Africa

As the world intensifies its fight against climate change, the clean energy transition—shifting from fossil fuels to renewable sources—has become a linchpin for sustainable development. This transition is not only crucial for the environment but also a chance to transform global energy systems, echoing the strong call at COP29. However, the scale and urgency of […]

Pioneering effort to protect women and children in quarantine centres in Viet Nam Credit: UN Women

By Rajat Khosla
GENEVA, Nov 21 2024 (IPS)

Each year, millions of women and children around the world die from preventable causes. Maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) is a shared global priority, yet we often overlook one of its most pressing—and preventable—barriers: violence against women.

As we mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we are reminded that gender-based violence (GBV) is not just a social issue but a critical health crisis that endangers the lives of mothers and children everywhere.

When we consider that a woman experiencing violence is 1.5 times more likely to have a low-birth-weight baby and that this condition greatly increases infant mortality, the need for urgent, integrated action becomes starkly clear. 1 Addressing violence is not peripheral to MNCH efforts—it is foundational.

Violence and Health: A Devastating Cycle

Evidence tells us that intimate partner violence (IPV) directly affects maternal and infant outcomes. Pregnant women subjected to IPV face a heightened risk of complications like preterm labor and hemorrhage, often resulting in increased maternal and newborn mortality.2 3 The problem doesn’t end with pregnancy: children born to mothers experiencing violence have a higher likelihood of malnutrition, stunting, and developmental delays, perpetuating a cycle of vulnerability. 4

The psychological toll is just as concerning. Women subjected to violence are more prone to depression and anxiety, both of which affect maternal health-seeking behavior.5 Depressed mothers are less likely to access antenatal care and postnatal services, further endangering the lives of their infants. In turn, these mental health impacts lead to cascading health and social risks for women and their families, affecting entire communities.

Rajat Khosla

The Crisis Within Crises: Humanitarian Settings

Nowhere are these challenges more pressing than in humanitarian settings. Conflict, natural disasters, and displacement magnify the vulnerability of women and children, often leading to spikes in sexual violence and the breakdown of healthcare systems. In conflict zones, over 60% of women report having experienced sexual violence, according to humanitarian reports. 6 These women are not only at risk of severe trauma and infection but also of maternal mortality, with rates nearly double those found in stable environments. 7

It’s estimated that more than 500 women and girls die every day from preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth in humanitarian settings,8 underscoring an urgent need for an integrated approach to MNCH and GBV response. These statistics are more than numbers—they represent the lives of mothers, daughters, and children who deserve health, safety, and dignity.

The Overlooked Victims: Women Health Care Workers

It’s not only patients who suffer. Female health workers, the backbone of MNCH services worldwide, are often at grave risk. In fragile and conflict-affected settings, women health workers face high rates of violence, including harassment and physical assault.

Research suggests that up to 80% of healthcare workers in these settings report experiencing violence, a statistic that directly impacts their ability to provide care.9 High rates of violence lead to burnout, turnover, and a critical shortage of trauma-informed healthcare providers when they are needed most.10

For many, this threat is exacerbated by their roles as frontline responders to gender-based violence. The safety and mental health of our healthcare workforce are inextricably linked to the health outcomes we aim to achieve for mothers and children.

A Call to Action for Integrated Policies

As we look to the future, it’s time to broaden our understanding of what it means to support maternal and child health. Policies that address violence against women and protect female health workers must become a central pillar of MNCH efforts. This calls for a multi-pronged approach:
1. Prioritize Funding for Integrated MNCH and GBV Services: Donors and governments should increase funding for programs that integrate maternal health services with GBV prevention and response, particularly in crisis-prone areas.
2. Strengthen Health Systems in Humanitarian Settings: We must scale up support for safe, trauma-informed healthcare in conflict zones, ensuring that women and children have access to life-saving care without the threat of further violence.
3. Protect and Support Women Health Workers: Policies that safeguard the well-being of women health workers are essential. Measures like workplace protections, mental health support, and security protocols can help mitigate the impacts of violence and ensure that healthcare workers can provide essential services safely.

The costs of inaction are too high. Each preventable death of a mother or child as a result of violence marks a failure to uphold the rights to health and safety for all. By placing violence against women at the forefront of our MNCH efforts, we can break the cycle of suffering and create the conditions needed for healthy mothers and thriving children.

This 16 Days of Activism, let’s commit to integrated action against violence—because women’s health, newborn survival, and child development depend on it. Together, we can build a world where women and children live free from violence, and where health and dignity go hand in hand.

1 World Health Organization. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Geneva: World Health Organization.
2 Shah, I. H., & Hatcher, A. (2013). The impact of intimate partner violence on women’s reproductive health: A review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 14(2), 128-137. doi:10.1177/1524838012451845
3 Elizabeth P. Lockington et al. Intimate partner violence is a significant risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. AJOG Global Reports. Volume 3, Issue 4, November 2023, 100283
4 Ellsberg, M., & Heise, L. (2005). Researching violence against women: A practical guide for researchers and activists. Geneva: World Health Organization.
5 World Health Organization. (2013). Global and regional estimates of violence against women: prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. Consequences. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/77431/WHO_RHR_12.43_eng.pdf
6 UNODC. (2021). Sexual violence in conflict: Current trends and implications. Vienna: United Nations. Retrieved from UNODC
7 UNFPA. (2019). Maternal mortality in humanitarian settings. New York: UNFPA. Retrieved from UNFPA
8 UNFPA. (2020). Maternal mortality in emergencies: The hidden crisis. Retrieved from UNFPA
9 Médecins Sans Frontières. (2018). Health workers in conflict zones: Risks and realities. Retrieved from MSF
10 World Health Organization. (2021). Violence against health workers. Geneva: WHO.

Rajat Khosla is Executive Director of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), the global alliance for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being, hosted by the World Health Organization, based in Geneva.

Email: khoslar@who.int

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');  

As Brazil gears up to host COP30 in Belém next year, Moisés Savian, the country’s Secretary of Land Governance, Territorial and Socio Environmental Development, outlined the event’s significance in showcasing Brazil’s environmental policies and fostering global collaboration. In an interview with IPS, Savian highlighted Brazil’s progress under President Lula’s administration and outlined the country’s aspirations […]

The COP29 Presidency’s draft text acknowledges that developing countries suffer disproportionately from impacts of climate change. Credit: UN Climate Change/Kamran Guliyev

By Joyce Chimbi
BAKU, Nov 21 2024 (IPS)

Today the COP29 Presidency released a much-awaited new draft text as the end draws near.

