How Can We Reduce the Global Development Gap?

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Strategies to Reduce the Global Development Gap

Below are some of the strategies used to try and reduce the global development gap:

Poor countries often borrow money to build infrastructure and develop their economies.
But because they are poor countries, lending to them is risky. Because of this, they have to pay a higher interest rate on their loans.
In 2005, Malawi was spending 9.6% of its GNI on paying its debts & interest. This was double Malawi's spending on healthcare.
In 2015, the Ivory Coast received $7.7bn worth of debt relief.

Aid can come from governments or from charitable foundations (like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).
The UK gives 0.7% of GNI as aid to foreign countries.
The top 5 recipients of the UK's foreign aid are Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.
This foreign aid can be spent on basic healthcare supplies, vaccinations, food, water, infrastructure projects and things that improve the lives of people living in poorer nations.

The Fairtrade Foundation was created in 1997, aiming to pay farmers fairly for the goods that they produce (usually primary products).
This increases farmers' quality of life, by asking consumers to pay more money for Fairtrade products.
Coffee, cocoa (for chocolate) and bananas are crops that are part of the Fairtrade movement.

Intermediate technology does not require much government support or many institutions for it to be used.
Products like solar cookers (which can cook food or boil water powered by the sun's rays), solar-powered LED lights, water filtration systems, and more effective water pumps are all examples of intermediate technologies.
They aim to improve people's lives on a micro-level, similar to micro-finance.
These innovations can improve and save lives without much government support.

Below are some more strategies that are used to try and reduce the global development gap:

Industrial development includes improving a country's exports, improving infrastructure, improving a workforce's skills and having a strategy to increase productivity, grow and export.
South Korea's Ministry of Culture has contributed to the rise of K-Pop and other Korean exports, whilst Singapore's industrial strategy has focused on physical trade, zero corruption, and professional services.

Tourists travel to a country, spend their money in the country, and create lots of local jobs.
Tourism is an export for low-income countries.
Travel and tourism supports 10% of all jobs in Indonesia.

Microfinance loans using platforms like KIVA allows people to give very small loans to people living in low-income countries.
By 2020, KIVA had lent $1.4bn to some of the lowest-income entrepreneurs in the world.
These loans can let people set up local businesses or expand existing businesses to more towns.
Local banking systems may not work very well, so microfinance loans could be a solution for lots of people.