Africa

Young woman sips an orange soda and waits for the rain to stop, on the porch of a small country store in a rural village in Bungoma County, Kenya. Credit: IFAD/Susan Beccio.

By Paul Virgo
ROME, Jul 20 2023 (IPS)

The climate, conflict and economic shocks of recent years and their impact on food prices have landed a huge blow to the world’s hopes of achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eliminating global hunger by 2030.

Indeed, rather than coming down, the number of people who faced chronic undernourishment in 2022 was around 735 million, an increase of 122 million on the pre-pandemic level of 2019, the United Nations said in the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report that was released earlier this month.

Although tragic, this increase is not surprising.

What one perhaps would not expect is for obesity rates in developing countries to be rising too.

Steep price gaps between healthy and unhealthy foods, coupled with the unavailability of a variety of healthy foods, are driving rises in obesity rates in both urban and rural areas of developing countries, the IFAD paper found

According to a new report by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), overweight and obesity rates across low and middle income countries (LMICs) are approaching levels found in higher-income countries.

In 2016, for example, the percentage of people in low-income countries who were overweight was 25.8%, up over five percentage points on 2006.

The percentage rose from 21.4% to 27% for low-middle income countries in the same period.

The reason is simple – money.

Steep price gaps between healthy and unhealthy foods, coupled with the unavailability of a variety of healthy foods, are driving rises in obesity rates in both urban and rural areas of developing countries, the IFAD paper found.

The report, which reviewed hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and examined data from five representative countries, Indonesia, Zambia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Bolivia, said that the price gap between healthy foods, which tend to be expensive, and cheaper unhealthy foods is greater in developing countries than in rich developed ones.

As a result, three billion people simply cannot afford a healthy diet.

According to one of the studies (Headey 2019) reviewed by the report, it is 11.66 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from eggs in poor countries than it is to obtain a calorie from starchy staples, such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and cereals.

In those same countries, it is only 2.92 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from sugary snacks than from starchy staples.

In wealthy countries, the gap is much smaller: it is 2.6 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from eggs than it is to obtain one from starchy staples and 1.43 times more expensive to obtain a calorie from sugary snacks.

“While price gaps between healthy and unhealthy foods exist in nations across the globe, that price gap is much wider in poorer countries,” said Joyce Njoro, IFAD lead technical specialist, nutrition.

“Also, high-income inequality within a country is associated with a higher prevalence of obesity.

“If we want to curb rising obesity rates in developing countries, we need big solutions that address how food systems work.

“It is alarming to note that three billion people globally cannot afford a healthy diet.

“Preventing obesity in developing countries requires a comprehensive approach that addresses cultural norms, raises awareness of associated health risks, and promotes the production, availability and affordability of healthy foods.”

The report said research showed sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is on the rise in developing countries (Nicole D. Ford et al. 2017; Malik and Hu 2022), and global sales of packaged food rose from 67.7kg per capita in 2005 to 76.9kg in 2017.

It noted that packaged food tends to be processed, which often means increased content of added or free sugars, saturated and trans-fat, salt and diet energy density, and decreasing protein, dietary fibre, and micronutrients.

The report also mentioned cultural factors.

In some developing countries, fatness is seen as desirable in children as it is considered a sign of health and wealth, and consumption of unhealthy foods may also carry a certain prestige, it said.

Culture also plays a role at the energy-expenditure side of the equation in places where physical inactivity is associated with high social status.

The report added that women are more likely to be overweight or obese than men in nearly all developing countries.

Referring to a 2017 study (Nicole D. Ford et al), it said reasons included different physiological responses to early-life nutrition, different hormonal responses to energy expenditure, weight gain associated with pregnancies, lower physical activity levels, depression, economic circumstances over the lifespan, and differences in sociocultural factors – like those regarding ideal body size and the acceptability of physical activity.

IFAD released the report ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment in Rome July 24 – 26 July.

The summit, hosted by Italy and IFAD and its sister Rome-based UN food agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), will highlight how food-system transformations can contribute to better and more sustainable outcomes for people and the planet and the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals ahead of the SDG Summit in September 2023.

ECW’s Yasmine Sherif and Graham Lang walk with UNHCR partners through Borota, where thousands of new refugees, most of them women, and children, have arrived after fleeing the conflict in Sudan. Credit: ECW

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 20 2023 (IPS)

If you want lasting peace, the best investment you can make is in education, said Education Cannot Wait’s Executive Director Yasmine Sherif in an exclusive interview with IPS.

“(This will) make children and adolescents literate, learn critical thinking, address trauma and psycho-social challenges from being victims of a conflict or crisis, develop their potential, and become financially independent,” Sherif said, adding that these were critical skills to participate in good governance of their countries in the future.

She was speaking to IPS ahead of her participation in the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum side event “Ensuring Education Continuity: The Roles of Education in Emergencies, Protracted Crises and Building Peace” at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Education is the answer to breaking the vicious circle of violence, conflict, and crisis – while this often is associated with war and conflict, the same applies to climate change.

“If the next generation that is today suffering from climate-induced disasters are not educated, do not understand or have an awareness of how to treat mother earth, and do not have the knowledge or skills to mitigate or prevent risks in the future, the negative impact of climate-induced disasters will only escalate.”

Unfortunately, conflicts and climate risks increasingly combine to multiply vulnerability, she said – and instead of declining, the number of children who need urgent support is increasing.

“Today, 224 million crisis-affected children do not receive a quality, continuous education. More than half of these children – 127 million – may have access to something that resembles a classroom, but they are not learning anything. They are not achieving the minimum proficiencies outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG4).”

Sherif stressed the crucial linkage between education and protection for children in crisis-affected countries and explained how protection is a core component of the holistic package of education ECW is supporting together with its partners.

“On the legal side, we advocate for the respect of the international humanitarian law, national human rights law, and the National Refugee Law, and for an end to impunity for those who violate these,” said Sherif. “We also call for additional countries to adopt the Safe Schools Declaration, and actively support its implementation at the national level.”

To prevent violence around and in schools, practical measures are included to ensure the children are safe.

“It’s important to ensure safe transport to and from the school. And that would, of course, bring a sense of safety to the parents, who may not be willing to send the girls to school because of that. You ensure the infrastructure of the school provides protection. You may need wards around the school so that nobody can walk into the school and abduct a girl.”

ECW funding also includes protections to prevent sexual and psychological violence.

“All the funding that we invest requires giving protection a priority. And that is essential wherever you operate or invest funding in a country of affected by armed conflict; you need to ensure protection is prioritized.”

