Africa

A variety of insect-based delicacies. It is estimated that 2.5 billion people around the world eat insects as part of their regular diet. Encouraging the eating of insects could have health and climate change benefits. Credit: icipe

By Joyce Chimbi
Nairobi, May 6 2022 (IPS)

Growing up in Samoya Village of Bungoma County in the Western part of Kenya, Elvis Wanjala has fond childhood memories of the rainy season, chasing and catching black-bellied winged termites in the rain.

“The termites would also come inside the house, attracted by the light late in the evening. My mother would sun-dry the termites and pan-fry them. We would then eat the crunchy termites with ugali (posho) and a serving of traditional vegetables,” he recounts.

“I grew up believing that everybody ate termites. At 11 years, I visited my uncle in Nairobi and was shocked to find that termites were more of a nuisance than food. One morning after a heavy downpour, I watched in awe as women and girls swept termites from their doorsteps and threw them in the bin.”

Beatrice Karare from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries tells IPS termites, and other insects such as grasshoppers, locusts, black and white ants, and crickets are part of traditional diets in Western Kenya, but not so in other parts of the country.

But with rising inflation, scientists at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) say edible insects are a low-cost alternative to more expensive foods. The Kenyan ‘food basket’ indicates that food inflation rose by 20 percent in January 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

These are pan-dried nsenene. Researchers say edible insects provide low-cost alternative protein. Credit: icipe

Dr Saliou Niassy, a scientist from icipe, tells IPS edible insects contain high-quality protein, vitamins, fibre, calcium, iron, B vitamins, selenium, zinc, and amino acids and are also an excellent source of healthy fats.

Insect oil produced through an icipe research project from two edible insects – the desert locust and the African bush-cricket – was richer in omega-3 fatty acids, flavonoids, and Vitamin E than the plant oil.

Niassy says as this East African nation grapples with increasing threats to food security such as “climate change, landscape degradation and pest invasion, edible insects are a viable and affordable alternative.” It is projected that Africa’s annual food import bill of  $35 billion could rise to $110 billion by 2025.

A survey conducted by icipe shows there are an estimated 500 species of edible insects in African communities. The Central African region is home to approximately 256 edible insect species. East Africa hosts about 100 species, and about eight species are available in North Africa. An estimated 17 primary species are used for feed and food in Kenya.

“We have had two main challenges as far as increasing consumption of insects is concerned, a lack of legislation around the production, packaging, and marketing of insects for food and strong perceptions that dictate what is culturally acceptable as food. There are also strong beliefs that you must be very poor to eat insects,” Karare explains.

Karare says some of these issues were resolved in December 2020 when Kenya became the first African country to develop national standards regulating the production, handling, and processing of insects for food and feed.

Included in the regulation are stipulations of the necessary minimum infrastructural and environmental requirements necessary for the ideal production of edible insects, including how they are packaged and presented.

Wanjala, now a teacher based in Nairobi, says communities that do not eat insects and children could be slowly introduced to insect products such as biscuits “so that the idea of eating insects can slowly sink in. When it comes to eating whole insects, I find that people are also more likely to try dry-fried, crunchy insects.”

Despite the challenges of creating a viable and attractive market for insects, Karare is convinced that insects can be part of the diet in many homes, drawing parallels with the journey of Kenyans embracing traditional vegetables.

“A few years ago, highly nutritious traditional vegetables were eaten by a few communities. In Central Kenya, for instance, Amaranthus was considered to be food for poor people. Today, Amaranthus is a popular delicacy and part of the menu in five-star hotels. The same with pumpkin leaves,” Karare observes.

“We need to educate the people that edible insects can add nutrients to a plant-based meal. More importantly, insects can even nutritionally replace meat.”

Pan-dried desert grasshoppers. Credit: icipe

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), an estimated 2.5 billion people eat insects as part of their regular meals, whole or in processed food products such as snacks and pasta. Karare says the global edible insect market estimated at $112 million in 2019, could reach $1.5 billion by 2026.

There are approximately 1,900 edible species globally, including butterflies, cockroaches, crickets, grasshoppers, ants, bees, dragonflies, beetles, domestic silk moths, centipedes and locusts.

According to FAO, turning to insects is not only good for the body but highly environment friendly and could contribute to reducing the emission of harmful greenhouse gases. The livestock sector contributes significantly to climate change as total emissions from global livestock represent 14.5 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

Cattle reared for beef and milk and inedible outputs such as manure and draft power account for 65 percent of the livestock sector’s emissions. Producing insects for food is yet another alternative to reducing the emission of harmful greenhouse gases, the FAO says.

Crickets need six times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep, and half as much as pigs and broiler chickens to produce the same amount of protein. Additionally, insect-based products are found to have a much smaller carbon footprint in comparison to conventional livestock.

With these revelations, Niassy says there is a lot more to learn and benefit from, “we have just scratched the surface in terms of sustainable access to biodiversity for resilience, livelihood, food and nutritional security in Africa.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• Addressing Global Food Security with Optimism and Resilience
• High Yield Seeds Could Address Food Shortages and Place Africa on Track to Zero Hunger – Experts
• Kenyan Community Project Saving Forests, Saving Livelihoods

More people in Kenya are moving out of the capital Nairobi to a simpler life in the countryside.

Kateryna Timoshenko, Networks of People Living with HIV, Kirovograd oblast. Credit: 100%LIFE via UNAIDS

By Eamonn Murphy
GENEVA, May 6 2022 (IPS)

Alongside the devastation caused by bombs and bullets, the war in Ukraine has wrought another danger that can be as deadly as the violence itself: the disruption of access to health services for people who will not survive if cut off from health care.

Health provision has been badly hit, and supply lines crucial for the delivery of medicines severely disrupted. The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 186 attacks on health-care facilities since the war began.

WHO’s survey showed that of the Ukrainian households in which someone has a chronic health condition, one in three are now unable to get the medicines and care they need.

People living with HIV depend upon daily medication to keep them healthy and alive. More than 40 health-care facilities that provided HIV treatment, prevention and care services before the war have closed or been destroyed.

Many Ukrainians hemmed in by the conflict are unable to make a journey to the health facilities that remain. Approximately 260 000 Ukrainians are living with HIV. UNAIDS is working with partners to ensure the continuity of HIV services. Disruption to treatment services puts their lives on the line and risks a resurgence of the country’s HIV pandemic.

In what is a huge achievement, medicines have successfully been brought into Ukraine, thanks to PEPFAR (the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which has committed US$ 13 million to procure 51 million emergency doses of HIV medicines, enough to keep Ukrainians living with HIV supplied with life-saving treatment for a year.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria also is fast-tracking US$15 million in emergency funds for Ukraine and some nearby countries to enable continued provision of life-saving care.

Delivering medicine and humanitarian aid to those in need. Credit: 100%LIFE via UNAIDS

Now that HIV medicines have reached Ukraine, attention is focused on getting them to everyone who needs them. Before the war, the Ukranian AIDS response had built up an exemplary model of community-led services working in partnership with government. It’s the resilience of that network of community-led services built up over decades that has enabled the AIDS response to continue.

The Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and civil society organizations such as 100% Life, the country’s biggest network of people living with HIV, are working together to maintain services.

Delivering medicines in this war is a huge logistical and security challenge. Several volunteer drivers working for 100% Life have been killed while trying to deliver desperately needed HIV medicines to front-line areas.

Despite the enormous difficulties involved, grass-roots organizations are a lifeline for many people who move to safer places within or outside the country, providing them with humanitarian aid and HIV medicines—even in areas of intense conflict. Their courageous work is saving lives, but the needs and challenges are huge and growing, and resources are not sufficient.

“The situation for people living with HIV in Ukraine is desperate. We are trying to deliver medicines, food and other emergency assistance to people in need, but the work is dangerous and volunteer drivers are putting their lives at risk. If we don’t get more help, I am not sure how much longer we can continue, especially reaching people in the front-line zones,” Dmytro Sherembey, the Head of the 100% LIFE Coordination Council, has shared.

That is why UNAIDS has issued an urgent call to the international community to upscale support to help these everyday heroes to save lives.

The challenge to reach people in need has been greatly exacerbated by the displacement of people. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are now 7.7 million internally displaced people in Ukraine.

The war has also caused millions of Ukrainians to flee their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring countries, including Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

It is estimated that up to 30 000 Ukrainian refugees may currently need HIV medicines as the stocks they carry with them become depleted. WHO has helped to broker a deal with the pharmaceutical company ViiV Healthcare to provide donations of HIV medicines to Czechia, Poland and other European Union countries receiving large numbers of Ukrainian refugees.

Ensuring that the medicines get to those who need them requires the involvement of communities of people living with HIV and key population networks in host countries to ensure tailored outreach and trust-building. These community-led organizations require upscaled international support too.