The draft acknowledges that developing countries suffer disproportionately from impacts of climate change amid a plethora of barriers and challenges, such as the high costs of capital, limited fiscal space, high levels of indebtedness, and high transaction costs, which also further exacerbate existing developmental challenges.

“The African Group welcomes the new draft decision text on New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), now much streamlined. These ten pages contain many of the principled positions from the African Group and other developing countries, although continues to include many of the untenable positions of the developed countries as options in the text,” says Ambassador Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and Chair of the African Group of Negotiators.

“The elephant in the room, however, is the lack of a quantum proposal, and the text does not specify numerical figures for the proposed mobilisation goal or for the provision element, despite a common position from the G77 and China on a USD1.3 trillion annual mobilisation goal. This is the reason we are here, identifying a quantified goal, but we are no closer and we need the developed countries to urgently engage on this matter.”

The text’s first option closely mirrors what the developing countries are asking for. It states that an unspecified trillion of dollars will be raised annually from 2025 through 2035, provided and mobilised from developed to all developing countries. But it also raises eyebrows as it ‘invites’ developing countries to provide finance ‘voluntarily’ as long as this does not count towards the main goal. 

These funds will be used to address developing countries evolving needs, in grants or grant-equivalent terms of new, additional, affordable, predictable, non-debt inducing and adequate climate finance, for adaptation, mitigation and loss and damage, to support developing country Parties and to support the implementation of their nationally determined contributions.

Mohamed Adow, a climate justice advocate and director of energy and climate think-tank Power Shift Africa referred to the new text on the NCQG on climate finance as a blank cheque and asked developed countries to put actual figures on the table. Stresing that it is only by putting specific numbers to the goal that negotiations at COP29 will move forward smoothly. 

“The new text rightly diagnoses the climate problem, including the required finance for adaptation and energy transition, but glaringly omits what the rich countries will actually provide to developing countries. The elephant in the room is the lack of specific numbers in the text. This is the ‘finance COP’. We came here to talk about money. You measure money with numbers. We need a cheque but all we have right now is a blank piece of paper.”

Further stressing that the text includes “some important signals on grant-based financing, and the need to avoid debt inducing instruments. Developed countries now urgently need to fill in the blanks and put their finance card on the table to move the negotiations forward.”

Developed countries are more aligned to second option which indicates that the NCQG has one provision and one mobilization component, and that developed country Parties shall provide at least USD [X] billion per year in grants or grant-equivalent terms referred to as provision goal to support the achievement the mobilization goal from the floor of their current levels – USD100 billion per year – of financial contributions. Observers say option two is ‘a goal to be reached by 2035, giving wealthy nations longer to mobilise to meet it.’

Others have taken issue with the draft saying it is has explicitly attempted to remove all references to historical polluters’ obligation to pay in line with the Paris Agreement, saying that this is an attempt to set things in motion for private sector financing to enable polluting countries to take bare minimum financial accountability. Notably, the draft suggests burden-sharing arrangements for developed country Parties based on historical emissions and GDP per capita.

Cristina Rumbaitis, Senior Adaptation and Resilience Advisor, UN Foundation says the text is “very poor and disappointing, especially on adaptation. First, the floor for adaptation is out. Secondly, there is no reference to the Global Goal on Adaptation or the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience. Thirdly, there is only language around balancing between mitigation and adaptation and loss and damage. This could further reduce funding for adaptation.

She nonetheless says there is “some good language on qualitative elements and call for a floor for adaptation for Least Developed Countries and the Small Island Developing States from all relevant actors and financial mechanisms. But also very weak statements like grant financing should be used for adaptation and loss and damage to the largest extent possible. We had hoped for more.”

On gender and climate change, the text notes that gender-responsive implementation and means of implementation of climate policy and action can enable Parties to raise ambition, as well as enhance gender equality, and just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities.

The text decides to extend the enhanced Lima work programme on gender for a period of ten years. The Lima Work Programme on Gender (LWPG) was established in 2014 to advance gender balance and integrate gender consideration into the work of Parties and the secretariat in implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement.

Further, the United Arab Emirates just transition work program recognizes that “the widening adaptation finance gap may hinder the implementation of just transition pathways in developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.”

It underscores that multi-stakeholder, people-centric, bottom-up, whole-of-society approaches are required to achieve just transitions and recognizes the importance of education systems and skills development, including through upskilling and reskilling, labour rights and social protection systems, and of consideration of the informal sector, the care economy, unemployed people and future workers for ensuring a just transition of the workforce.”

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');  

A recently displaced mother holds her child in a makeshift displacement camp in Léogâne. Credit: UNICEF/Maxime Le Lijour

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 2024 (IPS)

Doctors Without Borders, the medical humanitarian organization, which has served in Haiti for over 30 years, announced on Wednesday that it would suspend its activities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital amid repeated threats from local law enforcement. This announcement indicates the precariousness of the situation in Haiti where humanitarian groups on the ground face security issues from even members of law enforcement.

In their announcement, Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), cited multiple incidents where local police made verbal threats on staff members, threatening violence, death and rape. Other incidents included attacks on ambulances, tear-gassing, and harassment. This also comes following an incident on November 11, where two patients were executed following an attack on an ambulance by police and vigilante groups. The spokesperson for the Haitian National Police has not a public comment.

MSF patient admissions will be halted, excluding patients that are currently in care and those that are receiving care in the maternity sector. All five of the organization’s medical facilities in Haiti are currently inactive.

“As MSF, we accept working in conditions of insecurity, but when even law enforcement becomes a direct threat, we have no choice but to suspend admissions of patients in Port-au-Prince until the conditions are met for us to resume”, said Christophe Garnier, MSF’s head of mission in Haiti.

Prior to halting operations, MSF provided care to over 1,100 patients, 54 children with emergency conditions, and more than 80 survivors of sexual violence on a weekly basis. Humanitarian organizations predict that this will be a massive blow to Haiti’s barely functioning healthcare system.

“Healthcare services have never been so limited for people in Haiti. Many people will lose access to MSF services because we are not able to work safely in Port-au-Prince,” Garnier added.

The appointment of Alix Didier Fils-Aimé as the new prime minister of Haiti has been followed with sharp rises in social insecurity and gang violence. In recent days, attacks on civilian settlements reached new levels of brutality, with armed gangs gaining more territory in the capital, Port-Au-Prince.