Sherif said that in countries like Afghanistan, where the Taliban have banned girls from attending secondary school and upwards, ECW works with local partners to support non-formal education.

“There is a lot of work at the community level, with local authorities allowing ECW’s investments in civil society and UN agencies to continue to operate. So community-based schooling is pretty much (being) run now, where we are investing at the community level,” she said, and while it may not be ideal, it does work.

Likewise, non-formal learning centers have been set up in Cox’s Bazar, where the Rohingya refugees live after fleeing violence, discrimination, and persecution in Myanmar.

“Our aim is for every child to be able to access national education systems, but sometimes it is not possible politically or physically due to the dangers of the conflict. So we also support our partners to establish non-formal learning centers until another more sustainable solution can be found.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, ECW’s partners were innovative in ensuring education continued – with remote learning programmes such as radio and TV-based education, where IT connections were available through phones and WhatsApp with learning kits and tools.

“Home-based, going from door-to-door, that was how it was done during COVID. There was some creativity and innovation. It is possible. It is not ideal, but it is possible.”

Sherif said ECW had developed a proven model to bring quality education to every child – even in the most challenging crisis-affected contexts of war and conflicts – but that the biggest hindrance is the financing.

“If we had the financing, we could reach the 224 million (children) immediately. So financing is the big hindrance today. While peace is the number one (solution), if peace is not possible, education cannot wait.”

“If financing for education is provided in crisis and climate disasters, ECW can reach 20 million children and adolescents in the coming four years. And that requires about another USD700 million for Education Cannot Wait between today and 2026. Just USD 700 million is a small amount when you consider the return on investment you get when you invest in human potential.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Ibrahim Mayaki, the Africa Union Special Envoy for Food Systems, previously served as the CEO of the AU Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD). Ahead of the UN Food System Stocktaking Moment scheduled to take place in Rome on 24 - 26 July 2023, Africa Renewal's Kingsley Ighobor interviewed Dr. Mayaki. They discussed various issues regarding the state of Africa's food systems and the opportunities and challenges involved in feeding a rapidly growing population. Credit Africa Renewal, United Nations.
 
Below are excerpts from their insightful conversation:

By Kingsley Ighobor
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 20 2023 (IPS)

 

Q: As the African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems, what is the scope of your mandate and what should Africans expect from you?

The role of special envoys of the AU is primarily to tackle a critical issue for which the AU needs support. A special envoy does not seek to replace or take over the responsibilities of the AU or the AU Commission (AUC). Instead, their role is to support and enhance their work by bringing additional value.

This is the first time the AU is designating a Special Envoy specifically dedicated to food systems. Previously, notable individuals such as Rwanda’s Donald Kaberuka served as Special Envoy for Financing and Michel Sidibé from Mali as Special Envoy for the African Medicines Agency.

Ibrahim Mayaki, Africa Union Special Envoy for Food Systems

There are three main reasons behind this decision to designate a special envoy for food systems. These issues were thoroughly discussed when I accepted the designation.

Firstly, we could enter a post-Ukraine war era that will be characterised by a crisis in food systems.

Leaders must not only establish the food systems but should also ensure their effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes

The market has witnessed an unfavourable evolution, and African countries are suffering the consequences of that war. We have observed shortages of vital resources such as fertilisers, seeds, wheat, etc. The crisis and our response to it have revealed a lack of co-ordinated efforts.

Hence, the first reason for appointing a Special Envoy is to ensure preparedness for such a crisis, even as we anticipate more crises in the future.

The second reason relates to the many initiatives addressing food systems issues in Africa. We have some complexity in terms of initiatives, and this complexity necessitates better management and coherence.

Without proper co-ordination, Member States and their stakeholders may struggle to comprehend the direction we are heading in. Therefore, the appointment aims to foster preparedness and enhance coherence among these initiatives.

The third reason, closely linked to the previous two, pertains to resource mobilisation. Specifically, it refers to the need to mobilise domestic resources to address the challenges faced in food systems.

We also have the resources of multilateral development banks and other institutions that can support Africa’s endeavours in transforming its food systems.

Q: Apart from the Ukraine crisis, what other factors are jeopardising Africa’s food systems?

I will start by unpacking the concept of food systems. Previously, and still now, we talked about agriculture, agricultural production, rural economy, diversification, agricultural productivity, food security and insecurity.

We are talking about food systems now because it embraces the entire spectrum, in an integrated manner, of processes, from the farmer to the consumer, and, in-between, the numerous actors and sectors.

Kingsley Ighobor

Evidently, food systems are about production, nutrition, roads and other infrastructure, markets, and trade. It’s about connecting farmers to markets, about education and entrepreneurship, enabling small-scale farmers to become micro and small entrepreneurs. It’s about agribusiness.

Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of providing consumers with essential information and addressing the impacts of climate change, particularly in regions like Africa that suffer greatly despite being net zero emitters.

If we look at Africa today, it’s true that we have reduced extreme poverty in the past 20 to 25 years, but at the same time there is an increase in malnutrition.

Our food import bill is still very high, beyond $60 billion a year. The small-scale farmers who produce 80 per cent of the food we eat also suffer from malnutrition and food insecurity, which is abnormal.

We have utilised frameworks such as CAADP [the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme] and the Malabo Declaration to address agricultural development. The Malabo Declaration is considered a precursor to food systems because it opened agriculture to other sectors.

It is a kind of CAADP phase two, and it has been well implemented with over 40 countries adopting national agricultural investment plans. The African Development Bank has started to develop compacts at the national levels to enable countries have frameworks that will attract financing.

So, we have the frameworks, but we need two radical things to occur.

The first one is to have a whole-of-government approach toward food systems transformation and not leave it to the agriculture or the environment ministries.

Secondly, we need to invest more in food systems to reduce food insecurity. I said at the Ibrahim Governance Weekend [held from 28-30 April, 2023] that food insecurity is not a question of production; it’s a question of poverty. At the end of the day the main aim is to tackle poverty.

FACT BOX
Africa’s food import bill is beyond $60 billion a year.
Africa will have approximately 2.5 billion people by 2050

We need a moonshot for Africa’s land restoration movement

The COP26 Africa needs

Now is the time to sprint if we want to end hunger, achieve other SDGs. Regarding CAADP, we see that many countries are still not meeting their commitment to invest 10 per cent of national budgets in agriculture and rural development?

You are right. Only around 10 to 12 countries out of the 50-plus have managed to reach the target of investing 10 per cent of their national budgets in agriculture.

However, some countries claim to meet the 10 percent threshold, but their expenditures include items that are not directly linked to food systems or the transformation of agriculture through a sound integrated plan.