It’s clear from listening to those receiving and providing health services on the ground that what Ukraine most needs is peace. That is why the United Nations Secretary-General has called for a complete cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine.

The damage of this awful war means, however, that even once there is peace, enormous and long-term needs for international assistance will remain. Support will be needed in particular for community-led organizations, whose partnership with the public health system is key to ensuring health for all.

Meanwhile, as the impact of the war worsens, the world must increase support to Ukrainian civil society organizations to maintain health provision. This is vital to preventing a resurgence of Ukraine’s HIV pandemic. And for Ukrainians living with HIV, it is literally a matter of life and death.

Civil society networks, on whose creativity and courage HIV services depend, are managing to get life-saving HIV medicines to people. They do it on a shoestring, powered only by determination and love of humanity.

Many of those involved are themselves people living with HIV—they understand the gravity of what is at stake if they cannot continue their work. The help they provide to save lives risks their own. They do not seek international admiration, but they do need an upscaling of international help. And they need it now.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Excerpt:

The writer is UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director and is leading UNAIDS’ humanitarian response.

A selection of the best photos from across Africa this week.

Astou Sokhna died after reportedly being refused a Caesarean, sparking a national outcry.

Francisca Piecho stands with her daughter-in-law Johana Cruz and her grandson outside her home that now has electricity from solar energy, in the village of Cacho de Oro, Teotepeque municipality, in the southern department of La Libertad. Hers and other rural Salvadoran families have seen their lives improve with the arrival not only of electricity but also of a reforestation program in the area. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

By Edgardo Ayala
TEOTEPEQUE, El Salvador , May 5 2022 (IPS)

After working on the family farm, Carlos Salama comes home and plugs his cell phone into a socket via a solar-powered electrical system, a rarity in this rural village in southern El Salvador.

“Just being able to charge the phone with our own electricity, which comes from the sun, is a great thing for us,” the 29-year-old farmer who lives in Cacho de Oro, a rural settlement nestled in hills on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Teotepeque municipality in the southern department of La Libertad, told IPS.

Salama’s mother, Rosa Aquino, was also enthusiastic about the electrical system installed in her home and 15 other houses in the village in late April.

“It feels good, we never had electricity… at night it makes you happy. When I was a child we used kerosene lanterns. And then battery lamps, and now we save what we used to spend on batteries,” Aquino, 45, told IPS.

Salvadoran farmer Carlos Salama recharges his cell phone by means of a solar energy system installed on the roof of the house where he lives in the village of Cacho de Oro, in the municipality of Teotepeque. Although the system does not support appliances that consume more than 500 watts, the families now have lightbulbs to use at night, can charge their cell phones and can use small appliances. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

Poverty in plain sight

Some 50 families live in Cacho de Oro, dedicated to subsistence agriculture. And although the village has had electricity from the national grid for some years now, nearly twenty families, the poorest, have not been able to afford the connection to the grid.

That was the case of the family of Francisca Piecho, a 43-year-old farmer who lives with her son and his wife and their little boy in a dirt-floor dwelling.

Piecho’s husband works in another area of the country cutting sugar cane, as he could not find work in Cacho de Oro.

The family could not afford to pay the 500 dollars it cost to connect to the national power line that had finally reached the village.

“Some families have relatives in other countries who send them remittances, but we don’t have any, and we couldn’t afford it,” Piecho told IPS, while stirring a stew on a wood stove.

Her son was not at home when IPS visited the village. But Piecho said he works in agriculture, mainly during the May to November rainy season, because in the dry season there is almost no work available.

The village of Cacho de Oro is perched on top of a hill along the Pacific Ocean in southern El Salvador, a remote impoverished area where unemployment is particularly acute during the November to May dry season, when no agricultural work is available. The privatized electricity system has not connected these villages to the national grid because it is not profitable. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

In El Salvador, electricity distribution has been privatized since 1998, and many rural villages do not have electric power because they are very small and the companies do not see investing there as good business.

According to official figures, 95.2 percent of households in rural areas have access to electricity, while 2.0 percent use candles, 0.8 percent use solar panels, 0.5 percent use kerosene, and 1.4 percent use other means.

Official data also shows that the average monthly household income in urban areas is 728 dollars compared to 435 dollars in rural areas.

But now the poorest families in Cacho de Oro also have electricity, and from a clean energy source, thanks to the solar power project brought to the village by the governmental Environmental Fund of El Salvador (Fonaes), at a cost of 16,000 dollars.

Staff from the municipal government in Jicalapa, in the southern Salvadoran department of La Libertad, explain to a group of residents from the village of Izcacuyo about the solar electrification project that began in December 2021, as well as the community reforestation effort. CREDIT: Municipality of Jicalapa

Solar energy to the rescue

Solar panels were installed on the rooftops of the houses of nearly twenty families. The panel provides just enough electric power to connect a couple of light bulbs, charge a cell phone and plug in small appliances that consume less than 500 watts.

“If the appliances consume more than that, it’s not enough to turn them on,” Arturo Solano, a technician with Tecnosolar, the company that supplied the panels, told IPS.

He added that there are approximately 100 community solar energy projects in rural El Salvador, a country of 6.7 million inhabitants. About 7,500 homes have been electrified with this clean energy source.

“You have to adapt to the system and buy appliances that are compatible with the power it supplies,” he said, adding that the amount of energy provided depends on the investment made, because if you want more power, you have to install more panels.

Even so, with this very basic electricity service, the residents of Cacho de Oro are happy to at least have electric light and an outlet to charge their cell phones and stay in communication.

Before the arrival of the solar energy project, some of the families were able to connect to the national grid indirectly through neighbors who were connected. But this meant that they had to pay part of the monthly bill.

“Now we no longer pay part of the bill, which cost us five dollars. We use that money to buy some food, eggs or oil,” Francisco de la Cruz Tulen, a 30-year-old farmer who lives with his wife Milagro Menjívar, 21, and their two small children, told IPS, pleased to have electricity at no monthly cost.

In the rainy season, Tulen, like the rest, rents a small plot of land to plant the staple crops of Central America – corn and beans – to feed the family. He also works on other farms as a day laborer, to earn a little money.

But in the dry season, he leaves the village to look for work in the sugar cane fields. This work, one of the most physically demanding in agriculture, pays between six and 24 dollars a day.

In addition to the solar electrification project in the village of Cacho de Oro in southern El Salvador, reservoirs have been built to capture rainwater and irrigate fruit and timber trees planted to reforest the area and provide food, such as avocados, and keep the aquifers healthy. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

Reservoirs for life

There is no potable water in Cacho de Oro. The families get their water from a spring that sometimes dries up in the dry season and at times they have to buy water in barrels brought in by truck. Each barrel costs 2.5 dollars.

“There are possibilities of getting piped water. A Japanese development cooperation project has dug a well, but we are still waiting to see,” German de la Cruz Tesorero, a resident of the village and the president of the local Communal Development Association (Adescos), an organizational system for small settlements in this Central American country, told IPS.

To maintain water sources and to provide food, the solar electrification project is also accompanied by a reforestation effort in the area. In addition, small reservoirs have been built to irrigate the trees and home gardens.

This has occurred not only in Cacho de Oro, but also in another village located downstream, called Izcacuyo, in the municipality of Jicalapa, also in the department of La Libertad.

Some families have planted vegetable gardens next to their homes in the southern Salvadoran village of Cacho de Oro, growing vegetables such as “pipián”, a highly prized local squash, to boost food production in this impoverished part of the country. CREDIT: Edgardo Ayala/IPS

The families of Izcacuyo have their own solar electrification project, inaugurated in December 2021, with the difference that they had never received energy from the national grid.

To charge a cell phone, villagers had to go to the canton of La Perla, a 30-minute bus ride away.

The total cost of the local electrification and reforestation project was 38,000 dollars, including 30,000 provided by Fonaes, 4,000 by the municipal government and the other 4,000 from work contributed by the community, which was counted as hours of labor.

Some 5,450 fruit trees have been planted in family plots, including avocado, lemon and mango trees, as well as timber species such as madrecacao (Gliricidia sepium), which offers advantages to the habitat and soils by fixing nitrogen.

The project also provided fertilizer to ensure that the trees grew well.

The municipal government’s idea is that in three or four years, families will be harvesting avocados, mangos and lemons, and part of the production can be marketed along the coastal strip of the department of La Libertad, catering to tourists and hotels and restaurants in the area.

“They will see the benefits in a couple of years,” said William Beltrán, a technician in the Jicalapa municipal government, during a meeting with IPS in San Salvador.

By External Source
May 5 2022 (IPS-Partners)

 

ECW: Congratulations on your appointment by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as the Special Adviser for the Transforming Education Summit. What do you hope to achieve through the Summit and why is it so critical that the world comes together to address the global education crisis around this September’s UN General Assembly?

