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A top minister hails a "crime holiday" as figures show offences fell by 40% between April and June.

Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei produces an astonishing run in Monaco to break the 16-year-old 5,000m world record by almost two seconds.

By Saul Escobar Toledo
MEXICO CITY, Aug 14 2020 (IPS)

A group composed by women and men, called Nuevo Curso de Desarrollo (New Course for Development) based at the National University of Mexico recently published a document to propose a set of measures to change the current economic policy in Mexico. This proposal responds to a diagnosis of the current situation: at this point of the year, the serious social damage inflicted by the health and economic crisis can already be observed. As we know, in Mexico as in many other countries, there was a great economic disruption caused by COVID. Millions of people ceased to receive income from their work. However, the Mexican government has not carried out sufficient support measures to compensate for these losses. The result is easy to guess: many households have been rapidly impoverished. It is estimated that between 10 and 16 million people in April earned much less to the point of not being able to acquire the basic food basket , a situation that has continued for many of them during May, June and July. And while it is true that more and more workers are returning to their jobs, the losses caused have not been repaired.

Saul Escobar Toledo

The lack of support has led many people to abandon their confinement to seek an income for their sustenance. This, in turn, puts the population in greater danger. The Group considers that this dynamic can be corrected: contain the pandemic, protecting sources of employment and revive the economy are goals that can be achieved at the same time, they are not necessarily contradictory.

The paper recognizes the progress made before the health crisis: there was a significant increase in minimum and contractual wages; the right to a basic pension for the elderly was expanded; and support was extended to other vulnerable groups. But the situation changed dramatically, and yet the economic policy did not.

This situation – says this group – must be corrected. Therefore, an emergency strategy is urgently needed for the remainder of 2020 and for 2021. This new course could return some of what families have lost and, above all, make economic reactivation faster.

Since existing social programs are no longer sufficient, immediate action is required to protect formal workers who have become unemployed or underemployed, and informal workers who have not got no income at all.

The Group emphasizes that the reactivation of the economy cannot rest solely on the dynamics of the market. Both private consumption and investment will grow very slowly if there is no determined action from the state. That is, if there is no strong fiscal impulse. So, it is necessary, and it is now more urgent to launch a program to expand public spending. This means increasing the public deficit for 2020 and prepare a larger budget for 2021.

Financing of public expenditure can be covered by the flexible credit line of low cost available in the IMF and also by the Central Bank. Additionally, the banking system can cooperate with the recovery by granting more credit to companies and individuals and to support the government. Higher public spending should not necessarily become an unpayable debt and an unbearable burden for future generations.

In addition, it is required to carry out a set of legal reforms to implement unemployment insurance; a basic income for the poorest and most affected ; and the strengthening of development banks (strangely frozen today), as well as an industrial and regional policy that does not rely solely and passively on the supposed benefits of the trade agreement with the United States and Canada.

Additional borrowing should be seen as transitory and confined to overcome the emergency. Therefore, the document says, a tax reform cannot be postponed. A reform that lays the foundations for a new inclusive and sustainable economy. The undeniable political strength of the president of the republic, granted by elections that took place in 2018, must and can serve to achieve this agreement.

The government can presume that, despite the adversity, there is a balanced budget. But what good is that when inequality and poverty are exacerbated? The Mexican state and, first of all, the federal government have to recognize that there is a debt more important than the one recorded in public finances. And that is the income losses suffered by millions of Mexicans, losses that may last many months more.

If anything has been learned from the crises of capitalism in the last hundred years, it is that the laws of the market cannot be trusted. It is, then, time for politics, for decision-making, for a change of the economic course.

Note: The complete list of members of the Group and their publications are available at: http://www.nuevocursodedesarrollo.unam.mx

Saul Escobar Toledo, Economist, Professor at Department of Contemporary Studies in INAH (National Institute oh Anthropology and History, México) and President of the Board of the Institute of Workers Studies “Rafael Galvan”, a non-profit organization. His recent work : “Subcontracting: a study of change in labor relations” will be published soon by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Mexico City.

 

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The post Enough Is Not Enough – Call for Urgent Change in Mexican Economic Policy appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The emaciated 30-year-old had been left for at least three years without proper care, police say.

By External Source
Aug 14 2020 (IPS-Partners)

‘Stronger collective efforts and collaboration are key to meeting the urgent education needs of children and youth affected by crises’: this is the unifying message from leaders and youth advocates brought together by Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and Devex in a high-level, Global Discussion held online on 12 August, on the occasion of International Youth Day.

Over 2,550 people from across the world tuned in to watch the ‘Stronger Together: Education in Emergencies & Protracted Crises’ event live, which was chaired by UN Special Envoy for Global Education, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, hosted by ECW Director Yasmine Sherif, and moderated by Devex Editor-in-Chief, Raj Kumar. The Global Discussion shone a spotlight on the challenges faced by girls and boys caught in humanitarian crises to access education.

The discussion was particularly relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic that has further compounded barriers and plunged the world into the worst education crisis of our lifetime. Eminent expert speakers from around the world underscored potential solutions to meet these challenges and the progress made in recent years, as evidenced in the new ECW Annual Results Report. They stressed the importance of building on these achievements and ramping up efforts to avoid losing hard won gains to the pandemic.

UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the ECW High Level Steering Group, the Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, kicked off the discussion by emphasizing that the world’s most vulnerable crisis-affected children and youth are now doubly hit by COVID-19. While 13 million refugees, 40 million displaced and an overall 75 million girls and boys in conflict and emergency zones already had their education disrupted, with the impact of COVID-19, another 30 million – who were in school before the pandemic – may now never continue their education. ‘It is incumbent upon us to send out a message of hope that, by getting every child who is in a conflict or an emergency zone into school, we can be the first generation in which every child is getting the chance of schooling,’ he said.

UNHCR High Profile Supporter and Syrian Youth Advocate for Refugees Nujeen Mustafa underlined that education is an inherent right and that it is ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ for millions of children and young people to be denied this right. Recounting her story and the difficulties she faced in accessing learning opportunities as a disabled girl growing up in Syria, she called on policymakers not to see children from conflict zones as ‘a burden or a problem to solve’ but rather as ‘treasures’ who should be valued and provided with the opportunities they deserve.

