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COVID-19: Where to From Here For Efforts to Support Youth Economic Inclusion?

Tue, 08/11/2020 - 20:20

Youth at the Grand Médine town hall in Dakar, Senegal. Senegal has a large youth population, half of which is under the age of 18. By 2025, 376,000 youth are expected to enter the job market that offers only 30,000 jobs. And this number will rise to 411,000 in 2030, according to the Wilson Centre. Credit: Samuelle Paul Banga/IPS

By Steven Rebello
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 11 2020 (IPS)

As the world marks International Youth Day on August 12, it is difficult to ignore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people – particularly on efforts towards youth economic inclusion in Africa. Meaningful and swift action is needed from African states to ensure the damage is not long-lasting.

Recent United Nations data forecast that the number of youth in Africa could double from 226 million by 2055. Furthermore, 19 of the 20 countries with the youngest populations are all from Africa.

The potential and challenges posed by this growing number and representation of youth, in countries across Africa, was strongly noted in the World Bank’s 2007 report entitled, Development and the Next Generation.

Steven Rebello

This report suggested that with the right policies focusing on education, further training and employment creation, a larger percentage of economically active individuals could contribute to greater local through to regional economic growth. However, a failure to tap in to this potential could exclude greater numbers of youth, potentially contributing to their increased risk and frustration and ultimately, greater economic and political instability.

Some strides have been noted since 2007. This included the African Union’s development of the African Youth Charter, ratified by 38 member states as at 2016, which in turn contributed to the development of national youth policies and increased spending on large-scale youth programmes, such as the Kenya Youth Employment Opportunities Project.

However, there are still many challenges. In South Africa, for example, we have high youth unemployment rates with less than half – only 43% of people between the ages of 15 and 35 – being employed.

Furthermore, while World Bank data has suggested that countries such as Uganda and Rwanda have youth unemployment levels lower than 20%, statistics from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggest that such figures belie the fact that more than 75% of African youth work in the informal sector, either self-employed or employed in family microenterprises, with many being employed but continuing to live in extreme poverty (less than 2US$ a day).

While painting a grim picture, COVID-19 and efforts to curb the pandemic have contributed to both short and possibly long-term social, economic and political consequences for African youth. This has included mass job losses and unemployment, with conservative estimates (based on the South African National Treasury predictions) suggesting that many countries could expect a 5 to 10% increase in their national unemployment rates.

A failure to tap in to this potential could exclude greater numbers of youth, potentially contributing to their increased risk and frustration and ultimately, greater economic and political instability

COVID-19 restrictions also mean that many others were unable to work, losing their source of income, potentially having to exhaust any financial savings or forced to borrow money. Furthermore, the economies or gross domestic products of many countries have also been greatly reduced, with major national and global recessions being likely.

So what are some of the potential means of mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on youth unemployment or structural economic exclusion?

Firstly, states and policy makers should recognise that superficial or patronising forms of youth consultation or participation are only likely to increase young people’s frustration and sense of exclusion.

Youth violence is, in itself, indicative of their sense of exclusion. Many answers can be found by bringing youth to the table and learning from their lived experiences.

Secondly, while hoping that states will proactively include youth, youth should continue to formally organise themselves in ways that are likely to ensure that their needs are better represented. Youth should continue to recognise the power of the youth vote, and regional or continental bodies, such as SADC and the AU, should change existing policies to ensure that state or political violence is not allowed to continue as a means of maintaining the status quo.

Thirdly, given its prominence, policy makers should take the informal sector more seriously. This would include making it easier for micro and small business owners to register their businesses, find credit or financing, find approved spaces for trade in urban and peri-urban areas, as well as creating more formalised or recognised conditions of employment, especially given the often precarious nature of employment in this sector.

A fourth recommendation would be for states to move away from simple social support grants towards public employment programmes (PEPs) or employment guarantee schemes.

The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation’s (CSVR) research on PEPs across Africa has highlighted both the tangible (infrastructure development, wages and skills) as well as intangible benefits (increased social cohesion or social capital) of such programmes, which in turn, can increase young people’s prospects of gaining employment or self-employment skills.

In this regard, it is important that PEP budgets are geared towards skills development and training rather than part-time employment as a means of keeping youth busy.

A fifth point would be recognising the contradictions in the entrepreneurship panacea. While multiple organisations (such as the OECD previously mentioned) have highlighted the reality of many young Africans being self-employed or employed in the informal economy, many are reluctant entrepreneurs. This reluctance partly signifies a failure of the state to create an environment that is conducive to job creation.

Finally, African states should learn from what they and other stakeholders have already been doing well. CSVR’s draft regional review of youth policies and programmes has highlighted how far too many policies and programmes are based on good intentions rather than best practices. States should work with youth and other stakeholders to find both international and local examples of what has worked well and dedicate far greater resources to monitoring and evaluating policy and programme outcomes.

As can be noted by these recommendations, addressing issues of youth exclusion and particularly youth economic exclusion is no small task. Be this as it may, the challenges posed by COVID-19 are likely to make it even more important for states and other stakeholders to meaningful engage around the challenges and potential of greater youth economic inclusion.

Steven Rebello is a senior researcher at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and a counselling psychologist based in Johannesburg, South Africa. His areas of focus include youth and community-based research.

The post COVID-19: Where to From Here For Efforts to Support Youth Economic Inclusion? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

STRONGER TOGETHER IN CRISES’ – EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT REACHES 3.5 MILLION CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN HUMANITARIAN CRISES WORLDWIDE

Tue, 08/11/2020 - 18:51

Amid the worst education crisis of our time caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ECW’s new Results Report provides evidence on progress made in delivering inclusive, equitable quality education in emergencies and protracted crises.

By PRESS RELEASE
GENEVA / NEW YORK, Aug 11 2020 (IPS-Partners)

Education Cannot Wait launched its ‘Stronger Together in Crises – Annual Results Report 2019’ today, reaffirming itself as the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Since the Fund’s inception in 2016, its investments have reached nearly 3.5 million children and youth in many of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

“Education Cannot Wait works to serve the 75 million children and youth – 39 million of whom are girls – whose education has been disrupted by armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate-change induced disasters and protracted crises. This new Annual Results Report shows ECW advancing from strength to strength, just three years into its operations,” said the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the ECW High-Level Steering Group. “The report comes at an unprecedented time when the global education crisis is exacerbated by COVID-19. The pandemic has swept across the world, threatening decades of hard-won development gains: 90 per cent of the world’s school-age children and youth have had their education disrupted. As an innovative fund, Education Cannot Wait is breaking new ground, but more needs to be done. Financing is absolutely essential.”

The report provides evidence that ECW’s partnership model is spurring progress in delivering inclusive, equitable quality education for children and youth caught in emergencies and protracted crises. It shows growing political commitment for the emergency education sector and increased prioritization of education in humanitarian appeals: humanitarian funding for education grew five-fold from 2015 to 2019, with more than US$700 million committed in 2019. The share of funding dedicated to the education sector as part of the total sector-specific humanitarian aid globally also continued to rise, reaching 5.1 per cent in 2019.

To date, ECW has mobilized $662.3 million, including $252.8 million from both public and private donors in 2019. The Fund substantially increased its operations in 2019, disbursing $130.7 million to 75 grantees to support education in emergencies and protracted crises responses in 29 countries. The report shows that ECW is providing the impetus for quicker education responses in the face of sudden-onset crises, and is strengthening coherence between humanitarian and development aid interventions. It also captures encouraging trends in terms of strengthening national and local capacities to respond, as well as improving data, evidence and accountability for the sector.

ECW-financed education in emergency activities reached 2.6 million crisis-affected children and youth in 2019 alone. The Fund’s focus on the most vulnerable and marginalized children and youth is translating into real results: while girls often face additional barriers to access education in crises settings, nearly half of ECW’s beneficiaries (48 per cent) are girls. In all, 30 per cent of the Fund’s beneficiaries are refugees, 15 per cent are internally displaced children and youth, and 55 per cent are other crises-affected children and youth, including those from host communities.

“ECW champions the inherent human right to an education for children and youth left furthest behind in humanitarian emergencies and protracted crises,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait. “Our undivided focus is on the realities on the ground and the more than 75 million children and youth whose education is disrupted by crises. They demand our attention and action. Where there is commitment, progress has been made. The primary enrolment ratio for refugee children improved from 53 per cent to 75 per cent in Uganda in just two years; and, in Afghanistan, where 60 percent in our investments are girls, out-of-school girls now have the opportunity to return to the safety and protection of an education thanks to the government’s community-based education approaches and the partnership with civil society and UN agencies. Yet, to further scale up what works requires significant, urgent funding.”

Indeed, more remains to be done. Funding appeals for education in emergencies and protracted crises remained significantly underfunded in 2019, with only 43.5 per cent of the required funding secured; and, the gap risks widening further with the compounding effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress it is exercising onto education and aid budgets worldwide.

“To answer the UN Secretary General’s recent call to avoid a generational catastrophe that could waste untold human potential, undermine decades of progress, and exacerbate entrenched inequalities, ECW and its partners are working to urgently mobilize an additional US$310 million to support the emergency education response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing crises. Together with in-country resource mobilization, this will allow us to reach close to 9 million children annually,” Sherif said.

In just the past four months of 2020, ECW’s total First Emergency Response investments span 33 countries and crisis-affected contexts, with a record amount of US$60.1 million rapidly allocated by ECW for vulnerable children and youth, who are now doubly impacted by COVID-19.

Highlights of Key ECW 2019 Results by Country:
• Afghanistan: A successful model of community-based education has reached 57 per cent of girls amongst its beneficiaries. An ECW grant to Save the Children and the Afghanistan Consortium for Community-based Education and Learning achieved substantial results in literacy and numeracy. At the beginning of the intervention, only 2 per cent of students were able to read a story and answer related questions correctly; after the intervention, 48 per cent of students were able to read and understand a basic story.

• Central African Republic: ECW partner, Norwegian Refugee Council, delivered an 8-month accelerated learning programme for 720 conflict-affected children (45 per cent girls). 85 per cent of children who completed the programme were able to re-enter the formal system after receiving the required certification.

• Democratic Republic of the Congo: ECW investments delivered through AVSI, NRC and UNICEF supported reintegration of formerly out-of-school children into formal education, protection for children at school and at home, the provision of psychosocial support, and upgraded school infrastructure and the distribution of learning materials. About 10,000 children attended catch-up courses and took the end-of-cycle exam for primary school, enabling them to re-join the formal education system. Exceeding targets, over 46,000 children have been reached in all, 49 per cent of whom are girls.

• Ethiopia: Following a US$15 million initial investment grant implemented through by UNICEF, the primary gross enrolment ratio for refugee children rose to 67 per cent, up from 62 per cent in 2018.

• Nigeria: ECW partner Street Child successfully increased learning levels in reading and mathematics in areas affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. The grant provided non-formal education for 5,206 children between the ages of 4 and 14 who were either out-of-school or had fallen behind in the formal education system. As a result of the intervention, the percentage of children who were able to recognize letters rose from 1 per cent to 50 per cent. The percentage of students able to read words increased from 9 per cent to 43 per cent.

• Uganda: Following ECW’s support to the Education Response Plan for Refugees and Host Communities (ERP) through the Fund’s multi-year resilience programme, the primary gross enrolment ratio for refugee children improved by 22 per cent – from 53 per cent in 2017 to 75 per cent in 2019 (reaching 71.4 per cent for girls).

• Yemen: 1.8 million students in war-torn Yemen were able to sit for their exams with support from Education Cannot Wait and its partners. Through an initiative implemented by UNCEF, 128,000 teachers received cash incentives.

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The post STRONGER TOGETHER IN CRISES’ – EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT REACHES 3.5 MILLION CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN HUMANITARIAN CRISES WORLDWIDE appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

The post STRONGER TOGETHER IN CRISES’ – EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT REACHES 3.5 MILLION CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN HUMANITARIAN CRISES WORLDWIDE appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

The Growing Global Movement to End Outdoor Advertising

Tue, 08/11/2020 - 15:01

Credit: RAP

By Steve Rushton
LONDON, Aug 11 2020 (IPS)

“With advertisements removed in Grenoble you can see the city’s beauty and the mountains beyond. Adverts create obstacles. Without them you can breathe,” explains Khaled Gaiji, national mobilisation coordinator of the French anti-advertising organisation Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire (Resistance to Advertising Aggression, or RAP). “Advertising is like an iceberg: the largest impact is below the surface. Adverts colonise our imagination.”

In 2014 Grenoble’s then newly-appointed Green mayor Éric Piolle cancelled a contract for 326 outdoor advertisements, including 64 large billboards. Trees and community noticeboards replaced them – or nothing at all. The lost revenue was recouped by reducing allowances, including official vehicles. Despite Piolle’s attempts to make Grenoble Europe’s first ad-free city, bus and tram stops still have adverts, as the contract is controlled by the regional authority.

But that hasn’t stopped the ad-free fervour from spreading across France. There are 29 RAP groups across the country, up from five in 2016. They work autonomously with tactics including pressuring politicians like the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who paused plans for new digital advertising boards on the city’s streets. To halt this RAP encouraged people to participate in a public consultation.

Ninety-five per cent of over 2000 participants were against the new digital ads. Their reasons speak to why people are resisting outdoor advertising the world over: their negative ecological impact, including the way they drive consumption, as well as the fact that they are invasive, obtrusive and omnipresent.

Outdoor adverts are not consensual: “I can avoid ads in magazines or online. But if I’m walking my baby to the park or if I just want some quiet time outside, I don’t want to be told to buy fast food, fast fashion or cars. However, I can’t avoid these ads on billboards.”