Leonardo Garnier: In order to understand why it makes sense to convene the “Transforming Education Summit,” the first thing would be to recognize that, in terms of education, we are not doing enough, and we are not doing it well enough. Of course, there was some progress in the past decades, but it was insufficient and highly unequal. The simple truth is that, today, well into the 21st century, millions of children and young people are still not in school, and millions of those who are in school are not really learning, not really achieving the kind of learning that is relevant for their lives in the world they are living in. In most countries, we are lagging behind what was established as Sustainable Development Goal 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” And this is ethically unacceptable, socially perverse, politically dangerous but, also, highly irrational and inefficient from an economic perspective. And yet, this is what is happening.

That is why the Summit is so important: it is not a technical, but a political summit. It is a moment of truth for heads of states and leaders of nations and global institutions, where we must commit ourselves not just to accelerate the pace, but actually to reimagine and transform education systems because only through such a radical transformation will we be able to really accomplish the goals of inclusive, quality education for all.

ECW: We seem to be falling behind in our global efforts to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (SDG4). What must political leaders, public and private sector donors, and other stakeholders do to align our efforts to achieve these goals and why is SDG4 so important in achieving the other goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda?

Leonardo Garnier: This is probably the most obvious and, at the same time, the most difficult question we are facing in education: we know that investing in education is the key, not just to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality but also as an essential part of promoting more peaceful and sustainable development. We also know that investing in education is critical for accelerating economic growth and improving the future income of people and nations. In fact, we know that the rates of return of investing in education are higher than almost any other kind of investment. Then, how do we explain the fact that we insist in under-investing in education?

Aside from the obvious fact that some countries are currently too poor to invest what they would need to invest in education – I will refer to this problem in the next question – I think there are structural and political-economy realities that explain that even in middle-income countries we do not invest enough in education. In order to explain such an absurd situation, I would propose two simplified hypotheses.

One has to do with what we call low-level equilibria or poverty traps, which means that, in countries where low wages and low productivity prevail, education per se is not perceived as an investment, but merely as an expenditure that will not significantly improve national growth and businesses profitability. Thus, the idea of increasing taxes to finance education is rejected by the business community and by the middle class because it is perceived as a negative distortion instead of being understood as a key game changer. The second and related hypothesis has to do with the political economy of such low-level equilibria and the highly unequal character of less developed countries: the elite – whether we are thinking of the 1%, the 10% or the 30% with higher incomes, have their educational needs pretty much solved through expensive private education. Thus, increasing taxes and expenditures for expanding and improving education is quite unattractive for them: they see it as wasting money on other people’s children. And … they don´t really care.

This is why, even if we know that financing education through taxes and the national budget would be a fair and efficient way of promoting both a dynamic and sustainable style of development, it does not appear as attractive to elites in countries characterized by predominantly extractive or low productivity economies. Low wages attract simple, unsophisticated investments, with low productivity, and these investments do not require better educated or skilled workers. Education, as I said, is perceived as a waste.

Low level equilibria do not wither away easily: they must be broken, so that education is not just “perceived”, but actually works as an investment producing the type of better paid and more productive labor force that a dynamic economy needs. For such a transformation, the voice of the majority of the population, which is now denied access to high quality education, has to be heard loud and clear in the political debate. This is not just a technical or economic matter, it is a political matter.

There are examples in recent history of countries that managed to escape low level equilibria, to transform themselves from extractive- or low-productivity economies with a largely poor and uneducated population, into a vibrant and dynamic society capable of both increasing productivity and wages and improving the education of their population. Such is the path towards equitable and sustainable development and that is the path this summit must promote.

ECW: The Transforming Education Summit is an opportunity to rekindle international political and financial commitment to education as a pre-eminent public good. You have an academic and professional background in both economics and education. Why is financing for education – including for global funds like Education Cannot Wait, the UN global fund for education in emergencies – a priority?

Leonardo Garnier: As I said, the reason many countries are not investing enough in education is complex. It is not just because of ignorance, because they “don’t know” how high the return to investing in education can be, but because their economy is based on the rents they extract from access to very cheap labor and natural resources. So, they don’t have the right incentives to either increase the productivity or guarantee the sustainability of such resources. Insofar as the political system reproduces the logic of an extractive economy, poverty and inequality will remain the inevitable result.

But even when a country manages to change the political balance in order to break free from such poverty trap, it is possible that the kind of investments required for such transformation – like investing in high quality education for all – are beyond their reach. For many poor countries, the relative weight of such effort, when compared to their national income or to their public budget, might be just impossible to sustain.

For this reason, in many low- and lower-middle income countries, national efforts would not be enough to adequately finance their educational investment and they will require the significant support of the international community. Unfortunately, the resources and financial instruments that have been available so far for this purpose, are amazingly small and difficult to access. Thus, in the same way we say we need to transform education, we also need to transform these financial instruments so that the amount, or resources necessary, to finance education across the world – and especially for those who need it the most – are really available and accessible.

Some quite innovative proposals are on the table, and I have no doubt that the Transforming Education Summit will be the right place to discuss them and bring them to life.

ECW: When you served as Minister of Education in Costa Rica, you were able to significantly improve the national enrolment rate, especially for marginalized rural and indigenous communities. Are there lessons that can be adapted and applied to help improve enrolment for children impacted by armed conflicts, displacement and other humanitarian crises?

Leonardo Garnier: The first lesson for any successful reform of education, especially when your purpose is to reach those that have traditionally been excluded from the educational system, is to understand the context and the specific reasons for such exclusion. In the case of Costa Rica, the debt-crisis of the 1980s had a dramatic impact on high school enrolment, which went down to a mere 50% and remained under 60% during the last two decades of the 20th century. Reasons for low enrolment had to do with at least three different dynamics.

One, which we can actually call exclusion, had to do with poverty and the fact that, for poor families, even a free high school education can be too expensive, not just because of indirect costs (books, uniforms and so on) but also because of the opportunity cost of the income that young kids could generate when they work instead of studying.

This type of exclusion had to be confronted through social programs that compensate such costs: wide access to school meals, free transportation and – this was very important – a program of conditional cash transfers for poor students, so they wouldn’t need to work to bring some income home. We also made large educational investment in rural areas and Indigenous communities, which were the ones suffering from the highest exclusion from the educational system. This combination of policies had a clear impact in terms of exclusion: urban/rural educational gaps, income-related educational gaps, and also the gap between students from low and high education background were all significantly reduced.

A second problem we identified could be called “expulsion”, and it was the result of academic failure leading to the need to repeat the academic year, which in turn led to a large over-age student population which easily tended to drop out of high school. This had to be confronted both through improvements in the quality of education, curricular reform, and through reforms in the evaluation system and the elimination of the policy that said that a student would have to repeat the whole year even if he or she failed in only one subject.

Finally, there was something I could very well call “repulsion,” which basically means that students drop out when they do not feel really engaged with what they learn at school, and with the whole experience of being a student. This, again, requires curricular innovations aimed at making learning interesting, useful, relevant and attractive for students living in today’s world. Confronting “repulsion” also had to do with a whole set of activities related with the school experience from a holistic perspective: the role of the arts played a key role; sports and games were also important; the participation in student organizations and student governments, and so on. All activities aimed at developing a sense of belonging in the educational community. With respect to Indigenous populations, this also required specific reforms aimed at respecting their culture and world view, and their right to have teachers from their own communities.

ECW: Armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate-induced disasters, COVID-19 and other protracted crises continue to push millions of children and adolescents out of safe, quality, inclusive learning environments. How can we transform the delivery of education in emergencies and build back better from these interconnected crises in places like Afghanistan, Ukraine, the Sahel and beyond? Also, as the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait and our strategic partners are embracing UN Reform, the Grand Bargain Agreement and Our Common Agenda. How can this reform agenda deliver on the UN promise to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and reaffirm human rights,” as outlined in the United Nations Charter?

Leonardo Garnier: As I said above, inequality has been ingrained in educational systems all over the world, thus reproducing and even widening the already large inequalities that characterize most countries in our planet. Most disadvantaged and vulnerable children, precisely those who would need the earliest and strongest support from public education, tend to be the ones who end up either excluded or receiving the weakest educational services.

But if this is true about what we could call structural inequality, it becomes even more dramatic when we are talking about those children and young persons whose educational opportunities are cut short as a result of particular emergencies arising from situations of conflict, climate change disasters, public health emergencies, or by their forced displacement within and across borders.

Displaced children, especially if they are perceived in some sense as “different” – whether for ethnic, cultural, religious, nationality or other reasons – often face not only educational exclusion, but also various forms of discrimination and aggression (bullying). What should be a mere accidental difference and a situation of vulnerability becomes a source of inequality and even violence. As usual, this tends to affect girls and women in a disproportionate way.

