skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Myorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Things Could Be Worse: 2009 Failed States Index

play audio
Play

Monday, August 31, 2009   

SEATTLE - No matter how grim the state budget forecast, it will never be as bad as what some countries around the world are going through. The 2009 "Failed States Index" lists the world's most unstable nations; it has Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe at the top, with Afghanistan and Iraq not far behind. Mercy Corps, a humanitarian aid group in Seattle, works in all five of those countries, and more than 30 others.

John Stephens, senior program officer at Mercy Corps, says that sometimes there are so many problems in a failed state, it's hard to know where to start.

"When you go to these countries, typically what you notice right off the bat is that the government is failing to deliver services to its people. Roads, clean water to cities, security; it's the whole range of items. The government is barely functioning, or entirely absent."

Other indicators that put countries on the "Failed States Index" are high numbers of refugees, human rights violations, and intervention by other nations.

In failed states, people often just quit paying taxes because they're not getting government services. Stephens, who runs some Asian programs for Mercy Corps, says part of their job is to encourage both people and government to break that cycle.

"If we have a large program that's working with farmers, we dedicate 10 to 20 percent of that program towards working with the government, to help kick-start that relationship again, so that the people see the government coming out and doing the work they should be doing."

Mercy Corps is well known for emergency relief, but also makes micro-loans, helps people start small businesses, and works with communities to build and repair infrastructure. You can find out what they're doing in each country online, at mercycorps.org)

The "Failed States Index" is compiled by the Fund for Peace; it's in the September 2009 issue of National Geographic magazine.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021