Nationally, RAP co-organised a petition, with other organisations, which collected 60,000 signatures that pressured then finance minister Emmanuel Macron, in 2016, to stop plans to spread advertisements across France’s small towns and villages. In Lyon, 150 activists from RAP protested in March 2018 and 2019 in support of global anti-advertising action, while in October 2019 200 activists marched there in solidarity with ‘Alex’, a RAP participant who went to court for his part in covering advertising spaces in posters. His case is adjourned until June 2020.

Gaiji, who is also president of Friends of the Earth France, says: “Grenoble stopping the advance of advertisements shows that we have a choice. It is like when people ask what has 50 years of environmental activism achieved? But imagine how bad thing would be if [we hadn’t done anything]. We say: ‘Action is life, silence is death’”.

The anti-advertising movement is loud in France, but it has roots further afield. In 2006, São Paulo became the first place in the world to ban outdoor advertising. Then mayor Gilberto Kassab described it as ‘visual pollution’. Within a year, 15,000 billboards were down, along with 300,000 large store signs, in south America’s largest megacity. Cities in India including New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have all restricted outdoor advertising. For ten days in 2015, Tehran replaced all advertising with art.

Britain’s anti-advertising clamour rises

The south-west English city of Bristol hosted the UK’s first national anti-advertising conference on 26 October 2019. Organised by Adblock Bristol, it attracted people from across the British Isles, including members of Adblock Cardiff, which was set up in Wales last year. Attendees from the UK’s second largest city of Birmingham set up their own group after the conference.

“Our big focus is challenging new planning applications for digital billboards, where the industry is expanding. Working with local communities we have stopped 18 new digital screens in Bristol and have successfully lobbied to have some old static billboards removed,” explains Nicola Round from Adblock Bristol.

Round explains that outdoor adverts are not consensual: “I can avoid ads in magazines or online. But if I’m walking my baby to the park or if I just want some quiet time outside, I don’t want to be told to buy fast food, fast fashion or cars. However, I can’t avoid these ads on billboards.”

The conference showcased other successes: lobbying against Bristol council’s plans to extend advertising into green spaces; working with local communities and art projects to showcase alternatives and covering adverts with paper for a day to let people express themselves.

One workshop explored how advertising drives sexism. “Advertising featuring sexualised images of perfect bodies not only encourages us to objectify and dehumanise the women pictured, it trains us to objectify all women,” Sophie Pritchard who co-ran the workshop explains. She is from TIGER (Teaching Individuals Gender Equality and Respect), a local grassroots co-operative working with young people.

“Advertising often presents women as submissive, as possessions to fulfil the needs of men, and men are shown as strong and dominant. These are the core beliefs underpinning domestic abuse,” Pritchard explains, citing numerous studies that have shown that way in which sexualised advertising drives body shaming, mental health problems and misogyny.

Selling unhappiness

The public relations industry stands accused of driving other prejudice. One advert in Thailand linking success with lighter skin was withdrawn after public backlash against racism. Similar public condemnation forced German cosmetic giant Nivea to stop a campaign selling skin lightening products in west Africa.

Overall, swathes of studies link advertising with selling unhappiness, making us want things we do not need. Fighting against this, different campaigns worldwide focus on limiting specific adverts. Singapore has banned unhealthy food and drinks promotion, including on billboards, going further than similar moves in Mexico, the United Kingdom and Canada. Paris in March 2017 followed Geneva and London to ban sexist and homophobic adverts. In 2005, World Health Organization rules banned all tobacco advertising for its 168 signatories; but investigative research by the Guardian shows that big tobacco still targets children in at least 23 countries of the Global South.

The climate emergency also amplifies another argument against advertising.

“Bristol was the first UK council to declare a climate emergency, so it makes no sense to then install new digital advert screens,” Round explains. “We know from planning applications that a double-sided digital bus advertisement uses the same annual energy as four households. So imagine the big ones, let alone the environmental impact of the over-consumption encouraged by these advertising boards.”

Adblock Bristol has mapped how advertisers target the city’s major roads, noting that areas with the most billboards suffer the highest air pollution. Anti-advert campaigners also want to raise broader questions about environmental justice: why should impoverished areas suffering the worst air pollution – largely due to traffic – host adverts for cars out of the price range of many local people? In the end, selling more cars to motorists stuck in traffic jams only worsens air quality and the climate disaster.

Reclaiming the public visual realm

The Bristol conference featured a ‘subvertising’ workshop – a term that refers to replacing or altering billboard images with art. Early subvertising campaigns started as early as 1973 in Australia, focusing on tobacco. More recently, carbon intense industries have been targeted, including adding cigarette-style warnings to car adverts.

“We set out to subvert the dominant narrative forced onto us by corporate advertising. It is important to reclaim the public visual realm – especially when we are being straight up lied to, as is the case with widely used greenwashing,” explains Michelle Tylicki, an artist who has collaborated with subvertisers.

Her work has included making a spoof film poster about the UK fracking firm Cuadrilla – in the style of the horror movie Godzilla. Fracking in the UK has now been suspended following years of pressure from campaigners.

Tylicki also made a poster series that was displayed during 2018’s climate negotiations in Poland. “[It was] to challenge the greenwashing and ‘business as usual’. At this summit it was decided that they will ignore the key 1.5 degrees IPCC report. This shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the ‘climate summit’ was sponsored by Polish coal companies.”

During the summit, the right to protest was severely restricted. One of her billboards (in Polish) read: “Belchatow power station emits more CO2 than is absorbed by all Polish forests. Poland, business as usual. High time for climate justice.”

She tells Equal Times: “Coal still provides 1/3 of electric power in the world. Current CO2 emissions cause 45,000 premature deaths in Poland each year. It is a beastly industry that will continue to walk over dead bodies for profit – unless we challenge it.”

The subvertising movement aims to end the monopoly corporations increasingly have over public space. It organises skill-shares so that more people can democratise their cities and towns.

One reported impact of removing billboards in São Paulo was that it revealed vistas of the impoverished areas that existed behind them. Anti-advertising projects around the world tend to focus on valuing these areas rather than dismissing them as mere ‘slums’. These projects also help us imagine how all cities could be without adverts.

In Mumbai, the NGO Chal Rang De (Let’s Go Paint) has painted houses made from corrugated iron in bright colours. Similarly, the council in Medellín, Columbia’s second city, has transformed severely impoverished neighbourhoods, suffering violence from the drugs trade, by daubing the walls with murals and providing amenities, services and hope. Likewise, in Ghanaian capital city of Accra, artist Mohammed Awudu is guiding young people to turn the informal settlement of Nima into an art city.

Round chaired the conference’s closing session on what should replace corporate advertisements. This, she says, should be up to the local communities. “In Bristol some say more art, like the Burg Arts Project, a rolling series of art by local artists and the local community. Primarily we would like to see advertising gone, perhaps to reveal beautiful buildings. Other communities might want to plant and rewild, or paint murals. There are many ways communities could take this.”

This story was originally published by Equal Times

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Categories: Africa

Reform of the United Nations Organization

Tue, 08/11/2020 - 07:35

Credit: United Nations

By Saber Azam
GENEVA, Aug 11 2020 (IPS)

The US detains essential keys to the political and economic stability of the planet. The last four years have been challenging for Americans, their allies, and the rest of the world.

The forthcoming US elections would be a game-changer and UN-related affairs high on the winner’s agenda. If Mr. Trump is re-elected, he may continue his mistrust toward the world body, paving the way for its eventual demise. Should Mr. Biden win, he would be confronted with diverse views from the day one of his administration.

The UN is an inefficient bureaucracy. Political nepotism, waste of resources, outdated mandates, incoherent modus operandi, and fractured image characterize it. However, there is no alternative to the UN.

The winner of the presidential race should not rush to dismantle the body or re-establish “business as usual.” After 75 years of questionable “service to humanity,” it is time to mend the deficiencies, making the organization once again relevant. The following could constitute the basis of food for thought:

The Charter of the UN defines its primary purposes as follows:

The UN received the necessary support to achieve its goals. It created scores of bodies and received trillions or quadrillions of US dollars. However, a glance at the performance of the organization would imply that:

(b) Antagonism among Member States continued to prevail, preventing the world from “develop[ing] friendly relations among nations.” Agreement on, accession, and ratification of international instruments by Member States, particularly during the UN’s prime ages, constitute its most significant achievement. However, their implementation has proven challenging. Dignity of the human person, fundamentals of human rights, and respect for diversity remain imaginary notions in most parts of the world. Often, Member States violate their commitments without being subject to “penalty.” Secretaries-General have often been tamed to the desire of the most powerful countries.

____________________
[1] The term UN applies to all United Nations Headquarters components and affiliated organs around the world.

(c) International cooperation through multi-lateral approaches had timid or quasi no effects. Serious questions have been raised on the impact of trillions of US dollars allocated to develop the socio-economic infrastructures of least developed countries. A simple examination of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) demonstrates that practically no country achieved them.

Therefore, the UN proved to be an inadequate machinery. Mistrust regarding multilateralism has well-founded reasons. The organization cannot address its current and future pressing challenges without a complete overhaul of the system. It is only then that it can become once more relevant.

Political Reform:
The possibility of reforming the essence of bodies that affect the UN Charter would be quasi-impossible. It is vital to aim at improving their structure and functionality as much as possible. The need for political reform is focused on the membership of the Security Council.

The Charter gives the extra-ordinary veto power to only 5 Member States. Given the context and realities, an increase in the number of permanent members and a profound political reform would not be feasible. Efforts should focus on areas that can effectively be improved.

Reducing the Secretary-General and senior political appointees’ service to only one term of five years would increase the organization’s efficiency. Most often, the concern surrounding re-election or re-appointment diminishes significantly the ability of incumbents to fulfill their noble tasks. Some individuals are rotating in senior positions for decades, causing apathy and sclerosis to the organization.

Mandates of Bodies and Agencies:
Countless organs have been created, and few abolished, leading to an endless proliferation of entities. A significant part of UN inefficiency also stems from the confusion of respective bodies’ mandates. The overcast lines between department and/or agency mandates engender not only misunderstanding, but also needless competition for relevance and resources.

Such a streamlining exercise would also allow evaluating the efficiency of a particular organ. UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, and IOM have been efficient, and credentials are there to prove it. Others have less than satisfactory effects, particularly UNDP, considered a money-wasting institution. It makes sense to dismantle completely similar bodies, strengthening focused development agencies such as UNFPA, FAO, UNWOMEM, etc.

It is also high time to terminate endless Headquarters pseudo reforms to accommodate most senior officials. This practice has so far reduced the efficiency of the UN system considerably.

Structure:
The UN Headquarters are transformed into heavily staffed and expensive centers of bureaucracy. Political (Headquarters) and operational (field) dimensions of the body must be clearly defined. The Headquarters component should be at its strictly minimum, while the field components need-based.

Each organization has a Branch Office in as many countries as possible, regardless of actual need—leading to thousands of staff and perhaps billions of US dollars expenditure without a justifying added value. This practice should be revised and made unequivocally need-based and flexible.

Management:
Manifold sets of rules and procedures have been elaborated in the fields of human resources, financial management, and supply. There is no reason that the UN system should not obey the same rules. However, humanitarian emergency response supply procedures should preferably be field/operations-based to increase efficiency.

Culture/Ethics of the Organization:
Since its creation, the UN has developed a multi-dimensional culture that negatively affects its performance. National/political nepotism, safeguarding the image of the organization at all costs, lack of accountability, dubious promotion and appointment processes, exhaustive meetings, expensive travels and missions, careerism at the expense of efficiency, efforts to please the Member States at the detriment of respect for/defense of principles are a few examples.

Vacancy announcements for crucial positions are “bogus” to show that “process is respected” while, in fact, incumbents are already “selected” beforehand. The same unwritten rules apply for assignments and promotions. In some entities, senior appointments and promotions are at the supreme manager’s discretion, making the fear of favoritism, nepotism, or abuse real.

The image of a perfect organization, not making any mistake, seems more important than standing by the principles the organization was founded upon. The sexual abuse by peacekeepers of the population they are supposed to protect is no longer “taboo.” Often, states that violate human rights get a pass by the UN leaders.

Fear of accountability has led to a lack of innovative initiatives within the organization. It is perceived to be “safer” to do business as usual, than to take a risk in the name of innovation or principle. Hardly someone has faced justice for grave mistakes that have either cost lives or financial losses. A more in-depth look reveals a lack of accountability at multiple layers.

Extensive mission costs and long meetings have become a trademark and synonym for efficiency. The culture of senior staff making every effort to remain at Headquarters and circulate endlessly from one position to another, leads to apathy.

The problem of top leadership competence in the UN system is chronic. The second SG had to resign. Another proved to be a Nazi officer. It is high time to revise the culture of the organization.

Delivering as One (DaO) and UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF):
The UN leadership introduced the philosophy of DaO to ensure the success of MDGs. Their assumption was completely wrong. The world faced more instability, insecurity, and humanitarian challenges.

DaO has been interpreted as all UN entities in a given country should be involved in solving a challenge, irrespective of their relevant expertise and capacity. As a result, bodies are fighting for relevance and resources.

Often, efforts are not well-coordinated, and donors fund whom they want. The notion of “one leader, one program, one budgetary framework, and one resource mobilization mechanism” is unrealistic. The role of the Resident Coordinator is superficial.

Without taking stock of MDGs’ failure, the UN leadership proposed the even more formidable Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At a glance, some would realize that under the current status of world affairs, they are doomed to fail too.