Norway’s Minister of International Development, Dag Ulstein, stressed that ‘we are in the midst of a crisis that we never thought would come, which makes it even more difficult for the most marginalized ones to access education, especially in areas affected by conflict and crises.’ Minister Ulstein reaffirmed Norway’s commitment to education in emergencies and protracted crises saying ‘no one should be left behind.’ He underlined how Nujeen’s personal story is a testament to why it is so crucial to invest in the most marginalized girls and boys to fulfil their right to education and unlock their full potential.

UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, Kelly T. Clements, stated that ‘education is a lifeline for refugee children and youth’ and it is ‘our duty to provide it to them’. She highlighted how COVID-19 is making it even more difficult for refugees to access education, especially for those who lack the necessary connectivity for remote learning solutions or for those who can no longer access the specialized support they need. Clements stressed the urgency of increasing support, in particular for refugee girls, who face heightened risks of child marriages, early pregnancies and sexual violence.

ECW Director, Yasmine Sherif, presented key highlights of the new ECW 2019 Annual Results Report showing how stronger collaboration and multilateral efforts are key to achieving inclusive, equitable quality education outcomes for children and youth in crises settings. She underscored ECW’s flexibility and lean structure as instrumental to increasing the speed of education emergency responses and the accountability to crisis-affected communities. Sherif also stressed encouraging funding trends with close to $800 million mobilized to date by ECW at both the global level and with ECW-supported country-based programmes, as well as the growing share of global humanitarian funding allocated to education that went from 2.6 per cent in 2015 to 5.1 per cent in 2019. Despite this progress, she said ‘much more remains to be done’ and appealed donors to urgently contribute an additional $310 million to ECW. ‘We are about to enter a new phase where education will be put at the forefront. If we all work together, we jointly can take this to the next level’, she stressed.

‘If my education had waited, I would not be the Minister of Education today in Afghanistan,’ said H.E. Rangina Hamidi. The first female Minister of Education since the post-Taliban era of Afghanistan related how her father’s determination for his girls to be educated led him to seek refuge with his family in the United States. Minister Hamidi stressed that 3.7 million children are out of school today in Afghanistan, 60 per cent of whom are girls. She said the COVID-19 pandemic must be seized as an opportunity to be creative and think beyond the traditional provision of education. ‘If girls cannot attend school and access traditional education, then, we need to take education to girls where they are: in their villages, in their homes,’ she said. Minister Hamidi stressed that Afghanistan has become a leader in community-based education: ‘We have successful results that show that when you take education to their communities, girls do get educated’.

UNHCR DAFI Scholar and Youth Advocate for Refugees, Deborah Kalumbi, recounted her story as a refugee girl forced to flee her home in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo for Zambia, and the challenges she faced in accessing education in a different language in a new country. Education helped me embrace and accept my new life,’ she stressed. She also highlighted how important education is to protect refugees, in particular refugee girls who face increased risks of child marriage and early pregnancies if they are out-of-school.

UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta H. Fore, stressed that ‘education is the foundation of all humanitarian and development responses’ and must the addressed as a continuum from the first day of an emergency through to recovery and longer-term development. She underscored five areas that must be prioritized to ensure girls in emergencies and protracted crises can have a better access to education: affordability of education, access to distance learning, community mobilization and mentoring, protection and youth participation. ‘Education is the greatest asset we can give to a young people,’ she said. Fore called on all event participants to join forces to connect every child and young person to learning in the coming years – including through access to distance learning and digital skills – which has the potential to truly ‘change the world.’

Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, Kamal Khera, stressed that ‘Education Cannot Wait has been a leader in demonstrating how education programming can be quickly and efficiently rolled out within the humanitarian, development and peace nexus’. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, she stressed the importance of seizing the opportunity of the reopening of schools to create better and more resilient education systems that provide access to the most marginalized and vulnerable children and youth, including the inclusion of refugees in national education systems.

Theirworld President, Justin Van Fleet, called on world leaders and policymakers to deliver on their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals. ‘We have the technology and the resources we need, we have all the partners and we know what needs to be done. There is no excuse to not achieve these education goals,’ he stressed. ‘We know that education is what unlocks the solution to the pandemic: economic growth, jobs for young people, better health, nutrition, and we know that investing in early years is what gives a child the best start in life,’ he said. Van Fleet underscored the importance for young people to hold leaders to account and to keep pushing this agenda. ‘There is no excuse to give up right now,’ he said.

Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary-General, Jan Egeland, wrapped up the discussion stressing the importance of recognizing achievements in the field of education in emergencies and protracted crises in recent years. ‘There has been progress, we need to build on that.’ However, Egeland stated that youth (15-24 years old) have been excluded from this progress and are largely ‘out of education, out of livelihoods and out of hope’ and must urgently be prioritized. He also underscored the massive setback of the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘The crisis is profound, therefore the investment in alternative education, remote education, new technology has to be much bigger,’ he said. Egeland concluded his remarks with a message from children: ‘we need education as much as we need food, it is a question of survival.’

Source: Education Cannot Wait (ECW)

The post Stronger Together: Education in Emergencies & Protracted Crises appeared first on Inter Press Service.

A General Assembly session in a locked down United Nations.

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 14 2020 (IPS)

There is no love lost between the United Nations and US President Donald Trump.

When he addressed the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2018, Trump falsely told delegates that “in less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”

The misleading statement triggered loud laughter from world leaders and delegates from 192 countries—perhaps with the sole exception of the US delegation which, not surprisingly, stayed mum.

But as he does with all negative reactions, Trump later gave it a spin. He said the delegates did not laugh at him, they really laughed “with him”.

That was another big lie – even as the Washington Post, which keeps track of his false statements in its fast-growing data base, says Trump has uttered over 20,055 “false or misleading claims” so far (and counting).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/

And as an avowed unilateralist, Trump abhors multilateral institutions.

Since he took office back in January 2017, he has either de-funded, withdrawn from, or denigrated several UN agencies and affiliated institutions, including the World Health Organization, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Human Rights Council, among others.

Even though the UN Secretariat in New York, along with myriads of agencies worldwide, are working remotely, Trump is now planning to address the General Assembly in mid-September – in person.

Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told a virtual event last month that Trump would be “the only world leader to be speaking in person,” pointing out “this is the 75th anniversary (of the U.N.), so it makes it even more special,” according to a report in Politico.

But the UN has maintained, irrespective of who addresses the next 75th General Assembly sessions in person, the building will still have to be “largely empty” because of the continued COVID-19 lockdown since end March.

As the old saying goes: If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?

In a vibrantly-sarcastic comment, Kul Gautam, a former UN assistant secretary-general, told IPS: “Let Trump’s address at the 2020 UN General Assembly be his last hurrah in an empty GA Hall with world leaders mocking him from afar, and bidding him adieu!”

Gautam pointed out that American leadership was decisive in creating and sustaining the post-World War II architecture of multilateral diplomacy with the United Nations as its centerpiece.

“Ever since Franklin Roosevelt coined the term “the United Nations” and Harry Truman signed its Charter, making the US the first country to ratify it, all American presidents, Republicans and Democrats alike, have made some positive contribution to strengthening the UN and the multilateralist world order,” he added.

President Donald Trump will go down in history as the sole American President who made zero contribution to strengthening the UN, declared Gautam, a former Deputy Executive Director of the UN children’s agency UNICEF and author of: ‘Global Citizen from Gulmi: My Journey from the Hills of Nepal to the Halls of the United Nations’.

With US presidential election campaign virtually grounded due to the spreading coronavirus pandemic, Trump may be looking at the UN as a global political platform to advance his re-election bid, scheduled for November 3, as he has fallen far behind his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

That may be an irony of ironies because of Trump’s distaste towards UN institutions
and more importantly, his virulent attacks on people from UN member states, including Haitians and Africans,

At a 2017 White House meeting, Trump apparently said all Haitians “have AIDS’; that Nigerians should “go back to their huts in Africa’; and also questioned why US should welcome people from “shithole countries” in Africa, according a report in the New York Times June 20.

At the United Nations, the African Union (AU) alone represents 55 member states in the world body.

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at New York University (NYU), told IPS: “As usual, I’m afraid that Trump will embarrass himself and the United States with his brash and often incoherent statements.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that he will boast about how he handled the coronavirus, and he may very well say that America handled it better than any other country, when in fact the precise opposite is true,” he said.

Given his low numbers in the polls, he will try to boast about America’s military strength, and probably the ‘wonderful’ trade deals that he made.

“I suspect that, just like (in September 2018), many of the assembled will laugh and dismiss much of what he will say,” declared Dr Ben-Meir, who is also Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute.

Trump, who predictably changes his mind ever so often, may still decide to abandon the idea of physically addressing the UN.

Gautam told IPS: “As the champion of “America First” unilateralism, Trump sought to disrupt and undermine many carefully crafted multilateral initiatives ranging from climate change, human rights, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, to the much-needed global solidarity to tackle the greatest pandemic to hit humanity in modern times.”

The damage caused to these initiatives and institutions by Trump, he argued, will take a long time to heal and remedy, “but I am confident that over the long haul, good sense will prevail over this historic aberration.”

Asked about Trump’s plans to address the General Assembly in person, UN Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters July 30: “I don’t want to speculate on what the future will hold. As you know, the Secretariat will be in touch, basically through the Office of the President of the General Assembly, with the Member States on their representation. “

When it comes to it, he said,” we have made clear what the conditions in the building are, what the need is for a scaled back ceremony.”

But Member States, he pointed out, are aware that they have different options, including recorded messages or, in some cases, appearances.

“We trust and expect that all Member States will abide by the need to keep the numbers low, and we’ll see what they do in terms of their preparations,” Haq noted.

The post If Trump Delivers His Last Hurrah to an Empty United Nations, Will it Still Make a Sound? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Refugee Rohingya children in Coz's Bazar aren't allowed to attend local school. For many, continuing their education was unattainable until Bangladesh announced in January that refugee children could also receive a formal education, and would be educated on the school curriculums used in both Bangladesh and Myanmar in preparation for their repatriation. Credit Stella Paul/IPS

By Stella Paul
HYDERABAD, India , Aug 14 2020 (IPS)

15-year-old Humaira* sits on the mud floor of her hut in Ukhiya camp, Cox’s Bazar, listening as the rain beats down on the tarpaulin roof.

Three years ago, Humaira arrived in Bangladesh at the refugee camp in Cox Bazar, which is now the largest such camp in the world, housing nearly a million Rohingyas. Her family had fled their home in Rakhine state, Myanmar, after her father had been killed by the army.

As a refugee child, Humaira wasn’t allowed to enrol in a local school. Confined to home, Humaira, who dreams of becoming a school teacher someday, suffered silently.

But things changed in January when the government of Bangladesh announced that refugee children could also receive a formal education, and would be educated on the school curriculums used in both Bangladesh and Myanmar. In addition, they could also learn professional skills that could help them find jobs in the future.

The news excited Humaira, who had been depressed, says her mother Samuda Khatun. “For the first time since the death of her father, my daughter was smiling again,” Khatun tells IPS.

•  The shift in government policy came after Bangladesh announced its plan to repatriate the Rohingyas to Myanmar, the preparations for which have already begun.
• A formal and accredited education would help the refugee children to return to schools in Myanmar after being repatriated.

Returning to Rakhine state, which is still in the middle of an armed conflict, is upsetting most Rohingyas. But Humaira doesn’t seem to care. “All I want is to study,” she says.

The schooling year was meant to start in April, but by then the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a national lockdown across Bangladesh. And Humaira’s dreams of schooling were postponed.

Funding children’s education in crisis

Humaira is one of 75 million children and youth across the world living in crisis today.

Many of them have never been to school or have lost two to three years of education due to war and  displacement. Education Cannot Wait (ECW), a multilateral global fund, is now addressing the funding gap for education in crisis. In fact, ECW figures show that in 2015 some 39 million girls alone were out of school because of war and disasters.

Since 2016, ECW has reached nearly 3.5 million children and youth in 29 humanitarian crisis-hit countries, including Bangladesh. Of them, 48 percent are girls.

Working with 75 partner organisations, ECW has so far provided $662.3 million for supporting education in emergencies.

On Aug. 11 ECW launched its 2019 Annual Results Report tiled Stronger Together in Crisis.

