Africa

United Nations handing over 250,000 medical masks to Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

By Dr PL de Silva
NEW YORK, Mar 31 2020 (IPS)

The writing is on the wall for all to see from far and wide – there is nowhere to hide from this invisible enemy, a new coronavirus, maybe with the exception of self-isolation, quarantined at home and even then, we are not 100% safe.

An event of planetary magnitude is currently being visited upon homo sapiens (the so-called ‘wise man’ in Latin) – the primate species that includes you and me and every single other human being inhabiting God’s good earth – irrespective of nationality, sovereignty, national borders, ethnicity, race, tribe, caste, color, creed, language, culture, political faction, power, wealth or the lack thereof.

UNHCR notes that “all of us are truly only as safe as the most vulnerable person”.

How we as a species, rise to the challenge of overcoming the global onslaught of COVID-19 and the unstable environment it has produced appears to be a multiple trillion-dollar question.

In fact, according to Reuters, March 30, 2020 “The U.S. Federal Reserve has offered more than $3 trillion in loans and asset purchases in recent weeks to stop the U.S. financial system from seizing up” and yet, this biggest ever stimulus package may not be big enough.

According to the United Nations, the world’s emerging economies need a $2.5 trillion rescue package in order to cope.

COVID-19 is the real McCoy

Dr Mike Ryan the Executive Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Emergencies Program discussed the global response to COVID-19 on Al Jazeera (March 27, 2020) and noted: “It all started in December last year, when cases of an unusual pneumonia were reported in the Chinese City of Wuhan” in Hubei Province, central China.

The early doubters, naysayers and fake news peddlers – who infamously claimed that COVID-19 was just like flu’ – have all been proven wrong. We have a full-blown pandemic on the rampage.

The COVID-19 coronavirus infection rates breached the half million mark with the U.S. in pole position and is evolving rapidly by tens of thousands in a number of countries. The death rates are equally alarming, and the Centers for Disease Control is anticipating a death toll between 100,000 to 200,000 in the United States alone before all is said and done (and that too no one knows for sure is when).

Dr Ryan says that “predictions are extremely unhelpful at the moment…there is no accurate way to predict the future…we have to deal with what we see now in the coming weeks and plan for the situation deteriorating in a number of countries, which it has”.

Considering the plague-like conditions decimating the health care infrastructure and services in developed, affluent first world countries like in the US., Italy, Spain, U.K. amongst others, one shudders to imagine the horrors that will be visited upon densely populated countries with less robust healthcare, such as in the continent of Africa, Asia or Central and South America.

Millions of lives are at risk and according to epidemiologists, we would be lucky if a successful vaccine is developed within two years. In the meantime, the genie is out of the bottle and here to stay with us homo sapiens, potentially infecting victims year on year till a proven vaccine is developed by the pharmaceutical industry – i.e. “out of the thirty candidate vaccines currently under trial” according to Dr Ryan.

In the meantime, definitive, adequately resourced public health interventions “with contact tracing, isolation and quarantine” along with surveillance, nationwide lockdowns, social distancing and proper hygiene – with regular, 20 second hand washing with soap and water in particular – are what is most urgently needed to flatten the curve and halt the rapid spread of COVID-19 (though not getting rid of the virus).

The most vulnerable of all are hundreds of thousands of refugees and irregular migrants hemmed in highly congested camps with poor hygiene, sanitation, water, food and shelter. This is a ticking time bomb and COVID-19 could wreak untold havoc that could spiral the pandemic out of control, unless and until special attention is given to the redress the plight of these unfortunate souls including tens of thousands of children.

Quo Vadis Homo Sapiens?

The bell is tolling on account of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic and UN Secretary-General Guterres has called for ceasefires in ongoing conflicts in fragile, deeply divided societies and warring parties to stand down – in order to enable robust public health interventions to be implemented. Not everyone however appears to have heeded this call for ceasefire.

The aftermath of the devastating airstrike on the Tajoura Detention Centre, in the suburbs of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, last year. Credit: UNSMIL/Georg Friedrich

For example, according to ISSD Malta sources on the ground in Libya, the founder of the private security firm Blackwater USA, Erik Prince (brother of U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos – née Betsy Dee Prince) has allegedly masterminded the launch of yet another sustained attack (at the bidding of his paymasters in the United Arab Emirates) with the objective of toppling the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli – using artillery, mortar barrages and six helicopters along with an array of other weaponry and mercenary forces.