One meaningful reform would be to rotate the role of Resident Coordinator among the few critical agencies in a given country. This will ensure objectivity and focused action. It will also prevent bureaucratic approaches, meaningless leadership, and waste of resources. UNDAF should change into a more realistic mechanism in a given country, such as UN Action Framework (UNAF).

The Way Forward:
External experts of some ten world-class personalities with critical views about the organization could compose a UN Reform Team. It will elaborate a strategy, timeline, and budgetary requirements.

The Team would rely on the advice of renowned researchers, politicians, diplomats, and experts for in-depth studies of the challenges posed, including a cost/result analysis and propose the way forward. Such reforms should be initiated and supervised by the Security Council through a Resolution as any internal endeavor would prove biased and inefficient.

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Excerpt:

Saber Azam is a former official of the United Nations and author of the recently-released book, “SORAYA: The Other Princess”, a historical fiction that overflies the recent seven decades of Afghan history.

The post Reform of the United Nations Organization appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

CPTPP Trade Liberalization Charade Continues

Tue, 08/11/2020 - 07:14

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug 11 2020 (IPS)

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement should be dead and buried after President Trump announced US withdrawal immediately after his inauguration in January 2017. After all, most major US presidential candidates in the last election, including Hillary Clinton, had opposed the TPP.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Encircling China with trade pact
However, the Japanese, Australian and Singaporean governments have kept the TPP alive, first by mooting TPP11, i.e., minus the USA, later pretentiously relabelled the Comprehensive and Progressive TPP (CPTPP), with the hope that the US will rejoin later.

Other governments have remained ‘on board’ for various reasons, mainly foreign policy considerations, rather than with serious expectations of economic benefits, while ignoring the dangers and risks.

Last week, yet another ministerial meeting reiterated pious claims of steady progress as CPTPP boosters try to remain relevant despite the fast declining appetite for regional trade deals.

The CPTPP did not even get rid of the most onerous TPP provisions, but only suspended some intellectual property (IP) and other provisions, mainly of interest to the USA. These can easily be reincluded to bring the USA back in after the November election.

However, other onerous aspects, such as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, remain. In the wake of Covid-19, lawyers are already advising foreign investors how to use extraordinary coping measures to sue governments, which will cost them even if they win.

If re-elected, the Trump administration’s opposition to ISDS can easily be accommodated to bring the US back on board as it seeks new measures to isolate and weaken China. Biden will also revive a TPP avatar, having supported it before as Obama’s loyal Vice-President.

But reselling the TPP in the USA will not be easy. Already, many US manufacturing jobs have been lost due to corporations automating and relocating abroad. Trump has changed US public discourse so much that most Americans now blame globalization, immigration, China and foreigners for the problems they face.

False claims for trade deal
Various studies have shown that supposed trade gains from the TPP claimed by its advocates were greatly exaggerated and misleading. This should come as no surprise.

The US already has free trade agreements with six of the other 11 TPP countries. Trade barriers with the other five were already low in most cases, so there was little scope for further trade liberalization, except for US post-Vietnam war legislation.

All twelve also belong to the World Trade Organization (WTO) which concluded the ‘single largest trade agreement ever’ over a quarter century ago. For trade liberalization guru Jagdish Bhagwati, both bilateral and plurilateral FTAs undermine trade liberalisation welfare arguments.

For the Peterson Institute of International Economics (PIIE), the principal TPP advocate, gains mainly come from additional foreign direct investment (FDI), due to more investor rights, implying greater concessions from, and less gains for host economies.

But the official US International Trade Commission doubted PIIE claims of significant growth benefits in mid-2016, well before Trump was elected. Supposed gains were either dubious or paltry over the long-term time horizon involved.

Investor friendly rules?
Rather than promoting trade, the TPP really sought more transnational corporation (TNC)-friendly rules. After all, the 6350-page deal had been negotiated by various working groups including hundreds of major US corporate representatives. But by involving lobbyists, US negotiators may well have locked themselves into a deal of little interest to most other businesses.

Doubts also remain over whether most TNCs really value the CPTPP’s enhanced investor rights. The World Bank has found that investment treaties rank far below other considerations such as infrastructure, natural resource endowments, market size and growth potential.

Also, rules favouring foreign investors do not necessarily improve investment flows to host countries, let alone ensure development benefits without good national industrial policies in place.

Enriching rentiers
There is no evidence that stronger IP rights increase innovation, research and development. Strengthening IP monopolies for powerful TNCs, such as pharmaceutical firms, would raise the value of trade through higher prices, not more goods and services.

Extending IP protection would raise the prices of pharmaceutical drugs, including ‘biologics’, significantly increasing health costs. For Medecins Sans Frontieres, the TPP would go down in history as the worst “cause of needless suffering and death” in developing countries.

US laws cannot protect consumers anywhere. Martin Shkreli infamously raised the price of a drug whose patent he had bought by 6000%, from USD12.50 to USD750! As ‘price-gouging’ is not unlawful in the US, he was convicted for unrelated financial fraud.

Meanwhile, powerful pharmaceutical TNCs have made clear their intention to charge high prices for new vaccines despite enjoying government subsidies. Whereas vaccines for smallpox, polio, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases were available at cost, higher costs, due to enhanced IPRs, will impose heavy human and economic tolls.

Enabling foreign corporate bullying
FDI was expected to go up, thanks to enhanced TPP investor protection. Foreign companies could then sue TPP governments for ostensible loss of profits due to policy changes, even if in the national or public interest, e.g., to contain Covid-19 contagion.

ISDS is arbitered by private tribunals. This extrajudicial system supersedes national laws and judiciaries, with secret rulings not bound by precedent or subject to appeal.

All who have seriously studied TPP impacts concede that it offers little additional growth. Even the modest trade growth claims are premised on US market access, no longer on offer with the CPTPP, which incredibly, now claims even more growth benefits.

Without the USA, the CPTPP will mainly strengthen Japanese TNCs. With greater rights for foreign investors, domestic investments may even relocate abroad, e.g., to CPTPP tax havens. Declining foreign investment in recent years could thus accelerate with the CPTPP.

From the frying pan into the fire
The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated severe recessions, which threaten to become depressions, as many governments had to impose nationwide ‘stay in shelter’ lockdowns with physical distancing and other preventive requirements disrupting economic life.

It is now clear that the CPTPP has not slowed growing trade protectionism. Instead, transborder supply chains have been disrupted, sometimes deliberately, with the US and Japan demanding ‘onshoring’, urging TNCs to withdraw investments and outsourcing from China, also hurting suppliers, many from Southeast Asia.

The post CPTPP Trade Liberalization Charade Continues appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

US-IRAN-CHINA: Travails of a Trilateral Triangle, and the Emergence of an Eastern Front

Mon, 08/10/2020 - 18:33

By Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
SINGAPORE, Aug 10 2020 (IPS-Partners)

President Jimmy Carter of the United States had once paid Iran glowing tributes, which was received quite normally in American policy circles and raised no eyebrows: He had said: “(Iran was) an island of stability in one of the most troubled areas of the world”. In one of the weirdest ironies of history, within months in 1979, with the Iranian Revolution, the perception of Iran in American eyes underwent a most radical transformation. It was followed by the hostage-taking of American diplomats, and a nose-diving of bilateral relations. Since 1980 there have been no diplomatic connections. However, over the years a kind of modus vivendi had evolved, a grudging tolerance of each other accompanied by some functional interactions. Eventually, in 2015, the US along with key European States entered into what was called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), virtually capping Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and largely stabilizing the relationship.

Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury

When President Donald Trump assumed office in 2016, several factors combined to raise his ire vis-a -vis Iran to high pitch. One was his believe that Iran was fomenting destabilization in the Middle East, fed by his closest allies in the region, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. A second was the burgeoning influence of the rabidly anti-Iran hawks in the White House, in the persons of his principal Advisor on the region, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security, Advisor John Bolton someone he violently fell out with in a remarkably short period, but not before the harm was done. A third was that Iran itself did not appear to show any interest in mending fences with Washington or to try curry Trump’s favour in any way. Consequently, Trump tightened the sanctions against Iran, withdrew from the JCPOA to the chagrin of his European allies, and finally in January 2020 ordered a military strike that killed a senior Iranian officer, Major General Qasim Suleimani. US-Iran relations had reached their nadir, the lowest point in decades.

In the meantime, China under Xi Jinping was rapidly racing to reach the status of a global peer of the US. It had won over dozens of nations by funding their critical infrastructures through its mega-project entitled Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI), both on the land (Belt) and sea (Road). The strategy was to achieve its aspiration of Zhongguo Meng or ‘China Dream’, aided by its deep pockets, abundant resources, and swiftly growing technology. The US was chary of letting another power rise to the level of an equal as it felt it would erode its power and security. Also, Trump needed a rallying point for his support- base, comprising white, red-neck, non-College educated, and overly-patriotic zealous Americans. This he did by taking issue with China, held in suspicion not just by this group but also some other American interests, on a host of subjects. He, therefore, adopted many anti-China policies on trade and in other areas. So, a most logical consequence occurred.

Mutual concerns and interests drew Iran and China together. It found fruition in a deal, about to be formalized, involving approximately US $ 400 billion of Chinese investments in Iran over the next 25 years.

Some important details of that understanding have now come to light, though these are subject now to formal approval by both parties. The projects, which number over 100, cover a very diverse field. These include oil trade, infrastructural development, airports, high speed railways, and extend to the field of military cooperation. China will be setting up three free trade zones spread across the country. Obviously, these would be significant components of the BRI.

These arrangements were being negotiated steadily over the last four years or so. When President Xi jinping visited Iran in 2016, the two countries agreed to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest pecking order of China’s relationship with any other country. At that point in time both sides agreed to commence negotiations to provide more meat to the broad framework through further negotiations. This gradually gathered momentum as the US relations with both China and Iran continued to deteriorate. It was now clear that both China and Iran seemed ideal scape-goats to be targeted by Trump , as be began to badly needed a cause that might unite a sizeable segment of the electorate behind him in order to lift his perilously low level of support among voters, as indicated by almost every pre-election prediction polls.

As stated, formal approval from both sides are still awaited. It is being debated more in Iran than in China. Since the dependence of Iran on the West during the period of Reza Shah Pahlavi in the Cold war era, Iran has never relied so much on a foreign partner. There are some apprehensions in Tehran on the possibilities of indebtedness to China and associated problems. The Iranian Foreign minister Javad Zareef has had to provide detailed explanations to queries raised in the Parliament. Important personalities like former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appear to be requiring some convincing. At the end, given that the US pressure on Iran is unrelenting, the appropriate authorities in Iran are most likely to accord their approval. In China no such deliberations appear to have taken place. The deal , therefore, is most likely to go through.

This possible united front of the two oldest Asian civilizations, the Persian and the Chinese, will have huge ramifications for contemporary global politics. This partnership is also certain to have the blessings of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin. This would add to the solidification of an eastern front vis-à-vis the West, particularly the US. Some Asian powers, however, would be worried. India, for instance, given its poor relations with China , would have cause for concern, particularly as the construction of Charbahar port, once its responsibility which was being poorly executed , partly due to the fear of US opprobrium, and partly due to sheer inefficiency, would now, most likely, pass on to its rival China. So if Cold War 2.0 should come to pass on the global scene, a new line-up in the east, with China and Iran, and Russia in tow, is likely to emerge on the international political matrix ranged against the US and its allies.

Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury is Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asia Studies, National University of Singapore. He is a former Foreign Advisor (Foreign Minister) of Bangladesh and President of Cosmos Foundation Bangladesh. The views addressed in the article are his own. He can be reached at: isasiac @nus.edu.sg

This story was originally published by Dhaka Courier.

The post US-IRAN-CHINA: Travails of a Trilateral Triangle, and the Emergence of an Eastern Front appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

COVID Crisis Challenges in People with Disabilities and Hansen’s Disease

Mon, 08/10/2020 - 17:49

By Padmini Murthy
NEW YORK, Aug 10 2020 (IPS)

Even during the best of times, unfortunately members of the global community who have special needs are marginalized and often treated as social outcasts. The COVID crisis which has been raging for over the better part of the year 2020 has posed additional barriers and challenges for these already disenfranchised individuals.

Padmini Murthy

These people are at a higher risk for contracting COVID -19 with reduced access to health care services, personal protective equipment such as masks, basic hygiene facilities and sanitation .Many of these people with physical and mental disabilities may not be able to wash their hands not only because of a lack of running water and soap , inaccessibility to clean water but because they are not able to turn on a faucet and wash their hands due to their physical deformities. This is more so when people are wheelchair bound and are victims of Polio and Hansen’s disease which may leave them crippled and unable to perform simple tasks without assistance. In addition, people with special needs may not be able to social distance as they are unable to go about their daily activities without support from their attendants and care givers. This may heighten their risk of contracting COVID especially if their caregivers may be asymptomatic carriers.

In response to this heightened risk faced by this sect of the global community , the World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines to continue integrating people with disabilities into the mainstream of society while minimize their risk to contracting COVID-19. These included ensuring that caregivers use the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) when attending to their needs, disinfecting any aids used and ensuring access to essential items including cleaning supplies.

Discrimination

In a recent survey conducted in the United States by the National Disability Institute in 2020 indicated that that 60% of the disabled adult population surveyed , report being concerned that they may face medical discrimination due to their special needs and being labelled high risk and resulting lack of access to services during the current COVID crisis.