When you have a head of state who prioritises agricultural transformation and provides the drive that leads to results and impact, that transformation happens. So, the issue of leadership is critical.

Technically, we know what needs to be done—agricultural techniques, access to market and finance, and increasing yields—but we need the political solution and determination to move forward.

Sometimes you have leadership but lack the necessary systems. Leaders must not only establish the systems but also ensure their effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes.

Q: How do you anticipate the AfCFTA’s [African Continental Free Trade Area] potential to strengthen Africa’s food systems, considering the complexities and the need for an integrated approach?

The AfCFTA aims to resolve the issues of tariff and non-tariff barriers and to facilitate the flows of goods and services. These require working on normative issues such as rules and regulations.

But it’s not the AfCFTA by itself that will facilitate production. The success of the AfCFTA in enhancing our food systems transformation is contingent upon the availability of robust infrastructure such as roads, railways, and storage facilities.

So, the AfCFTA is an important instrument, but it must be complemented by sound policies and well-developed infrastructure.

Food insecurity is not a question of production; it’s a question of poverty. At the end of the day the main aim is to tackle poverty

Can that be done?

Again, I emphasize the importance of effective national leadership in addressing our prevailing challenges, as many of them necessitate solutions at the national level. While regional solutions are crucial, national governments need to embrace and implement these regional solutions.

Furthermore, it is vital to ensure coherence among all our initiatives. We should not adopt disparate approaches from various institutions, as this would create a landscape of competing initiatives. Instead, we must assert our strategic frameworks and urge our partners to align with these frameworks.

These frameworks include CAADP, the Malabo Declaration, and the African Common Position on Food Systems, which was developed through inclusive national dialogues involving over 50 countries.

Q: How does the Africa Common Position on Food Systems inform your preparation and participation in the upcoming UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment?

At the UN Food Systems and Stocktaking exercise, each region of the world will present a position. Africa’s position will revolve around three key issues.

The first one is financing food systems transformation. It should be a priority for our partners that our capacity to mobilise domestic resources is not undermined.

The second is climate, which will need to be looked at in a very realistic manner. Despite commitments made at the various COPS, many of them remain unfulfilled. If these commitments cannot be respected, we must explore alternative approaches to climate finance.

The third is about our small-scale farmers. The farmers are a part of a private sector we are talking about. The private sector is not only agribusiness; it also includes small-scale farmers who have the capacity and knowledge to transform our food systems. They need to be supported, as it is done in the US and Europe.

At the stocktaking exercise, what will also be looked at is how far we have gone in implementing the conclusions of the 2021 Food Systems Summit and what lessons each region can learn from the others.

Q: With Africa’s projected population reaching approximately 2.5 billion by 2050, coupled with the existing challenge of over 250 million malnourished Africans, is there a sense of heightened concern among policymakers and stakeholders?

This question is extremely pertinent because Africa’s population is set to double by 2050. The most critical concern is the challenge of feeding over 1 billion additional people. Failure to address this issue with the necessary capacity and solutions will not only strain our existing governance systems but also heighten social fragility.

Given our demographic situation, the risk of encountering numerous political crises becomes imminent.

Urgency is paramount, necessitating an alarmist approach and accelerating the implementation of solutions, especially considering that a significant portion of the projected population growth already exists today.

This acceleration must be achieved through the appropriate policies and political determination.

Source: Africa Renewal, United Nations

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Over half the people in Africa still don’t have electricity access -- a major contributor to persistent poverty.  Credit: Energy 4 Impact Senegal

By Philippe Benoit and David Sandalow
WASHINGTON DC, Jul 19 2023 (IPS)

Africa is caught in the crosshairs of climate change. Despite contributing just 3-5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, the continent will endure climate change’s destructive impact, including more severe storms, rising temperatures and erratic rainfall in the years ahead that threaten the well-being of hundreds of millions of people.

Renewable energy is an important part of the solution – and Africa enjoys an enormous potential in this regard. With some of the world’s highest levels of solar irradiance, vast expanses of land with favorable wind conditions and powerful rivers with immense hydroelectric potential, Africa is teeming with renewable energy resources. However the continent’s progress in tapping into this potential lags, leaving a huge energy access challenge as well as a power generation deficit that is stunting business and other drivers of inclusive economic growth.

As the world gears up for the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the need to address Africa’s energy needs sustainably is all too apparent. Doing so will require rethinking the approach and reshaping policies to dramatically grow Africa’s energy system.

As COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber said at last month’s climate finance summit held in Paris, “For countries that have done the least to cause climate change, climate finance remains unaccessible, unavailable and unaffordable….” Can COP 28, with UAE leadership, deliver for Africa on this potential?

This will require big and bold actions, including massive investments in large-scale infrastructure. It will also require investment in information and other soft assets.  And, significantly, it will also necessitate  small and micro-scale grassroots initiatives which are particularly important to ensure that local populations remain active participants in the process.

The shortage of energy in Africa is a pressing problem. Over half the people in Africa still don’t have electricity access — a major contributor to persistent poverty.  This gap drives households to rely on inefficient and polluting energy sources like charcoal, wood, and kerosene. This pervasive energy deficit, highlighted in the ‘Tracking SDG7: The energy progress report for 2022’ has profound implications for health, education, and sustainable development across the continent.

An even larger portion of the population lacks access to clean cooking technologies, a crisis disproportionately affecting women and girls, and exposing them to harmful household air pollution that was responsible in 2019 for approximately 700,000 deaths across Africa. Rather than diminishing, the number of people without access is projected to potentially rise from 923 milion in 2020 to 1.1 billion in 2030.

But Africa’s energy problem extends beyond the lack of access to electricity and clean cooking targeted by SDG#7.  In too many places across the continent, there is a lack of sufficient and reliable electricity to power businesses that are the backbone of Africa’s growth drive.  The result is a combination of inadequate supply or expensive generators acquired to compensate for the inefficiencies.  Fundamentally, Africa’s ability to stimulate local entrepreneurs or attract international developers and capital is too often being undermined by a weak electricity network.

The shift in focus to renewables provides an opportunity to change the narrative and realities of Africa’s power system.  The large amounts of financing being discussed for climate (including in the lead-up to and at COP 28) – amounts which tend to exceed the levels of funding traditionally mobilized for poverty alleviation – provide an important opportunity for the continent.

Mobilizing funding to harness Africa’s bountiful renewable energy would not only help to meet its current and increasingly large future energy needs, but also contribute to global efforts to avoid prospective greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, Africa’s renewables are large enough to both meet domestic needs, and also help to power green development abroad, including through the export of green electricity to Europe or even, eventually, hydrogen generated from its massive hydropower resources.