Likewise, Daesh also known as Islamic State or ISIL terrorists attacked a Sikh temple in the heart of the capital Kabul in Afghanistan on March 26 and killed 25 morning worshippers and one child. Roundly condemned by Secretary-General Guterres.

It is glaringly obvious that despite the existential threat posed by COVID-19 protagonists are engaged in business as usual, not comprehending the full ramifications of what is unfolding. They do not understand that a planetary reset button has been pressed and it simply cannot be business as usual going forward.

Dr Ryan notes: “The reality is that we, human beings, have globalized the planet…we have stressed the environment, we have invaded the animal-human interface, we have allowed diseases to cross into humans and when those diseases do cross from animals to humans those diseases can amplify” and spread as in the case of COVID-19.

He goes on to state that “we have left ourselves vulnerable to emerging diseases, the diseases themselves are entirely natural but we have created the conditions (of globalized travel for example) that enables these diseases to spread and cause tremendous damage to our health systems, economy and social systems, and deaths of loved ones as you can see happening now”.

The true heroes risking their lives every single day to protect their patients and communities are under-resourced and public health workers, who are stretched to the limits of their endurance at the frontline of tackling COVID-19 and displaying their selfless humanity in no uncertain manner.

The Future challenge

One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought close to home to each and every one of us is that we have got our priorities in life wrong. We simply cannot pretend that this pandemic did not happen and go back to living our rather pathetic, self-centered, self-absorbed, narcissistic lives without a thought or care for the planet, environment and climate.

We are a symbiotic part of the greater whole and we need to reinvest our resources and cumulative talents and energies in new priorities that cater to the greater good and not the casino economics and priorities of market-driven capitalism.

In terms of the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Dr Ryan said: “when this is done we all need to sit down and see what sort of society we want to have in the future, one that is prepared, one that is ready, one that is equipped with the supplies it needs, one that is willing to invest in the sort of defense we need as a population” – the multiple trillion dollar question is whether we are to continue using these funds “to be defended from foreign armies or…to be defended from viruses” and other deadly pathogens.

Our really significant investments and civilizational focus must be geared towards protecting homo sapiens and our societies and “civilization and way of life” – irrespective of nationality, sovereignty, national borders, ethnicity, race, tribe, caste, color, creed, language, culture, political faction, power, wealth or the lack thereof.

Human lives must matter, no matter who you are, or where you are from, and humanity must really have meaning for all of us going forward.

The post Life in the Time of COVID-19: Quo Vadis Homo Sapiens? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Dr PL de Silva is Director, Institute for Strategic Studies and Democracy (ISSD) Malta and Adjunct Professor, Institute for Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University

The post Life in the Time of COVID-19: Quo Vadis Homo Sapiens? appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 31 2020 (IPS)

As the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic shifts from China to the developed West, all too many rich countries are acting selfishly, invoking the ‘national interest’, by banning exports of vital medical supplies.

US President Donald Trump has reportedly gone further by seeking exclusive rights to a future coronavirus vaccine, although the report has been denied by a German drug company and some investors believed to be involved.

Europe first
Following France, Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland now also want to ban the export of certain types of protective equipment and gear, prompting Stella Kyriakides, the EU Health Commissioner, to contradict them, insisting instead that “Solidarity is key”.

Anis Chowdhury

Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, also appealed to EU governments to reconsider their export restrictions on medical supplies, including personal protective equipment for frontline health workers.

Nevertheless, the EU has since announced export restrictions on medical supplies needed for the COVID-19 pandemic to countries outside the European single market, ignoring earlier pledges when developing countries were reluctant to commit to EU-promoted ‘free trade’.

This EU response may trigger export restrictions by non-EU countries which now have little reason not to turn to China and other ‘non-traditional’ suppliers instead. After all, the EU imports US$17.6 billion of medical products, the category it has now imposed export controls on.

Furthermore, supply chains for European medical equipment production, such as ventilation machines produced in Germany and Switzerland, use parts that cross the EU’s external borders, sometimes more than once.

Meanwhile, some major developing countries have retaliated with similar measures, with India and China restricting medical equipment exports. Although India has reversed some restrictions on mask exports, allowing some to go to China, export bans remain on 26 pharmaceutical ingredients and some products made with them, such as paracetamol.

Already, export bans have widened to some essential non-medical products, e.g., with Kazakhstan banning some key food exports since 22 March. However, such moves are ultimately short-sighted and self-defeating as COVID-19 contagion knows no borders.

It is also in the rich world’s self-interest to help poor countries, just as imperial powers were once very concerned about infectious diseases, such as malaria, in their colonies which threatened to damage their own interests in the longer term.