According to the report, ECW has committed $12 million to support Rohingya refugee children’s education in Bangladesh, of which $6 million has already been provided. The funding has so far helped 63,000 students enrol at various learning centres run by ECW partners and local communities. The goal is to reach 88,500 children, 51 percent of whom are girls.

The challenges surrounding Rohingya children are many. About 65 percent of them can only read letters, not words or a sentence.  Only seven percent of Rohingya refugee children can read a paragraph of text or do basic maths. To address this, ECW has taken a holistic approach to education, which includes adopting a series of ‘out of the box’ techniques.

In the Rohingya refugee camps, teachers in the learning centres are trained in inclusive education, child protection, emergency preparedness and giving  psychosocial support to children dealing with trauma. 

A special focus has been on non-formal learning opportunities like solar installation and maintenance, hand sewing, embroidery and tailoring. Alongside, separate toilets for boys and girls have been built to help the girls feel secure and at ease.

A holistic approach

Henritetta Fore, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, which hosts the ECW secretariat, described the holistic approach the fund has been taking to support education in crisis.

“We have created a focus on five areas. One, affordability: we need to make sure a girl can afford to go to school. Second is distance learning. We have got to  try to get every girl reached by distance learning. Third, we have to mobilise communities, so there is lots of help out there. Fourth, protection. There is so much difficulty if you are an IDP or a refugee, so we need to help. And lastly, we really want young people to participate.  So, education is a ladder out of poverty. Its the greatest asset we can give to young people,” Fore said. She was speaking at a high-level virtual seminar host by ECW on Aug. 12.

The webinar was also addressed by former United Kingdom prime minister Gordon Brown, Jan Egeland, Norwegian Refugee Council secretary-general,  Afghanistan minister of education H.E. Rangina Hamidi, Theirworld president Justin Van Fleet, Norway minister of international development Dag-Inge Ulster and Canada’s parliamentary secretary Kamal Khera, among others.

Deborah Kalumbi, a 3rd-year student at Cavendish University, Lusaka, and the recipient of a U.N.High Commissioner for Refugees scholarship, was another attendee.

Kalumbi’s family fled to Zambia from their home in the conflict-torn Democratic Republic of Congo when she was just seven. Unlike many other fellow refugee children, Kalumbi was able to enrol in school, which she describes as challenging as well as enriching.

“It was difficult as everything was new and different. We were also treated as different. However, education made me understand the diversity that exists and value its importance,”  said Kalumbi, who is now a vocal advocate for the rights and education of refugee youths.

A collective achievement

From the beginning, ECW has focused on building strong partnerships at global and local level, to deliver inclusive, equitable, quality education for children and youth caught in crisis. According to the new report, this approach has been successful as there is a distinct growth in political commitment for the emergency education sector. Similarly, education in humanitarian crisis is also becoming a priority.

For example, globally, the share of education in all humanitarian funding increased from 4.3 per cent in 2018 to 5.1 percent in 2019, representing a record amount of over $700 million.

At the webinar, ECW director Yasmin Sherif credited the progress to the partnership model the fund had adopted. “It’s all about being together. We were able to move fast because we acted together,”  Sherif said, pointing to the fund’s continued investment during the COVID-19 crisis.

In the first four months of 2020, ECW has provided $60 million to 33 countries to educate refugee and displaced children and youths aged three to 18 who were hard-hit by COVID-19 .

Call for more support

However, despite the significant progress of the past tree years, ECW is still underfunded. So it is now  calling upon other donors and partners to step up and provide further financing to fill the gap.

“ECW and its partners are working to urgently mobilise an additional $310 million to support the emergency education response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other ongoing crises. Together with in-country resource mobilisation, this will allow us to reach close to nine million children annually,” Sherif said.

Khera, Canada’s parliamentary secretary who also spoke at the webinar, said that when a crisis breaks out, the list of priorities usually excluded education. She said it was now time to change this in order to avoid the risk of a generation getting lost without education.“We must combine measures to ensure continuity of education during the COVID crisis,” Khera said.

Keeping hope alive

One of the most notable speakers on the webinar was Brown – former United Kingdom prime minister and chair of the ECW high-level steering group. Delivering a strong message to the global community, Brown said that there was an urgent need to support education of children and youths in a global crisis like the pandemic.

Half a world away, in Cox’s Bazar, Humaira also waits in hope of the day when she can start her schooling.

Since September, mobile internet services have been banned in her camp, so children here live on the other side of the digital divide, unable to attend any possible online classes that were set up during the lockdown. So Humaira just has to wait for the pandemic to be over.

“Once this disease is over, I can go to school. Once I become a teacher, my mother will get some relief. Our lives will change,” she says, hope flickering in her eyes. 

*Surname withheld upon request.

 

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More than 50 million construction workers in India build our homes and cities. | Picture courtesy: Godrej Industries Limited

By Gayatri Divecha and Pooja Lapasia
MUMBAI, Aug 14 2020 (IPS)

Basant Lal Chaudhary migrated from his village of 1,200 people in Madhya Pradesh, to a city of 90,000 people in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016. He last worked as a construction worker, before the COVID-19 lockdown forced him out of employment.“I used to earn a daily wage of INR 350. That was my only source of income,” he shares. During the lockdown, he along with others who worked with him, are finding it difficult to make the ends meet.”I don’t know whether I will be able to find work here anytime soon.”

More than 50 million construction workers in India build our homes and cities. Like Basant Lal Chaudhary, an average construction worker earns just over INR 350 a day (US$ 4,70) with almost no perks or benefits. Many workers are their families’ primary earners. For the high risk of the jobs they are involved in, they are seldom provided a safety net.

Approximately 87.4 percent of workers in the construction industry are categorised as casual labour, and they make up a majority of the informal workforce in our country. In 1996, the Indian parliament enacted two laws which had the potential of providing protection and dignity to this workforce:

• The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, (BOCW Act or BOCWA).
• The Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act (Cess Act).

 

Understanding these laws and what they mean

These laws mandate that construction companies pay a minimum of one percent cess on the construction cost. This money is then directed to the welfare of construction workers registered under the BOCW Act. The act ensures the safety and welfare of these workers and their families. Benefits include pension, education and maternity assistance, loans for purchase of tools, and accident and medical expenses.