Schools, as educational spaces, should aim exactly for inclusion, not exclusion. Schools should always work as a haven for children facing such dire circumstances; not only as the place where they can continue to learn and develop their capabilities and to reach their potential, but also as safe, inclusive and caring places that makes them feel protected and welcome. Schools – and countries – should promote protection and inclusion in national education systems for refugees, asylum seekers, stateless and any kind of internally displaced children or young persons.

When we talk about “transforming education”, this should be a central piece in the transformation: schools and education systems should make sure that any boy, girl or young person confronting exclusion because of some kind of emergency will be immediately included and cared for and have equal opportunities to fulfil their right to education in emergency contexts. This should be particularly true for girls, young women, for gender diverse persons and for learners with disabilities who tend to face strongest discrimination. This includes not just their access to schools and to learning, but also the necessary emotional and psychological support required.

And yes, this can be expensive, but it is of the essence of human rights. Especially in large emergencies, this would demand significant additional resources to have not only the physical capacity to incorporate new students, but also the availability of adequately trained teachers for emergency contexts.

While highly developed countries might be in a better position to handle such extraordinary needs in times of emergency, it is not always so. And the situation is much more stressful and difficult for less developed countries, who will most certainly need international cooperation to handle the educational demand during unexpected crises. And yet, as has been repeatedly noted, the truth is that education remains one of the most underfunded areas of humanitarian aid, receiving less than 3% of total global humanitarian funding. This has to change. We must ensure sufficient, sustainable, and predictable funding for education in emergencies, including by supporting Education Cannot Wait’s funding need.

ECW: Reading is a key component of education, and we believe that readers (and writers!) are leaders. You’ve written some wonderful children’s books and as well as academic works on society and economics. Could you share the titles of one or two books that have influenced you the most in your life, and why would you recommend them to others to read?

Leonardo Garnier: Reading is many things: reading is useful, as it gives access to other people’s knowledge, which we might need to confront or solve specific problems or to further our own knowledge. Reading is humanly enriching as it lets us experience other people’s lives and tribulations, their feelings and their anguish, as well as their dreams and hopes. Reading puts us in contact with people from other cultures, other times, other places – or with people very much like ourselves. Reading is eye opening – or should I say mind-opening; and reading makes us re-think and re-evaluate our own perspectives, by confronting them with other, different perspectives. Plus, reading is fun and a pleasure, it is a joy. In all these senses, reading is a peculiarly human experience.

There are so many books that I have enjoyed through my life, and that have played an important role for me, that picking two is almost impossible and inevitably unfair.

Many academic books affected my understanding of human society and its complex and unequal development. Among them, I would signal one author – Albert O. Hirschman – because of his immense ability to combine social, economic and political theory with a very peculiar common sense. Of his many books, I would mention “The Strategy of Economic Growth”, “The Passions and the Interests”, and “Exit, Voice and Loyalty” as those which most influenced my own way of thinking about social, economic and political development. But there are so many others…!

And in the field of literature the task is even more difficult, so, again, I will mention three books. I always think of two of them as going very well together: Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and George Orwell’s “1984”: two books written many years ago and which prefigure many of the things we see today in this strange world we’re living in. (We could probably now add Margaret Atwood’s “A Handmaid’s Tale” and have a trilogy). And then, there is the magnificent “Memoirs of Hadrian” by Marguerite Yourcenar. In her notes about this book, she quotes Flaubert as saying: “When the gods no longer existed and Christ had not yet appeared, there was a unique moment, from Cicero to Marcus Aurelius, when man was alone”. And that is what she was looking for in Hadrian; again, in her words: “A large part of my life would be spent trying to define, and then portraying this man: alone, and, at the same time, linked with everything.” As we all are.

ECW: The Transforming Education Summit is a key moment in 2022 to help change the world for the better for children. Please feel free to add in any points here about the Summit which you’d like our readers to know about as the world mobilizes towards it.

Leonardo Garnier: As the great Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, once said, we have to understand education as the responsible praxis of freedom. Every boy, every girl, every young person must be able to fulfil his or her full personal potential and to become the person he or she wants to be. Everyone should have access to the best education for achieving his or her goals and to actively participate in the construction of their own communities, of their own country and, of course, on the collective construction of the world we want to live in. That is what education is all about: learning to live together in peace in this fragile world.

My personal frustration is that saying this is nothing new. We’ve said it so many times it sounds like a platitude: all kids should be in school; all students should have access to a high-quality education. And yet, as I said at the beginning, the truth is that millions of kids remain out of school, and millions of students are not learning properly what is relevant for them. We always seem to find an excuse: there is not enough time; there is not enough money; resources are scarce; there are many other priorities; and so on.

Priorities, yes. Let’s look around. Let’s ask ourselves the simplest of questions: while millions of kids are denied their right to a good education, is it true that we are devoting every cent we have, every resource we have, to produce – and to consume – something that is more important that these kids’ education? Is this really about priorities? Or is it that really, we just don’t care enough?

I wonder if arguments or excuses for not assigning the necessary resources to fully achieve quality education for all would remain so if those who have the power to allocate those resources were deciding on the education of their own kids, and not just on the education of “other people’s kids.” If we really believe quality education should be for all – really for all – then we should also understand that every kid is our kid. And yes, they should be held accountable if they don’t do so.

This summit should tell not just whether we understand the importance of education for all; but whether we really care.

About Leonardo Garnier

Leonardo Garnier is the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for the Transforming Education Summit. A Costa Rican national, he is an economist who graduated with a Ph.D. from the New School for Social Research in New York. He also holds a B.A. from the University of Costa Rica, where he is a professor. Garnier was the Minister of Public Education in Costa Rica during two consecutive terms (2006-2014), as well as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy (1994-1998).

As an academic, he has published articles in journals and books on economic and social issues linked to development, as well as the book “Costa Rica: un país subdesarrollado casi exitoso” (Costa Rica: an almost successful underdeveloped country), written with Laura Cristina Blanco. He is the author of three books of short stories: “Mono Congo y León Panzón“, “Gracias a Usted” and “El sastrecillo ¿valiente?”. Garnier is also the author of multiple opinion articles and actively participates as an opinion maker in digital media and social networks.

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur becomes the first African to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event after a straight-sets victory at the Madrid Open.

The Kenyan villagers were on alert after some of their livestock had recently gone missing.

By Marty Logan
KATHMANDU, May 5 2022 (IPS)

This is our third episode on the ongoing movements of people around the world. You can listen to the previous ones, the first about climate migrants and the second on remittances, on any podcast app.

If you’re like me you were surprised to learn about the international students trapped in Ukraine after the Russian invasion in February. In fact, the country had more than 75,000 students from abroad in 2020 according to the Ukraine government.

That figure highlights how student movement globally has changed in recent decades, with many scholars, particularly from the global South, bypassing traditional destinations like the US and UK for lesser known and cheaper centres. But one consistent trend is growth: in 2000 the number of international students globally was estimated at 2 million and by 2019 it had tripled to 6 million.

Our guest today, Rajika Bhandari, understands intimately the movements of international students. She was one herself in the 1990s, travelling from India to the US, where she eventually settled and began a career examining how students travel to learn in foreign countries.

Author of the recently published book America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility, Rajika tells me how certain aspects of the international student experience have remained the same, including financial challenges and adaptation issues. Meanwhile other issues have emerged, like the global rise in nationalism and the growth in academic refugees — young people who flee crises in countries like Ukraine and Afghanistan but are not treated like ‘official’ students in their receiving countries.

Rajika also puts a unique spin on a decades-old topic — explaining how the ‘brain drain’ that steals the young minds that represent the potential of poorer countries is morphing into ‘brain circulation.’ This post-modern movement can have multiple destinations, including students’ home countries, but those nations must be aware and engaged in attracting talent to come home.

Resources

Rajika Bhandari’s website. Check out the collection of articles on various aspects of international students.

Rajika Bhandari’s book — American Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility

 

 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres at a press encounter with the President of Ukraine in Kyiv, 28 April '22. Credit: United Nations

By Nickolay Kapitonenko
KYIV, Ukraine, May 5 2022 (IPS)

Before the war, Ukraine’s dream to become part of the EU was exactly that – a dream. But the new political reality could make it come true.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed and to some extent even destroyed the familiar international political reality. Up until 24 February, Russia had been integrated into the global economy, had excellent growth prospects, and the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was almost finished.

Moreover, NATO had no intention of expanding in any direction and Ukraine joining the EU seemed to be a very long way off given the usual plethora of domestic problems the country was facing.

The Kremlin has chosen a calculated gamble to play to its own advantages, at great cost to many. Russia’s war against Ukraine is a profound crisis capable of dramatically changing how things pan out in the future, making certain developments highly probable which just two months ago seemed utterly implausible.