Solidarity, not isolation
Dangerously, such selfish moves are politically attractive, with Trump’s approval ratings hitting an all-time high. Much of the US public agrees with Trump blaming China for the COVID-19 outbreak, with some senior UK Tory politicians joining the chorus, warning that China will face ‘a reckoning’ over it.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

With the Western media seeing commercial and strategic considerations as behind all China’s actions, much of the North views China’s offers of help with great suspicion as ‘medical diplomacy’.

To the consternation of US and UK leaders, China’s offers of cooperation have been welcomed by most of the developing world and many in the developed world as well.

As soon as available in early January, China shared its findings on the genetic sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus causing COVID-19. This has allowed researchers around the world to study how it makes people sick, and to quickly work on testing, tracing, treatment and prevention.

At last week’s Saudi-convened virtual G20 emergency meeting, China announced it will increase its supplies to international markets of active pharmaceutical ingredients, daily necessities and other supplies to cope with the pandemic.

Other developing countries are also offering to help despite their own limited means. India has offered rapid response teams and other expertise to deal with the crisis in the region besides offering US$10 million to start an emergency South Asian regional fund to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

Despite suffering from US-led sanctions for six decades, with its record of sending medical teams to scores of developing countries, Cuba has joined China in sending doctors and nurses to Italy, and even to its former imperial ruler, Spain, in humanitarian solidarity.

Crisis of humanity
As many observers, even Time magazine, have emphasized, the Covid-19 crisis is not just one of health and the economy, but also has other dimensions. Covid-19 is already challenging our assumptions about humanity, about society, about greed and selfishness, about the need to cooperate.

The pandemic has exposed fault lines in trust among humans, among groups, among countries, between citizens and governments, and faith in many of our assumptions about life, not only beliefs and humanity, but also knowledge itself.

Thankfully, many of us still recoil in disbelief, shock and despair when we learn of those already infected who put others at risk, who ruin, destroy and compromise society’s already modest, inadequate existing health capacities through their selfish behaviour.

Meanwhile, as with global warming deniers, a number of leaders and others with influence see the COVID-19 crisis as a minor blip, a temporary interruption before returning to ‘business as usual’, following a V-shaped recovery.

We are beginning to doubt social media and many other previously trusted sources of information and knowledge, as we slowly realize that we are inundated with fake news, information and advice, not least by those we have become accustomed to trust, including family and friends.

We are learning that purported ‘solutions’ often ultimately come from those with agendas of their own, resulting in self-interested promotion of egos, influence or business opportunities, e.g., to sell medical supplies or some other really or purportedly needed ‘solutions’, items and services.

After COVID-19?
We also need to begin to address and come to terms with what life is going to be like after we get past the lockdowns and other ‘inconveniences’ imposed by the virus and its consequences.
This time, it is different, really different. And we will not be able to simply revert to ‘business as usual’ after we get over this crisis.

By beginning to think about the desirable, we must also consider the realm of the possible, and address the probable or the likely to strive to ensure that post-COVID-19 life will also be more secure, equitable, inclusive and sustainable.

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Women bear the brunt of climate change disasters. Credit: Women Deliver

By IPS International Desk
NEW YORK, Mar 31 2020 (IPS)

Vanessa Nakate of Uganda may have been cropped out of a photograph taken at the World Economic Forum, but she along with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg have made the climate crisis centre stage.

Women Deliver Young Leader Jyotir Nisha discusses with Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada on how to harness young people to overcome gender inequality and address climate change in a recent wide-ranging interview.

Quesada says key strategies to designing policy to fight climate change require unconventional decision-making to address challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, the fourth industrial revolution, and inequality.

“These are intertwined factors that can hinder development if unattended but, if tackled, they could potentially accelerate progress and wellbeing for all,” he says.

“And, of course, this is a task that young leaders are able to handle and produce the timely answers that are necessary.”

Bringing in her experience in the non-profit sector, Nisha says training girls and women in up-cycling plastic waste to produce handmade goods has assisted them to contribute to their family income and their empowerment in the community. The question is, how can this be broadened.

Quesada says women, in particular young women, are leading the way.

Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada. Credit: Women Deliver

“From cooperative seed banks, to early warning networks, from solar engineers to women politicians carving a path of sustainable policymaking. They are at the forefront of forest conservation, sustainable use of resources, and community enhancement, and restoration of landscapes and forest ecosystems,” he says.

However, women’s roles are often underestimated, unrecognised, and unpaid.