We don’t have to wait for a pandemic to highlight the gaps in our present system. A well-planned structure will ensure workers get the benefits they are entitled to, no matter the external circumstances


Despite this, data released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in early February 2019 showed that only about 35 million of the 50 million construction workers were registered under the BOCW Act. Even here, up-to-date information is unavailable on the number of active registrations. For example, Delhi has 5,39,421 workers registered totally, but only 1,28,394 are active as per the state website. It is not clear how many of these registered workers are local and how many are migrants, because none of the systems we have come across captures this.

Since the inception of the Cess Act, states and union territories have collected an estimated INR 52,000 crores from construction companies. However, until 2019, less than 40 percent of the corpus was spent on welfare of the construction workers. Here, there are sizeable differences among states:

• As many as 21 of the 37 states and union territories have spent less than 30 percent of their collected funds.
• On the other hand, Kerala was the only state to have spent more than the collected funds (121 percent).
• Importantly, some states, which collected the highest amount of cess, have spent the least on the welfare of construction workers. For instance, Maharashtra spent only five percent of the INR 7,400 crore that it had collected. Similarly, Delhi collected INR 2,190 crore, but spent only nine percent of it.

With COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, the government asked states to use their unspent funds to provide immediate relief to construction workers. This was a welcome move, not only because it would ease distress amongst labourers, but also because it marked what will probably be the first time in 24 years that we will see an uptake in spending from this fund.

However, to avail these benefits, the workers needs to be registered under the BOCW Act. Low registrations, especially among the significant migrant population, has led to exclusion of a large section of the construction workforce. “I am not registered anywhere. I don’t have much knowledge about it. I just do my labour work,” shares Basant Lal. Like him, millions of workers (often the most vulnerable) not only miss out the relief package benefits, but also on other welfare benefits they and their families are entitled to.

COVID-19 or not, registering under the BOCW Act is crucial as it is the first step in availing any support from the government. But why are the registrations so low and what can be done to change this? Let us break it down.

 

Increasing BOCWA registrations: What needs to be done

 

1. Adoption of a single window system

The current system allows for registration and support in one state without any portability option. This is incompatible with the reality of migrant labourers who are often working in multiple states in a given year. For example, Delhi has seen 87 percent fall in registered workers since 2015—largely because people dropped off the system when they migrated elsewhere for work.

Consider Govind and his family. They moved from Jhansi to Jodhpur to make a living as construction labourers. They are registered under BOCW Act in Jhansi; however, because of the move, their registration has most likely shifted to an ‘inactive’ status, leaving them unable to avail any benefits. They share, “We have not got any benefits of that registration yet. We are not aware as to what the benefits are, and how to avail them.”

Given this reality, states need to have mechanisms that ensure seamless portability of the informal workforce. A Model Welfare Scheme has been outlined by the Ministry of Labour and Employment following the Supreme Court directive, where each worker will be allotted a unique identification code that can be used across the country. As Jan Sahas recommends in their report, states should expedite the implementation of the new model that will help streamline the registrations and benefits in a single window.

 

2. Easy registration

Currently, workers are required to fill out a detailed form to register under BOCW Act. For instance, in Delhi the four page form was turned into a 12 page form. Filling out the form with all necessary details is usually a big task for workers as they have low literacy levels and little access to digital systems.

Additionally, the onus of registration is currently on the workers. It would be fruitful to shift this onto contractors or developers. In the short-term, employers will be able to easily register workers. They have the resources to do so, and they already collect details such as PAN, Aadhaar, and bank account details. In the long-term, employers could then formalise these employment relationships through official contracts and registration to authorities.

 

3. Relaxation in proof of employment certification

Under this act, workers need to submit 90 days certification of proof of employment in the last 12 months. In reality, the industry has a high rate of worker turnover. For example, at our Godrej Properties Limited construction sites, workers typically stay with us for about 45 days. This number is far lower at smaller construction sites. As workers keep moving, they find it difficult to have a 90 day documented proof of employability, especially from contractors that employ them for short projects. This rule should therefore consider relaxing the certification of work to 90 non-continuous work days annually.

 

4. Partnering to increase registrations

A large number of construction workers work at the nakas as daily wage earners. It is important to reach out to this segment and get them registered. To this end, a number of steps can be taken.

Firstly, state BOCW Act boards can partner with nonprofit organisations that work with migrant workers to effectively register daily wage workers at worker facilitation centres. Additionally, information counters can be set up at state transport bus stands, railway stations, and nakas for workers to easily access information. Even a central worker helpline number will be useful. For example, the Delhi government is holding a registration drive during the lockdown to get more workers in the system. Maharashtra is also replicating this idea, and it can be quickly taken up by other states. However, support from developers and the construction industry is crucial to boost this drive.

In addition, corporates can widen the social protection net by proactively engaging with suppliers, vendors, and partners to formalise registration and licensing, set standards for employee protection, and socialise linkages to public schemes. Stakeholders can be incentivised or penalised and progress can be monitored.

Lastly, it would be worthwhile for the BOCW Act boards to explore a public-private partnership to monitor registrations through different mediums (online, through civil society organisations, developers, builders, contractors, and so on).

We don’t have to wait for a pandemic to highlight the gaps in our present system. A well-planned structure will ensure workers get the benefits they are entitled to, no matter the external circumstances.

This article was written with inputs from Jan Sahas and Dimpy Dave.

Gayatri Divecha heads Corporate Social Responsibility for Godrej Industries and Associate Companies

Pooja Lapasia leads communications for the Corporate Social Responsibility function at Godrej Industries and Associate Companies

This story was originally published by India Development Review (IDR)

The post Getting India’s Construction Workers Their Entitlements appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Kalpana Nagari and Kalawati Auji from Godavari Municipality who face double discrimination from society for being Dalit and because their relatives tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from India. Credit: UNNATI CHAUDHARY

By Unnati Chaudhary
KAILALI, Nepal, Aug 14 2020 (IPS)

Across Nepal, it is the already under-served and vulnerable who have been affected by the prolonged lockdowns. But it is the Dalit returnees from India who have tested positive and their families who face double discrimination.