According to a report released by the United Nations in May 2020, at present globally there are one billion people living with disabilities and 80% live in developing countries. As the released UN report ‘Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity’ on the socio-economic impact of the pandemic showcases, COVID-19 is not simply a health crisis but is shaking the core of the foundation of global societies. Unfortunately, the response often linked to and is influenced by the preexisting -social determinants and prevailing inequalities associated with disability and threatens to place an additional burden on people with special needs.

In some countries, health care rationing decisions, including triage protocols and being bypassed from receiving the necessary medical interventions such as ventilators, medication and the reasons for this discrimination can be attributed to their being considered high risk and assumptions being made about the quality of life post COVID for these people and a contributing factor to this may be the overburdening of the health care systems during the crisis.

Globally the current economic crisis resulting from COVID has exacerbated the
unemployment rates for the people with disability and may face challenges finding employment post COVID. In most countries disabled people and their families are vulnerable as they do not have support from the social protection systems prevalent in their countries. According to a report released by the International Labor Organization only 28%of the global population with special needs have access to disability benefits and even more alarming that only 1% of the above mentioned in low income countries have any kind of social support .

Challenges

Unfortunately, women and girls with disabilities face increased risk of gender-based violence and especially those affected by Hansen’s disease as they do not have access to social protective mechanisms and are often destitute and need to resort to begging for survival. These women seldom have access to feminine hygiene products, contraceptive services and are at an increased risk for sexual harassment.

Recommendations

It is of paramount importance that special attention is given to those living in humanitarian settings, including those living in situations of forced displacement as a result of armed conflict in refugee or migrant camps, informal settlements, urban slums, mental health facilities, old age homes and prisons is of paramount importance to contain outbreaks which have the tendency to become wide spread.

In addition, forging partnerships between stakeholders including advocacy bodies, foundations NGOs, government agencies, law and order and public health agencies is crucial to work together to provide the necessary support needed. It is vital that the needs of people with various types of disability , including the victims of Hansen’s disease are included in response operations for the COVID-19 outbreak and are rehabilitation so that they can be integrated into main steam of the societies they live in .

Padmini Murthy, MD, MPH, MS, MPhil, CHES, FRSPH, is a professor and director of the Global Health Department of Public Health at New York Medical College. Murthy is the NGO representative of MWIA to the United Nations and the chair of the Advisory Committee of The Nation’s Health, the newspaper of the American Public Health Association.

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Categories: Africa

Understanding the Benefits of local Wetland Encourages Eswatini Community to Save it

Mon, 08/10/2020 - 10:52

Sibonisiwe Hlanze is one of 600 women who are allowed to harvest reeds from the Lawuba Wetland in Lawuba, Eswatini. She generates a seasonal income from this which allows her to purchase farming inputs. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPS

By Mantoe Phakathi
LAWUBA, Eswatini, Aug 10 2020 (IPS)

Sibonisiwe Hlanze, from Lawuba in Eswatini’s Shiselweni Region, lights up as she shows off her sleeping mat which she made from what she described as “the highest quality indigenous fibre”.

Hlanze boasts that she did not pay a cent for the likhwane (Cyperus latifolius) used to make mats that she sells to vendors from Eswatini’s commercial capital of Manzini. Instead, she simply walks a few metres to the nearby Lawuba Wetland where she collects the fibre during the harvesting season.

About 600 beneficiary women under the Methula Inkhundla (constituency centre) harvest fibre from the wetland in June from 7 am to noon.

Hlanze charges E100 ($5) for a sleeping mat. On a good season, she would make between 15 to 20 mats generating between E1 500 ($85) and E2 000 ($114).

“But now I prefer to only harvest and sell the raw fibre because I no longer have much time to make the mats,” Hlanze told IPS. She makes E200 ($11) from a bundle which is used to make handicraft items such as mats and baskets. Last season, she harvested about 10 bundles.

“Some women prefer to buy the fibre instead of going to the wetland to harvest for themselves because they find it tedious,” Hlanze told IPS. “The wetland has provided me and other women with a source of income because we’re unemployed.”

Considering that this is seasonal income, Hlanze said she uses this to make money to buy farming inputs.

Nkhositsini Dlamini, the secretary for Lawuba Wetland, concurs with Hlanze adding that in one season she generated E23,000 ($ 1,310) from sleeping mats whose fibre she harvested from the wetland. She sells her handicraft in Johannesburg at a higher price compared to when selling in Eswatini. Sleeping mats go for E300 ($ 17) in South Africa.

“My child was admitted at the university but didn’t get a scholarship,” Dlamini told IPS. “I used that money to pay for the fees.”

Besides the fibre plants such as likhwane, inchoboza (Cyperus articulates) and umtsala (Miscanthus capensis), which are used for handicraft products, she said, there are indigenous medicinal plants at the 21-hectare natural wetland which help to heal various ailments such as scabies. The community also established a livestock drinking trough and a vegetable garden which draws water from the wetland.

Dlamini, however, states that the community was on the verge of losing this asset because it had become degraded over the years. For many years, she said, livestock used to graze from the wetland while local women were over harvesting the fibre. As a result, it was losing its spongy effect of storing water.

“The amount of fibre available at the wetland was significantly reduced, not to mention the number of cattle that used die after getting stuck in the mud,” said Dlamini.

The state of the wetland concerned Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku, who approached Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA) to support the community to protect it. Masuku, who is also a resident of the area, said he decided to act after noticing that the wetland had lost some of its indigenous plants such as reeds and experienced other biodiversity loss of animal species such as birds and snakes. It was also drying up.

“This wetland feeds the Mhlathuze River,” said Masuku in an interview with IPS. “It is also a source for a downstream dipping tank.”

Through the National Environment Fund, the EEA provided fencing material to prevent livestock from grazing and drinking from the wetland. The EEA partnered with World Vision who provided food aid for residents who constructed the fence under the Food for Work Programme. This was after the EEA had educated the community about the benefits of the wetland to their lives. The construction of the protection fence took place between 2010/11. EEA has protected 12 wetlands in the country using this fund.

“Once people know and see the benefits of conserving the environment, their attitudes and their behaviour change,” said EEA ecologist, Nana Matsebula. This was corroborated by a study done a University of Pretoria student, Linda Siphiwo Mahlalela, titled Economic valuation and natural resource rent as tools for wetland conservation in Swaziland: the case of Lawuba wetland.

The study found that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that households at Lawuba have high levels of knowledge about the benefits of conserving the wetland and the threats that endanger it. It also found that households have positive attitudes towards its conservation with income seemingly having influence towards this behaviour.

Matsebula said the community realised that the wetland also had a cultural value to the Swati nation.

“A sleeping mat comes from a wetland,” said Matsebula. “Besides using it for sleeping and sitting, no one in our culture gets buried without a sleeping mat.”

The mat is also one of the significant items at traditional weddings.

Besides the economic value of the wetland, Matsebula told IPS, the community was also educated on the ecological benefits. These include acting as a flood control by absorbing water during rain, replenishing the water table and acting as a reservoir for a diverse biodiversity.

“Wetlands are also important for climate change mitigation because they trap carbon up to 50 times more compared to forests,” he said, adding: “Wetlands take up to only 3 percent of the world total land area yet they hold up to a third of the world’s total carbon.”

Matsebula said environmentalists have over the years shifted from talking about preservation to conservation. The latter emphasises sustainable use of natural resources while the former discourages use altogether.

“It has been proven that when people realise benefits from the environment, they are most likely to protect it,” he said.

But the wetland faces a threat from poor regulation. Criminals have also started to steal parts of the fence. Masuku said for this wetland, and others to be adequately protected, the government needs to take over its administration so that it is declared a national asset. While the community will continue to have the primary responsibility to protect it, the government should support with its monitoring and regulation.

“We need political commitment in the regulation of harvesting fibre and drawing water from the wetland,” said Masuku. “We also need stiff laws that will ensure criminals who steal the fence protecting wetlands are punished.”

For now, there are no permits and the users of the natural resources from the wetland regulate themselves.

The post Understanding the Benefits of local Wetland Encourages Eswatini Community to Save it appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?

Mon, 08/10/2020 - 08:34

By Jan Lundius
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Aug 10 2020 (IPS)

COVID-19 has become a scourge affecting all levels of human society – morals, behaviour, human interaction, economy and politics. The pandemic has wrecked havoc on our way of being and its impact will remain huge and all-encompassing. It is not only affecting our globally shared existence, it is also changing what has been called ”the little life”, i.e. our own way of thinking and being, our personal life situation and the one of those close to us; people we love and depend upon – our friends and family.

COVID-19 has so far mainly contaminated humans, though since everything on earth is connected it is already threatening other species, maybe the entire equilibrium of our vulnerable planet.

A painting by Paul Gauguin is inscribed with the questions D´où Venons Nous/ Que Sommes Nous/ Où Allons Nous – Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Questions we may ask ourselves while being confronted with COVID-19. When we reflect upon our origins it is difficult to avoid the most essential question of them all – What makes us humans different from other animals?

Like any other animal we are multicellular creatures, mobile and obtain our energy from food . Furthermore, we have muscles, nervous systems and internal cavities where food is broken down and converted into energy. As mammals, we can regulate our body temperature, our female variety can give birth to live children and breastfeed them.

However, our brain has difficulties in accepting that we actually are animals and thus highly dependent on nature. Our excessively abstract thinking, our ability to express ourselves in languages and symbols, have set us apart from other animals and contributed to the development of complex, ever-changing societies. We are able to communicate and cooperate in large numbers and have developed a unique capacity to believe in things existing purely in our imagination, such as gods, nations and money. This has placed us beside nature, made us think that we are unique and have the right to exploit everything for our own benefit, making us arrogant, prone to discrimination and making use of other creatures in an often abusive and even cruel manner.

Is this an unavoidable ingredient of the evolution of life on earth? As an answer to Gauguin’s first question: ”Where do we come from?” science has organized human evolution into six levels. We share the first five with other creatures, while the sixth level makes us unique.

In the beginning, chemical compounds developed in liquid water and became bacteria, which over millions of years were transformed into eukaryotic cells, containing a nucleus and organelles enclosed by a plasma membrane. Our bodies are constructed by such cells. Millions of years later, a third crucial advance came about – sexuality, i.e. the controlled and regular exchange of DNA between cells. Finally, the eukaryotic cells assembled into multicellular organisms and it is here we find the ancestors to all animal species, including Homo Sapiens.

The fifth transition was more of a social than a biological change – eusociality, a phenomenon that occurred when animals came together in huge groups, where they developed a high level of cooperation, based on division of labour and altruism. It is altruism that makes us human, meaning that we as individuals are prepared to benefit others at our own expense. You might, with good reason, claim that humans are not at all any sympathetic beings. That each one of us is mainly concerned with her/his own well-being, and this quite often at the expense of others. Nevertheless, while considering human society in its entirety it becomes evident that every individual is dependent on the welfare of others.

Humans are actually prepared to sacrifice themselves for the well-being of their loved ones, or even risking their lives for what they believe is the contentment and prosperity of the entire human society. They may act as health workers, fire men, or soldiers – there are numerous more examples of such tasks and assignments that actually have an altruistic origin. However, this is also common among other animals, even among such insects as ants and honey bees, where altruism is even more developed than among human beings. Nevertheless, the eusocial behaviour of such creatures is exempt from what we humans would call love and compassion.

What we humans have obtained at the sixth, and so far final, level of evolution is an advanced capacity for language, empathy and cooperation. This in spite of the fact that we easily may point out major shortcomings when it comes to the last two characteristics, especially empathy.

The crucial faculty that makes us human is language. Other animals are capable of communicating by sound, facial expressions, bodily postures, and movements, though they are unable to speak in the sense that they can create the words and symbols that constitute the imaginary concepts mentioned above. This human ability has delivered us from the shackles of instinct and premeditated behaviour. Humans can create and communicate imagined and real stories, something that enable us to move back and forth through past, present and future time, and from place to place. We are able to create imaginary worlds that can be transformed into reality.

Through experience amassed by empirical science and stored in books and other data banks, we can with the help of means of communication, like mathematics, and mentally created maps and plans, transform almost anything in accordance with our needs and imagination. This unique skill has developed from our use of language and given rise to the sciences and philosophical thoughts that now are transforming the entire biosphere, while abusing it to such a degree that we are currently on the verge of destroying it completely.

This leads us to Gauguin’s last question: ”Where Are We Going?” Our human capacity for changing things for the better is currently put to the test, and COVID-19 may be part of that challenge. The long chain of evolutionary development has taught us that survival and success do not depend on brutal force, but on empathy, compassion and cooperation. In these days, chauvinism is once again exposing its ugly face around the globe and political leaders assert that competition between nations is a driving force of human social evolution. However, contrary to such ideas science has proved that it is entirely reasonable that alliances and cooperation between large populations have been beneficial for cultural evolution and the sharing of resources. Innovations and beneficial solutions are more frequent within a large and diversified group, than in a small, homogenous one. Knowledge and skills are most effectively created and preserved within a global environment.

At the same time, it is also important to safeguard ”the little life”. It was apparently there that the success story of human evolution once began. Our current, massive cerebral memory banks were established by the African campsites of the first Homo Sapiens. While they prepared and shared their food they were talking about what had happened during the day and made plans for the future, and not only that – they entertained one another with tales about real and invented incidents and adventures, they sang and danced. While devoting time to such social interactions our ancestors developed and advanced their social skills and capacities. This meant that brutal strength and physical proficiency was not the most essential component in their struggle for control and survival. The main issue was to take care of and accept the abilities of each and every member of the group.

One specific feature of humans has been that we honour and take care of the elderly. It was the stories about their experiences and the time they, in particular grandmothers, were able to dedicate to their grandchildren, that made it possible for younger members of the group to procure and prepare food, as well as shelter and protection for all of its members. Both children and their parents could thus, by making use of the skills of the elderly, gain experiences that ultimately fostered human development.