One such scenario relates to Ukraine’s EU membership. On 28 February in the besieged capital of Kyiv, the fate of which at that point was entirely unclear, President Zelenskyy signed a formal request to accede to the European Union along with a joint declaration with the prime minister and head of the Ukrainian parliament.

At that point, Kyiv had already been clinging on for four days, and the first doubts regarding Russia’s ability to wage a quick and successful campaign were beginning to plunge Europe into a state of strategic uncertainty.

Nickolay Kapitonenko

This was a great symbolic moment for Zelenskyy. For many Ukrainians, it was a light at the end of the tunnel, and for the EU it provided a potential basis for the future restructuring of the entire system of international security. And there is little doubt that the system needs restructuring.

In March 2014, a similar sense of symbolism and hope for the future accompanied the signing of the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, less than a week after the Crimean status referendum and at the height of the complex and volatile revolutionary events in Kyiv.

This step made a crucial contribution to the consolidation of Ukrainian statehood, to the country’s vision for the future and to its fundamental system of values. Stripped of the hope of rapid accession to the EU – the fact that the Association Agreement never provided for membership is often called to mind in Europe – Ukraine could at least focus on realising the potential of the most extensive association agreement in history.

In 2022, the context of the negotiations regarding EU–Ukraine relations changed dramatically. From an ever-moving prospect, Ukraine’s integration into the EU became one of very few elements capable of making some form of progress when it came to resolving the conflict.

NATO is not an option

It is all about security guarantees. The Russian invasion forced Ukraine to prepare for the next war. No promises — whether written or verbal — would be enough. From now on, when it came to relations with Russia, any Ukrainian government would have to proceed on the basis of a worst-case scenario regarding the course of events.

The only way of preventing renewed aggression from Russia is either to rely on direct security guarantees, or to invest a significant share of resources in constructing and supporting effective, modern armed forces. Membership in NATO could also be an effective mechanism to guarantee security but this does not seem realistic and Russia has declared it a threat to its security.

The rationale that prevailed before the war continues to apply here: a high risk of direct conflict with Russia makes Ukraine’s aim of NATO accession more difficult. In light of this, there are ongoing discussions about security guarantees on the individual country level and even on a multilateral basis outside NATO.

This is a complex debate. Firstly, few are in a position to give such guarantees, especially when we are talking about a potential conflict with Russia. The US is probably the only country that could provide effective and credible guarantees. It is the only country with the capacity to project its military power to an extent that would deter Russia.

Secondly, there are not many countries that would be willing to provide security guarantees carrying such high future risks. That said, the West cannot afford to refuse a dialogue on the issue of security guarantees because a continuation of the conflict in its current state presents Europe with serious problems.

Membership of the European Union, on the other hand, does not seem to antagonise Russia in the same way. In its pre-war rhetoric, Moscow never raised the issue of EU expansion and never accused the EU of being a threat to its security. This creates a certain amount of scope to pursue other possibilities.

Of course, EU membership cannot be seen as providing a complete security guarantee. However, it is capable of increasing the costs of aggression for Russia and providing the prospect of recovery for Ukraine’s frail economy. Such recovery would be a precondition for Ukraine to be able to sustain effective defence capabilities.

An open door for European membership

Obviously, it is not as simple as this. At the conceptual level, and this is something many European officials have already pointed out, it is impossible to force EU membership, even with the ‘accelerated procedure’. It is a lengthy and complex process requiring coordination of a myriad aspects, from legislation to technical standards.

Even the most optimistic assessments of Ukrainian politicians and diplomats suggest that the process could take several years. Austria, Sweden, and Finland joined in record speed, and the process still took around four years. Since then, the situation has not got any easier, indeed it has arguably become more complex as the number of legal norms and standards within the EU has increased significantly.

Moreover, there is already a ‘queue’ of five other countries waiting to join. These are all undeniably relevant obstacles, given the strong impact of EU bureaucracy and procedures even in these exceptional circumstances.

At the political level, there must be a consensus among all the member states of the EU. The overall situation in Europe has changed so much that rather than the purely symbolic support provided before the war in the form of declarations signed by a number of European states, today there is a broad social consensus when it comes to Ukraine’s European future.

This consensus was already manifested in the official statements from heads of various Eastern European countries asserting that Ukraine deserved to be provided the immediate prospect of membership.

Public opinion throughout Europe is gradually leaning towards supporting this idea – this is also evident in the reactions of national parliaments to the addresses given by the Ukrainian president.

Today, there are very few European politicians who would formally object to the very idea of Ukraine having a future in Europe. Of course, the task will not necessarily be easy. The sympathy and empathy expressed by Europeans towards Ukraine now needs to be translated into political results.

Mobilising the support of the most influential EU member states – Germany and France – will be of critical importance. What is required here is extremely delicate diplomacy and a thorough understanding of Berlin’s and Paris’ interests.

This includes restoring European security. Furthermore, taking this path would require putting an end to old disagreements or, at the very least, map out the prospects of this being achieved.

A question of European security

Yet all the key arguments pertain to security matters. It is not just about Ukraine protecting Europe from Russian revisionism at the cost of so many lives — and how EU membership could serve as a gesture of recognition of the importance of the country’s contribution to European security.

The issue is also that this European security is unlikely to be possible if Ukraine, as before the war, continues to remain in Europe’s ‘grey zone’, without allies, guarantees or a certain future. The threats for Ukraine may not be the same threats as for Europe – however, since Russia’s invasion, everything has fundamentally changed.

In the two months since the start of the conflict, Ukraine is no better prepared for EU membership than before the war. For Europeans, Ukraine joining the EU will be associated with certain risks and problems. But something else has changed as well – the overall situation when it comes to European security.

A continuation of the war will cost Europe far more. The EU can no longer stand by and wait, it, too needs to find a way out of the war being waged by Russia.

If Ukraine is granted the candidate country status in June, this will be an encouraging signal for everyone. That which up until 24 February seemed an impossibility, would become a subject of discussion and an entirely realistic, albeit somewhat remote prospect.

Nickolay Kapitonenko is an associate professor at the Institute of International Relations at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and director of the Centre for International Relations Studies.

Source: International Politics and Society (IPS)-Journal published by the International Political Analysis Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Hiroshimastrasse 28, D-10785 Berlin

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Hadiza celebrates receiving her Menstrual Hygiene Management Kit. The 14-year-old is a member of a Girls’ Club at Dar es Salam camp. The kits remove a barrier to schooling in Chad – where children already face significant difficulties in accessing education. The JRS - ACRA - CELIAF project is funded UNICEF and ECW. Credit: Irene Galera, JRS West Africa

By Joyce Chimbi
Lake Chad, May 5 2022 (IPS)

Fourteen-year-old Hadiza smiles as she clutches a purple bag in her hands. Inside the cloth bag is a Menstrual Hygiene Management kit, an essential item that gives her dignity and enables her to continue with school even when menstruating.

Uncomfortable, in fear of being publicly shamed and ridiculed by their peers when they stain their clothes or period blood runs down their legs for lack of hygiene kits, an estimated one in every ten girls in sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their menstrual cycle.

In emergency and crisis settings, such as Lake Chad’s volatile and precarious security situation, young and adolescent girls are generally twice as likely to be out of school and face significant barriers to education.

Lake Chad is home to an estimated 19,000 refugees, 407,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), and 29,000 returnees, according to UNHCR statistics. Conflict-induced gender barriers to education and a lack of menstrual hygiene products and education around menstruation have long compounded difficulties girls face within the education system in Chad.

“When girls have their period, they feel ashamed to go to school. The first time I had my period, I felt scared and thought I was sick,” says Hadiza, who attends Espoir School, explaining that she experienced these emotions even though her mother and grandmother had told her what to expect.

To ensure young and adolescent girls in Lake Chad and Logone Oriental region do not face additional inequality and fall further behind in their education, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Chad – in consortium with ACRA Foundation and the Liaison Unit for Women’s Associations (CELIAF in French), and the support of UNICEF – has participated in the production and distribution of Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) kits.

These kits are locally manufactured by the Tchad Helping Hand Foundation.

 

The Girls’ Club at Dibina school, Liwa subprefecture were photographed during an ECW and UNICEF visit to their projects in Bagasola. The project promotes Menstrual Hygiene Management for equal and inclusive access to education in Lake Chad and eastern Logone. Credit: Irene Galera, JRS West Africa

Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, also funds this MHM initiative. The initiative has included several MHM awareness-raising campaigns, training for schools and communities in the area, and the construction of hygiene facilities, such as toilets, to allow girls to properly manage their periods while attending classes.

“We must break down barriers that keep young and adolescent girls, like Hadiza, from the classroom. This is precisely what Education Cannot Wait is doing through our support of menstrual hygiene management for girls in Chad and other crisis-affected countries. Together with our partners on the ground, we ensure that girls no longer miss class during their period. This is a crucial investment in the education and futures of girls,” says ECW Director Yasmine Sherif. “Only when we remove each barrier so that girls can stay in school and complete secondary education can we build more inclusive, equal, resilient, and prosperous communities.”