Thousands of civilians have fled their homes. Due to the wide scale of needs, as well as numerous security challenges, humanitarian efforts have been pushed to their limits. Shelters and essential resources remain critically strained.

The past few weeks have yielded a considerable surge in gang violence, with most of the attacks being concentrated in the capital and the Artibonite River region. According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a total of 20,000 Haitians have fled their homes in the past week, noting significant disruptions to basic services such as education, protection, and healthcare.

This recent escalation has also led to a rise in civilian casualties. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the recent attacks have pushed the total death toll from gang violence past 4,000 in 2024 alone.

Currently, it is estimated by OCHA that armed groups control 85 percent of Port-Au-Prince. According to Ulrika Richardson, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Haiti, gangs have begun to gain increasing amounts of territory within the capital.

This endangers thousands of civilians and provides humanitarian organizations with numerous access challenges. “With only 20 percent of Port-au-Prince accessible, humanitarian workers face immense challenges in reaching affected populations,” said chief of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Haiti, Grégoire Goodstein.

On November 19, the Viv Ansamn gang launched an attack on Petionville, an upscale neighborhood in Port-Au-Prince. Armed gang members clashed with the local police and civilians, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 suspected gang members according to the Haitian National Police. Jimmy Chérizier, the leader of Viv Ansamn, has threatened reprisals of violence, encouraging opposition from the police and the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission, saying, “They think they can stop us, but all the helicopters in the world won’t be enough. The gangs are here to stay”.

This is only the latest in a series of attacks following the Fils-Aimé’s appointment as prime minister. The Viv Ansamn coalition is especially known for capitalizing on moments of extreme political instability in Haiti. “In a power vacuum like this, it’s a fertile ground for organized crime,” Richardson remarked.

In the hours following the attack, MSF made their announcement to suspend its activities in Port-au-Prince until further notice. The conditions in Haiti pose a security threat to humanitarian workers, even as they work tirelessly to remedy the needs of affected civilians.

Living conditions in displacement shelters have considerably deteriorated due to the lack of humanitarian aid and medical care. According to a report from OCHA, approximately half of the Haitian population faces severe food insecurity. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that access to healthcare and sanitation resources are severely limited, with women being highly susceptible to gender-based violence and unsafe practices, such as transactional sex.

The UN has pledged to continue its efforts in providing humanitarian assistance wherever it can. “Despite the temporary suspension of air transport, humanitarian operations continue actively in the Port-au-Prince area, although security conditions are unpredictable. In addition, humanitarian and recovery activities continue uninterrupted in the rest of the country,” Richardson said.

Aid personnel are currently on the frontlines, distributing essential resources to affected communities, including hot meals, cash transfers, clean drinking water, healthcare, and psychosocial support. Additionally, the UN urges member states of the MSS mission to continue their support.

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');  

Activists speak out against fossil fuels amid a new pledge from wealthy nations and EU against new unabated coal power plants. Credit: Joyce Chimbi

By Joyce Chimbi
BAKU, Nov 21 2024 (IPS)

Of all fossil fuels, coal has had the most serious and long-term effects on global warming. When burnt, coal releases more carbon dioxide than oil and gas, producing an estimated 39 percent of the global carbon dioxide emissions. Yet, coal is still the number one energy source, providing nearly 40 percent of the world’s electricity.

A COP29 deal struck on Wednesday November 21 now holds the promise to change the fossil fuel landscape and climate change trajectory, placing the world back on track to net zero. Twenty-five countries and the EU have now pledged not to build any new unabated coal-power plants in their next round of national climate plans in bid to scale up ambitions in the next phase of climate action.

Fossil fuels are highly polluting. The ‘no new unabated coal power’ COP29 initiative was signed by EU climate envoy Wopke Hoekstra to pledge that when the 25 nations submit their national climate plans by February 2025 along with all other nations party to the Paris Agreement, theirs will reflect no new unabated coal in their respective energy systems to accelerate phasing out of fossil fuels.

In reference to fossil fuels, ‘unabated’ means taking no measures to reduce the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. Abated refers to attempts to decrease release of polluting substances to an acceptable level.

“I’m often asked what gives me confidence that we can get this job done.  The answer is lots of things.  Quiet acts of solidarity, from people who get knocked down, but who refuse to stay down.  But there are also big things – the macro trends that aren’t up for debate.    And there’s none bigger than the global clean energy boom – set to hit two trillion dollars this year alone.  And it’s just getting started,” Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, stressed.

“Money talks, and as we enter the second quarter of this century, it is saying loud and clear: there is no stopping the clean energy juggernaut, and the vast benefits it brings: stronger growth, more jobs, less pollution and inflation, cheaper and cleaner energy. The list of benefits goes on.” 

The coalition of nations backing the diplomatic campaign to encourage all countries to end new coal power is constituted of mostly wealthy nations such as Germany, France, Canada, the United Kingdom and notably Australia – a major coal producer. This is the latest pledge towards curbing use of the fuel and phasing out fossil fuels in line with the COP28 deal.

The pledge is incredibly critical for despite coal being extremely dangerous to the global climate goals, a coal boom is unfolding. Data in the Global Coal Plant Tracker show that “69.5 GW of coal power capacity was commissioned while 21.1 GW was retired in 2023, resulting in a net annual increase of 48.4 GW for the year and a global total capacity of 2,130 GW. This is the highest net increase in operating coal capacity since 2016.”

COP29 has been centered around a new deal for climate financing to support the third Nationally Determined Contributions in the developing world, but delegates have not lost sight of the COP28 landmark deal when nearly 200 nations—for the first time—called on all nations to transition away from fossil fuels.

Activists want a net-zero world and they want it now, calling for ambitious climate actions to save the planet. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Teresa Anderson, the Global Lead on Climate Justice at ActionAid International, told IPS, “Just transitions and climate finance have to go hand in hand. Last year’s agreement to transition away from fossils was an important step. But without finance to make the just transition a reality, developing countries are in a bind.”

Stressing that climate-hit countries want to “leapfrog the fossil fuel era and scale up renewables, but can’t do so when they are being pushed deeper into debt by the climate crisis. To finally unlock the climate action the planet needs, COP29 needs to agree on an ambitious finance goal worth trillions of dollars in grants each year. Ensuring a just transition in energy is about much more than encouraging corporate investment and can’t just be left up to the private sector.

“When shifting away from fossil fuels, governments have a responsibility to actively involve communities in planning, training, social protection and ensuring energy access and secure livelihoods. Public services can join the dots, and have a key role in the just transition. The new climate finance goal has to provide trillions of dollars in grants, not loans or corporate investment targets,” Anderson observed.