“Women and girls with access to technology have already begun developing innovative tools to reduce emissions by targeting sustainable consumption and production practices, including food waste, community waste management, energy efficiency, and sustainable fashion.”

The solutions exist, but much more is needed.

“It takes a whole-of-society approach for collaboration and cooperation on a bigger and enhanced scale.”

The President suggests that the way investments are made could be fundamental to ensure a flow of finance to the communities, including women, and youth. This will, he believes, provide “a stable source of funding for businesses and services that contribute to the solution of social or environmental challenges.”

The impact of this will be partnerships between traditional sources of finance, like international cooperation and development banks, and new partners, like philanthropy, hedge funds, or pension funds.

“And what better than young people giving the thrust that all this requires?”

Nisha says she was pleased to see the massive mobilisation of young people at the inaugural Climate Action Summit last year. The summit had little good news for climate change with concerns raised that the accelerating rise in sea level, melting ice would have on socio-economic development, health, displacement, food security and ecosystems. However, beyond taking to the streets, they also need to hold decision-makers accountable.

“In the last months we have witnessed the irruption of massive mobilisations in different parts of the world, lead mostly by young people. This would seem surprising for a generation that has been accused several times of passivity, indifference, and individualism,” Quesada says. “I truly believe that, as long as these demands are channelled through democratic and pacifist means, they are extremely important to set a bar and a standard of responsibility for us, decision-makers — who are, by the way, more and more often, young people.”

He adds that world leaders owe them explanations of the decisions made.

“We must also have the wisdom to pay attention to these demands and take into account their opinions and proposals to reach agreements that have the legitimacy of consensus-building.”

However, Nisha notes, while campaigns like the Deliver for Good campaign is working across sectors reports at COP25, and the recent World Economic Forum (Davos), “climate change continues to threaten progress made toward gender equality across every measure of development.”

At WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2020 showed that it would take more than a lifetime, 99.5 years in 2019 for gender parity across health, education, work and politics to be achieved.

Quesada says the climate catastrophe “demands that policymakers and practitioners renew commitments to sustainable development — at the heart of which is, and must continue to be, advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment, and realising women’s rights as a pre-requisite for sustainable development.”

Costa Rica, he says, has been recognised internationally on two significant areas: the respect of human rights and environmental protection.

“The present Administration has taken these objectives a step further by paying particular attention to women’s rights, inclusion, and diversity, and including them as part of our core policy principles and our everyday practices,” he says. “We expect to increase women’s integration into productive processes and achieve women’s economic empowerment through specific policies linked to our long-term development strategy — the Decarbonization Plan — allowing the transformational changes our society needs.

However, the critical question, Nisha says, is: “What can world leaders and governments do today to ensure young people have a seat at the decision-making table?”

Quesada is confident that young people will be part of the solution.

“The challenges we are facing today are unprecedented precisely because previous generations did not have to face situations such as biodiversity loss, global warming, or the emergence of artificial intelligence and technology. Thus, we need new answers and solutions from Twenty-First Century people, and those should and will be put forward by the youth,” he says.

The importance of youth involvement was recently highlighted too at the meeting of African Leaders for Nutrition in Addis Ababa. African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina said Africa should invest in skills development for the youth so the continent’s entrepreneurs can leverage emerging technologies to transform Africa’s food system to generate new jobs. This is especially urgent as the population on the continent is expected to double to 2.5 billion people in 40 years putting pressure on governments to deliver more food and jobs in addition to better livelihoods.

In a recent interview with IPS International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Director General, Nteranya Sanginga, explained that this change is neither easy or necessarily something all leadership has taken on board.

“Our legacy is starting a programme to change the mindset of the youth in agriculture. Unfortunately (with) our governments that is where you have to go and change mindsets completely. Most probably 90 per cent of our leaders consider agriculture as a social activity basically for them its (seen as a) pain, penury. They proclaim that agriculture is a priority in resolving our problems, but we are not investing in it. We need that mindset completely changed.”

Quesada is unequivocal that this attitude needs to change.

“My advice to world leaders is to have the humility to listen to the people and to allow more inclusive and participatory decision-making. And to the young people, I can only encourage them to own their future, and to act accordingly, with vision, courage, and determination.”