“The initiative seeks to break the taboo around menstruation in schools. We have come a long way. Teachers are talking about menstrual hygiene management to their students without embarrassment or shame,” says Denis Codjo Hounzangbe, JRS Chad Country Director.

Girls’ Club at Dar es Salam camp celebrate receiving their Menstrual Hygiene Management kits. The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) with other partners aim to ensure that adolescent girls don’t miss school during their menstrual cycle. Credit: Irene Galera, JRS West Africa

“This Menstrual Hygiene Management intervention includes the establishment of girls’ clubs which are helping break the silence around the issue of menstruation. Targeted girls learn about menstruation, start to speak freely about it, and sensitize their peers on the importance of hygiene management kits for regular school attendance.”

Hounzangbe says distributed hygiene products protect girls from public shame, missing classes, or dropping out of school. Additionally, he states that the impact of sensitization around menstruation in the community is evident.

“Some of the students’ mothers are now able to space their births. Before the intervention, they had no knowledge of their menstruation cycle,” he observes.

The education system in Lake Chad is strained, and the learning environment is challenging. However, there are more than 6,000 refugee and internally displaced students attending local schools now receiving much-needed support in menstrual hygiene management, according to Jesuit Refugee Service Chad.

Targeted recipients include refugee girls, returnees, and indigenous pupils, including girls with disabilities such as 15-year-old Malembe, who fled Nigeria to Chad in 2019 for fear of being attacked by insurgents known as Boko Haram.

Dar es Salam camp, Malembe’s new home, includes 5,772 children, 41 teachers, and 39 classrooms. She says the intervention has improved her and other girls’ quality of life.

Teacher Souhadi lauds the initiative for training teachers in MHM, which he says is critical to building a safe and inclusive environment for all students. He teaches at the Malmairi school, whose 621 students include 360 girls. All six teachers are men.

“There was a girl in the classroom, sitting on the mat. It was during the second break, and we were about to go home. When she stood up, her classmates noticed she was stained with blood,” he says.

“The girl was ashamed and did not want to get back up. I approached the girl to console her. I told her that she should not be ashamed, that she was not the only one having a period and would not be the last one either. That it is natural for all women and girls.”

The teacher finally convinced the shaken girl not to stay home because of her period. The teachers washed the stained mat, and the next day, the girl came to school and has since attended school without fail.

Souhadi asserts that the MHM training was beneficial for all teachers “because we learned to find the correct words to reassure girls that what is happening to them is a natural process.”

Bana Gana, 15, agrees. Menstruation used to prevent her from going to school.

“Before the JRS menstrual hygiene management kit, I had nothing to wear during my period. I just wore a skirt or underwear without any protection,” she recalls.

Against the backdrop of Chad having a very young population, with an estimated 58 percent of the entire population being under 20 years of age, the importance of improving access to education for all children cannot be overemphasized.

IPS would like to thank JRS and Irene Galera, JRS West Africa and Great Lakes Communications Officer, for collecting the testimonials.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');   Related Articles

• Children with Disabilities are Not Problems to Solve, but Potential to Nurture, says Nujeen Mustafa
• https://www.ipsnews.net/2021/11/education-cannot-wait-investments-change-lives-children-including-risk-girls-children-disabilities-teachers-south-sudan/
• Investing in a Child’s Education is Investing in all of Humanity, Says ECW’s Yasmine Sherif Welcoming Germany’s €200 million Donation

Three African women explain how they have boosted their income by going digital since the start of Covid.

Moeketsi Manake and his family talk about losing everything, including their house, in the Durban floods.

The Talai clan say they were evicted from their land for tea plantations, some still owned by UK firms.

Islamist militants have carried out what may be their most deadly attacks on the African Union mission.

By Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya and David Toovey
KIGALI, Rwanda, May 4 2022 (IPS)

Over the last decade, Rwanda has invested in building efficient and resilient transport systems. Guided by the country’s Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS), the Government of Rwanda has carried out numerous initiatives to promote sustainable mobility and the green economy at large.

Road transport accounts for 13% of total greenhouse gas emissions in Rwanda and this is expected to continue to rise. That is why developing efficient and resilient transport systems is one of 14 programmes of action under the GGCRS. This specific programme of action has four key components that include:

● Improving the efficiency of the internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles measured by reduction in emissions per kilometre
● Awareness of new technology
● Investments in infrastructure
● Developing efficient operational systems measured by reduction in emissions per km.

The 2018 Inventory of Air Pollution found high levels of air pollution across Kigali, mainly due to the burning of biomass and traditional cooking methods in rural and peri-urban areas and vehicular emissions in urban centers. The study found that from 2012 and 2015, the number of hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections doubled to more than 3.3 million. A major contributing factor to air pollution identified by the study was that 95.2% of cars in operation in Rwanda are currently more than ten years old with less stringent emissions standards than newer models. The Government of Rwanda is working to address the pollution levels and GGGI support is vital to ensure that the country can achieve its goal of reducing air pollution.

The Global Green Growth Institute has been supporting the Government of Rwanda to achieve low-carbon development. Part of the GGGI work has been supporting the transition to green cities and sustainable urban development, introduction of non-motorized transport, introduction of car free zones and adoption of e-mobility as a key elements to ensuring that cities are more livable, less polluting, and contribute to improved public health outcomes.

Over the past years, GGGI has supported a range of initiatives across the transport sector to emphasize green cities components of access to sustainable services through an emphasis on walking and cycling and recently in the area of e-mobility. GGGI Rwanda completed assessments in secondary cities and conducted stakeholder consultations on sustainable mobility. The work of GGGI has led to the introduction of cycling and pedestrian lanes on the roads in Kigali and across the six secondary cities as well as the introduction of public bycicle sharing scheme in Kigali and Musanze, and plans to introduce it in Huye and Rubavu cities.

From 2019, GGGI Rwanda has made headway into e-mobility and GGGI is providing technical support and awareness creation support. GGGI Rwanda also worked on a collaborative project on non-motorized transport o contribute towards the pedestrianization of car-free zones in the City of Kigali and the prioritization of walking and cycling infrastructure in urban centres. The aim of all these interventions is to reduce vehicular emissions through several means to support a multi-modal transport system with an emphasis on low-carbon options for residents and commuters.

Here are six ways Rwanda is building resilient and efficient transport systems at both the national and local levels.

1. Developing a national sustainable mobility policy

Rwanda is developing a national sustainable mobility policy to facilitate the transition to e-mobility as the country continues strives for low carbon economic growth. The policy will strengthen collaboration between the private sector and the Government of Rwanda, attract investment in electric mobility solutions, foster new transport innovations and enhance the usage of non-motorised transport as a part of a wider transit oriented development policy.

Rwanda’s transport sector is highly dominated by internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles (mostly old vehicles imported from abroad) , with each of the over 264 500 car registered in Rwanda powered by gasoline or diesel. The transport sector is rapidly growing, with an annual vehicle growth rate of about 12% according to Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure. These fuel-powered vehicles are the biggest contributor to poor air quality along busy roads in Rwanda, according to a 2017 study on air pollution carried by REMA, Rwanda’s environment watchdog.

Among key proposed actions is to transition to electric vehicles, with the country aiming to have 20% of all buses transition to electric by 2030 and introduction of incentives for the adotpion of electric vehicles.

GGGI is supporting the transition to electric vehicles through supporting strategy and policy formulation, awareness creation and conducting assessments and research to support informed decision making. Specifically, GGGI Rwanda Sustainable Mobility Program supports the government of Rwanda to (i) provide strategic advice on the development of Rwanda’s e-mobility transition, specifically in the adoption of electric vehicles (including electric buses), (ii) Support in the formulation of the Transport Policy, Transport Master Plan, and regulatory framework governing the adoption of e-mobility, (iii) Strengthening of non-motorised infrastructure prioritization and engagement of vulnerable groups and (iv) resource mobilization.

Investing in sustainable mobility is expected to reduce levels of pollution and emissions from the transport sector and improve the overall commute experience across the country.

2. Attracting e-mobility investments

Rwanda has seen an increase in major e-mobility investments thanks to the country’s friendly doing business environment. For example, VW Mobility Solutions, Victoria Autofast Rwanda, Ampersand, Rwanda Electric Motorcycle Ltd and Safi/Gura Ride have all significantly invested in electric cars and motorbikes. Rwanda welcomes investments that support the transition to clean and green mobility.

3. Introducing e-mobility incentives

The estimated cost of transitioning to e-mobility and the adoption of electric vehicles in Rwanda is US $900 million. However, transitioning to electric motorcycles alone would save the Rwandan economy Rwf 23 billion (US $22 million) in fuel imports every year.

