B. Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life · Global Inequalities: Economic Development and Quality of Life

Who Works to Improve Quality of Life? Groups, Programs and Policies

B3.5 B1.3About 55 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify governments, international organizations, NGOs, Indigenous-led and community groups that work to improve quality of life, and describe their focus.
I can describe programs and policies aimed at improving quality of life in different countries, including Canada.
I can assess how effective a program is using clear criteria and evidence.

Words to know

NGO
Non-governmental organization: a non-profit group, independent of government, that works on a cause, such as Oxfam or Doctors Without Borders.

United Nations (UN) agency
A part of the UN that focuses on one area, such as UNICEF (children), WHO (health), WFP (food) or UNHCR (refugees).

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
17 goals adopted by UN member countries in 2015 to end poverty, protect the planet and improve lives by 2030.

policy
A plan or set of rules a government or organization follows, such as a law requiring all children to attend school.

microcredit
Small loans to people, often women, who cannot borrow from regular banks, to start or grow small businesses.

effectiveness
How well a program achieves its goals.

sustainable (program)
A program that can keep working over the long term, often run by the community, without depending forever on outside help.

Remember from Grade 6

In Grade 6 you learned that governments, the UN, NGOs and individual Canadians all respond to global issues, and you thought about whether responses work. In Grade 8 you will describe each group's focus in more detail and assess effectiveness with evidence.

A small rural school building with solar panels on its roof, surrounded by green crop fields. — Solar panels can give a school electricity for lights and computers. Programs like this are one way groups work to improve quality of life. AI-generated image

Hook: who would you call?

A village needs clean water. A city's children need vaccines. A refugee family needs a safe home. Many different groups work on problems like these. Each has a focus: the issue or people it concentrates on.

Type of group	Examples	Focus
UN agencies	UNICEF; WHO; World Food Programme (WFP); UNHCR; UNDP	Children's rights, health and education; global health; food emergencies and hunger; refugees; reducing poverty and the HDI report
International financial organizations	World Bank; International Monetary Fund (IMF)	Loans and advice for development; economic stability; debt relief
Governments	Global Affairs Canada; Indigenous Services Canada; governments of every country	International aid; services and programs for citizens
NGOs	Canadian Red Cross; Doctors Without Borders (MSF); Oxfam; WaterAid; Save the Children	Disaster relief; medical care in crises; poverty and fair trade; water and sanitation; children
Indigenous-led organizations	Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami; Assembly of First Nations; Métis National Council; First Nations Health Authority (British Columbia)	Advocating for and serving their peoples; health, education, housing, rights and self-determination
Community groups	Food banks; local co-operatives; parent councils; unions	Local needs, workers' rights, food security

Groups that work to improve quality of life and their focus.

Groups work at different scales, from a neighbourhood food bank to a UN agency working in many countries. Many problems need groups at every scale working together.

Programs and policies around the world

Vaccination: a global vaccination campaign led to the eradication of smallpox, declared by WHO in 1980.
Guinea worm: a program led by the Carter Center with WHO, UNICEF and affected countries has cut cases from about 3.5 million in 1986 to fewer than 20 human cases a year since 2021 (Carter Center).
Malaria: insecticide-treated bed nets are one of the main tools that helped reduce malaria deaths since 2000 (WHO World Malaria Report).
Microcredit: the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, founded by Muhammad Yunus, gives small loans mostly to women. Yunus and the bank shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Later studies found the benefits were often smaller than hoped, so its effectiveness is debated.
Fair trade (from Grade 6) aims to give farmers fair prices.
Canada: the Canada Child Benefit (2016) gives monthly payments to families with children, with more for lower-income families; child poverty fell in the years after it began (Statistics Canada). Jordan's Principle and projects to lift long-term drinking water advisories aim to close gaps for First Nations.
The SDGs: 17 goals, adopted in 2015, set targets for 2030, such as ending extreme poverty and ensuring clean water for all.

Guinea worm cases fell from about 3.5 million in 1986 to fewer than 20 a year since 2021 (Carter Center). The second bar is there, but it is thinner than a hair at this scale.

How to assess effectiveness

Ask these questions, and look for evidence, not just good intentions:

Goal: What was it trying to do?
Results: Did the indicator improve (fewer cases, more children in school)? Compared with what?
Reach: How many people did it help? Who was left out?
Cost: Was the money used well?
Sustainability: Will it keep working when outside funding ends?
Community voice: Did local people, including women and Indigenous peoples, help design and run it?
Side effects: Did it cause any harm, for example hurting local businesses?

Worked example

Let's assess a program

Assess the Guinea worm eradication program using the criteria.

Goal: wipe out Guinea worm disease, a painful parasite spread through unsafe drinking water.
Results: cases fell from about 3.5 million (1986) to fewer than 20 a year since 2021 (Carter Center). Strong evidence of success.
Reach and methods: village volunteers, water filters, health education and safe water sources in affected countries.
Community voice and sustainability: it trained local volunteers and changed water habits, which lasts.
Limits: the last cases are the hardest to stop, partly because the parasite has been found in animals such as dogs, and conflict can block access.

The program is highly effective based on strong evidence, though it is not finished.

Just for fun

Riddle: What has 17 goals but has never played a single game of soccer?

The Sustainable Development Goals.

Hands-on activity

Program report card

You need: paper, a pencil, and a device to research one program with a grown-up.

Choose a program: a local food bank, a school breakfast program, the Canada Child Benefit, a UNICEF vaccination program, a water project, or a fair trade label.
Make a report card with the 7 criteria from this lesson as rows.
Find evidence for each (write the source). Give a grade: strong, partly, weak, or unknown.
Write an overall judgment and one suggestion for improvement.

Look for: evidence for at least four criteria, sources named, and a balanced judgment that admits what is unknown.

Your turn

What is the focus of UNICEF? Of UNHCR?

What is an NGO? Give an example.

Name one Indigenous-led organization in Canada and its focus.

What are the SDGs, and when were they adopted?

Which disease was declared eradicated by WHO in 1980?

Why is sustainability an important criterion for judging a program?

Why is microcredit's effectiveness debated?

More practice: warm-up

What is WHO's focus?

What does the World Food Programme focus on?

Is Global Affairs Canada a government department or an NGO?

What tool helps prevent malaria?

How many SDGs are there?

More practice: on your own

Why is it important to compare results with what would have happened without the program?

A charity reports it built 100 wells. What else would you want to know before calling it effective?

Explain how the Canada Child Benefit is meant to improve quality of life.

Why should programs for First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities be designed with those communities?

Give one possible side effect of giving away large amounts of free food in an area that is not in an emergency.

Challenge

Compare a short-term emergency response with a long-term development program. Why are both needed?

Design a program to improve one quality-of-life indicator in a community you know. State the goal, the indicator you'd measure, and how you'd make it sustainable.

"Aid always helps." Agree or disagree, with two pieces of evidence or examples.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which UN agency focuses on children?

Which is an NGO?

The SDGs were adopted in…

Which disease was eradicated, as declared by WHO in 1980?

Which question best tests a program's sustainability?

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami is…

For parents and teachers

What this lesson is about: identifying groups that work to improve quality of life and their focus (B3.5), and assessing programs and policies (B1.3). The curriculum's examples include efforts on clean water, literacy, HIV/AIDS, malaria, child labour, fair trade and income programs.

How to help at home:

If your family supports a charity or volunteers, talk about how you know whether it is effective.
Help your child find evidence (annual reports, independent evaluations) rather than relying on advertising.

Common difficulties:

Judging programs by good intentions or how much money they raised rather than results.
Forgetting community voice and sustainability.