Hailed as a major progressive step in the journey towards phasing out fossil fuels, the initiative is nonetheless not the silver bullet to end coal. The new commitment does not compel nations to stop mining or exporting coal. Notably, the world’s greatest coal-power generators, such as the United Nations and India, are not part of the initiative. Nonetheless, despite coal power growing in the past years despite the COP28 deal on fossil fuels, Hoekstra expressed optimism that this call to action will set the ball rolling towards a much-needed fossil fuel phasing out.

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');  

Illegal miners live dangerously, but make roaring profits selling gold on the black-market.

Illegal miners live dangerously, but make roaring profits selling gold on the black-market.

Illegal miners live dangerously, but make roaring profits selling gold on the black-market.

The prime minister had criticised the junta's lack of clarity in the transition to democratic rule.

The mausoleum of Patrice Lumumba, DR Congo's independence hero, was vandalised sparking alarm over his tooth.

Over 1 billion children have had their lives disrupted by disasters since 2000, with over 80,000 schools damaged or destroyed. Credit: Shutterstock

By Baher Kamal
MADRID, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

Did you know that hundreds of millions of children around the world are currently suffering from physical, sexual, and psychological violence, including child labour, child marriage, female genital mutilation, gender-based violence, war, trafficking, bullying, and cyberbullying?

This is the grim reality of up to a billion children vulnerable to various forms of abuse, as depicted by the United Nations  Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children.

Commenting on a special report on this issue, the UN Special Representative, Najat Maalla M’Jid, revealed that violence against children has reached “unprecedented levels.”

Meanwhile, the UN specialised bodies, led by UN Children Fund (UNICEF), and the World Health Organization (WHO), among others, have revealed staggering findings on the occasion of the 2024 International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.

No safe place for children

These findings revealed by the United Nations highlight that “there is no safe place for children” anywhere in the world.

Indeed, climate carnage, wars, human trafficking, slavery, and cyberviolence, among many other forms of abuse against the innocent children, stand behind their grim life.

See some of the most relevant facts:

• UNICEF and other UN bodies report that half of the world’s children are at “extremely high risk” due to climate impacts and related disasters,

• Over 1 billion children have had their lives disrupted by disasters since 2000, with over 80,000 schools damaged or destroyed,

• The number of children affected by destructive flooding worldwide has reached the highest levels in more than three decades,

• In the aftermath of a disaster, children face serious repercussions including disrupted education, nutrition and healthcare”

Punished and Abused

Should all these facts be not frightening enough, please also know that 400 million children under five regularly endure psychological aggression and physical punishment at home;

And that 300 million children have been affected by online sexual exploitation and abuse over the past 12 months.

Young Girls: the Most Vulnerable

“Today’s generation of girls is disproportionately affected by global crises of climate, conflict, poverty and pushback on hard won gains for human rights and gender equality,” reports the United Nations on the occasion of the 2024 International Day of the Girl Child.

Did you know that:

• Nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school today.

• Globally, girls aged 5-14 spend 160 million more hours every day on unpaid care and domestic work than boys of the same age.

• Adolescent girls continue to account for 3 in 4 new HIV infections among adolescents.

• Nearly 1 in 4 married/partnered adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.

• Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade.

Rape: A Weapon of War

Add to all the above that more than 370 million girls and women alive today – or 1 in 8 – experienced rape or sexual assault before the age of 18, warns UNICEF.

And that “children in fragile settings are especially vulnerable to sexual violence,” said Russell.

“We are witnessing horrific sexual violence in conflict zones, where rape and gender-based violence are often used as weapons of war.”

The Digital Threat

Among emerging challenges are the risks faced by children in the digital spaces, including the tactics used by armed groups to recruit and exploit children.

According to UN data, most childhood sexual violence occurs during adolescence, with a significant spike between ages 14 and 17.

“Studies show that children who experience sexual violence are more likely to suffer repeated abuse.”

Survivors often carry the trauma of sexual violence into adulthood, facing higher risks of sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, social isolation, and mental health issues like anxiety and depression, as well as challenges in forming healthy relationships.

Although more girls and women are affected, and their experiences are better documented, boys and men are also impacted, with an estimated 240 to 310 million boys and men.

Today’s children have been raised in a violent world, thus, they will most likely fall in the hellish trap of exercising violence in their adulthood.

These hundreds and hundreds of millions of children will be the backbone of the immediate future. Do you think that their tragic fate is on the agenda of political –and business- leaders?

At the San Felipe School, in Coyhaique, Chile, the solar panels of a 30 kW plant will be installed which will be inaugurated in the first week of December

By Orlando Milesi
SANTIAGO, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

Chile, a country rich in solar and wind energy and with huge photovoltaic power stations  and wind turbines in its elongated territory, managed to change its grid by incorporating renewable energies, which account for an installed capacity equivalent to 43.8 % of its electricity production.

However, it is woefully lacking in distributed generation projects, also known as decentralised generation, which are small scale, mostly dedicated to self-consumption and involving organised communities. This is so even though these initiatives would introduce the population to the advantages of clean energy.

Distributed generation would allow such a shift, but is currently in its infancy in this South American country of 19.8 million people. It lacks adequate legal impetus, access to financing and suffers from a cultural deficit among a population that knows little about it.“We are used to a centralised system and although there has been fossil energy replacement by renewable energy, it is still a large-scale, centralised model with negative impacts": Cristian Mires.

Successful projects belong to mega-companies that have installed parks and wind turbines in the northern Atacama Desert and in southern Patagonia, between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, selling their generation to the National Electricity System (SEN).

This profitable business does not benefit Chilean consumers who are suffering a huge tariff increase that will reach up to 60% in 2025. It is a gradual increase that began to be charged in July and will culminate next January after five years of tariff freezes due to the covid pandemic.

Thus, the impact of distributed generation with its panels on the roofs of homes, schools and community or municipal buildings is small.

The leftist government of Gabriel Boric sought to promote this citizen energy and reach the goal of 500 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity by the end of his term, in March 2026.

However, 17 months away from reaching that goal, distributed generation is minimal and only 0.1% corresponds to joint generation, as distributed generation is also known, according to the state-run National Energy Commission.

The Ministry of Energy told IPS that as of November 2024, the total installed capacity of distributed generation projects for self-consumption reached only 290 MW.