That’s why the Government of Rwanda has introduced numerous fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to fast-track the electric mobility transition and attract additional investments in the growing industry. These incentives include:

● Low Charging Costs: Costs for charging stations will be priced at the lowest industrial tariff, which is significantly lower than the residential tariff. Electric vehicle owners will also benefit from reduced tariffs when charging during off peak hours – from 11pm to 8am.

● Tax Breaks: Electric vehicles (including Battery- electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles), spare parts, batteries and charging station equipment are now exempted from import and excise duties, zero rated Value Added Tax and spare parts, batteries and other equipment will also be exempted from withholding tax.Ordinarily, vehicle imports have to settle a bill of 25 per cent import duty, 18 per cent VAT, five per cent to 15 per cent excise duty, depending on the size of the engine, five per cent withholding tax, plus other levies.

● Provision of land: Companies setting up charging stations across the country can now access government owned land on a rent-free basis.

● Promoting Local Production: Companies manufacturing and assembling electric vehicles in Rwanda can now enjoy a 15 percent Corporate Income Tax rate and tax holiday.

These incentives will make it easier for Rwandans to be part of the country’s efforts to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

4. Expanding and enhancing public transport networks

Rwanda has been working to improve public transport infrastructure. In 2012, the government approved the Public Transport Policy and Strategy and the Ministry of Infrastructure ensures the national road network is expanded, rehabilitated, upgraded, and maintained. The same direction was reiterated in the overall National Transport Policy and Strategy for Rwanda adopted by Cabinet in April 2021, where the infrastructure development aims to ensure public transport connects different areas of the country, thus contributing to sustainable economic growth.

The City of Kigali is also working to increase the number of bus stations in Kigali and upgrade existing infrastructure to build the capacity of the city’s public transport network. A long-held plan to build a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) that is expected to comprise of a 160 km road network around Kigali, that will be plied exclusively by buses with capacity of more than 100 passengers is also still on the table. In Addition, in May 2021, Rwanda entered a partnership with a private investment company to jointly work on introducing aerial cable cars in Kigali.

5. Improving the quality of public transport systems

The Government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, recently introduced the Public Transport Generation 2. The new system aims to improve public transport by increasing the use of technology, improving route planning, fostering a better vehicle mix and introducing a scheduled service.

To improve public transport, buses in Kigali are equipped with free internet for passengers and make public transport more attractive to users, thus discouraging usage of private cars. The provision of the internet is part of the Smart Kigali Initiative launched in 2013 to provide free wireless connection in buses and taxis, airports, hotels and restaurants among other places. Apart from expanding public transport facilities, the country also plans to introduce high quality, high frequency Dedicated Bus Lanes (DBL) for public transport in Kigali to further encourage the use of public transport instead of private cars.

In line with electrification of mobility, Rwanda aims to have 20% of all buses electric by 2030, which will result in an estimated reduction of 72,000 tCO2eq.

According to Rwanda’s Vision 2050, Rwanda will develop a modern and efficient transport system where median time taken to commute to work is 45 minutes by 2035 and 25 minutes by 2050. The percentage of population using public transportation will grow to reach 90% or more and convenient public transport will be accessible at least within 500metre radius or less from commuters homes.

6. Partnering to achieve sustainable mobility

The Government of Rwanda is working with a range of partners to achieve sustainable mobility and an efficient and resilient transport system. Key partners are the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), UNEP, KfW, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank (WB). These partners are working with the Ministry of Infrastructure and other government institutions on the following activities:

● Background and feasibility study on introduction of electric vehicles in Rwanda: In partnership with UNEP and KfW, a study was conducted to assess the feasibility of introduction of electric vehicles in Rwanda. This study sheds light on benefits in terms of emissions reduction, impacts on energy consumption, and other cross cutting issues associated with the new technology namely job creation, poverty reduction and gender dimensions.
● E-mobility Showcase: In collaboration with Rwanda Environment Management Authority, Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Infrastructure, GGGI hosted an e-mobility showcase on current and emerging technologies in Rwanda and connected companies with potential investors in the region and internationally.
● Electric Buses: GGGI has been providing support to the Government of Rwanda to prepare a conducive environment and bridging the knowledge gap for the uptake of electric buses – first within the City of Kigali, and eventually to other urban centers in the country. The team has supported by promoting investment, helping to produce an Electric Bus Charging Infrastructure Report and training government staff on e-Bus System Planning and Optimisation.
● Electric Buses: IFC has initiated a study to assess the feasibility of e-buses in Kigali and inform the Government of Rwanda on potential PPP model for deploying e-buses in Kigali for start up and with a possibility to replicate a model for larger scale deployment in the rest of Rwanda. This work is to be complemented by concurrent work conducted by IFC to develop a diagnostic framework to prioritize and evaluate selected Sub-Saharan African cities’ potential for adoption of e-mobility solutions.

Through a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has also joined the effort to promote electric vehicles, including the following initiatives:

● Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle: REMA recently launched its first ever plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) that will support the institution to fulfill its mandate of environmental protection and showcase that electric vehicle usage is possible in Rwanda.
● Converting ICE motorbikes to e-bikes: The United Nations Development Programme is also supporting REMA to retrofit 80 internal combustion engine motorbikes to electric motorbikes through a local company, Rwanda Electric Mobility. The initiative will support efforts to phase out polluting internal combustion engine motorcycles, particularly the motorcycle taxi fleet, which accounts for more than 80% of motorcycles in Rwanda. At least 40% of motorcycles, especially moto-taxis, will be eligible for the programme. Rwanda Electric Mobility aims to retrofit up to 30,000 motorcycles over the next five years.

Okechukwu Daniel Ogbonnaya is GGGI Country Representative and David Toovey is Communications Consultant at Spruik based in Rwanda.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

The nine Malian babies hold the world record for the most children delivered in a single birth to survive.

The protestors’ main rallying slogan is ‘GotaGoHome’

By Neville de Silva
LONDON, May 4 2022 (IPS)

When I ended last month’s column hoping that April would not prove to be hapless Sri Lanka’s ‘cruellest month’ (in the words TS Eliot), I hardly anticipated the current turn of events.

In April, the country was to celebrate several ethno-religious festivals. The biggest among them was the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, celebrated by Sri Lanka’s majority community and its main minority. It was also the Muslim month of Ramadan and Easter, commemorated by the Christians.

For over one-and-a-half years Sri Lanka had been grappling with a fast-failing economy. The dwindling of foreign reserves and the consequent shortages of food, medicines, fuel, gas and kerosene for cooking were more recently compounded by power cuts, at times as long as 12hoursper day, bringing manufacturing industries to a standstill and forcing businesses to close down early.

With the country struggling to avert bankruptcy and an unprecedented rise in inflation and spiralling commodity prices, many working-class families, daily wage earners and farmers were facing penury and starvation.

Against this dire background Sri Lanka’s 22 million people were anxiously preparing for the April festivities, wondering whether there would be anything to celebrate.

Then it happened.

On March 31 the residents of Mirihana, a middle- class town on the outskirts of Colombo, held a candle-light protest to highlight the daily power cuts that disrupted their family activities. The protest, initially by women, attracted passers-by and huge crowds from neighbourhood towns and residential areas as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa lived in Mirihana in his private residence.

Swelling crowds shouting slogans later clashed with police firing tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstration, but many of the protestors held their ground till the next day.

The Mirihana protest has sparked the island-wide conflagration that now has the once all-powerful Rajapaksa family-run government teetering on the wall like Humpty Dumpty awaiting a splintering fall. It will remain an important landmark in this uprising, which some have called, rather erroneously, Sri Lanka’s ‘Arab Spring’.

Mirihana began the assault against the Rajapaksa fiefdom that once seemed impregnable. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is president. Brother Mahinda, who served two terms as president, is currently prime minister. Another brother, Basil, a dual citizen with US citizenship and a home in Los Angeles, was until last month finance minister, and the eldest brother Chamal holds the post ofirrigation minister and state minister of security. Mahinda’s eldest son Namal, whom his father sees as heir apparent, was sports and youth affairs minister, among other portfolios.

It appears that the prime minister suspects he is going to be sacrificed on the altar of expediency

Together, the family reportedly controlled 72 per cent of government resources, free to use as they deemed fit, even to farm off to their acolytes and business friends in the way of government contracts and import monopolies, even during the Covid pandemic.

Today, however, that fortress of power and privilege appears as exposed as France’s Maginot Line, set to crumble against a German Blitzkrieg.

All the Rajapaksas, except Prime Minister Mahinda, lost their positions last month when President Gotabaya suddenly dissolved the cabinet in a desperate attempt to quell the mounting outrage against him. It seemed a weak moral sidestep, for the protesters’ cry was not only against the president but against the entire Rajapaksa family, which they claimed had dipped their hands into the country’s assets for personal gain.

