Bolivia
Bolivia is Latin America’s poorest nation with nearly two-thirds of the population living in poverty and 42 percent on less than $2 per day.
Bolivia: the facts
Bolivia’s Indigenous groups are particularly vulnerable and are commonly too poor to afford basic health services and education.
Bolivia’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is less today than it was 27 years ago. The wealthiest 20 percent of the population earn over 50 percent of its assets, while the poorest 20 percent have just 4 percent.
Bolivia’s government enacted constitutional reforms to empower Indigenous groups and promote the centralisation of industry and mining. Although these changes have been popular, especially among Indigenous groups, they remain internationally controversial.
Although 90 percent of children attend primary school, many do so for only one or two years. Twenty-seven percent of Bolivian children suffer from malnutrition and 6 percent do not live to the age of 5.
Widespread deforestation, erosion and poor land fertility further compound the difficulties facing Bolivia’s mainly rural population.
Caritas Australia in Bolivia
Through our 4 local partners Caritas Australia implemented 5 projects in Bolivia in 2010/2011. A total of $347,063 was spent on projects covering a variety of issues including Disaster Risk Reduction, Emergencies, Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture.
Political instability continues to pose a potential threat to Caritas Australia’s programs.
Snapshot of our recent work
- Awareness campaigns to prevent the sexual and physical abuse of children and inform them of their labour rights were undertaken in Educar es Fiesta, Bolivia.
- The Ethno Eco Tourism project has introduced disaster preparedness and mitigation strategies to 3 communities in Bolivia. Community farms were relocated to further inland and pipes installed to aid drainage in the case of flooding.
- Within 3 participating communities, 16,000 Indigenous plants and trees have been planted in the last 12 months improving drainage and protecting the forest. This promotes environmental conservation which supports the ethno tourism program and therefore local livelihoods.