 

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Nigeria's commercial hub and the capital have gone into lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Mexico is making progress on a project to modernise dams and other hydroelectric plant infrastructure and equipment, in order to increase generation, although this plan faces threats of drought and questions about profitability compared to other renewable sources. The photo shows the reservoir and dam at the Chicoasén power plant in Chiapas, included in the plan. Photo: Wikimedia

By Emilio Godoy
MEXICO CITY, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

Water security and profitability are the Achilles heels of the plan to modernise 60 hydroelectric plants in Mexico, drawn up by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Most of them are power plants built more than 50 years ago, so the upgrading plan poses technical and feasibility challenges. López Obrador has insisted on maintaining the hydropower plants, as they are part of Mexico’s heritage, under the control of the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).

Astrid Puentes, co-executive director of the non-governmental Interamerican Association for Environmental Defence (AIDA), believes the renovation plan makes sense because it avoids the damage caused by building new plants.

“Modernising and maintaining hydroelectric plants is a good idea. There are some plants that can withstand upgrading and will become more efficient in terms of water use and production,” the activist told IPS in the Mexican capital.

But she warned of the need for “good basic water planning” that takes into account climate factors, in order to assess whether it is worthwhile refurbishing some of the plants.

Data from the CFE obtained by IPS indicate that the public company has evaluated the expansion and profitability analysis of 21 dams, as part of the project aimed at rehabilitating or modernising hydropower plants.

Upgrading infrastructure and equipment would boost the generating power of 18 of these 21 plants.

The CFE analysed hydrometric data and produced a hydrological and hydro-energy study, an economic evaluation, and an analysis of profitability and social and environmental feasibility, in order to evaluate the situation of each plant.

Using these analyses, the CFE calculated the suggested megawatts (MW) and type of turbine to be installed, the result of the annual generation, the percentage obtained with the current conditions of the plants, the levelised cost of the electricity, the cost/benefit ratio of the plants and their profitability.

In this Latin American nation of 130 million people, there are some 4,900 public and private dams and reservoirs used for electricity, irrigation and fishing, among other uses, according to the government’s National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy.

Of these, at least 101 generate electricity, with an average age of 47 years and an average capacity of 147 MW.

Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) is continuing to build new hydroelectric plants, such as the one in Zapotillo, in the western state of Jalisco. In addition to the new plants, 60 older dams, included in a government modernisation plan, will produce more electricity. Photo: Courtesy of EJ Atlas

The CFE runs at least 84 of them, with a total power capacity exceeding 11,000 MW.

The CFE is considering expanding and modernising four plants with a capacity of between 10 and 72 MW and another 17 plants with a capacity ranging from less than one MW to 51 MW, while it is evaluating the profitability of nine large plants in the southern state of Chiapas and the western state of Michoacán.

It is also studying the relaunch of the Las Rosas power plant in the central state of Querétaro, which was built in 1949 and is completely inoperative.

In the view of Daniel Chacón, energy director of the non-governmental Mexican Climate Initiative, the refurbishing of hydropower plants is highly beneficial.

“It’s one of our pending tasks. You have to take into account that the reservoirs gradually fill up with sediment and shrink in size over the years. A selection should be made as to which dams are worth investing in, depending on their age and on how much their capacity has declined,” he told IPS.

Chacón pointed out that productivity depends on the rainfall regime, the end use of the water, and the level of sedimentation of the reservoir and how clogged up the pipes are.

In its 2020 budget, the CFE allocated at least 116 million dollars for the replacement of machinery and the rehabilitation of hydroelectric plants under its control.

In December 2018, when he began his six-year term, López Obrador announced an agreement with the Canadian public company Hydro-Québec to modernise 60 plants.

The effects of drought on the reservoirs

But Mexico’s hydroelectric system faces the threat of drought, one of the consequences of the climate crisis unleashed by the extraction and burning of fossil fuels and to which Mexico is highly vulnerable, as the world’s 12th largest producer of hydrocarbons.

The 210 biggest reservoirs in the country can hold up to 84,500 cubic hectometres (hm3, millions of metres), compared to a maximum ordinary water level of 12,500 hm3, according to data from the government’s National Water Commission (Conagua).

Conagua’s latest report on the subject stated that on Mar. 16, five reservoirs were full to capacity, 76 were between 75 and 100 percent in volume, 68 were between 50 and 75 percent, and 22 were less than 50 percent. At least five of Mexico’s 32 states report critically low water levels in their reservoirs.

In February, Conagua transferred 100 million cubic metres of water from a dam in the northern state of Nuevo León to another reservoir in neighbouring Tamaulipas state because of the drought.

Several strips of Mexico’s Atlantic coast are suffering from severe and extreme drought, according to the National Drought Monitor.