Mirihana lit the fuse for the enormous protest that flared up at Colombo’s beach-front Galle Face Green, right opposite the Presidential Secretariat from where political power radiated. It was this that breached the Rajapaksa citadel.

Economists urged the government seek IMF assistance

At the time of writing, this protest – which shows signs of unifying the country’s multiracial, multi-religious society and has drawn crowds of all ages and a wide cross-section of the Sri Lankan community, including the professional classes – has entered its 17thcontinuous day, with hundreds of protesters camped there day and night despite the heat and rain.

Yet it is no Arab Spring. It is an orderly, non-violent protest, mainly of youth of all shades, with an inventive genius to keep themselves and their cause alive.

Never in Sri Lanka’s 74 years of post-independence history has the country seen anything like this, even though anti-government protests are nothing new to the country, which has seen Leftist political parties and associated trade unions functioning even under British colonial rule.

The main rallying slogan is ‘GotaGoHome’, telling Gotabaya to return to his home – also in Los Angeles –though he relinquished his US citizenship to be eligible to contest the presidential election in November 2019.

Built round that slogan are a myriad other satirical comments in song, verse, caricatures, cartoons and videos, the creative work of the protesters deriding the Rajapaksas, some demanding they return the country’s supposedly stolen assets and otherwise accumulated wealth in tax havens.

Although the protesters are now demanding that the whole Rajapaksa family pack their bags and quit, the main target quite rightly is President Gotabaya. It was his military arrogance – having played a role in the defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) in 2009, under the leadership of his president brother Mahinda – and his ignorance of politics and governance, and over-reliance on incompetent advisers that started the economic rot.

With a group of retired and serving military men appointed to key civilian positions and a coterie of so-called intellectuals and businessmen as advisers, he plunged head-first into economic policy decisions.

Within a few days of assuming office, he had slashed VAT from 15 per cent to 8per cent and abolished some other taxes that cost the state a whopping 28 per cent in revenue. It led the Central Bank to print money feverishly to meet budgetary commitments, causing inflation.

Also disastrous was the overnight decision to ban chemical fertilisers that drove farmers to burn effigies of ministers and demonstrate on the streets, demanding restitution of their fertiliser needs or face food insecurity in the months ahead, forcing a once adamant president to retract.

While economists had foreseen the impending danger in depleting foreign reserves and international debt repayments this year, and hence urged the government seek IMF assistance, the president clung steadfastly to the advice of the Central Bank Governor and the Treasury Secretary, among others, who dismissed the idea for more than one year even ignoring cabinet support for IMF help.

In a belated gesture, President Gotabaya sacked the two officials immediately after replacing his cabinet with younger, untested MPs. He sent his new finance minister to Washington to plead with the IMF for immediate relief.

The president is hoping for political concessions he has agreed to – including returning to parliament and the prime minister powers that he usurped on coming to office through the 20thconstitutional amendment. He has now agreed to form an interim All Party government.

But one sees a growing rift in the once close-knit family. Names proposed by Prime Minister Mahinda for the new cabinet were ignored by his brother, causing the prime minister to boycott the swearing-in of the new ministers.

If the president opts for an interim government, it means he has decided to stay put but call for the prime minister’s resignation. It would appear that the prime minister suspects he is going to be sacrificed on the altar of expediency.

In an interview the other day, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa insisted that he will not resign and any reconstituted government must be under his leadership. In the meantime, he has been trying to whip up support against his ouster by canvassing MPs to muster the required 113 votes.

How the protesting public will react to all these political manipulations will depend on what is on offer. Right now, they are determined to continue until President Gotabaya surrenders, which seems unlikely.

Source: Asian Affairs, London

Neville de Silva is a veteran Sri Lankan journalist who held senior roles in Hong Kong at The Standard and worked in London for Gemini News Service. He has been a correspondent for foreign media including the New York Times and Le Monde. More recently he was Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in London.

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

Credit: United Nations

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, May 4 2022 (IPS)

The Russian Federation, which invaded Ukraine last February killing scores of civilians and destroying entire cities, has been condemned, vilified and ostracized by the international community.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was emphatic last month when he remarked: “The use of force by one country against another is the repudiation of the principles that every country has committed to uphold. This applies to the present military offensive. It is wrong. It is against the Charter. It is unacceptable”.

And while the US and Western European nations have cut off all commercial and financial ties with Russia— treating Moscow as an international pariah– the UN Secretariat is continuing its multi-million-dollar contracts with a blacklisted Russia.

Metaphorically speaking, it triggers the question: does the UN’s right hand know what its left foot is up to?

The goods and services from Russia are primarily air transportation, mostly helicopters, including maintenance and servicing; information and communication technologies (ICT); and food catering, largely for the UN’s 12 peacekeeping missions.

Asked if the UN had received a letter from the Ukrainian Mission urging the Secretariat to end its procurements from Russia, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters last month: “We did receive, earlier in March, a petition by the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to us, to quote, “immediately suspend all non essential procurement cooperation of the UN with the Russian Federation.”

“We responded to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine a few days later that the procuring of goods and services and works by the UN Secretariat, is in accordance with the mandate given to us by the General Assembly and in [conformity] with the Financial Regulations of the UN, which requires such procurement actions to be done on the basis of best value for money, fairness, integrity and transparency, and effective international competition.”

He also pointed out that “it’s no secret that a lot of our aviation procurement for peacekeeping and just logistics comes from the Russian Federation, with also quite a bit from Ukraine.”

“The rules are set by the General Assembly, and we follow those rules. So, our position is set by the rules… the financial rules that we have… that we follow… The rules say procurement actions are done on the basis of best value for money, fairness, integrity and transparency, and effective international competition”.

But the 193-member General Assembly, the UN’s highest policy-making body, is missing in action (MIA) — or perhaps planning to pass the buck to the UN’s Administrative and Budgetary Committee.

Asked for a response to comments from the UN Spokesperson‘s office, Christian Saunders, Assistant Secretary General for Supply Chain Management at the Department of Operational Support, told IPS: “The information provided during the briefing by the UN spokesperson remains valid.”

According to the latest available figures, the UN’s purchases from Russia amounted to about $115.6 million in 2021, with Moscow listed as the 5th largest supplier behind the US, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kenya and Switzerland.

The breakdown is as follows: US ($456.2 million), UAE ($329.3 million), Kenya ($192.4 million), Switzerland ($182.3 million) and Russia ($115.6 million).

The UN also has trade links with Russia’s largest helicopter operator, UTair – Helicopter Services, described as a leading provider of aviation services to companies in the fuel and energy industries, plus the United Nations.

Last year, the UN Procurement Division (UNPD) called for tenders for the following contracts in aviation procurement, where Russia has remained a front-runner.

One Medium Fixed Wing Turboprop Passenger Aircraft Support of UNISFA for a period of one year Plus two optional extension periods of one year each.

An Air Ambulance Aircraft Service with Guaranteed Availability based in Europe in support of UN Operations, for a period of three months, plus three optional extension periods of three months each.

A second Air Ambulance Aircraft Service with Guaranteed Availability based in Accra, Ghana in support of UN Operations, for a period of three months plus three optional extension periods of three months each.

Meanwhile, the approved budget for UN Peacekeeping operations for the fiscal year 1 July 2021 – 30 June 2022 is a staggering $6.38 billion. (A/C.5/75/25)—and payments to Russian contractors will flow largely from this budget.

But one question cries out for an answer: how will the UN pay for these purchases and services when Russians have been barred from most of the international banking system?

Speaking of Russia’s isolation at the UN, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters May 3: “We have been successful in isolating Russia in the Security Council, and that’s a significant success. We have been successful in unifying the voices condemning Russia in the General Assembly, but it came about because there was so much support for it in the Security Council. And getting 141 votes to support that effort was a significant success for all of us””.

“And we have been successful in unifying the UN in suspending Russia from the Human Rights Council. Russia is isolated in the Security Council, and every time we have a discussion in the Security Council as it relates to Russia, they are on the defensive and we will continue to keep them on the defensive until they end their brutal attack on the Ukrainian people”.

Last week Russia was suspended from the UN World Tourism Organization (UNETO), shortly after Moscow announced it had decided to quit in anticipation of the suspension.

Ian Williams, President of the Foreign Press Association, told IPS it is difficult within the rule, but the UN can be notoriously slow in paying its bills which might be appropriate in this case.

“But they do need an official body to bar contracts for Russian companies to protect staff involved and to ward off breach of contract. It is hard to leave it to the courage, or caprice, of UN bureaucrats”.

The UN had no compunction in hiring a CIA founded company to run UN missions along the Iraq-Kuwait border despite Iraqi protests at the UN, said Williams, author of ‘Untold: The Real Story of the United Nations in Peace and War.’

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');