It is social interaction and empathy, not violence and discrimination that have been essential contributors to the evolution of our larger brain and higher intelligence, as well as the enormous source of experience and knowledge we humans have amassed over time. Let us now hope that all this will lead to a global consensus that the future well-being and actual life on earth depends on us all and our ability to express compassion and work together as the eusocial creatures we de facto are. Hopefully this could be a lesson learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, teaching us that the earth is an enclosed sphere where every living creature is connected. It is now high time that humans shed their harmful arrogance and finally realized that peaceful coexistence, mutual support and shared responsibilities for our vulnerable biosphere is not only our raison d’être as human beings, but a necessity for the survival of our entire planet.

Harari, Yuval Noah (2019) Sapiens. A Brief History of Mankind. New York: HarperCollins. Wilson, Edward O. (2020) Genesis: The Deep Origin of Societies. London: Penguin Books

Jan Lundius holds a PhD. on History of Religion from Lund University and has served as a development expert, researcher and advisor at SIDA, UNESCO, FAO and other international organisations.

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Categories: Africa

Building Resilience in Pacific Education

Mon, 08/10/2020 - 07:55

By Michelle Belisle
Aug 10 2020 (IPS)

School as we all know it hasn’t changed that much in over a century. However, in the face of new threats to health and wellbeing, the future of those familiar structures that bring teachers and students together is starting to be questioned.

Large numbers of people in crowded spaces for long periods – it all runs contrary to what the experts advise to keep us safe from contagious diseases like COVID-19. Class size is no longer an academic debate over quality of instruction versus budgetary restrictions, but rather a life and death discussion of the transmission of pathogens.

Lockdowns closed schools for some 1.5 billion children globally. About half of these are located in developing countries where many had to take up jobs. As a result, Save the Children estimates that around 10 million may never return to school and warns that unparalleled budget cuts would see pre-existing inequality explode between rich and poor and between boys and girls.

But while COVID is the immediate challenge, it is also shining a spotlight on some of the larger issues surrounding the resilience of traditional education systems and practices.

Sending children home has highlighted the huge technology gaps between and within countries. Online teaching does not work if you have no quiet place to study, no computer or electricity. Some 500 million children already had no access to the resources and technology required to support distance learning. For these children, the education restrictions COVID has created are a permanent part of their learning experience.

While there are certainly initiatives in place attempting to close the technology gap, not enough attention is being given to what a more effective education system could look like. Would recreating the classroom in a virtual environment simply reproduce the same issues, gaps and challenges that marginalise the same groups but in a different way? What about the “soft skills” and the life lessons learned at school that aren’t so easily transitioned to worksheets and Zoom technology?

Recently released findings of the 2018 Pacific Island Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA), a huge collaborative exercise across 15 countries and more than 900 schools, showed improved literacy and numeracy skills of primary school students. But learning resource availability ranged widely. A third of students attended schools where only the teacher had a textbook (25 per cent) or there were no textbooks at all (8 per cent).

Measurement and data from such surveys have a big role to play in understanding how change impacts students. Now more than ever it is critical to have timely education data to help understand what is happening in our systems and how to respond to the new needs. We have to get past the idea of education data as a “report card”, judging students, parents, teachers and schools, and instead embrace it as diagnostic information holding the key to unlocking success into the future.

How can education systems strike a balance between using technology to reach students and keep classrooms safe while ensuring that all students are able to fully participate and benefit from the education experience?

Experts have made claims about how technology will change the way learning happens, but interestingly, radio, television, computers and now a plethora of smart technologies and connectivity platforms have really not made a great deal of difference to how school looks or what the processes are.

What has changed is our understanding of how students learn – what motivates them to keep learning and what turns them away from formal education. We have seen over time that students are more motivated and learn more readily when they are engaged and interested and what they are learning has meaning and relevance.

We know that students, like virtually all people, respond better to positive feedback and support than to threats, degradation and punishment. We know that children learn by observation from a very young age and that they value what the adults around them value, particularly those adults whose opinions matter to them and whose support and acknowledgement they strive for.

The quest for free, accessible and high quality education for all children is highly unlikely to line up perfectly with what governments can resource in terms of numbers of teachers, their materials and training.

It is possible though to provide the support and encouragement that children need one on one. A key element is the degree to which the significant adults in a child’s life take an interest in and pay attention to their education.

Our PILNA 2018 results showed that literacy and numeracy scores were higher for those children whose caregivers (parents or other significant adults) asked what they were doing in school and what they were reading, compared with the children of caregivers who paid little or no attention.

Regardless of their own level of education, adults can support the motivation of Pacific Island children to learn and grow academically.

Taking an interest in what children are learning is a first step but if we really want to support children, particularly when regular access to classrooms and teachers is not guaranteed, adults need to take a lead in developing the inquiring minds of young people.

But what are we actually doing to support this and are we asking the impossible of caregivers?

PILNA showed that students across all 15 participating countries struggled with critical thinking and problem solving. These are difficult concepts to teach, but the first step is to support the mindset that allows children to think critically.

Asking questions about the world around them is normal for very young children but over time we train them to keep their thoughts to themselves, that even asking questions is potentially disrespectful or will lead to appearing stupid. Questions met with frustration or ridicule teach children to remain silent. That is the first step to extinguishing the will to learn and one often taken in a mistaken perception that an authoritarian approach to demanding that students complete rote tasks is equivalent to supporting learning.

COVID-19 will not be the last crisis we face, but its global impact can be an opportunity to rethink our approach so that we are better able to adapt, both to future crisis situations and also to the evolving realities of society and technology.

It’s time to think beyond building a better classroom and instead use our experience and knowledge to create a better system — one that provides all students with high quality learning opportunities that lead to success in an unknown future.

The post Building Resilience in Pacific Education appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Dr Michelle Belisle is the Director, Education Quality and Assessment Programme at The Pacific Community (SPC).

The post Building Resilience in Pacific Education appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

Warming Temperatures & Decades of Oil Spills Cause Irreversible Damage to the Persian Gulf

Mon, 08/10/2020 - 07:18

By Rabiya Jaffery
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, Aug 10 2020 (IPS)

The Persian Gulf is one of the most strategic waterways in the world and is also one of the most polluted.

According to estimates by experts, pollution levels in the Persian Gulf are 47 times higher than the world’s average and are steadily increasing.

The 600-mile body of water that is also known as the Arabian Gulf currently has 34 oilfields with more than 800 wells. In addition, roughly 85% of the oil extracted in the Gulf countries is exported – 40% of the world export of crude oil and around 15% of the world’s total export of refined products come from the region – and more than half of all the oil is carried by ships.

It is estimated that approximately 25,000 tanker movements sail in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, the only sea passage that connects the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Accidental spilling is unavoidable and, on average, 100–160 thousand tons of oil and oil products end up in the Gulf every year.

In addition to spills from tankers, oil spills and fires that have been a consequence of military activities that have taken place in the region over the past few decades have also severely contaminated the Persian Gulf.

The world’s largest oil spill, for instance, occurred during the 1991 Gulf War and an estimated 8-11 million barrels were leaked in the Persian Gulf waters as a result.

In an attempt to prevent the UN coalition forces from landing on the beaches of Kuwait that the Iraqi military was occupying at the time, Iraqi troops released oil at the Persian Gulf.

At least eight oil tankers, a refinery, two terminals, and a tank field were dumped in the waters and for at least three months, oil continued to spill into the Gulf at a rate of up to 6,000 barrels a day.

“Some of the oil spilled deep into the sea, burrowing up to 40 cm in the sand and mudflats. It remains there to this day,” writes Nick Barber in coursework published for Stanford University in 2018. “This disaster does not just highlight the responsibilities humans have in managing oil wells, rigs, pipelines, and tankers, it demonstrates how carelessness with a non-renewable energy source and pollutant, purposeful or not, can have devastating long-term environmental impacts that cannot be undone.”

In 2017, ScanEx and the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences began conducting the pilot project on the satellite monitoring of the state of the water of the Persian Gulf.

The results of the research confirmed the severe levels of oil pollution in the gulf waters and the damage, some of it which have been irreversible, on its marine life.

“In addition to military-led pollution, other issues such as warming waters due to climate change and the increasing saline levels due to desalination efforts by countries in the Gulf area aggressively worsening marine productivity and habitats,” says George Stacey, an analyst working with Norvergence, an environmental advocacy NGO.

Oceans are heating at a higher rate than were previously predicted and the Persian Gulf, which is already a relatively warm body of water due to its location and its shallow basin, makes it particularly vulnerable to climate change.

Scientists at the Climate Change Forum at the seventh World Government Summit in Dubai explained that rising sea temperatures could wipe out a third of the gulf’s marine species by 2090.

The findings have also been confirmed by a study conducted a the University of British Columbia (UBC), that a combination of human activities was pushing at least 35 per cent of the fauna in the Gulf waters to extinction in the next 60 years.

“The ongoing damage on the marine and coastal environment is going to impact the marine productivity which will have serious impacts on the health and commerce of the region,” adds Stacey.

Researchers at UBC state that environmental loss will particularly carry a heavy economic impact on fishing industries. Fisheries of Bahrain, with a relatively large fishing industry, and Iran, with the highest catch and fewer employment alternatives due to sanctions, are pointed out to be particularly vulnerable.

“The sea is very important to all the countries in the region and preserving it should be a priority on an individual, national, and regional levels,” says Stacey.

“A lot of the damage done in the past few decades cannot be reversed completely but it is not too late to prioritize the sustainability of the marine ecosystems of the gulf waters right now because any damages to it will trickle down to impact the communities living on its coasts and reverse years of development and advancements.”

The post Warming Temperatures & Decades of Oil Spills Cause Irreversible Damage to the Persian Gulf appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Rabiya Jaffery is a freelance journalist covering climate change, migration, and human rights in the Middle East and South Asia. She is currently a reporting fellow for Norvergence, an international climate communications NGO.

The post Warming Temperatures & Decades of Oil Spills Cause Irreversible Damage to the Persian Gulf appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020 – Statement of the Indigenous Partnership (TIP)/NESFAS

Sun, 08/09/2020 - 15:45

Phrang Roy, Chairperson NESFAS, India
Coordinator, The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP).

By Phrang Roy
ROME, Aug 9 2020 (IPS-Partners)

As we commemorate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, let us not forget that supporting Indigenous Peoples is not only a social good; it is also a sound development policy.

Defending the lands, languages and cultural practices of indigenous peoples and tackling the racism and injustices against them will lessen the outbreaks of future pandemics and manage climate change.

Phrang Roy

Although there has been no homogenous pattern in the responses of Indigenous Peoples to COVID 19, Indigenous Peoples in many countries such as India (Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim), Thailand (Northern Thailand), The Philippines (Cordillera Region) etc. have very few COVID cases and their coping strategies have displayed their resilience. Their close relationship to nature and their respect of the wisdom and advice of Elders and those in governance have helped them to smoothly follow traditional isolation practices and to turn to often neglected local livelihoods and local food production systems.

There are of course indigenous communities in isolation such as those in the Amazon Basin for whom COVID 19 poses a huge threat to their lives and culture.

The Pastoralists whose livelihoods depend on animals and who move from place to place seeking water and pasture are also seriously challenged and terrorised by the Pandemic and the travel bans. The world must not leave them behind.

Their Right to Life, Traditional Livelihoods, Practices and Culture must be supported as universally enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Eighty percent of the world’s remaining biocultural diversity is in indigenous lands and territories.

Let us all recognise this as a critical asset for building a more sustaining and pandemic-free world for all.

The post International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020 – Statement of the Indigenous Partnership (TIP)/NESFAS appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Phrang Roy, Chairperson NESFAS, India
Coordinator, The Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (TIP).

The post International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020 – Statement of the Indigenous Partnership (TIP)/NESFAS appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

As Latin America Looks to a COVID Recovery, It Will Need to Tackle its Growing Middle-Class Angst

Fri, 08/07/2020 - 18:00

The confinement policies put in place to address COVID have discouraged mass political gatherings, but the factors that drove the social unrest of 2019 remain and, in many ways, have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Credit: Carlos Vera.

By Ricardo Raineri and Philippe Benoit
Aug 7 2020 (IPS)

While COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across Latin America, its governments are developing policies which they hope will provide for a rapid economic recovery when the pandemic wanes.

In doing so, they will need to address the aspirations of the region’s growing middle and working classes — otherwise Latin America faces the prospect when it eventually emerges from the COVID crisis that widespread social unrest will undermine efforts to revitalize the economy.

From 2000 through 2014, Latin America significantly reduced poverty and created a vibrant middle class. These gains were fueled in large part by a natural resources export boon that generated a healthy 3.2% average annual growth rate (even after accounting for the financial crisis of 2008).

Equally important, many countries saw the consolidation of democratic regimes and the adoption of policies that produced important gains for many outside of the established elites. 77 million people rose out of poverty during this period and by 2010, the middle class exceeded the number of poor for the first time in the region’s history.

With this growing affluence, a new “citizenry” emerged, made up of the region’s expanding middle-class together with poorer working-class families, many of whom had risen out of poverty and struggled to maintain their position (the “strugglers”).

Latin America has seen the emergence of a growing and empowered citizenry whose aspirations must be addressed if the region hopes to produce significant and sustained economic and social advancements

Buoyed by economic and social gains, this citizenry looked forward to a better life marked by affordable transportation, more household appliances and consumer goods, improved healthcare, access to higher quality education for their children, and the prospect of increasing incomes and strengthened pensions.