Unlocking Africa’s renewable potential will require supportive policies, robust regulations, technological innovation, and substantial investment. Strong, sound and predictable regulatory frameworks and institutions are key.

Better information is also key. For example, the African Energy Commission has established the Strategic Framework on the African Bioenergy Data Management  that seeks to raise awareness of the potential of the bioenergy sector, reflecting the specificities of the reality on the ground in the region.

Given Africa’s limited financial resource base, any solution requires reaching beyond Africa’s borders.  Wealthy nations can bring capital, expertise, and adapted technologies to the continent. South-South cooperation can encourage peer learning, the dissemination of technological solutions adapted to local climatic conditions and the developing country economic context, and support the deployment of the increasing financial capacities of emerging economies to support Africa’s renewables.

Multilateral development banks, development finance institutions, export credit agencies and private capital should also all do more.

The hosting of COP28 in the UAE provides an opportunity to mobilize funding for Africa from a broader set of actors and countries, moving beyond the traditional North/South divide.  In fact, climate finance has been identified by the COP28 host as one of the key goals of this COP. As COP28 President Sultan Al-Jaber said at last month’s climate finance summit held in Paris, “For countries that have done the least to cause climate change, climate finance remains unaccessible, unavailable and unaffordable….” Can COP 28, with UAE leadership, deliver for Africa on this potential?

One UAE initiative – the Zayed Sustainability Prize – has already helped promote local action in addressing these challenges.  (One of the authors is a member of the Selection Committee for the Prize.) Over the years, the Zayed Sustainability Prize has supported sustainable change around the world by recognising and rewarding innovative and impactful organizations working to overcome development barriers, including limited access to reliable power, clean water, quality healthcare, and healthy food.

For example, M-KOPA, which won in the Energy category in 2015, uses digital technology to help its customers make micropayments towards essential products and services, such as smartphones, refrigerators, solar panels, even bank loans and health insurance. Last month, it closed US $250 million in new funding to expand its fintech services to underbanked consumers in Kenya, Nigeria, and more recently, Ghana.

Another winner was the Starehe Girls Centre which empowers disadvantaged girls by providing them access to quality education. The school won the Prize in 2017 in the Global High Schools category in recognition of its efforts to reduce its utility bills through the installation of solar panels and more efficient lighting. These financial savings have allowed it to admit more girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Generating local action is a critical input to ensure that massive investment programs translate into a just transition for households. To this end, large-scale infrastructure must be accompanied by people-centric programs.

Africa’s renewable energy potential could both help drive enormous economic growth in the region while also helping the world address the challenge of climate change. The potential is there, and it will require action …  in ways big and small.

(Article first published in Nation (Kenya edition) on July 3, 2023)

Philippe Benoit is research director for Global Infrastructure Analytics and Sustainability 2050. He previously held management positions at the World Bank and the International Energy Agency and has over 20 years of experience working on Africa.

David Sandalow is Inaugural Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University, and a member of the Selection Committee of the Zayed Sustainability Prize.

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Dr Rintaro Mori, Regional Adviser, Population Ageing and Sustainable Development at UNFPA, told the conference it was crucial to invest to improve social security, health, and well-being. Credit: APDA

By Cecilia Russell
BANGKOK & JOHANNESBURG, Jul 19 2023 (IPS)

Countries with falling population growth face twin dilemmas: Ensuring their aging population live healthy and fulfilling lives and removing barriers to parenthood.

This was the focus of a recent workshop in Thailand reviewing the ICPD30 process and preparation for the Summit for the Future slated for next year (2024).

The workshop was opened by Professor Keizo Takemi, MP Japan and Chair of AFPPD, who contextualized the issue.

“In the Asia Pacific region, a profound shift awaits us. By 2050, one in four individuals will be about the age of 60, with a majority of them being women. The empowerment and the well-being of these women become essential for their meaningful and independent participation in the socio-economic development.”

The meeting sought to highlight what is required from lawmakers to ensure a dynamic and balanced aging society where older people will be physically, mentally, and economically self-reliant as possible, with a sustainable healthcare system.

Dr Rintaro Mori, Regional Adviser, Population Ageing and Sustainable Development at UNFPA, in an interview with IPS, said parliamentarians’ role included “macro level policy planning to prepare for the coming population aging and low fertility including both economic and human rights perspectives.”

Their role was to lead the governments’ reform policies and systems of the country to adjust for “the emerging population trend, such as pension reform and education sector reforms to accommodate all ages,” and “investing in early and later years to take preventative measures to improve social security, health, and well-being.”

Mori said this was possible using a life-cycle approach with a strong emphasis on prevention:

“Prevention is the most cost-effective way to promote healthy and active aging. Life-long investment in social security, health promotion, and psychological well-being (relationship) is the key.”

Parliamentarians and experts met in Bangkok to discuss the ICPD30 process and preparation for the Summit for the Future 2024. Credit: APDA

Boosting fertility was crucial for countries facing declining and aging populations. Dr Victoria Boydell from the University of Essex in the UK said it is vital to remove barriers to parenthood but not through the trend of reducing access to sexual and reproductive health services.

According to research by UN Women and the International Labour Organization, 1.6 billion hours a day are spent in unpaid care work – representing 9 percent of global GDP, and women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid household work than men. These factors needed to be considered by lawmakers.

Boydell said policy responses to boost fertility and remove barriers to parenthood included supporting early childhood development, enrollment in quality childcare from an early age, compensation for the economic cost of children through the allocation of benefits, tax exemptions, and other subsidies.

Other practices include fostering employment, especially amongst mothers, for example, part-time and flexible working conditions, promoting equal pay, equal sharing of paid and unpaid work, and allocating benefits to low-income families.

Regarding SRH services, there could be an increase in access to infertility treatment, fertility targets and policies to support the higher number of children, cash or tax exemptions, and access to contraception and abortion. Choice was a key right that needed protection.

In a case study, Chalermchai Kruangam, an MP from Thailand, said it was expected that a growing number of older people would need institutional long-term care – with considerable costs to the fiscus. It was, therefore, crucial to encourage governments and stakeholders to support modifications of living arrangements for older people and provide access to knowledge and training on new technologies, particularly digitalization and information technology. This would ensure that older people remained independent for longer periods, especially if supported health facilities near their homes.

Willie Mongin, an MP from Malaysia, said governments needed to formulate and implement necessary measures to ensure that social systems are ready to meet the older adult’s needs, improve their lives and the well-being of their families and communities – so they can live their lives with dignity. With the World Bank, Malaysia was formulating a strategic plan or blueprint to address an aging population’s impact, including economic growth, productivity, social protection, and health care.