“Statistics show an upward trend in this type of project. Several initiatives promoted by the Ministry of Energy seek to encourage the development of this segment, such as the Public Solar Roofs 2.0 programme, which is being implemented and aims to install photovoltaic projects in public institutions,” said the institution that directs the country’s energy policy.

In 2015-2019, this programme installed photovoltaic systems on 136 buildings in 13 regions of Chile for a total of 5.3 megawatt peak (MWp). A technical office was then created to support public institutions in their feasibility analyses of solar energy plans.

Chile has decided, as part of its international climate commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, that its non-conventional renewable energies will contribute 80% of electricity generation by 2030 and 100% by 2050, when it will reach net zero emissions.

Solar panels installed in the roof of the Industrial Secondary School of Valdivia, a city 850 kilometers south of Santiago. Credit: Courtesy of Sofía Alarcón

Barriers in Chile

Cristián Mires, lawyer and president of the NGO Energía Colectiva, says there are a number of barriers to developing jointly owned distributive energy.

“These projects are not cheap. Technical, legal and financial advice is required. A share is equivalent to at least US$530 per user. And if we want bigger savings, we are talking about up to US$2,100. And the majority of the population can’t afford that cost,” he told IPS.

There is no public or private funding for decentralised generation facilities, he claims.

This slows down the implementation of the 2014 Law on Distributed Generation for Self-consumption, which allows households, schools and businesses to self-supply their electricity use through their own generation and inject the surplus into the SEN. In practice, such generation has very restrictive rules for joint ownership.

“It needs to be modified, and as the Citizens‘ Energy Action Group we are participating in technical roundtables with the government and parliament to that end,” Mires said.

“We are used to a centralised system and although there has been fossil energy replacement by renewable energy, it is still a large-scale, centralised model with negative impacts,” he added.

In August, Energía Colectiva, based in Chile and present in other Latin American countries, launched the document Citizen energy in Chile, proposals for its promotion and implementation, where it claims there is potential to reach eight gigawatts (GW) of such citizen generation by 2040.

According to the document, Chile needs “a transition that conceives energy as a right, democratising its production and distribution. A transition focused on satisfying human needs, but which nevertheless understands the pressing need to reduce energy use. Such a transition can only be driven by citizens”.

Arrayán Wind Park, one of the 10 largest in Chile, located in the northern municipality of Ovalle. Credit: Ministry of Energy

Energy Communities, a key

So-called Energy Communities seek to encourage the participation of new groups in the production, management, use and marketing of energy.

They aim for a decentralised, local energy model with less environmental impact.

These communities seek to organise citizens to generate and manage their own energy, whether for social, economic and/or environmental purposes.

“These communities are considered a fundamental tool for carrying out just energy transitions, where people play a central role in the transformation towards more equitable systems of energy generation and use”, according to the specialised magazine Energía y Equidad.

Based on the use of renewable energy, the Communities offer access to affordable, clean and secure energy; enabling an active participation in response to the climate and ecological crisis by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

In short, these Communities aim to promote local energy autonomy, strengthen social cohesion, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decontaminate the local environment.

The 2014 law and its regulation five years later set standards for joint generation and joint ownership.

The Nueva Zelanda school in the municipality of Independencia, in the northern part of the capital, and Coopeumo, a farmers’ cooperative in the O Higgins region, bordering the Santiago metropolitan region, are community projects developed by municipalities and with citizen participation.

Both are connected to a grid into which they inject the energy generated and then receive discounts on their electricity bills.

Jorge Nauto, principal of the Industrial Secondary School of Valdivia, a city 850 kilometres south of Santiago, praised the experience of installing photovoltaic panels on the roof of his school.

“It is a 70 kilowatt peak (kWp) system determined according to the available surface area and the building’s annual consumption. It allows generating power for the premises and the injection of surpluses into the conventional electricity grid through the use of the Distributed Generation Act,” he told IPS from his location.

“Thanks to this generation, we achieved a significant reduction in electricity bills,” Nauto said, before emphasising the value, also educational, of using clean, renewable energy.

New business model

Antu Energía is a company based in Coyhaique, in the southern region of Aysén, which implements a new business model with photovoltaic energy.

It allows remote discounts, which means that a person can own or participate in a photovoltaic plant that injects energy in one place and discount that value in another place from the same distribution company.

We are calling for small companies or individuals to participate in Virtual Solar Panels by acquiring a minimum unit equivalent to generating 500 watts,” Manuel Matta, founding partner of Antu Energía, told IPS from Coyhaique.

The model lowers the investment to US$737 per kilowatt (kW) installed and compares favourably with a similar individually driven project that costs US$2,632 per kW.

This electrical engineer has already sold 28 of 60 minimum units of participation in the 30 kW plant installed on the roofs of the San Felipe high school in Coyhaique’s Plaza de Armas.

Daniela Zamorano, project coordinator for Energía Colectiva, told IPS from Joao Pessoa, in the northern Brazilian state of Paraíba, where she lives, that Chile lacks the political will to promote jointly-owned distributed generation.

“We are seeing problems today with rising rates, and the solutions proposed by the government always come from the logic of subsidising consumption. This is a snowball that reaches gigantic public spending amounts. But they do not visualise options for a long-term solution such as distributed generation,” she said.

Prosecutors say he led a "reign of terror" after the city was overrun by an al-Qaeda-linked group in 2012.

Ugochi Daniels, the Deputy Director General for Operations at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), speaks to IPS Senior Journalist Joyce Chimbi. Credit: IOM

By Joyce Chimbi
BAKU, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

Migration is growing as the planet gets even hotter. Climate change is fuelling a migration crisis and millions of people in vulnerable nations are continually being uprooted from their homes. The climate and migration nexus are undeniable and the global community has turned to the Baku climate talks for urgent and sustainable solutions.

Ugochi Daniels, the Deputy Director General for Operations at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) spoke to IPS about displacement of people due to the impact of climate change and its different dimensions, such as disaster displacement, labor mobility, as well as planned relocation. She also talked about the magnitude of this pressing problem, as nearly 26 million people were displaced due to the impact of climate change in the last year alone.

“This impact is destroying people’s livelihoods. The farms they used to farm are no longer viable and the land can no longer sustain their livestock. So, people then move, looking for job opportunities elsewhere. Then there is planned relocation, which IOM supports governments to do. When governments know certain communities can no longer adapt as the impact of climate is so great that they are going to have to move, rather than waiting for the climate impact to happen to move and probably not in as organized a way as possible, governments plan for it. That is what we refer to as planned relocation,” she explains.