By the end of 2014, Latin America’s economic fortunes had started to turn as the natural resources boon dissipated. The price of minerals and other resource exports plummeted by 40% by 2016, which engendered an acute decline in the region’s annual growth rate to below 0.5% during the next four years . In the face of hardening fiscal constraints, governments began to reduce social and other benefits.

These changes, however, were taking place in a context of an increasingly vocal and confident citizenry that had emerged from the earlier period of economic gains and resulting societal shifts.

From Colombia to Chile to Ecuador and elsewhere, middle-income countries faced civil unrest in 2019 as the citizenry went out massively to protest in the streets against unmet expectations, economic dissatisfaction, inequality, discrimination and corruption.

Governments across LAC needed to address and adjust to this increasingly active citizenry, as epitomized by the Chilean government’s decision to move COP 25 to Spain in the face of widespread civil unrest in Santiago.

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic burst upon Latin America, causing enormous economic and social damage. The IMF has projected that the region could see a 9% drop in output this year, potentially leading to the loss of more than 30 million jobs and the disappearance of well over 2 million of the region’s companies.

This crisis is pushing households out of the middle class and driving many strugglers back into poverty. The World Bank estimates that the number of poor people could increase by up to 23 million, taking the total number of people living in poverty in the region to more than 170 million.

Latin America will eventually emerge from the COVID-19 nightmare but will do so in a changed world presenting important challenges. The region’s governments are presently developing policies to revitalize economic growth, but are constrained by fiscal and other limitations that already were hampering their economies leading into the COVID crisis.

Moreover, many of Latin America’s trading partners are revisiting their reliance on global value chains, which may lower the demand for the natural resources that had helped to power the region’s economic growth.

Of particular significance, Latin America will need to address these macro-economic issues in a political and social context that continues to be marked by the forces that drove the civil unrest of 2019. The confinement policies put in place to address COVID have discouraged mass political gatherings, but the factors that drove the social unrest of 2019 remain and, in many ways, have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.

Although the aspirations of the citizenry have arguably been somewhat obscured by the COVID crisis, they persist, as does the political and societal weight of this group.

To provide for an effective and sustainable outcome, Latin America must restart its economies in a manner that meets the needs of the region’s citizenry.

This requires a policy framework which: (i) promotes equitable and inclusive growth, ensuring that policies meet the needs of the citizenry and not simply the interests of entrenched elites; (ii) strengthens the quality and responsiveness of public sector institutions and services, notably by improving their accountability and technical capacities; and (iii) enhances the business environment for the private sector so as to transform the region into an attractive pole for both domestic and foreign investment.

The governments should also work to effect real regional economic integration which is severely lacking by promoting a collaborative rather than protectionist approach that provides for equitable exchanges amongst countries.

As Latin America looks to emerge from COVID, much of the policy discourse will be about regenerating the economic growth that is indispensable to increasing prosperity. Yet, hidden behind the pandemic of 2020 are the events of 2019 that point to the ongoing risk of widespread civil unrest and societal disruptions.

While 2020 has reminded Latin America (and the world) that plagues are not confined to history books, it is similarly important not to forget the lessons of 2019. Latin America has seen the emergence of a growing and empowered citizenry whose aspirations must be addressed if the region hopes to produce significant and sustained economic and social advancements.

Ricardo Raineri is former Minister of Energy of Chile and past President of the International Association for Energy Economics, and is currently a Professor of Economics at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Philippe Benoit is a former Energy Sector Manager for Latin America at the World Bank and is currently a Senior Fellow with The Breakthrough Institute.

The views expressed are those of the authors in their personal capacities.

The post As Latin America Looks to a COVID Recovery, It Will Need to Tackle its Growing Middle-Class Angst appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020

Fri, 08/07/2020 - 16:31

By External Source
Aug 7 2020 (IPS-Partners)

Indigenous Peoples are culturally distinct societies and communities.

There are approximately 476 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide, in over 90 countries.

They make up over 6 percent of the global population and 15 percent of the extreme poor.

Their territories are home to 80% of the world’s biodiversity.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on August 9 each year.

This year’s theme is COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience.

It will focus on the how preservation and promotion of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and practices.

They hold vital ancestral knowledge and expertise on how to adapt, mitigate, and reduce climate and disaster risks.

Indigenous peoples’ traditional expertise and relationship with nature show that the degradation of the environment can unleash disease.

They can teach us much about how to rebalance our relationship with nature and reduce the risk of future pandemics.

Now more than ever, we must safeguard their knowledge.

The post International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

28 Organizations Promoting Indigenous Food Sovereignty

Fri, 08/07/2020 - 13:20

Credit: Food Tank

By Danielle Nierenberg
Aug 7 2020 (IPS)

These 28 organizations are preserving Indigenous food systems and promoting Indigenous food sovereignty through the rematriation of Indigenous land, seeds, food and histories.

The world’s Indigenous Peoples face severe and disproportionate rates of food insecurity. While Indigenous Peoples comprise 5 percent of the world’s population, they account for 15 percent of the world’s poor, according to the World Health Organization.

But through seed saving initiatives, financial support, mentorship, and community feeding programs, many organizations are working to protect Indigenous food sovereignty—the ability to grow, eat, and share food according to their own traditions and values.

“We must care for this [natural] abundance as it will nourish our families—both physically as well as spiritually,” said Maenette K. P. Ah Nee-Benham, Chancellor of the University of Hawai’i at West O’ahu at a Food Tank Summit in partnership with the Arizona State University Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems on the wisdom of Indigenous foodways.

In honor of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, Food Tank is highlighting 28 organizations from around the world protecting and cultivating Indigenous food systems. Through what many of the following organizations call rematration, they strive to return Indigenous lands, seeds, foods, and histories to Indigenous Peoples and protect them for future generations.

1. Aboriginal Carbon Foundation (Oceania)
The Aboriginal Carbon Foundation is building a carbon farming industry in Australia by Aboriginals, for Aboriginals. The Foundation offers training and support for new Indigenous farmers so they can learn how to capture atmospheric carbon in the soil. The carbon farming projects generate certified Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU), which major carbon-producing businesses must purchase to offset their carbon emissions. Income generated by ACCUs is reinvested in Aboriginal communities by the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation and its participating farmers.

2. AgroEcology Fund (International)
The AgroEcology Fund (AEF) galvanizes global leaders and experts to fund biodiverse and regenerative agriculture projects worldwide. Projects funded by AEF have included Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives, agroecology training institutions, and women’s market access networks on every continent. With the support of governments and financial institutions, AEF hopes that agroecology will become the standard model for food production worldwide within thirty years.

3. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (Asia)
The Asia Indigenous People Pact is an alliance of Indigenous organizations across southern and eastern Asia. Collectively, the Pact promotes and protects Indigenous lands, food systems, and biodiversity. Their alliance is bolstered by regional youth and women’s networks, as well as support from international institutions, including the United Nations and Oxfam.

4. Association of Guardians of the Native Potato from Central Peru (South America)
The Association of Guardians of the Native Potato from Central Peru (AGUAPAN) is a collective of Indigenous farmers. Each farmer grows between 50 and 300 ancestral varieties of potato, which are indigenous to the Andes Mountains of modern-day Peru. AGUAPAN farmers preserve the crop’s biodiversity in their native communities and band together to advocate for economic, gender, education, and healthcare equity.

5. Cheyenne River Youth Project (North America)
The Cheyenne River Youth Project in Eagle Butte, South Dakota has served Lakota youth for more than three decades. Its Native Food Sovereignty initiative offers public workshops on Three Sisters gardening of corn, beans, and squash. They also offer classes on Indigenous plants, gardening, and cooking. Their Winyan Tokay Win (Leading Lady) Garden serves as an outdoor classroom to reacquaint Lakota children with the earth. Their other programs use food grown in the garden for meals and snacks. They also sell surplus crops at their weekly Leading Lady Farmer’s Market.

6. Dream of Wild Health (North America)
Dream of Wild Health runs a 10-acre farm just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their Indigenous Food Share CSA program and farmer’s market booths sell produce and value-added products grown by Native Americans. During the summer, Dream of Wild Health offers a Garden Warriors program where children can learn about seed saving, foraging, farmers market management, and other aspects of food sovereignty. They also host the Indigenous Food Network (IFN), a collective of Indigenous partners who advocate for local and regional policy changes. The IFN also hosts community food tasting events featuring prominent Indigenous chefs.

7. First Peoples Worldwide (International)
First Peoples Worldwide was founded by Cherokee social entrepreneur Rebecca Adamson to help businesses to align with First Peoples’ rights. Now a part of the University of Colorado’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, First Peoples Worldwide continues to ensure that Indigenous voices are at the forefront of decision-making processes affecting their own self-determination. The organization works with businesses and institutions to assess their investments and guide them in incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ rights and interests into their business decisions.

8. Indigikitchen (North America)
Mariah Gladstone’s Indigikitchen uses Native foods as resistance. Her cooking videos offer healthy, creative ways to eat pre-contact, Indigenous foods. The recipes abstain from highly-processed grains, dairy, and sugar, ingredients that did not become standard in diets of the Americas until European colonization. Indigikitchen hopes that its recipes inspire Indigenous cooks to connect with Native foods.

9. Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (North America)
The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas provides model policies for Tribal governments to help promote and protect food sovereignty. They also co-organize the Native Farm Bill Coalition with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the Intertribal Agriculture Council, and the National Congress of American Indians. The Initiative hosts annual Native Youth in Food and Agriculture Leadership Summits, where American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian youth can learn about agricultural business, land stewardship, agricultural law, and more.

10. Indigenous Food Systems Network (North America)
The Indigenous Food Systems Network (IFSN) is a convener of Indigenous food producers, researchers, and policymakers across the 98 Indigenous nations of Canada. IFSN supports research, policy reform, and direct action that builds food sovereignty in Indigenous communities. The organization’s Indigenous Food Sovereignty email listserv offers its subscribers everything from stories and legends to recipes and policy reform tools.

11. Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty (International)
Indigenous Partnership for Agrobiodiversity and Food Sovereignty is an international organization based in Rome, Italy connecting the world’s Indigenous People to agricultural research and advocacy groups. With Indigenous communities from China to India and Thailand to Latin America, Indigenous Partnerships forges dialogues within Indigenous communities to ensure free, prior, and informed consent between research and advocacy partners. Indigenous Partnerships also seeks to incorporate global and local Indigenous knowledge into non-Indigenous knowledge systems.

12. Indigenous Terra Madre (International)
Indigenous Terra Madre is a global network of Indigenous Peoples sponsored by Slow Food, an international institution based in Rome, Italy. The network amplifies Indigenous voices and protects the biodiversity of the crops Indigenous communities cultivate. By providing a platform for Indigenous communities to pool power and resources, Indigenous Terra Madre fights to defend the land, culture, and opportunity of all Indigenous Peoples.

13. Intertribal Agriculture Council (North America)
The American Indian Food Program by the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) helps Native American and Alaskan Native agribusinesses and food entrepreneurs expand their market reach. The Made/Produced by American Indians Trademark promoted by the IAC identifies certified American Indian products and is used by over 500 businesses. IAC’s other major American Indian Food Program, Native Food Connection, helps market Native American foods and food producers across the United States. IAC also offers technical and natural resource assistance to connect Native businesses with U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and conservation stewardship resources.

14. Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska (North America)
Through its Alaskan Inuit Food Sovereignty Initiative, the Inuit Circumpolar Council-Alaska is convening Inuit community leaders from across Alaska. The Initiative seeks to unify Inuit throughout the state to advocate for land and wildlife management sovereignty. The Initiative also strives for international cooperation to promote food sovereignty across Inuit Nunaat.

15. Mantasa (Asia)
Mantasa is a research institution in Indonesia dedicated to expanding the number of indigenous plants consumed by the Javanese people. According to Mantasa, only 20 plant species comprise 90 percent of Javanese food needs. Their research is incorporating new wild foods from Indonesia’s vast biodiversity into Javanese diets to improve food security and nutrition. Mantasa also helps promote these foods to consumers and local farmers to increase their popularity.

16. Muonde Trust (Africa)
In Mazvhiwa, Zimbabwe, the Muonde Trust invests in Indigenous innovations in food, land, and water management. The Trust seeks out individuals with new ideas and provides peer-to-peer support to help bring those ideas to life. Muonde Trust currently supports innovations in indigenous seed saving and sharing, livestock and woodland management, irrigation systems, and constructing kitchen spaces.

17. Native American Agriculture Fund (North America)
The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) is the largest philanthropic supporter of Native American agriculture. The Fund offers grants to Tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and educational institutions to support healthy lands, healthy people, and healthy economies. In 2020, NAAF is offering US$1 million in grant funds specifically for youth initiatives and young farmers and ranchers. NAAF is also centralizing COVID-19 relief information for Native farmers, ranchers, fishers, and Tribal governments.

18. Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (North America)
The Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA) places Indigenous farmers, wild-crafters, fishers, hunters, ranchers, and eaters at the center of the fight to restore Indigenous food systems and self-determination. NAFSA’s primary initiatives are the Indigenous Seedkeepers Network, the Food and Culinary Mentorship Program, and their Native Food Sovereignty Events. Each of these initiatives centers around the reclamation of Indigenous seeds and foods.

19. Native Seed/SEARCH (North America)
Native Seed/SEARCH preserves and proliferates indigenous seeds through their Native Access programs. Their Native American Seed Request program offers free seed packets to Native Americans living in or originating from the Greater Southwestern Region. The Bulk Seed Exchange allows growers to pay it forward by returning 1.5 times the seeds they receive to be put towards future Native American Seed Request packs. While Native Seed/SEARCH sells an assortment of popular seeds to the general public, its collection of indigenous seeds are only available to Native farmers and families. They hope these seeds will revitalize traditional foods and build food sovereignty.