Mori told IPS it was important to note that “older persons are a quite diverse population. Some of the wealthiest persons are among the older population. The health status of older persons is quite different depending upon the individual. Any country should have basic social security infrastructure based on the needs and demands of the population, not solely on the age of a person.”

He also said governments should take into account the older persons’ diversity in their plans to, for example, encourage them to remain in the workplace beyond traditional retirement ages.

“The health, skills, and knowledge of older individuals are diverse, and governments should not plan such economic and labor market policies based on the assumption that older persons are homogenous, Mori said. Recently in Japan, trends show that small and frontline jobs seem to be suitable for older persons (Sakamoto 2022).

Note: The workshop was organized by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

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Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, holds up a glittery diary with testimony of the impact of the war on children. Credit: Abigail Van Neely/IPS

By Abigail Van Neely
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 19 2023 (IPS)

The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, held up a child’s glittery, crimson-red diary as he addressed the Member States at the 88th plenary meeting of the General Assembly on Tuesday.

The regularly scheduled event was set to discuss “the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.” Many speakers took the opportunity to address the recent termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the humanitarian toll of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kuleba centered his remarks on an emotional appeal to protect Ukraine’s 7.9 million children the Russian invasion had “deprived” of their normal lives. He shared a series of diary entries he said were written by Ukrainian children.

One eight-year-old boy in blockaded Mariopole writes bluntly about the deaths of his family members. A 13-year-old girl, who has been living in occupied territories for four months, writes about her fear of leaving the house. “Mom tells us not to go for a walk in places where they are many people because many girls get raped,” Kuleba read.

“There are thousands of children like this who go through the same suffering,” Kuleba said as he held the diary in the air, where it sparkled.

Throughout the ongoing High-Level Political Forum at the United Nations, the war in Ukraine has been repeatedly cited as one reason the world is failing to make progress on the sustainable development goals set for 2030.

“This war is intrinsically linked to our sustainable development agenda and the sustainable development goals,” the President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, said.

Goal ten addresses the dire support needed for refugees. An update on the sustainable development goals released by the UN last week reports that the number of global refugees has hit a record high of 34.6 million. 41% of these refugees were children.

According to Kuleba, only 383 of Ukraine’s 19,474 illegally transferred children have been reunited with their families. He called for a joint demand that Russia “immediately provide the list of children from Ukraine and grant access to them for international human rights and monitoring missions.” Kulebal also encouraged the development of new international instruments to punish the taking of civilians as hostages.

He concluded with a commitment to ending the war through Ukrainian victory: “This war needs to be won. Unfortunately, on the battlefield, and at a high cost so that the aggressor drops plans…”

Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian minister of Foreign Affairs, focused on achieving peace through diplomacy rather than battle to mitigate skyrocketing inflation, food scarcity, and energy demands felt by people around the world—additional threats to the sustainable development goals.

Szijjártó suggested that grain from Russia and Ukraine be transported through Central Europe, where countries like Hungary would help prevent food shortages. This would offer an alternative to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed for the transportation of goods across the Black Sea to Turkey until its termination by Russia yesterday.

“We do not only keep the opportunity open for transiting Ukrainian grain through Central Europe, we have invested in huge infrastructural development in Hungary to increase the volume of grain from Ukraine [to reach other ports] where they can be shipped to Africa and Middle East countries where this grain is badly needed,” Szijjártó said.

Dmitry A Polyanskiy for the Russian Federation, meanwhile, described injustices experienced by Russian-speaking civilians in Crimea under Ukrainian governance. He called leadership in Kyiv a “puppet regime” of the West and criticized lies about Russia in “contemporary Western society.”

“Colleagues in developing countries have a clear understanding of what is taking place,” the representative said, referring to what he said was a “colonial tradition of pitting countries against each other.”

Kőrösi expressed disappointment at the Security Council’s failure to adopt any resolutions regarding the war in Ukraine, noting the General Assembly’s passage of six resolutions in support of Ukraine. He condemned ecological warfare, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, and the “consistent and systematic violations of international law.”

“This war constitutes a serious threat that risks jeopardizing the prospects for a sustainable future for humanity and the planet,” Kőrösi said.

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Youth host Jay Matsushiba, in Vancouver, participating in a beach clean-up with Tanya Otero of the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean-up. Credit: Nick Hawkins/Ocean Frontier Institute

By Catherine Wilson
SYDNEY, Jul 19 2023 (IPS)

The Canada-based Ocean Frontier Institute is very clear about the significance of a new collaborative ground-breaking ocean research program. Global warming cannot be effectively tackled, and human life cannot survive on Earth without the ocean.

The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface and absorbs 25 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere, yet there is a critical lack of understanding about the changes occurring in the seas as greenhouse gas emissions increase.

“The ocean has absorbed 90 percent of the excess heat from the atmosphere, but will that continue? We know the ocean is a big factor in climate, but we need a much better level of detail to understand how the ocean is functioning now and how will that change in the future.” Dr Anya Waite, CEO and Scientific Director of the Ocean Frontier Institute told IPS.

The Institute was established by Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast in 2015 to accelerate global leadership in ocean research with a focus on the North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Gateway. On 12 May 2023, it launched the Transforming Climate Action (TCA) research initiative with its academic partners, Université du Québec à Rimouski and Université Laval in Quebec and Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Institute describes it as “the most intensive investigation ever into the ocean’s role in climate change.” And it seeks both knowledge breakthroughs and climate action solutions in association with Indigenous communities, including the Mi’kmaq people, custodians of indigenous land and knowledge on Canada’s Atlantic coast.

Youth host Nesha Ichida gathering fish samples in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Credit: Nick Hawkins/Ocean Frontier Institute

“Our relationship with the ocean is an ancient one built on balance, respect, and knowledge passed down from generation to generation,” stated Angeline Gillis, Executive Director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, at the program’s launch. “It will provide a unique opportunity to bring together our common experiences and understandings of the ocean in a partnership that will ensure we move towards a sustainable future for our children.”

Coastal communities in Canada have long depended for generations on the sea and coastal marine life for food, culture and socioeconomic survival.

The world’s ocean is the greatest form of protection against an overheating planet. It removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than all the rainforests and stores 90 percent of the excess heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions. A critical marine organism, phytoplankton, captures carbon dioxide from above the sea’s surface and circulates it to the deep ocean, where it is stored for millennia. And, so, the ocean moderates the effects of global warming and, in turn, determines climate and weather patterns while generating 50 percent of the oxygen we need to breathe.