Energy transition makes uneven progress

Despite the progress made in expanding the use of renewable energies, Mexico’s energy mix remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels. In the first quarter of 2019, gross generation totaled 80,225 gigawatt-hours (Gwh), up from 78,167 in the same period last year.

Gas-fired combined cycle plants produced 40,094, conventional thermoelectric plants 9,306 and carboelectric plants 6,265.

Hydroelectric plants accounted for 5,137 Gwh, wind farms 4,285, nuclear power plants 2,382 and solar stations 1,037. The greatest increase was in renewable sources.

Since the start of his term, López Obrador has opted to fortify the state monopolies of the CFE and the Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) oil company, thus favouring fossil fuels over renewables. And he has stated that he will not shut down power plants.

He cancelled the call for auctions of long-term contracts for electricity supply that allowed private companies to build wind and solar power plants and sell the energy to the CFE for 15 to 20 years.

But hydroelectricity cannot compete economically with wind and solar power, although it can serve as a back-up during peak consumption hours and reservoirs can serve as storage during critical periods.

The 2015 Energy Transition Law stipulates that clean energy must account for 25 percent of the electricity generated by 2018, 30 percent by 2021 and 35 percent by 2024. Counting hydropower and nuclear energy, the country has no problem reaching these goals.

With respect to the plan for modernising hydropower plants, Puentes and Chacón warned of the risk posed by drought.

“We should not depend on, or increase our dependence on, hydroelectric plants. The essential life span of these plants must be reassessed. We have not seen a plan to dismantle others either, which is what countries like the United States are doing. Dams that don’t generate electricity can serve as regulators and prevent floods and droughts,” Puentes said.

For his part, Chacón said that during times of drought, the water from the reservoirs goes to agricultural producers and cannot be used to generate electricity.

“We need to look at other renewable energies, like solar and wind. With more efficient turbines and generators, hydroelectric generation can become more efficient. The plants and reservoirs can be used for backup and energy storage. In Mexico that will become unavoidable at some point,” he said.

Prodesen, which is not considering shutting down plants, projects that Mexico will need 66,912 additional MW to meet electricity demand in the period 2018-2032, which implies an investment of 68 billion dollars over the next 15 years.

In that period, the additional hydroelectric capacity planned is three percent, or 2,213 MW. By 2022, hydropower is to represent 13 percent of the national total and in 2032, 11 percent.

In the Aztec worldview, Tlaloc was the god of rain and the one they worshipped to thank for rainfall. Perhaps their descendants will have to pray to him again to fill the reservoirs.

The post Mexico’s Plan to Upgrade Hydropower Plants Faces Hurdles appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Anand Vihar Bus Terminal, New Delhi, March 28, 2020. Credit: IMPRI

By Dr. Balwant Singh Mehta, Dr. Simi Mehta and Dr. Arjun Kumar
NEW DELHI, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

The worldwide spread of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is severely affecting the global economy and as per the recent updates almost one-third to half of the global population are now under some form of a lockdown.

This has threatened an economic bloodbath, where practically all economic activities around the world are witnessing a closure. According to the International Labour Organization, nearly 25 million jobs could be lost worldwide due to the pandemic and would mean income losses for workers between USD 860 billion and USD 3.4 trillion by the end of 2020.

This will translate into fall in consumption of goods and services, impacting the businesses and in turn viciously affecting the national economies. Among other continents, Asia would witness disruptions in backward and forward linkages in supply chains.

Significant providers of employment like manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, travel, services and the retail industries along with small and medium enterprises, have already begun to bear the acute brunt of COVID-19.

Choosing between Human Health and Economic Health

Though India’s number of reported coronavirus infections remains relatively low (around 800, as of March 27, 2020) vis-à-vis other countries, it is feared that the pace of spread of the virus in India similar to that of China, Europe or the United States would have sweeping disastrous consequences than anywhere else.

The reason for this is not just the sheer magnitude of its population of over 1.3 billion, but also its inept and crippling health systems and basic infrastructure, inadequate and untrained human resources leading to poor delivery of services. COVID-19 has just transcended into its third stage in the country.
As India was preparing itself through preventive actions to stop the further spread of the virus, the Prime Minister announced nationwide lockdown – comprising every state, every Union Territory, every district, every village, and every lane- for 21 days starting 00:00 hours of 25th March, and enforced the Disaster Management Act 2005.

The irony of the situation is that while there is an acknowledgement on the need for social distancing and self-isolation and the preeminence of human lives and well-being, there are growing concerns over adding to the severity of economic and social impact that the lockdown would have on the country.