Ugochi Daniels, the Deputy Director General for Operations at the International Organization for Migration at COP29. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

Stressing that climate migration is on track to be an even bigger global crises, with World Bank estimates showing that “216 million people will be displaced due to the impact of climate by 2050 and that they will be displaced within their countries. Nearly a billion people are living in highly climate-vulnerable areas. Trends are showing that when people are displaced, it is often due to a mix of many factors. So, if a community is hit by an extreme weather event, and at the same time the necessary investments were not made, there is no way for the community to absorb the shock of the extreme weather event.”

Daniels notes that with progressive COPs, each year is also becoming the hottest in recorded history and there are more disasters such as heat waves, droughts, floods and hurricanes. Saying that these issues are increasingly becoming a lived reality for even more people. Further referencing the recent flooding in Spain, in addition to all the disasters unfolding in the developing countries. In turn, this is increasing awareness of the impact of climate change on people.

“Of the estimated 216 million people moving by 2050, nearly half of them are in Africa—86 million in sub-Saharan Africa and 19 million in North Africa. Africa is highly vulnerable amid all the other development issues that the continent is dealing with. And we know that, looking at Africa alone, water stress will affect 700 million people by 2030. The reality is that we are experiencing the impact of climate. We had unprecedented flooding in Nigeria this year and it is not just Nigeria—there is Chad and the Central African Republic and the Eastern Horn of Africa has faced similar events in recent times, and we have the El Niño and La Niña in Southern Africa,” she explains. 

Daniels says they are encouraged and satisfied because human mobility is integrated into submissions for the Global Goal on Adaptation and that they are unified around this issue. There is also the Kampala Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change, which has already been signed by over 40 countries in Africa and the regional groups in the Pacific Island States and the islands have all prioritized the issue as it is their lived reality.

“As IOM, our presence at COP is in supporting member states in raising visibility and awareness on the link between climate change and migration and displacement. Having said that, within the negotiations, and we are still waiting to see what comes out, we hope that this continues. We count on member states in making sure that the impact on vulnerable communities is recognized, that vulnerable communities are prioritized for climate financing, and that migration is factored in as a positive coping strategy for adaptation,” Daniels observes.

She emphasises that “when we talk about displacement, we also have to recognize that as things stand, migrants, through formal and informal means, remit a trillion dollars a year. And a lot of that is going to developing and middle-income countries. And when I met with the diaspora at COP last year, they said to me, ‘We are financing loss and damage now.’ We have seen that remittances have stayed resilient since COVID-19 and continue to go up. So here at COP, it is not just recognition of climate change and human mobility, which has been in the covered decision at least for the last three COPs. But it is also about integrating this into the different instruments and mechanisms, whether it is financing or in the indicators.”

Further speaking to the issue of the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund. Saying that whereas there are 64 funds globally specific on climate, the Loss and Damage Fund is the only one that has a window specific for vulnerable communities. As member states continue their negotiations, IOM is looking forward to solutions that, for instance, improve access to climate finance, ensuring that in the new financing path, the loss and damage fund supports vulnerable communities to adapt or migrate safely. Emphasising the need for regional cooperation to manage climate-related migration and how climate migration features in the national adaptation plans.

“Importantly, vulnerable communities. need to be part of the solutions. They need to be at the table where these decisions are being made. IOM is one of the—it is actually the only UN organization—that is one of the representative agencies supporting the Loss and Damage Fund and implementation of the fund. Our top priority is the engagement and participation of those most affected so that they have a voice at the table. Well-managed migration is a very effective adaptation strategy. Human civilization has been shaped by migration and this will continue. Climate and other factors will continue to trigger movement,” Daniels says.

“We have the tools. We know what the solutions are. There is the global compact on migration, which is how countries have agreed they will cooperate for better migration management and better migration governance. So, because we know migration has shaped our history and that it will shape our future, we have no excuse for not ensuring that it is safe, dignified, and regular. Whatever we do not do, the traffickers and smugglers will do.”

Stressing that in the process, there will be more people dying, “We will have increased vulnerabilities, and the business model and the industry of trafficking will just continue to grow. So, the urgency for climate action is here and now and there is really no excuse for why we are not collectively working on this. The evidence is there. The solutions are there. The agreements are there too. So, we are here at COP to do our best to ensure it happens.”

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

• Embedding Education into Climate Finance Will Deliver Desired Learning, Climate Action Outcomes
• Don’t Lock Us Out of Negotiating Table—Indigenous Communities
• Money Talks: Why COP29 New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance Matters

Konris Maynard, Minister of Public Infrastructure, Energy, and Utilities, and Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Action, and Constituency Empowerment. Credit: Aishwarya Bajpai/IPS

By Aishwarya Bajpai
BAKU, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

At COP29, Saint Kitts and Nevis, the smallest independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, stands as a beacon of climate action and renewable energy ambition.

The Federation has set its sights on achieving 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, leveraging its natural resources of trade winds, solar radiation, and geothermal potential. Despite a modest 40 MW power demand, it can generate over 1 GW, enabling it to support regional energy solutions.

Konris Maynard, Minister of Public Infrastructure, Energy, and Utilities, outlined the nation’s strategy for transitioning to renewable energy.

“We have tremendous renewable energy capability,” he stated, emphasizing the need for partnerships given the country’s limited financial resources. For solar energy, Saint Kitts and Nevis have adopted power purchase agreements (PPAs) to attract private investment.

Geothermal energy, a riskier endeavor, is being supported by contingently recallable grants from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). “If the geothermal source is viable, the grant converts into a concessionary loan; if not, it remains a grant,” he explained.

However, the country’s climate challenges are stark. Rising sea levels, intensifying extreme weather, and a 20 percent reduction in rainfall over the last decade have taken a toll on its people and ecosystems. The government has invested in desalination plants to address water scarcity and maintained a low debt-to-GDP ratio for economic resilience.

Still, Maynard stressed the need for international support. “We need action now and easier access to assistance. Countries are disappearing while we continue to talk.”

Dr. Joyelle Trizia Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment, echoed the urgency for action, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Saint Kitts and Nevis.

She emphasized the critical role of finance mechanisms such as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) and the loss and damage fund.

“We are hoping the NCQG establishes a minimum floor for financing, with a focus on concessionality and the inclusion of loss and damage mechanisms,” she said. Transparency, particularly in tracking and reporting carbon credits, is vital for ensuring the effectiveness of such frameworks.