But, as global temperatures keep rising, scientific data collected from a vast network of submergible floats scattered across the ocean indicates that there are changes occurring in the sea as the amount of carbon dioxide it takes in endlessly grows. This year, scientists recorded the highest temperature of the world’s ocean in 40 years. Waite says there are warning signs about a possible decline in the health of the ocean and its ability to regulate our climate to safe levels.

“We know extreme climate events are becoming more common. The probability is that there will be more extreme events in the future, but climate modellers are currently not able to predict them,” she said.

Fanny Noisette, Professor of Biological Oceanography at the Université du Québec à Rimouski, told IPS that she had witnessed severe levels of deoxygenation in the bottom waters of the sea near the coastal town of St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula. This has resulted, for example, in shoals of Northern Shrimps migrating from the deeper ocean to shallower coastal areas where oxygen is more readily available, she said.

“The decrease in some species abundance, such as Northern Shrimps, could lead to the transformation of economic activities and sources of revenue in local coastal communities,” Professor Noisette predicted, adding that “these environmental changes are superimposed on to other local disturbances already happening in coastal zones, such as pollution and invasive species. Management of coastal zones will need to be more rooted in holistic and ecosystem-based approaches.”

The North Atlantic Ocean, which is the largest oceanic carbon sink, is a critical site for climate-oriented research, and the TCA program will draw on the expertise of many disciplines, from oceanography and atmospheric science to maritime law, social science and justice to Indigenous knowledge. It will also include collaboration with 40 national and global partners in industry, government and the non-profit sector.

The program will strive to generate new scientific data that will be critical to making better decisions about climate action. And identify more effective solutions for the planet’s survival, including the development of new technologies to remove the build-up of carbon dioxide in the sea.

Scott Simpson filming Jordan Wilson and Nicola Rammell of the John Reynolds Lab near Bella Bella, British Columbia. They were doing an experiment to see how salmon impact flower growth in estuaries. Zan Rosborough is recording sound. Credit: Nick Hawkins/Ocean Frontier Institute

Helen Zhang, Canada Research Chair of Coastal Environmental Engineering and Professor of Civil Engineering at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, told IPS that micro-algae will be critical to this goal. “Micro-algae widely exist [in the ocean] and have the robust capacity to employ a carbon dioxide conversion factory in the cold marine environment, such as the North Atlantic and Arctic gateways,” Zhang explained. Micro-algae convert carbon dioxide to biomass, which “can then be used to generate bio-products, such as bio-surfactants and biofuels, that can support the growth of various ocean industries, such as transportation and fisheries, as an alternative energy source.”

If global warming is not contained, scientists predict that higher sea temperatures will generate more severe marine heat waves, acidification of seawater and bleaching of coral reefs. That, in turn, will have detrimental impacts on marine life, their habitats and ability to breed. Therefore, removing toxic carbon dioxide from the ocean is essential to its long-term health, the survival of marine life and the sustainable lives of coastal communities. Nearly 10 percent of the world’s population, or more than 680 million people, live in low-lying coastal areas of continents and islands.

While global unity and action to limit the planet’s temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius remain in limbo, the Ocean Frontier Institute and its partners are forging ahead with a clear vision and timeline of action. That leadership is fully backed by the Canadian Government, which has contributed $154 million to the ‘Transforming Climate Action’ program through its Canada First Research Excellence Fund. In total, about $400 million has been committed to the TCA research program. And, in line with Canada’s national goal, the Institute is focused on achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

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By Kwan Soo-Chen and David McCoy
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jul 19 2023 (IPS)

For years, the concept of climate justice has been built on the understanding that countries and communities contributing the least to global warming are disproportionately bearing the impacts of climate change.

For example, developing countries have been more affected by climate events due to their existing vulnerabilities and limited capacities to respond – eight out of the top ten countries most affected by climate extreme events from 2000 to 2019 were developing countries, where six were located in Asia.

Based on the principle of equity, climate justice was embedded in the UN Climate Convention in 1992 through principles of “polluter pays” and “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”, placing responsibilities to combat climate change on the richer nations.

However, the lack of effective mechanism to operationalize these principles remains an issue to this day. Discussion on “loss and damage” was revived in COP27 in reaction to the failure of developed countries to fulfil their pledge to climate financing to help vulnerable states with climate actions.

While there is currently no clear definition for “loss and damage”, the term essentially refers to the much-contested obligations of countries that have historically benefited from fossil fuel investment to pay for the residual consequences and permanent damage caused by climate change to nature and human societies, predominantly in the developing countries.

Loss and damage encompass both economic and non-economic losses. While economic losses cover damage to resources, physical assets and services; tangible or intangible non-economic losses hold a larger share of the loss and damage, including the impact on individuals (loss of life and health, mobility), societies (loss of cultural heritage, identity, indigenous knowledge), and environment (loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services).

Climate justice and the right to health

Health is the most essential asset of human beings. However, population health, particularly of poor communities in developing countries, is increasingly threatened by the environmental and social changes brought by climate change. This brings in a different outlook on climate justice through the human rights lens.

As health is underpinned by various social and environmental determinants, such as air, water, food, housing and development, the impacts of climate change on those determinants are infringing the fundamental human right to health.

While the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1946 emphasizes the entitlements to equal opportunities to enjoy the “highest attainable standard of health” without discrimination to “race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition”, climate change is exacerbating the existing health inequity and vulnerabilities across the structural social hierarchies, making the progressive realization of the highest attainable standard of health increasingly difficult. This is particularly true among the traditionally discriminated and marginalized communities.

For example, while climate change affects everyone, the health of Indigenous communities is especially vulnerable to climate change due to their close relationships with nature (many Indigenous peoples still rely directly on nature for their basic necessities) and their social and economic marginalization.

In addition, there is emerging evidence showing mental distress among indigenous communities due to the threats upon their culture, identity and sovereignty as they lose or are forced to migrate from their traditional territories due to environmental changes.

Along the same lines, while men and women are affected differently by climate change, women face greater health risks and vulnerabilities due to their particular health needs (e.g. in maternal and reproductive health), household and caregiver roles (e.g. water and food preparation), and underlying gender gaps in access to supports such as resources and critical information that affect their capacity to respond effectively to climate variability, especially in rural and remote areas.

Children and the elderly are also disproportionately affected by the direct and indirect impacts of climate variability on temperature, air quality and food sources due to their unique physiology.

