitment to ending hunger in developing countries, calling it a positive beginning step toward these types of investments.
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