20. Navajo Ethno-Agriculture (North America)
Navajo Ethno-Agriculture is sustaining Navajo culture through lessons on traditional farming. The seasonal courses focus on land, water, and food as students cultivate, harvest, and prepare heritage crops. During COVID-19, Navajo Ethno-Agriculture suspended its courses and is focusing on supplying neighboring farms with heritage seeds and farm equipment. They are also offering food processing and packaging services to protect and rejuvenate soil.

21. North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (North America)
Founded by the chefs of The Sioux Chef, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NāTIFS) is reimagining the North American food system as a generator of wealth and good health for Native communities. The organization seeks to reverse the effects of forced assimilation and colonization through food entrepreneurship and a reclamation of ancestral education. NāTIFS is establishing an Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis, Minnesota as a training center and restaurant for Native chefs and food. NāTIFS plans to eventually spread this model across North America.

22. Oyate Teca Project (North America)
In response to dire food access on the Pine Ridge Reservation in North Dakota, the Oyate Teca Project offers year-long classes in gardening, food entrepreneurship, and traditional food preservation techniques. Oyate Teca helps make local foods available to the community by selling produce grown in their half-acre garden at farmer’s markets. The project also serves as an emergency food provider for families and children.

23. Tebtebba (Asia)
Tebtebba is an international organization based in the Philippines committed to sharing global Indigenous wisdom. Its Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity project strengthens Indigenous organizations’ research, policy advocacy, and education on biodiversity. The project also works directly with Indigenous communities to strengthen their governance structures, protect their land, and improve their food security.

24. Sierra Seeds (North America)
Rowan White and her organization, Sierra Seeds, are dedicated to the next generation of farmers, gardeners, and food justice activists. Her flagship program, Seed Seva, offers a multi-layered education on seed stewardship and Indigenous permaculture. The program is offered online, allowing anybody to access White’s wisdom. Additionally, Sierra Seeds offers a Seeding Change leadership incubator, where emerging food justice leaders meet virtually to support one another while developing individual projects.

25. Storying Kaitiakitanga (Oceania)
Storying Kaitiakitanga – A Kaupapa Māori Land and Water Food Story is a project of Dr. Jessica Hutchings and other Māori researchers and storytellers. The project was developed as part of the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge to collect the stories of Māori food producers across the food system. Storying Kaitiakitanga is exploring how traditional Māori principles and practices can inspire more sustainable food systems for the next generation. Stories include beekeepers, yogurt producers, and business development service providers.

26. Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (North America)
The Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (CDC) is a grassroots Lakota organization building food sovereignty on the Pine Ridge Reservation in North Dakota. Their reservation-wide Food Sovereignty Coalition is dedicated to reconstructing a healthy local food system. They have greatly increased food production on the reservation and train residents and students on Oglala food histories, current local foods, gardening, and food preservation.

27. Wangi Tangni (Central America)
In Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast, the women of Indigenous Miskita communities receive native plants from Wangi Tangni to grow for food, medicine, and reforestation. The organization provides communal and legal support for women, many of whom do not speak Spanish. The organization’s overall mission is to promote political participation and gender equality through sustainable development projects such as indigenous plant rematriation.

28. Zuni Youth Enrichment Project (North America)
The public schools of the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico and Arizona partner with the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project to build gardening spaces and provide nutrition education. The partnership is intended to reintroduce traditional knowledge and practices into students’ educations about food. The Project hopes that the community gardens will also inspire more Zuni to grow their own food and reduce rates of obesity and diabetes in their communities.

This story was originally published by Food Tank

The post 28 Organizations Promoting Indigenous Food Sovereignty appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Contributing author: Jason Flatt

The post 28 Organizations Promoting Indigenous Food Sovereignty appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

Anger and Sadness in Beirut

Fri, 08/07/2020 - 11:42

By Eliane Eid
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug 7 2020 (IPS-Partners)

Eliane Eid, IPS correspondent in Beirut spoke to a cross section of people who shared their views and fears with her. On the third day of the deadly explosion, amidst an outpouring of anger from the Lebanese people, Angelina, 18, speaks about her lost home in the Mar Mikhael area. Josette, 27, talks about her experience of the explosion while she was on the road and Charbel, 28, shares his thoughts about being a volunteer at this critical time. They are all numb and speak calmly of how their lives were turned upside down, with this tragedy affecting thousands of people.

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Categories: Africa

COVID-19 – Some 23.8 Million More Children Will Drop out of School

Fri, 08/07/2020 - 09:15

According to the United Nations, some 23.8 million additional children and youth (from pre-primary to tertiary) may drop out or not have access to school next year due to COVID-19’s economic impact alone. Credit: Umer Asif/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 7 2020 (IPS)

Countries with low human development are facing the brunt of school lockdowns, with more than 85 percent of their students effectively out of school by the second quarter of 2020, according to a United Nations policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on education.

At the launch, U.N. Secretary General António Guterres, said the pandemic “has led to the largest disruption of education ever”.

According to the brief, school closures resulting from the pandemic have affected 1.6 billion learners across more than 190 countries.

In the United Kingdom, there’s a difference in what’s affecting students and what’s affecting parents and teachers., according to professor Anna Mountford-Zimdars, who teaches social mobility at the University of Exeter. With students now attending schools remotely, she said, parents, teachers and guardians are prioritising issues such as safety, well-being and nutrition — not educational achievements. However, the students are “very concerned about their attainment and progression and how this affects their future prospects”.

Mountford-Zimdars spoke with IPS following the release of the U.N. policy brief. In May, her office at the university’s Joint Director of the Centre for Social Mobility published results of a survey about how school lockdowns are affecting parents and students across the United Kingdom.

“Students reported a sense of ‘loss of power’ with regards to shaping their next steps as the framework of attainment and opportunities for further education,” Mountford-Zimdars told IPS on Tuesday.

According to the brief, “some 23.8 million additional children and youth (from pre-primary to tertiary) may drop out or not have access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic impact alone”.

The pandemic is worsening already-existing problems in the field, hampering learning for those living in poor or rural areas, girls, refugees, persons with disabilities and forcibly displaced persons.

‘Loss of power’

“In the most fragile education systems, this interruption of the school year will have a disproportionately negative impact on the most vulnerable pupils, those for whom the conditions for ensuring continuity of learning at home are limited,” the brief read.

It pointed out that the Sahel region is especially susceptible to some of the effects as the lockdown came when many schools in the region were already shut down due to a range of issues such as security, strikes, climate concerns.

According to the report, 47 percent of the world’s 258 million out-of-school children (30 percent due to conflict and emergency) lived in sub-Saharan Africa before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, with children now remaining at home full time may mean challenges for the parents, and could further “complicate the economic situation of parents, who must find solutions to provide care or compensate for the loss of school meals”.

This is present in Mountford-Zimdars’ findings as well. She told IPS that their research shows that the parents perceive the current situation as “crisis schooling” and not as “home education” or remote learning.

Silver lining

There are, however, some silver linings. When faced with the pandemic and lockdown, educational institutions responded with “remarkable innovation” to address the gap, the brief stated. It has also given educators an opportunity to reflect on how education systems going forward can be “more flexible, equitable, and inclusive.”

Mountford-Zimdars said their survey in particular showed that students with special education needs are “thriving more in the forced home-schooling than they did in mainstream schools.”

“There are lessons to be learnt of the factors that make home-education a better choice for some children – including the opportunity to tailor material to individual interests and needs, taking breaks and having fun together as a family,” she said.

Acknowledging that often school is a safe space for many children, she added, “We also need to recognise that there are divergent experiences of the school closure and there are also children and families who experience this as an opportunity to rethink how and why they are doing schooling the way they are.”

Going forward

The U.N. brief further discussed measures to take into account steps going forward — whether it’s for their return to the classrooms or to improve digital teaching. The brief recommends solutions designed around the issues of equal connectivity for children as well as making up for their lost lessons.

Mountford-Zimdars added to this list two important elements: a safe space for the students to share their at-home experience, and reflections on how they processed the pandemic.

“It is important to create safe spaces for young people to talk about their experiences of being at home education,” she said, adding that for many students it hasn’t been a positive experience, owing to family circumstances, lack of access to nutrition, economic, social or cultural resources and technology.

“Now is an opportunity to provide spaces for talking through these experiences and, if necessary, offer further specialist support,” she added. “It would be immensely beneficial for mental health support to be available, widely advertised, and open through self-referral by young people themselves as well as those working with them in schools.”

Furthermore, she said, parents and teachers should guide students to reflect on positive lessons from the school closures.

“I would strongly recommend that instead of focusing solely on the lost learning of particular curricula, that the school reopening needs to be accompanied by a period of reflection. What have students learnt? How is this helpful for the future?” she added.

The post COVID-19 – Some 23.8 Million More Children Will Drop out of School appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

Multilateral Bank Intermediation Must Help Developing Countries’ Recovery

Fri, 08/07/2020 - 07:46

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 2020 (IPS)

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that developing countries would need more than the earlier estimated US$2.5 trillion to provide relief to affected families and businesses and expedite economic recovery.

Anis Chowdhury

With their limited fiscal capacities, developing countries will need to borrow more, increasing their often already high public debt burdens. Developing country debt has grown rapidly since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC), reaching historical highs even before the pandemic.

A deep pandemic induced depression may also require governments to take over huge private debt liabilities. All this has increased calls for urgent debt relief, cancellation and restructuring, and for new IMF and World Bank lending lines, including new IMF special drawing rights (SDRs).

Not enough debt relief
On 13 April, the IMF approved debt service relief for 25 eligible low-income countries (LICs), estimated at US$213.5 million, for six months, i.e., from 14 April until mid-October 2020.

On 15 April, G20 leaders announced their ‘Debt Service Suspension Initiative for Poorest Countries’ from May to the end of 2020 for 73 primarily LICs. The G20 initiative would cover around US$20 billion of bilateral public debt owed to official creditors by International Development Association (IDA) and least developed countries (LDCs).

Such steps are welcome, providing some temporary relief, but far short of the eligible countries’ long-term public and publicly guaranteed external debt of US$457 billion in 2018.

UNCTAD estimates that in 2020 and 2021, middle- and low-income countries face debt service repayments between US$700 billion and US$1.1 trillion, while upper middle-income developing countries expect to pay US$2.0~2.3 trillion.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

The G20 initiative is already seen as merely kicking the can down the road. It does not cancel any debt, which is to be repaid in full over 2022–2024, as interest continues to grow. Hence, it is quite unlike the Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI).

Furthermore, money saved from debt relief “can be used to pay the private creditors on time and in full”, i.e., prioritizing private over public creditors. The G20 initiative only applies to a limited number of countries, and does not impact the US$8 billion owed to private lenders and the US$12 billion debt to multilateral creditors.

An Oxfam report estimated that eligible countries are still required to pay at least US$33.7 billion for debt servicing this year, or US$2.8 billion monthly, “double the amount Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia combined spent on their annual health budget”.

Furthermore, the initiatives presume that Covid-19 shocks to developing economies will be short and swift, and that developing countries can make debt repayments over the next 3-4 years.

IMF and World Bank falling short
The World Bank has put in place a US$14 billion fast-track package to meet immediate health and economic needs, envisaging financial support of around US$160 billion during 2020-2021.

The IMF has doubled access to its Rapid Credit Facility and Rapid Financing Instrument to meet greater expected demand for emergency financing of about US$100 billion, without requiring “a full-fledged program in place”. By mid-June, various IMF facilities had committed around US$300 billion.

Although these financing instruments involve fewer conditionalities and faster approval, eligibility still depends on familiar — and, in current conditions, very restrictive — criteria. These include, inter alia, having to satisfy the ‘revamped’ joint Bank-Fund r” target=”_blank”>debt sustainability framework, which critics deem “obsolete”.
Therefore, actual urgent liquidity support falls far short of the IMF’s US$1 trillion lending capacity while the attempt to issue new SDRs for Covid-19 has been blocked by the Trump administration.

Debt reduction wrong priority now
The UN warned of the dire consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in April, and in May, argued that without bold policy action, the pandemic would set back the SDGs.

Facing the greatest economic crisis since the 1930s, many developing countries have little choice but to borrow to create fiscal space, rather than focus on complicated, time-consuming long-term debt restructuring, workouts or buybacks.

Instead of obsessing over debt, some developing countries are tapping global debt markets to meet Covid-19 financing needs. When governments can borrow on reasonable terms to invest in projects needed for sustainable development, debt may even be desirable, if not necessary, especially in resource-poor countries.

For some, in a low interest rate environment, it is reasonable for developing countries to borrow more, even raising their debt/GDP ratios to levels previously regarded as dangerous, to fund recovery. This time, it is really different as debt costs are lower and are expected to stay low for some time to come.

Furthermore, the consequences of fiscal inaction, so as to not take on debt, can be disastrous for the developing world, paradoxically making current stock of debt unsustainable. On the other hand, new borrowing to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on growth can make debt sustainable.

However, most non-investment grade developing countries have to pay substantially higher risk premiums, due to the prejudices and biases of market finance, even when their macroeconomic ‘fundamentals’ are sound.

Pandemic emergency financing fiasco
After the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, the Bank launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) in July 2017, using insurance-like ‘catastrophe bonds’ and derivatives to raise private sector money for LICs’ pandemic responses.