Marginalized groups such as indigenous people and women have often been excluded in decision-making processes concerning climate actions that could affect their health and well-being. Nonetheless, they could be important agents of change while promoting health equity in climate mitigation and adaptation.

For instance, indigenous knowledge on sustainable management and conservation of the environment is a valuable resource. While gender equity in climate actions are increasingly recognized and incorporated in climate finance, youths are at the forefront of climate advocacy fighting for the intergenerational rights to their future well-being.

Climate litigation – a way forward?

On this front, various efforts have been made to call for the acceleration of climate actions around the world. In the past years, advocacy campaigns, strikes, public demonstrations, and activists’ protests have been increasingly reported across media platforms, lobbying for countries to fulfil their climate pledges. Although some progress has been made, they are not enough to catch up with the fast-rising global temperature.

Increasingly individuals and non-governmental organizations are turning to climate litigation as part of the social movements, using human rights law as a strategic instrument to enforce climate actions.

Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, the number of climate change-related lawsuits has doubled from just over 800 cases (1986 -2014) to over 1,200 cases (2015 – 2022), with most cases based in the Global North (particularly in the US) and a growing number of cases from the Global South.

Human rights law offers strong grounds for litigation against states as states hold the primary responsibility and duty to protect human rights. At the European Court of Human Rights, three climate cases are pending before the Grand Chamber of the Court.

Among others, the climate cases were made on the grounds of the human rights violations of the right to life (Article 2), and the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8) as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights.

Across Southeast Asia, increasing number of environmental conflicts leading to lawsuits have been documented, prominently in countries like Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Plaintiffs were often communities, non-governmental organizations and civil societies, with cases grounded on state governments’ failure to fulfil treaty obligations (Paris Agreement) and reduce carbon emissions; and corporations’ environmental destructive activities such as illegal logging and peatland burning that violate the human rights to life and healthy environment.

At the local level, government agencies have been sued over their failure to perform duties in ensuring environmental and social protections through governance mechanisms, such as the lack of transparency of environmental impact assessments for project development and inadequacy of environmental standards (e.g. air pollution standards) in protecting citizens’ health.

However, there remain issues of enforcement and jurisdictional limits within the international politics to be dealt with in climate litigations. Besides, lawsuits against governments could be counter-productive if states have limited capacity to respond. Nonetheless, a court proceeding is a catalyst to bring up the longtime debate on climate justice and enforce actions among those held accountable.

Interestingly, a recent study found that these litigation processes are posing financial risks to the polluting carbon majors companies as their market share prices fell after lawsuits.

In addition, the recent advancements on the recognition of human rights in the context of climate change look promising. In June 2022, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and in March 2023, another UN resolution, led by Vanuatu, was passed to secure a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on states’ accountability and consequences for inaction in the first attempt to establish climate action obligations under international law.

As the establishment of international legal rules are influential on judges and governments, it is hopeful that these efforts will build the momentum in countries’ commitments to climate actions in all member states. The role of civil societies as climate watchdogs remains fundamental in ensuring effective actions are followed through in the quest for climate justice.

Kwan Soo-Chen is a Postdoctoral Fellow and David McCoy is a Research Lead at the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH)

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By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Nazihah Noor
KUALA LUMPUR and BERN, Jul 19 2023 (IPS)

In 2015, almost all heads of government in the world committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including universal health coverage (UHC). This was consistent with the World Health Organization’s commitment to Health for All.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed most countries’ under-investment in public healthcare provisioning and other weaknesses. Clearly, health system reforms and appropriate financing are needed to improve populations’ wellbeing.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Instead of helping, more profit-seeking investments and market ‘solutions’ in recent decades have undermined UHC. Health markets the world over rarely provide healthcare for all well. Instead, they have increased costs and charges, limiting access. Worse, public funds are being diverted to support profits, rather than patients.

Health inequalities growing
Recent decades have seen healthcare in many developing countries trending towards a perceived two-tier system – a higher quality private sector, and lower quality public services. Many doctors, especially specialists, have been leaving public service for much more lucrative private practice.

This ‘brain drain’ has worsened already deteriorating public service quality, increasing waiting times. Hence, more of those with means have been turning to private facilities. As private medical charges are high in developing countries, many who can afford private health insurance, buy it.

If unchecked, the gap – in charges and quality – between private and public health services will grow, increasing disparities between haves and have-nots. Social solidarity implies cross-subsidization in health financing – with the healthy financing the ill, and the rich subsidizing the poor. Social solidarity also enables universal coverage and equitable access.

Better healthcare for all
Most governments need to strengthen public provisioning of comprehensive health protection with adequate financing. Meanwhile, healthcare costs have gone up due to more ill health, the rising costs of new medical technologies, privatization and less public procurement.

Everyone – nations as well as families – faces more unexpected health threats, worsened by rising catastrophic and other medical expenses, more economic vulnerability, greater income insecurity, declining public provisioning, and costlier coping strategies.

Nazihah Noor

‘Premature’ death, disability and illness have meant losing billions of years of healthy life, largely due to preventable non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Although they cause many health losses, relatively little public health spending goes to NCD prevention.

Spending and outcomes
Most countries, including in the developing world, have seen rising healthcare spending. But there is no direct relationship between health expenditure and wellbeing. Hence, more spending does not ensure better outcomes, whereas appropriate public healthcare provisioning does.

Although health spending has been rising in many developing countries, it has generally remained low in relation to income. Government health services were already facing fiscal constraints before the pandemic. To cope with COVID-19, public health expenditure in many middle-income countries spiked.

Chronic underinvestment in public services has undermined healthcare overall. Many underfunded systems have nonetheless improved health conditions, reducing morbidity and mortality. Decent health outcomes, despite relatively low health spending, imply greater public expenditure ‘cost-effectiveness’ or efficiency.

Nonetheless, much more could be achieved with better policies, increased spending and more appropriate priorities. Thus, reducing child and maternal mortality, besides improving sanitation and water supplies, have significantly raised life expectancy in developing countries.

Improving policy
To enhance wellbeing, health systems must better protect people from current and future threats and challenges. Better public healthcare financing – with absolutely and relatively more, but also more appropriate funding – seems most important.

Developing country governments are often fed oft-repeated, but doubtful claims that current government healthcare spending is too high, and health insurance is necessary to fill the funding gap. Instead, official revenue should mainly fund health budgets to ensure efficiency and equity.

Health promotion should involve more preventive efforts. By mainly focusing on curative interventions, most government spending and policy priorities neglect determinants of wellbeing, including inequities. Some WHO recommended policies deemed most cost-effective target tobacco products, harmful alcohol use and unhealthy diets.