The Ministry of Health issues a daily tally of COVID-19 cases, but no one is counting the poorest of the poor who are dying of hunger or pre-existing diseases, or have been have been driven deeper into destitution.

Kalpana Nagari, 30, works as a day labourer by the roadside in Godavari Municipality to earn enough to feed her two children. This time of year there are plenty of jobs planting or weeding paddy fields, but she is unemployed because of social stigma after her husband, Tika Narayan, tested positive for COVID-19 last month.

Tika Narayan Nagari had returned from India after he lost his job there on 15 May. He tested positive was quarantined altogether for 50 days first at the border, and later because of delays in getting his test result. But even after he got out, the Dalit family has been shunned by neighbours and society.

The non-Dalits in the quarantine used to get hot water, lunch, and more food than us. If we asked for more food, they would ignore us

Her family used to face discrimination even before because they were Dalit, but COVID-19 has added another layer of prejudice. Even that is not what worries Kalpana the most – it is not earning enough to feed her family.

“Without work, how are we going to feed our children that is what I am most anxious about,” says Kalpana, who does not have a house of her own and lives with her sister-in-law. Her husband had to go to India to find work to repay a loan he took for his mother’s funeral.

“During every meal, I worry about where the next one will come from, and I feel faint,” says Kalpana. “The landlords did not give me any work in the rice fields because they said ‘your husband has corona, you might also be infected’.’”

Kalawati Auji, 40, is also from Godavari and raised her three sons all by herself after her husband died nine years ago. Her eldest son died last year, and her youngest has heart disease. Her middle child, Dipak is 22 and worked in Bareilly in India. It was the money Dipak sent home that allowed Kalawati to pay for food and medicines for her daughter-in-law, son and grandson.

But Dipak lost his job and returned to Nepal on 30 June. He tested positive for COVID-19 and was confined in a quarantine for 34 days where he was ostracised both for being infected, and for being a Dalit. After coming home, he quarantined himself in a cowshed for a week.

But even after he recovered, the family has been harassed and humiliated by neighbours. Neither Dipak not Kalwati can find a job, and they owe a neighbourhood provision store Rs50,000.

Says Kalawati: “This pandemic has come to kill the poor like us.”

Fifty-year-old Harish B K also returned from Bareilly in the first week of May. Among the 234 people whose swab samples were taken, Harish was among 70 who tested positive – only two of them were non-Dalits.

“The non-Dalits in the quarantine used to get hot water, lunch, and more food than us. If we asked for more food, they would ignore us,” he recalls. Now out of quarantine, but jobless, deep in debt, and facing double discrimination and humiliation, Harish says he often has suicidal thoughts.

Godavari Municipality says it has plans to provide farm subsidies to the most vulnerable during the pandemic and lockdown. Deputy Mayor Ratna Kadayat says the plan will give priority to Dalits, women, and marginalised communities under the ‘Prime Minister’s Employment Program’.

But these future plans are a mirage for most Dalit families like the Nagaris, Aujis and BKs here. Their needs are urgent and immediate, and they have heard these promises before.

Rights activist Savitra Ghimire at the Dalit Women’s Rights Forum (DWRF) says the relief may be too little too late for most Dalit families. Godavari and the Attaria highway intersection are hotspots for a surge in coronavirus cases. In the past month alone, the area got 4,000 returnees from India, and of them 349 tested positive and 294 have recovered and gone home.

However, being virus-free is just the beginning of the struggle for Dalit families here in western Nepal. As more and more districts re-impose lockdown, business is not expected to pick up soon, and this means fewer options for employment. And even if jobs open up, Dalit returnees and their families here will be the last to get them.­­­

This story was originally published by The Nepali Times

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Search and rescue team combs rubble in Beirut after a blast on 4 August 2020. Credit: UNOCHA

By External Source
Aug 13 2020 (IPS)

The catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s port is a manifestation of the Lebanese political elite’s predation and dysfunction. Among the country’s long-suffering citizens, shock is quickly yielding to fury. It may be the last chance for those in power to effect long-overdue structural reforms.

From all we know, the blast that destroyed much of the port in the Lebanese capital Beirut in the early evening of 4 August was an accident – but if so, it was an accident only in name. Storing, against repeated warnings, more than 2,750 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate for nearly seven years under unsuitable conditions near a densely populated area amounted to asking for a catastrophe to happen.

Blatant, perhaps criminal, negligence and bureaucratic ineptitude were the immediate causes of the explosion that killed over 150, injured more than 5,000, displaced up to 300,000 and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage to the city – and counting

Blatant, perhaps criminal, negligence and bureaucratic ineptitude were the immediate causes of the explosion that killed over 150, injured more than 5,000, displaced up to 300,000 and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage to the city – and counting.

In that sense, the disaster is only the latest, if most dramatic and devastating, manifestation of the dysfunction that has marked the Lebanese state for three decades. It is the product of a predatory political elite that has held state institutions in its grip and sucked them dry while allowing public services for ordinary citizens to break down to the point of non-existence.

The networks of political influence, patronage and corruption they have built have compromised accountability, due process and professional conduct on all levels. Their behaviour has pushed Lebanon over the brink of bankruptcy and beggared much of the population.

The headline in The Daily Star, a local newspaper, captured the bottom line particularly well: “Lebanon’s officials are its worst enemies”. Unless these political elites finally accede to the demands for fundamental reform, Lebanon will slide further into economic abyss, and public outrage may well lead to unrest and violence.

The blast will accelerate the Lebanese economy’s tailspin, immiserating a larger and larger part of the 6.8 million-strong population, one in five of whom are Syrian refugees. The Lebanese lira has lost more than 80 percent of its value since October, impoverishing citizens who now struggle to afford basic goods, which are mostly imported.

Banks have largely refused to dispense their customers’ savings, as they grapple with their own apparent insolvency. On 6 August, the Lebanese Central Bank announced support for businesses and individuals seeking to repair damage, yet experts remain sceptical that the institution can squeeze enough dollars out of its shrinking foreign reserves to make a real difference.

The liquidity crisis, loss of credit and resulting collapse of local demand, which was then deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic, has forced businesses to scale back operations or shut down entirely, shedding or furloughing tens of thousands of employees. State-provided electricity has dwindled to just a few hours per day, as fuel has become scarce.