The PEF promised to “blend the best of the public and private sectors, helping to keep 1.6 billion people safe” while “transferring [financial] risk [from governments] to international markets”.

To draw investors, the PEF has stringent and controversial rules on when and how much to pay-out. To make them attractive to investors, PEF bonds were designed to reduce the probability of paying out.

Due to its complicated approval process the PEF had not paid out a single dollar until the end of March, although the World Health Organization designated the Covid-19 outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern” on January 30, and a “pandemic” on 11 March. The pay-out decision was only made on 27 April; as of 27 July, only a paltry US$146.5 million had been “transferred to support” 48 countries — “too little, too late”, even for The Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, its “cash window” – funded by donors – has not been replenished after being used up for the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2018-2019.

In April 2019, Larry Summers, former World Bank chief economist and US Treasury Secretary, described the PEF as “an embarrassing mistake” and “financial goofiness”, noting that the programme was “loved” for promoting private sector involvement.

Intermediation role required
With preferred creditor status, the Fund and the Bank can borrow ‘cheaply’, i.e., at the much lower interest rates available to them. By intermediating, they can enable developing countries, especially LICs and LDCs, to borrow cheaply for their relief and recovery.

A first step would be to ditch the last Bank president’s now discredited ‘mobilizing finance for development’ (MFD) framework to use public funds, including official development assistance (ODA), to leverage private finance for public-private partnerships (PPPs).

As with the PEF, the MFD approach has failed to leverage billions in ODA into trillions of development finance, as promised, mobilizing only US$0.37 of additional private capital for LICs for every US$1 of public money invested.

The post Multilateral Bank Intermediation Must Help Developing Countries’ Recovery appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

Empowering Women in a Digitally Equipped, yet Challenging World: A Story of Engagement

Thu, 08/06/2020 - 17:21

World in her hands: Fuzia believes that supporting women in the digital field results in empowerment. Credit: Unsplash / Ben W.

By Fairuz Ahmed
NEW YORK, Aug 6 2020 (IPS)

A girl has many roles. She can be a daughter, a mother, a friend, a wife or a sister. But her first and foremost introduction is a person, a human and a voice. No matter what remote or accessible part she may belong to, her story is unique and belongs only to her own. And if a thought-provoking, positive platform echo her voice, it can achieve wonders.

Now in the age of the seamless digital connection, we’re capable of building a community where a woman in a small hut with a simple, smartphone can engage with a tech geek in San Francisco and talk about how to bake a cake or how to code. With the intention of building a community where women develop and lift each other, learn from one another, and are proud of womanhood – a few passionate women launched Fuzia.

The founders, 19-year-old Riya Sinha and co-founder and director Shraddha Verma, 31 say while they could not reach every part of the world physically, they can digitally reach women across the globe. They wanted to make each woman feel special, empowered, and independent and celebrate who she is.

Fuzia is a happy place for women empowerment, says senior marketing manager Singhal. It’s a place where 50 000 creative users of the site have committed themselves to lend a hand to other women.

“Harnessing the power of technology and digital progression, Fuzia is building up a global sisterhood and making it a platform where women are empowered, and gender gaps are eliminated,” the 24-year-old Singhal says of the site. Singhal has worked for the organisation for five years and was one of its first team members. She now oversees the creative activities and campaigns.

“Fuzia has, indeed become a happy place. It makes me proud to see how the power of social media and the internet has impacted the lives of the users positively through Fuzia,” she says in an exclusive interview with Inter Press Service (IPS). She adds that every day she receives countless messages and testimonials that reinforce how the internet and technology play a significant role in women empowerment.

However, the internet is not always a happy place for women – especially young women. The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) noted that digital spaces could be empowering places for opinion-formation, debate and mobilisation.

“However, cyberbullying restricts the opportunities offered by digitalisation. Young people, especially women are put off from taking part in political discussions or online debates. All of society is missing out when young women are not engaged because we are losing their potential to get involved in politics and become future leaders,” Virginija Langbakk, EIGE’s Director is quoted as saying.

Recent academic research showed that 37% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online. Girls are more likely to be both the victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying and half of the LGBTQ+ experience online harassment.

Power of collaboration: Fuzia uses the digital landscape to connect with women across the globe. Credit: Unsplash / Marvin M

Recently during a United Nations Women meet Cecilia Mwende Maundu, a broadcast journalist based in Kenya and a specialist in gender digital safety, affirmed women’s rights to a part of social media and in the digital space. She decried cyberbullying or other methods which push women from this sphere. She suggested women enhance their security in the digital field by:

– Having different passwords for different accounts;

– Download apps from authentic platforms and use two-factor authentication;

– Log out of your accounts;

– Don’t use public WIFI for sharing sensitive information, like online bank details;

– Use antivirus software and, if possible, use a virtual private network.

Fuzia tries to eliminate cyberbullying from its site. The platform is extremely cautious, and users need not fear having their information leaked or privacy hampered. Private information is not sold or shared with third parties. If a bully or offensive comment is detected, immediate action is taken. They are particularly concerned about this, as many users are preteens, teens, young adults, and so on. Fuzia prides itself in providing a secure, safe, and nurturing environment. Whenever a comment is posted, or a piece of writing is uploaded, it naturally goes through word screening, and certain derogatory words are detected and barred. The user is warned, and if the behaviour persists, the user is banned.

A safe environment like Fuzia Lounge (https://www.fuzia.com/) promotes empowerment. This is a virtual creative hub promoting a supportive and inclusive community where all members, male, female and third genders, are accepted and encouraged to express their beliefs in their inner powers, creativity, and potential. The community thrives on collaboration, sisterhood, support, and learning. It is central to the Fuzia philosophy which is based on providing women and others with a safe, bully-free, non-judgmental, and criticism-free virtual online space.

Creativity comes in many sizes and shapes. A person should have power to explore their creative niche, showcase their talents, learn from peers, and participate in engaging activities. The Fuzia Lounge is full of paintings, craft, poetry, blogs, calligraphy, photography, recipes, videos and so much more from all over the world which gives the user the feel of a close-knit global family. The members also engage through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Fuzia World, and through the use of podcasts on platforms like Spotify and Hub Hopper.

Digital technologies have advanced more rapidly than any innovation in our history, reaching around 50% of the developing world’s population in only two decades and transforming societies. In 2016 the United Nations passed a nonbinding resolution making the disruption of internet access a violation of human rights. In a report published by the United Nations telecommunications agency, it has been mentioned that more than half of the world’s population of nearly 8 billion will be using the Internet in 2018 and grow more in the following years. The latest figures also spotlight Africa, which shows the strongest rate of growth in internet access, from around two percent in 2005, to more than 24 percent of the African population in 2018 with 79.6 percent and 69.6 percent are an online presence in Europe and the Americas.

In 2020 it was reported that among Facebook users 54% are female, the rest 46% are male and or third gender. According to a Pew Research report, more US women than men are using Instagram, with 43% of the female respondents saying they used the social media platform. Only 31% of men admitted using it. Globally, this trend continues with 52% of females and 48% male using Instagram. In many advanced economies, nine-in-ten or more use the internet, led by South Korea (96%). Greece (66%). The most substantial increases in internet use since 2015 were in South Africa and Lebanon, which each experienced a 17-percentage point increase. The Philippines and Senegal have also seen significant improvements in internet penetration since 2015.

Today Fuzia’s network reaches about 6 million people globally, with ten hundred thousand active contributors, from over 30 countries. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, US, Philippines, UK are among the countries with the most membership. More than 40 000 members are added each month to the platform growth of about 35% year-on-year. A global team of 30 people are working remotely. Over the last eight years, Fuzia has continuously worked on improving their product after listening to users and understanding their feedback and needs. They have a sophisticated IT team that works around the clock to present the best user experience. Some of the state-of-the-art software they utilize to promote customer-oriented and user-friendly interfaces are Slack, G Suite, Google Analytics, Asana, and more. These are used to build web management, coordination, and seamless information flow.

Facebook, Instagram, Uber, and Airbnb are all household-name examples of digital platforms and networks that facilitate connections and exchanges between people. In 2020, and some of the jobs created by these trends include those in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Edge Computing, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Cybersecurity, Blockchain, Big Data and Internet of Things (IoT).

The growth of job opportunities in the digital space is turning established business models on their heads, leading many traditional businesses to transition to or incorporate a platform-based model. This calls for reform and adaptability. An employee, especially for a woman, can work from home much more easily, manage her family, and because she is equipped technologically and has a platform at hand.

Fuzia built up their business model following these trends and are leveraging remote work as a way of empowering more women around the globe. Their commitment to the empowerment of women goes beyond just interacting with them on a platform. Fuzia’s hands-on remote training includes courses on content service, blog writing, website content, video transcriptions, interview articles, video summary writing, subtitling services, copywriting, scriptwriting. Other courses include digital marketing, SEO, Google AdWords, SEM, ads management, and social media marketing promoting studies on SM Page management, pixel marketing, campaign management, executive branding, blog lounge management, community handling, and software development. They also ensure the creative side is covered by training on graphic designing, poster designs, banners, infographics, logo designs, book covers, website page designs, and others.

Fuzia founders believe that their platform can remove the gender gap in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. They say over 50,000 creative Fuzia users have committed to lend a hand to other women. With this global talent pool not only is there an opportunity for freedom and empowerment but a glimpse of a paradigm shift in which more women are involved in the digital space.

The post Empowering Women in a Digitally Equipped, yet Challenging World: A Story of Engagement appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

75 Years after the Bomb, Hiroshima Still Chooses ‘Reconciliation and Hope’

Thu, 08/06/2020 - 15:04

There was widespread destruction in Hiroshima as a result of the nuclear bomb which was dropped on the Japanese city in August 1945. Credi: UN Photo/Eluchi Matsumoto

By External Source
Aug 6 2020 (IPS)

In a video message delivered to a Peace Memorial Ceremony in Japan on Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has paid tribute to the victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, which devastated the city in 1945.

“Seventy-five years ago, a single nuclear weapon visited unspeakable death and destruction upon this city”, he said in his address. “The effects linger to this day”.

However, he noted that Hiroshima and its people have chosen not to be characterized by calamity, but instead by “resilience, reconciliation and hope”.

As “unmatched advocates for nuclear disarmament”, the survivors, known as hibakusha, have turned their tragedy into “a rallying voice for the safety and well-being of all humanity”, he said.

Intertwined fate

The birth of the UN in that same year, is inextricably intertwined with the destruction wrought by the nuclear bombs that fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

“Since its earliest days and resolutions, the Organization has recognized the need to totally eliminate nuclear weapons”, Mr. Guterres said. Yet, that goal remains elusive.

Dwindling arms control

The web of arms control, transparency and confidence-building instruments established during the Cold War and its aftermath, is fraying, said the UN chief, and 75 years on, the world has yet to learn that nuclear weapons diminish, rather than reinforce security, he warned.

Against the backdrop of division, distrust and a lack of dialogue along with States modernizing their nuclear arsenals and developing new dangerous weapons and delivery systems, he fears that the prospect of a nuclear-weapon-free world “seems to be slipping further from our grasp”.

“The risk of nuclear weapons being used, intentionally, by accident or through miscalculation, is too high for such trends to continue”, the UN chief added, repeating his call for States to “return to a common vision and path leading to the total elimination of nuclear weapons”.

‘Time for dialogue’

While all States can play a positive role, the countries that possess nuclear weapons have a special responsibility: “They have repeatedly committed to the total elimination of nuclear weapons”, Mr. Guterres reminded.

“Now is the time for dialogue, confidence-building measures, reductions in the size of nuclear arsenals and utmost restraint”.

Strengthen disarmament

Calling for the international non-proliferation and disarmament architecture to be safeguarded and strengthened, the UN chief cited next year’s Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as an opportunity for States to “return to this shared vision”.

He also looked forward to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entry into force, along with that of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which he said “remains a top priority in order to entrench and institutionalize the global norm against nuclear testing”.

Amidst COVID-19

The commemoration took place in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the Secretary-General said has exposed so many of the world’s fragilities, “including in the face of the nuclear threat”.

“The only way to totally eliminate nuclear risk is to totally eliminate nuclear weapons”, he spelled out.

“The United Nations and I will continue to work with all those who seek to achieve our common goal: a world free of nuclear weapons”, concluded the Secretary-General.

Recommit to disarmament

There truly is no winner in a nuclear war, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande President of the UN General Assembly told the ceremony.

“We must recommit to nuclear disarmament for there will never be a justification for the decimation caused by nuclear weapons”, he emphasized, urging everyone to “work relentlessly” to do so.

Calling the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons “a milestone agreement” in nuclear disarmament, he called on all Member States to sign and ratify it.

“In memory of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki…let us work together to create the future we want: a future which is free from the existential threat of nuclear weapons”, concluded the Assembly president.

Moral compasses

Meanwhile, the head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test -Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Lassina Zerbo, said that the devasting blasts continue to “haunt humanity and raises a challenging question: Can we ever escape the destructive instinct that led to these horrific bombings”?

Calling the hibakusha a “forceful moral compass for humanity”, he maintained that their pain and stories have made nuclear risk more “perceptible and concrete”.

According to Mr. Zerbo, the hibakusha have taught that patience, determination and resolution are “indispensable in the long battle towards nuclear disarmament”.

“We must finish what we started because what happened in Japan must never happen again”, he said, adding,“we must hear them so we can act”.

Hiroshima, shortly after a nuclear bomb was dropped on this city in August 1945. UN Photo/Mitsugu Kishida

This story was originally published by UN News

The post 75 Years after the Bomb, Hiroshima Still Chooses ‘Reconciliation and Hope’ appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Categories: Africa

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