Clarke also highlighted the challenges of balancing disaster recovery and economic development. “We can’t respond to the climate crisis through social protection strategies alone while also trying to develop our economies—it’s unsustainable.”

“Financing must be concessionary and grant-based. If it comes to debt, it should be sustainable, and debt servicing should be paused during climate crises, as outlined in the Bridgetown Agenda.”

The recurring devastation caused by hurricanes and other disasters has set back decades of development. In one example, Grenada accessed USD 44 million from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility after Hurricane Beryl.

However, Clarke called for more direct and accessible global financing. “We shouldn’t have to pay into these funds to access support. Global financing must directly reach local mechanisms, enabling us to extract funds quickly in times of need.”

Both ministers emphasized the importance of unity among SIDS to address shared vulnerabilities.

Clarke underscored the need for South-South cooperation. ‘We must explore technology transfer, knowledge sharing, and local solutions rather than solely relying on the elusive financing from developed countries.’

As COP29 progresses, Saint Kitts and Nevis continue to advocate for actionable outcomes.

“Declarations and alliances are just words. The real conversation is about the money—that’s what matters most,” Clarke stressed.

Maynard added a hopeful yet pragmatic perspective: “We’re not just waiting around. We’re doing everything we can to survive and thrive, but there has to be climate justice and collaboration.”

Saint Kitts and Nevis exemplifies how small nations can lead the charge in climate action. Through its renewable energy ambitions and calls for global partnerships, it demonstrates that size is no barrier to driving meaningful change in the fight against climate change.

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

• Mercury Pollution: A Global Threat to Oceans and Communities
• Survival at Stake: Caribbean Calls For Just, Fair Financing For Small Island States at COP
• ‘Show Me the Money’—Grenada PM Calls for Climate Justice

On a rainy day in the Gaza Strip, Salem, a 12-year-old, gazes at the rainbow during sunset in Rafah city. "I miss life before the war, when I would go to school and meet my friends, and when I would play football in the neighborhood,” Salem said. “The rainbow is beautiful, but the sounds of planes in the sky always make me afraid,” he added. Credit: UNICEF/El Baba

By Naureen Hossain
NEW YORK, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

The future of childhood will be fundamentally shaped by the interventions taken in the present that can determine how children’s rights are protected amid compounding issues. As a new report from UNICEF shows, global trends that are already influencing children’s welfare and development will continue to shape them and be a further reflection of overall global development.

UNICEF’s flagship report provides projections on what childhood will look like in 2050 based on current trends in global issues. Released on World Children’s Day (November 20), The State of the World’s Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World details the possible opportunities and challenges children may face in the future through the influence of three global influences, or megatrends: demographic change, climate and environmental crises, and breakthrough technologies.

On May 2, 2024, pupils play outside the UNICEF-supported Zarin Abad CBE (‘Community-Based Education’ classes) in Nangarhar Province, eastern Afghanistan. Credit: UNICEF/Mark Naftalin

“Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensify in the years to come,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “The projections in this report demonstrate that the decisions world leaders make today—or fail to make—define the world children will inherit. Creating a better future in 2050 requires more than just imagination; it requires action. Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat.”

In its foreword, Russell remarked that these issues are threats to the safety and wellbeing of children and that it goes against the commitments made in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which was first adopted in 1990. She added that in many cases, governments have fallen short in honoring their commitments to protect children’s rights.

Children are having fun on a raft on a polluted river after winning their cricket match on the polluted Banani Lake in the Korail Slum of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 28 January 2024. Credit: UNICEF/Jannatul Mawa

When it comes to demographic changes, the report notes that the global child population will likely remain unchanged from the present day to 2050, sitting at approximately 2.3 billion. By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia may have the largest child populations globally. It is worth noting that these regions include some of the poorest countries in the world, along with countries that are more vulnerable to natural disasters and extreme weather events.

What this also means is that by the 2050s, the child population will drop across different regions when compared to the rates in the 2000s. In Africa, it will drop below 40 percent by the 2050s compared to below 50 percent in the 2000s; in East Asia and Western Europe, the child population will drop below 17 percent, where in the past they made up 29 percent and 20 percent, respectively. By the 2050s, ten countries will be home to half the global child population, which may include India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The projected plateau in the child population is an indication of an aging population, as the life expectancy has increased and child mortality rates continue to decrease. For some regions with an older population, such as developed countries, there will be a need to meet the demands of this population group. This should not come at the cost of prioritizing children’s needs and child-responsive spaces, the report notes. Children’s needs must remain a priority for decision-makers. Opportunities for intergenerational dialogue and cooperation should be encouraged.

Children learn using tablets during an e-learning session at the Alshargia safe learning space, Kassala, Sudan. Credit: UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen Elfatih

The climate and environmental crises have a pervasive impact on children when it comes to their health, education, and safety. The report notes that in the 2050s, eight times as many children globally will be exposed to extreme heatwaves, three times as many will be exposed to extreme river floods, and nearly twice as many will be exposed to extreme wildfires, compared to the 2000s.

While this is tragically a universal experience for children, the impact of these hazards on individual children will differ based on certain factors, such as their age, their health, their socioeconomic setting and access to resources. As the report argues, a child with access to climate-resilient shelter, health care, and clean water will likely have a greater chance of surviving climate shocks compared to a child without access to the same resources. Therefore, targeted environmental action is needed to protect all children from climate shocks and to mitigate the risks they face, such as displacement, disrupted education and health issues.

The third megatrend identified in the report is what it calls frontier technologies. These include the digitalization of education and social life and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). It acknowledges that these technologies have advantages and disadvantages. As they are emerging technologies, governance over their use and application, especially as it applies to children, is paramount. The report notes that these technologies can be game-changers if the focus is on children that are hardest to reach.

Yet the digital divide still remains, as over 95 percent of people in high-income countries are connected to the internet, compared to nearly 26 percent in low-income countries in 2024. The report notes that a large percentage of youth in low- and middle-income countries have difficulty accessing digital skills. In Sub-Saharan Africa for example, 230 million jobs will require digital skills by 2030. The disparity in digital skills training will likely impact young people’s ability to effectively and responsibly use digital tools in education and future workplaces. Such barriers are linked to socio-economic settings, gender and accessibility across developing and developed countries. 

Much of the projections discussed thus far are based on what the report describes as a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, in which global development trends remain in the current trajectory. The report also presents its projections through two other scenarios: one in which accelerated development globally may lead to greater economic growth in lower-income countries and fewer children living in poverty, predicting a more optimistic viewpoint of global development; and the other scenario, in which delayed development leads to fragmentary results and an increasing number of children living in risk of environmental threats or in poverty.