Lebanese politicians have responded to the country’s political-economic crisis with characteristic lack of seriousness, arguing among themselves over the scale of losses at Lebanon’s politically connected banks, and who should make them whole. Negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over an economic rescue package have deadlocked as a result.

Now Lebanon’s national crisis has been made much worse. With Beirut’s port incapacitated, and smaller facilities along the Lebanese coast likely unable to take much of the load, bringing in sufficient supplies of food and medicine will be a challenge.

The blast also destroyed the main grain storage silos and stocks of medical equipment. Enterprises that have weathered the crisis thus far will find it even more difficult to import equipment and materials to keep business going or to export their products. State tax and customs revenue will plummet further, forcing the government to fund its budget through the printing press and thus initiating a new round of hyperinflation.

Even before the latest disaster Lebanon was in need of humanitarian assistance. Now the need has become acute, and the volume of required aid, in particular medical staff and supplies, food to replenish destroyed stocks and building material to fix damaged shelters, has only grown.

Thankfully, a number of countries across the Middle East and in Europe are already pitching in. They will have to do more, as the effects of the Beirut port’s destruction and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Lebanese set in, compounding the country’s misery. They should provide assistance directly to the affected population and through local and international non-governmental organisations present on the ground.

Lebanon’s political leadership may still have a chance to do the right thing and institute long-overdue reforms, as the Lebanese people have demanded, and on which international donors have conditioned an economic rescue. The corrupt political arrangements that have bankrupted the country and that led ultimately to the 4 August disaster cannot be allowed to continue; they have reached their end. They will not be revived by some miraculous injection of foreign money.

Two months ago, Crisis Group published a report on how to pull Lebanon out of the pit. We emphasised that the political elite that has ruled Lebanon for the past 30 years must carry out structural reforms that prevent corrupt and self-serving cliques from appropriating state resources and public goods in order to win the substantial international support the country needs to emerge from the economic crisis.

Now those elites are again facing the wrath of the country’s citizens, as they did in October 2019, when hundreds of thousands rallied against the politicians in charge. Those protests followed another humiliating episode in which the government was helpless to control wildfires after neglecting for years to pay for maintenance of donated firefighting helicopters.

The latest disaster is a similar failure, but on a monumental, much deadlier scale. It seems likely to unleash a new wave of popular fury. Lebanese are seething on social media.

Activist groups that played a prominent role in the October protest movement are starting to mobilise again, raising their popular slogan demanding the removal of the country’s entrenched elites: “‘All of them’ means ‘all of them’”. Already in April and May, sporadic protests against deteriorating living conditions had sparked violent confrontations with the security forces, causing casualties. New demonstrations could spin out of control completely. A major protest has been called for 8 August.

If the Lebanese elites do have a chance to fix what they have broken, it may well be their last. They, along with the politicians whom they elevated and the officials whom they helped appoint, will have to face up to a Lebanese public that, after so many years of abuse and neglect, has now been terrorised by its own government with an entirely preventable explosion of world-historical size and destructive power. The public is justifiably enraged, and it has less and less to lose.

 

This statement was originally published by the Crisis Group

The post The Beirut Blast: An Accident in Name Only appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Students learn with tablets in a school in South Africa. Credit: AMO/Jackie Clausen.

By External Source
Aug 13 2020 (IPS)

Most young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa continue to be denied access to information and communications technology because of poor infrastructure and the digital divide.

The cost of mobile data is part of the problem. For example, compared with its fellow members of the BRICS group of nations, South Africa has the highest average price for 1GB of mobile data.

One gigabyte of mobile data costs an average of US$1.01 in Brazil, $0.61 in China, $0.52 in Russia and $0.09 in India. It costs an average of $4.30 in South Africa. As a result, many young people in low-income communities don’t have instant access to the internet.

One gigabyte of mobile data costs an average of US$1.01 in Brazil, $0.61 in China, $0.52 in Russia and $0.09 in India. It costs an average of $4.30 in South Africa. As a result, many young people in low-income communities don’t have instant access to the internet

This situation is compounded by the lack of uneven technology infrastructure and adequate skills on how to use digital platforms. Though network operators continue to invest in infrastructure to provide quality network coverage, the cost of accessing the internet remains too costly for most citizens.

People know the importance of having information and communications technology skills and these are critical to their daily lives. As a result, most families have some level of digital skills and technology in their households. Young people gain much of their digital literacy outside the classroom in an informal context.

But we found in our research that most job seekers don’t have the skills required to effectively search for employment information on digital platforms.

The number of South Africans aged between 15 and 24 years who were not in education, employment or training was recorded at 34.1% of this age group (3.5 million) in the first quarter of 2020. When the age cohort was expanded from 15 to 34 years, the number of people in this category increased to 41.7% (20.4 million people) during the same period.

Information and communications technology skills are becoming essential in an environment that’s shifting from industry and manufacturing to a knowledge and digital economy. Information and communications technology literacy skills are therefore critical in making young people more employable in the economy.

Failure to address the implications of digital illiteracy may negatively affect young people who aren’t in education, employment or training. It keeps them from earning a living and contributing to the country’s economic growth.

The research

Our study sought to explore how digital literacy skills can advance the lives of people looking for employment. The first phase of the study was carried out in the Gauteng province of South Africa using interviews for primary data collection. The participants comprised of young people who weren’t engaged in any education, employment or any sort of training.

We found that there are many challenges which prevent people from efficiently using information technology for this purpose. These include the high cost of internet connections and the lack of knowledge about how to use digital platforms.

We found that looking for employment comes at a cost, so accessing online services was a challenge. Some of the respondents said they couldn’t search for employment by using the internet because they didn’t have access to internet or because they were digitally illiterate.

We also found that not all young people who aren’t in education, employment or training have sufficient digital skills. Only 56% of the participants had attended some sort of digital literacy skills programme at some stage, while 44% indicated they had not attended any such initiative. Most of people from poor families have no means to unblock the barrier that prevents them from getting training and accessing digital platforms – and this is often because of the financial cost attached to it.

What was interesting from the results was that there were young people who hadn’t received any training but had taught themselves to navigate and search for information on jobs, educational and other developmental opportunities on digital platforms. This was because they had access to digital resources. What’s interesting about it is that some of the young people are willing to learn on their own (trial and error) on how to use various online services.

