World Bank Sees Progress on Development Goals

September 9th, 2010 at 03:02am Under Development Report

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

The World Bank says most developing countries have made important progress toward the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

Last week the international lender released its yearly World Development Indicators. Hundreds of indicators are used to measure progress in areas such as education, health, poverty, the environment and trade.

One of the Millennium Development Goals is to reduce by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by twenty fifteen.

Out of eighty-seven countries with data available, forty-nine seem likely to reach that goal. “Extreme poverty” is defined as earning less than one dollar a day.

Another goal is to make education available to all young children. The report shows that in two thousand seven, seven out of ten children lived in developing countries that had met or were close to meeting that goal.

Also, thirty-nine countries have achieved or are likely to achieve the goal of reducing child death rates. The target is a two-thirds reduction by twenty fifteen.

And the report from the World Bank shows the first reduction in AIDS-related deaths.

But even with all the progress, there is still a long way to go to reach all eight goals approved by world leaders ten years ago. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, which falls behind on all of the goals.

Eric Swanson is a program manager for the World Development Indicators.

ERIC SWANSON: “You have had a decade or more in Africa of very slow economic progress in the nineties. You’ve had civil war and other disruptions, you’ve had poor governance in many countries that has not allowed the economy to grow and, in particular, has not allowed poor people to share in the benefits of growth.”

Still, he points to some hopeful signs — including a large reduction in the child death rate in Malawi.

ERIC SWANSON: “Malawi is a landlocked state, it is one of the ones that we tend to worry most about, and yet it has demonstrated that when you focus attention on a problem you can make progress.”

Last week the World Bank also launched a new “open data initiative.” The bank will make its data on living conditions around the world publicly available. Officials say this will make it easier to measure the effects of policies and develop new solutions to help the world’s poor.

And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. You can comment on our programs and learn about other development issues at voaspecialenglish.com. You can find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and iTunes at VOA Learning English. I’m Steve Ember.

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Bringing Color to Life (and Tears to Eyes) With a Natural Dye

August 21st, 2010 at 07:04am Under Development Report

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

Dye can bring a little color to life. Most clothing is colored with dyes. Modern, manufactured dyes can be costly. Natural dyes from plant and animal products have been used since ancient times. So this week, we describe a natural way to dye wool.

The advice comes from information written by Jenny Dean of the Intermediate Technology Development Group in Britain. This anti-poverty group is now called Practical Action.

There are several methods to put dye onto material. The vat method, for example, can be used to dye wool with onionskins. For this example, use one hundred grams of natural wool. The wool must be clean. Leave it overnight in water and liquid soap. Then wash it with clean water that is a little warm. Gently squeeze out the extra water.

A solution called a mordant is used in the dying process. A mordant helps fix the dye to the material. Traditionally, mordants were found in nature. Wood ash is one example. But chemical mordants such as alum are popular today. Alum is sold in many stores. It is often mixed with cream of tartar, a fine powder commonly used in cooking.

Mix eight grams of alum with seven grams of cream of tartar in a small amount of hot water. Add the solution to a metal pan of cool water. Next, add the wool and place the mixture over heat. Slowly bring the liquid to eighty-two degrees Celsius. Heat the mixture for forty-five minutes. After it cools, remove the wool and wash it.

To prepare the dye solution, cover thirty grams of onionskins with water. Use only the dry, brown outer skins. Boil the liquid until the onionskins lose their color, about forty-five minutes,. Remove the skins after the dye cools.

Now it is time to dye the wool. Place the wool into the dye and heat the mixture. Bring it to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to eighty-two degrees. Now heat the dye for about forty-five minutes or until the wool is the desired color. Keep in mind that wet wool looks darker than it is.

Once the dye cools, remove the wool and wash it. Now the wool is orange or yellow. Or at least it should be.

Internet users can get the full details at practicalaction.org. Again, the address is practicalaction dot org. And enter the word “dye,” d-y-e, in the search box. We will post a link to the site at voaspecialenglish.com.

And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss. I’m Steve Ember.

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