Within the context of the climate crisis, under the current trajectory of development, eight times as many children will be exposed to extreme heatwaves by 2050. However, in the scenario of accelerated development, that rate drops to four times as many children being at risk, and in the delayed development scenario, fourteen times more children may be at risk of extreme heatwaves.

Increased gains in access to education are likely to increase across every region, with up to 96 percent of children completing primary education by the 2050s, higher than the rate of 80 percent in the 2000s. If countries work towards accelerated development, the report suggests that all school-aged children could receive primary and secondary education in the 2050s. Closing the gender gap in primary and secondary education must remain a priority, particularly under present-day circumstances where 1 in 4 girls aged 15-19 are not in school, employment or training compared to 1 in 10 boys.

The report calls for adult decision-makers, namely parents and governments, to make decisions on children’s wellbeing and development that are rooted in the conditions outlined in the CRC. It concludes with the call for all stakeholders to take action in three key areas. First, to invest in education and other essential services for children that are inclusive of their needs and guarantee social protections for them and their caregivers. Second, to build and expand climate-resilient systems and infrastructures, with a focus on developing climate action plans that include child-responsive practices. And thirdly, the delivery of safe connectivity and use of frontier technologies for children, noting the importance of promoting digital literacy and skills and employing a rights-based approach to the regulation and use of new technologies.

Whatever steps are taken towards responding to the great existential issues of our time, UNICEF stresses that children’s inputs should be heeded. As the future generations that will live with the consequences of the decision-makers’ actions, their insight into their own needs should be consulted throughout the process. Russell states in the foreword of the report that the scenarios presented are not inevitabilities. Rather, they should encourage stakeholders to set a forward-thinking course towards a better life for children and adolescents. “With resolve and global cooperation, we can shape a future where every child is healthy, educated and protected. Our children deserve no less.”

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

• Israel’s Moves to Ban UNRWA—Signals Uncertainty for Affected Palestinians
• Overlapping Crises Hinder Global Social Development and Poverty Reduction

Building a Gender-Equal Africa - UN Women East and Southern Africa Strategic Plan 2022-2025
 
Credit: UN Women

By Claver Gatete
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Nov 20 2024 (IPS)

Today, women in Africa generally have better access to education, healthcare, and opportunities than ever before. Yet, as they step into the world, a gap between them and their male counterparts persists, a reminder that gender equality remains out of reach.

The evidence is all around us. One in three women still experience physical or sexual violence. Nearly every woman spends twice as much time on unpaid household work as men. And not a single country offers women in Africa full legal protection.

For me, this reality stirs a mix of frustration and hope in recognizing how far we have come and how far we have still to go.

Nearly 30 years ago, 189 world leaders left the Fourth World Conference on Women with renewed hope, committing their countries to the Beijing Platform for Action, an ambitious roadmap for ending gender inequality. Yet today, as countries conduct their reviews, not a single country has achieved those commitments.

The 2023 Africa Gender Index report, produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank, reveals that we are only halfway there on the road to gender equality. The journey remains long, and progress has been agonizingly slow.

The stakes could not be higher. Failing to end gender inequality incurs a heavy price: economic stagnation, weakened social systems, instability, and wasted human potential – all of which derail Africa’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Without urgent action now, we risk sleepwalking into a future marred by spiralling inequality, injustice and instability – an outcome none of us can afford.

As we reflect on the promises made in Beijing, all of us must hold ourselves accountable and take bold political and financial steps to change our current trajectories. To support this, our analysis points to five critical areas, where concentrated efforts over the next five years could pave the way to achieving gender equality by 2030.

First, despite more women working full-time, they still shoulder most caregiving responsibilities, suffer discrimination and deal with harmful stereotypes. Governments and businesses must dismantle barriers to women’s career progression. Experience teaches us that providing women with equal opportunities is not just the right thing to do but also the smart approach, with the potential to boost the GDP of emerging markets and developing economies by an average of 23 percent.

Second, as digitalization shapes the future of work, many women are being left behind. In 2023, only 32 percent of women in Africa had access to the internet. This divide translates into lost opportunities and costs African economies millions of dollars every year. We urgently need to make digital services affordable and promote digital literacy so that every woman has an equal opportunity to participate in the digital world.

Third, although maternal mortality rates have dropped, we cannot overlook the fact that healthcare is still out of reach for too many women. Governments must prioritize access to healthcare for every woman, regardless of where she lives or her income status. Focusing on women’s health not only saves lives but also makes economic sense. Every dollar invested in women’s health generates $3 in economic growth.

Fourth, while women in Africa now have near-equal access to primary, secondary, and tertiary education, this has yet to translate into leadership roles or economic power. Women’s parliamentary representation in Africa increased by only one percent from 25 percent in 2021 to 26 percent in 2024. Without their voices in leadership, we risk perpetuating the very inequalities we seek to eradicate.

Lastly, we must confront the harmful cultural norms, gender-based violence and legal barriers that restrict women’s access to resources and leadership positions. Tackling these deeply entrenched issues not just requires robust enforcement of laws and policies but also a societal shift, with responsibility shared by policymakers, board members, community elders, faith leaders and people like you and me.

None of these issues are new. And while some may seem intractable, they are not insurmountable. Africa has demonstrated incredible successes, from Tunisia’s increase in women science graduates to Rwanda’s significant reduction in cervical cancer cases and Namibia’s gender-equal parliament.

These instances remind us that change is possible when we invest in what we know works. In all of this, data plays an inextricable role in targeting and tracking interventions based on evidence rather than opinion. However, when it comes to women and girls, the data we need is too often missing, leaving too many of their challenges invisible and unaddressed. If we are serious about real progress, we must invest in gathering a fuller picture by bolstering our data capabilities.

In a world where pressing challenges dominate our attention, gender equality is often pushed to a backseat. We can no longer afford complacency or business as usual. If we stay on the current course, gender equality remains 300 years away. This is unacceptable.

We call on leaders across all sectors to recommit to the goals of Beijing and invest in real change to address the gender inequality that we know exists. Only then can we bring equality from a distant hope to a reality within our lifetimes. I am confident that this is possible, but only if we all act now.

Claver Gatete is Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

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');  

Abobaker Eisa says the "bigger cause" of the Sudanese civil war has been a motivating factor in their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Abobaker Eisa says the "bigger cause" of the Sudanese civil war has been a motivating factor in their qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.