The results also showed that those who have no access to smart computing devices and internet connection subsequently lacked the skills to search for information on work and development in virtual spaces.

 

Going forward

In a developing country like South Africa, the government must provide supportive structures and policies that prepare young people and enable them to actively participate in the economy. In the South African context, it’s worth highlighting that because of persistent historical inequalities, not everyone has had the same opportunities to access information and communications technology, so solutions need to be tailored.

Young people need an enabling environment to continuously refine their skills through either formal or informal programmes. The government must provide services for them so they can use skills centres and quality internet connection points. This will assist young people in keeping their skills set relevant to market needs.

 

Walter Matli, Researcher and senior lecturer, Vaal University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Young South Africans are Shut Out From Work: They Need a Chance to Get Digital Skills appeared first on Inter Press Service.

It says Islamists who seized a city near lucrative gas reserves are using local people as human shields.

Globally 75 million children who cannot access education as a result of crises. A dated photo of a Syrian child in a refugee camp in Jordan. Credit: Robert Stefanicki/IPS.

By Mantoe Phakathi
MBABANE, Aug 13 2020 (IPS)

“Not being able to go to school is not something I’d wish on any child in this world,” said 21-year-old Nujeen Mustafa, a young advocate for refugees who fled the Syrian war with her sister. Mustafa, who now lives in Germany, is also the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) high profile supporter.

Speaking at a virtual seminar hosted by Education Cannot Wait (ECW) a day after the organisation launched its 2019 Annual Results Report, Mustafa said growing up in Syria was not easy. Even before the war, she said, she had to educate herself at home via TV, with the assistance of her older siblings, because government buildings were not accessible to someone who had to use a wheelchair like herself. Mustafa was born with cerebral palsy.

“As the conflict started, the situation deteriorated even further,” Mustafa told over 700 participants of the webinar held on International Youth Day, Aug. 12. “I had to flee because my safety was jeopardised.”

The high-level webinar was also addressed by former United Kingdom prime minister Gordon Brown, Norwegian Refugee Council secretary-general Jan Egeland,  Afghanistan minister of education H.E. Rangina Hamidi, Theirworld president Justin Van Fleet, Norway minister of international development Dag-Inge Ulster and Canada’s parliamentary secretary Kamal Khera, among others.

Mustafa said the 75 million children who cannot access education as a result of crises was a demonstration of a failure on everyone’s part and that it was “unacceptable and inexcusable”. Her story resonates with many of the children in countries experiencing emergencies or conflict as highlighted in the ECW annual report titled Stronger Together in Crises.

Speaking at the same event, former United Kingdom prime minister Brown said the world has a lost generation of 30 million refugees, 40 million displaced and 75 million in conflict and emergency zones.

“We now have the COVID generation deprived of school,” said Brown who is chair of the ECW high-level steering group and also the U.N. special envoy for global education. “Some people think 30 million children will never return to school even though they have been there before the pandemic.”

Brown said it was necessary to send a message of hope based on three pillars. Firstly, faith that education can bridge the gap between what people are and what they have in themselves to become. Secondly, the message should be based on the belief that every child who is in a conflict or emergency zone can be brought to school. Finally, he said the message should be based on confidence that the $310 million needed by ECW to do its work can be raised.

“Hope doesn’t just die when a refugee ship is lost at a sea,” said Brown. “Hope dies when young people cannot plan and prepare for the future because there’s no school, no education within their grasp.”

Although there is still a long way to go in supporting children and youth in conflict countries, the Stronger Together in Crises Report shows significant progress. From 2017 to 2019, the primary enrolment rate for refugee children improved from 53 percent to 75 percent in Uganda and from 62 percent to 67 percent in Ethiopia. ECW disbursed $131 million across 29 countries in 2019, more than its 2017 and 2018 investments combined.

“Globally, the share of education in all humanitarian funding increased from 4.3 percent in 2018 to 5.1 percent in 2019, representing a record amount of over $700 million,” reads the report.

ECW director, Yasmine Sherif, attributes the progress made to three reasons. Firstly, breaking down silos and having all stakeholders working together to mobilise resources.   

“Remove this whole issue of trying to raise money for oneself, one’s own siloed area but we’re bringing it to the sector, bringing it to the children and the youth out there and that’s what the fund does,” said Sherif.

Secondly, Sherif said, removing bureaucracy has resulted in moving with record speed in response to COVID-19.  She said just a few weeks after the World Health Organisation declared it a pandemic, ECW was able to deliver in 27 countries and exhaust its entire emergency funding that was available and attracted more funding for a second round.

“Thirdly, ECW is part of a multilateral system that has been questioned over the years but if we’re going to be stronger together we have to be multilateralist,” she said. “We have to believe in the multilateral system that was created precisely for this.”

Sherif said 3.6 million children have been reached through a holistic approach that caters the needs of a child and youth from mental health and psychosocial services to school feeding where WFP plays an important role. Considering that teachers are mentors and role models to young people during their formative years, ECW involves their training.

ECW also provides cash assistance that allows most families of the 75 million children who are living in extreme poverty to send their children to school because they may not be able to do so even if the school itself is free. It also creates infrastructure that is conducive to children with disabilities and provides protection especially in countries where there is violence and conflict. It also empowers governments to build their own coordination units and sustain the investments made   

The U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is hosting the ECW secretariat. UNICEF executive director, Henrietta Fore, said there is not enough advocacy to support children in conflict and emergency zones with learning, yet education is part of the humanitarian and development agenda.

“It is needed in the first day of the crises as you can see from Nujeen and it is needed five years later,” said Fore. “So, we have to think differently, it is a continuum of assistance we’re giving.”

She said the best thing that has been discovered is giving the world a great idea. One great idea that is considered is, if everyone could join with connecting every young person to learning everywhere, it would make a big difference.

“If we could do this in the next couple of years, it would change the world and it would make people realise that education is the foundation of all humanitarian and development response,” she said.

Ensuring that the education needs of children in crises zones needs resources and ECW is appealing for more support.

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The post Keeping Education within the Grasp of Refugee Children appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Ugandan world champion Joshua Cheptegei is aiming for a second world record in his second race in six months.