Policy coherence
To better address overall wellbeing, a more comprehensive and integrated approach should integrate health with related public policies. Affordable healthier food options, physical exercise and healthier lifestyles deserve far greater emphases.

For example, a cheap, but nutritious, safe and healthy daily school feeding programme in Japan – introduced a century ago, when it was still quite poor – has ensured life expectancy in the archipelagic nation has been the world’s highest for decades.

An ‘all-of-government’ approach should ensure meals planned by dieticians, mindful not only of good nutrition, but also of local food cultures, costs, safety and micronutrient deficiencies. With a ‘whole-of-society’ approach, involved parents can ensure schoolchildren are fed safe food from farmers not using toxic pesticides.

This can be ensured with the food or agriculture ministry’s participation. Farmer organizations can be contracted to supply needed foodstuff with initial support from government agricultural extension services, not corporate salesmen. This, in turn, improves the safety of all farm produce, ensuring healthy food for all.

Health reform recommendations should prioritize governments’ major commitments – to the people and the international community – of ‘universal health coverage’ to ensure ‘health for all’.

Nazihah Noor is a public health policy researcher. She led two reports on health system issues in Malaysia, Social Inequalities and Health in Malaysia and Health and Social Protection: Continuing Universal Health Coverage. She is currently pursuing a PhD in public health in Switzerland.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Nelson Mandela, then Deputy President of the African National Congress of South Africa, raises his fist in the air while addressing the Special Committee Against Apartheid in the General Assembly Hall, June 22, 1990. Global alliance CIVICUS commemorated Mandela Day with a reminder that many rights defenders are jailed and intimidated. Credit: UN Photo/Pernaca Sudhakaran

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI , Jul 18 2023 (IPS)

As human rights increasingly deteriorate, rights defenders are being violently suppressed. Abducted, detained, tortured, and humiliated, many now live one day at a time. They have been told, in no uncertain times, that anything could happen. They are now asking the global community to stand as a witness.

“Like Nelson Mandela was, hundreds of human rights defenders around the world are in prison for their human rights activities. Just like him, they are unjustly treated, fictitious charges levelled against them and handed the most serious sentences that are often used against criminals. One of our priorities is to work with human rights defenders to advocate for their release,” says David Kode from CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society with a presence in 188 countries around the world.

Inspired by the life story of the late iconic South African President Nelson Mandela, the Stand As My Witness Campaign was launched on Nelson Mandela Day in 2020 by CIVICUS, its members and partners.

In commemoration of the third anniversary of the Stand As My Witness campaign, CIVICUS and its partners, including human rights defenders, hosted a public event titled, ‘Celebrating Human Rights Defenders through Collaborative Advocacy Efforts’, to celebrate the brave contributions of human rights defenders and raise awareness about those who are still in detention.

David Kobe said that CIVICUS had profiled at least 25 human rights defenders since the Stand As My Witness Campaign started three years ago. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

“Over the last three years, we have profiled more than 25 human rights defenders collectively because some human rights defenders are profiled as individuals and others, such as those in Burundi, are profiled as a group because they were arrested as a group. More than 18 human rights defenders have been released over the last three years. As we celebrate, we must recognize that the journey has just started, it is quite long, and the battle is far from over,” Kode said.

The event brought together families and colleagues of detained human rights defenders, previously detained human rights defenders, representatives from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other human rights mechanisms and civil society organisations.

Lysa John, the Secretary General of CIVICUS, spoke about how special Mandela Day is, for it is the one day of the year when the spirit of solidarity is celebrated in his memory. It is also a day to look back at what has been achieved and how much more could be achieved in solidarity.

She further addressed issues of civic space restrictions, closure of civic space and how these restrictions impact societies and individuals. John stressed that the event was held in the context of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and the 75th anniversary of the UNDHR or Human Rights 75 to promote their objectives.

“One-third of the population of the world live in contexts which are closed. Where attacks on people who speak out or exercise their civic freedoms are attacked or arrested without any accountability. More and more people in the world, in fact, the largest section of the world, estimated at 44 percent live in countries where civic space and civic freedoms are restricted. In this regard, civic society is more than ever reinventing itself, and there is increased support for them,” she said.

Birgit Kainz from OHCHR spoke about the importance of bringing to life the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders for its adoption was a consensus that human dignity is at the core of everything.

She spoke about the need to be deliberate in the defence of civic space as it enables people to shape their future and that of their children. Kainz said that protection and security are two sides of the same coin and urged participants to network and connect to improve civic space and to also play a complementary role. Further emphasizing the need to maintain data, especially about who is in detention and where in line with SDGs.

Maximilienne Ngo Mbe from Cameroon is one of the most prolific human rights defenders in Africa. She spoke about the need to create safe spaces for women rights defenders. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Maximilienne Ngo Mbe spoke about the life and times of human rights defenders today. She is one of the most prolific human rights defenders in Africa and continues to receive a lot of restrictions for her fearless human rights activities that often have her fleeing from Cameroon to other countries for safety.

“We need a network for women rights defenders because of the special challenges they face as girls, wives, mothers and vulnerable people. Women are engaging less and less because of these challenges and the multiple roles they play in society,” she said.

The event was an opportunity for released human rights defenders such as Maria Esperanza Sanchez from Nicaragua to speak about resilience in the face of brutal regimes. She spoke about how armed men often came to her house to threaten and intimidate her. Of her arrest, humiliation and torture in 2020, being sentenced to 10 years in prison and her eventual release.

It was also an opportunity to speak on behalf of those who cannot. They include Khurram Parvez, a prolific human rights defender in India. At the time of his arrest for human rights activities, he was leading two critical organizations at the national and regional levels.

Parvez is being charged as a terrorist. His story aligns with that of Kenia Hernandez, a 32-year-old indigenous Amuzga woman, mother of two, lawyer and an advocate for human rights who is currently detained in a maximum-security prison in Mexico and has been sentenced to 21 years. Her story is illustrative of the high-risk female rights defenders and people from marginalized groups face.

Ruben Hasbun from Global Citizen spoke about how to effectively advocate for the release of human rights defenders, sharing lessons from Stand As My Witness campaigners.  The event further opened up space to address the role of the private sector.

Christopher Davis from Body Shop, a brand that continues to be at the forefront of supporting human rights and rights defenders, fighting social and environmental injustice.

At the end of the session, participants were invited to sign a petition to have the United Arab Emirates immediately and unconditionally release all those detained solely for the exercise of their human rights and end all abuse and harassment of detained critics, human rights defenders, political opposition members, and their families.

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IPS – UN Bureau, IPS UN Bureau Report, CIVICUS

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