This would be especially embossed considering the already prevailing economic slowdown. Economists like Kaushik Basu and Arun Kumar have echoed apprehensions that failure to provide essential goods and services to the bottom 50 percent of the population could bring India to the brink of mass sufferings and social revolts.

Cities as engines of growth have come to a grinding halt. The reason for this is that the ‘citymakers’ like the daily-wage migrant (seasonal and circular) labourers (estimated at over 50 million), street vendors, auto or rickshaw drivers, construction and utility workers are finding it onerous to survive amid no work and lack of social protection and rights, or proper inclusive policies is expensive and inconceivable.

Similar is the plight of small businesses as well as freelancers and those operating in the gig economy, who have begun to bear the brunt of national lockdown. On the other hand, big businesses and regular salaried citizens, though bearing the cost of social distancing, can navigate the rough waters and survive.

Livelihood in a Lockdown too!

Before delving into the lurching livelihood situation in India, it is important to highlight some major trends in the prevailing national-level employment. In 2018, India’s population was estimated at 134 crores consisting of 26 per cent of children (0-14 years) and 74 per cent adults (15+ years). The adult population (96 crore) includes 64 per cent working age people (15-59 years) and 10 per cent senior citizens (60+ years).

As per recent Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report 2017-18, around 45 crore (47 per cent) adults were working in the country. Over half (52 per cent) of the workers were self-employed followed by casual workers (25 per cent) and the remaining were regular or salaried (23 per cent). Of these, the casual workers are the most vulnerable due to the irregular nature of their work and daily-wage payment based on their work schedule.

The status of other workers also does not provide a great sight, as most of the self-employed (96 per cent) were either own-account workers or unpaid family worker (sole workers), with only 4 per cent constituting employers or entrepreneurs.

On the other hand, over 70 per cent of the regular or salaried workers had no written contract, and 72 per cent of them were engaged in the private sector, nearly half (46 per cent) were not eligible for paid leaves and 45 per cent were not entitled to any social security benefits including health care. This means only 42 per cent regular or salaried workers (9.6 out of 23 per cent) have job security or working in organized sector, while rest 58 per cent of are without any job security.

Share of Casual/Informal/Self-employment (separating regular employment) by different sectors for 2017-18 (UPSS and all age; in %)

Informal employment: paid work without any social protection; and total is percentage share of the sector in total employment
Source: PLFS, 2017-18

Number of workers (in millions) of Casual/Informal/Self-employed (separating regular employment) by different sectors for 2017-18 (UPSS and All age)

Source: Ibid

Sector wise understanding of employment in the non-agriculture sector includes: 72 per cent of the casual workers engaged in construction, 14 per cent in manufacturing and 12 per cent in other services; about 12 per cent of the self-employed engaged in trade, hotel and restaurants, 10 per cent in manufacturing, 5 per cent in transport, storage and communications sectors and 4 per cent in other services.

Among the regular or salaried workers, 22 per cent worked in manufacturing, 14 per cent in trade, hotel and restaurants, 13 per cent in transport, storage and communications, and 8 per cent in finance, business and real estate etc.

Thus, in the context of the prevailing pandemic and lockdown, the jobs and earnings of an estimated 20 crore workers, including casual workers, regular or salaried workers without any job security and sole self-employed (own account or unpaid family), are at stake. This figure will only increase if another 3 crore people who engaged in begging, prostitution and others are included.

Interventions at the Government Level

The absence of market activity will directly and adversely impact these vulnerable people and their families. The Union and state governments have made appeals to the private sector to not layoff or cut the salaries for the workers during this time of crisis.

Financial relief packages have also been announced by the states. For instance, Uttar Pradesh has announced a financial package of over INR 353 crore to give cash handouts to an estimated 3.53 million daily wage earners and labourers.

Moreover, amount of INR 1,000 each will be given to 1.5 million daily wage labourers and 2.03 million construction workers across the state through direct benefit transfer. That means, the beneficiaries including rickshaw pullers, hawkers and kiosk owners, will get the money directly into their bank accounts.

The Punjab government has declared an immediate relief of INR 3,000 to each registered construction worker in the state. A total sum of INR 96 crore has been earmarked for this purpose. The Delhi government also announced payment of up to INR 5,000 as pension to the 8.5 lakh poor beneficiaries and free ration to those entitled to food subsides under public distribution system (PDS).

While promulgating the orders for a ‘janata curfew’ to be observed on March 22, 2020, the Prime Minister (PM) in his address to the nation on March 19, 2020 announced that a COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force, chaired by Finance Minister (FM) had been set up to combat the impact of coronavirus on the Indian economy.

Interestingly, the FM was caught unawares of such a task force during her press conference to announce several taxation reliefs measures on March 24, 2020. Most of these related to the deferring of payments of direct taxes, GST for three months, and interest rate subvention/other relaxation on such payments.

In other words, the filing requirements of these taxes has been postponed to July 2020. On the same day, the PM announced a ‘total lockdown’ of the country starting at 00:00 hours of March 25, 2020.

After around 36 hours of the lockdown into effect, on March 26, 2020 the FM announced a slew of welfare measures under yet another scheme- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), amounting to INR 1.7 lakh crore (US$ 22 billion), and also provided the number of poor people of the country that these would cover- 80 crore or 2/3 of India’s population.

At least this announcement reveals the number of ‘poor’ in the country, which the government acknowledges require support. A reality check is self-evident when one relates it with the recent rigidity of the government in concealing the NSSO data on consumption expenditure (used to compute poverty estimates).

Intended to reach out to the poorest of the poor, with food, gas and money in hands, so that they do not face difficulties in buying essential supplies and are able to meet their essential needs, the major highlights of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana package are:

1. Special insurance scheme amounting to INR 50 lakh for health workers fighting COVID-19 in government hospitals, wellness and health care centers. Under this scheme approximately 22 lakh health workers would be provided insurance cover to fight this pandemic.

2. PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana: an additional five kg of rice/wheat will be given to 80 crore poor people, above the existing 5 kg they receive, along with 1-kg pulses according to regional preferences per household free of any charge, for a period of three months.

3. Under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, instalment of INR 2,000 in the first week of April will be transferred to the bank accounts of 8.7 crore farmers.

4. PMKJY components:

a) 20 crore Jan Dhan women account holders will be covered under the relief package and an ex-gratia cash transfer of INR 500 per month for the next three months.
b) 8 crore poor families will get free cylinders for three months under the Ujjawala scheme.
c) To prevent any disruptions in the employment of those who earn less than INR 15,000 per month, the government will bear the cost of Provident Fund (PF) contribution of both employer and employee (24 per cent) for the next three months. However, this is only for those businesses which have up to 100 employees.
d) 3 crore senior citizens, persons with disabilities and widows will get one-time additional amount of INR 1,000 in two instalments, will be given through DBT over a period of three months.

5. With effect from April 1, 2020, the wages under MGNREGA has been increased by INR 20 per day or INR 2000 annually per worker on an average. as additional income to help daily wage labourers.

6. Collateral-free loans for the 63 lakh women organized through the Self-Help Groups have been doubled from INR 10 lakh to INR 20 lakh under the Aajeevika Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana or National Rural Livelihood Mission.

7. Other components of PMGKY:

a) Employees’ Provident Fund Regulations will be amended to include pandemic as the reason to allow non-refundable advance of 75 per cent of the amount or three months of the wages, whichever is lower, from their accounts. Families of 4 crore workers registered under EPF can take benefit of this window.
b) State Governments have been directed to utilize the welfare fund for 3.5 crore building and other constructions workers created under the Building and other Construction Workers’ Act, 1996 to protect them against economic disruptions.
c) The state governments will be asked to utilize the funds available under District Mineral Fund (DMF) for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, screening and other requirements to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and for the treatment of the patients affected with this pandemic.

The above interventions can be represented in the table below:

To provide an insight into the actual (as per the government statistics) numbers of beneficiary claimants across the above categories of PMGKY and also some information on those that have been left out from its purview are represented in the table below:

Vital current statistics from official sources (most recent available):

The measures by the FM can be summarized as too late and too little, where the existing schemes have been consolidated and portrayed as providing a major aid for the benefit of the poor. It is difficult to understand the calculation behind arriving at the figure INR 500 (~US$ 7) in the Jan Dhan accounts to women and INR 333 (<US$ 5) to pensioners and to what avail would this meagre sum be?

For instance, even if a family spends INR 20 per day to buy half a litre of milk, it comes to spending INR 600 a month, leave aside procuring vegetables. Nutrition security certainly remains out of the consideration of the government in this support package.

One must not be surprised when India’s ranks in the Global Hunger Index slips further down in the world rankings. Given the existing inflation and high costs of essential commodities, this scanty amount appears to be making a mockery of the poor by showcasing sheer tokenism.

As against the steps taken by other major nations in their fight against COVID-19, India’s relief package of around US $ 22 billion seems miniscule and excludes other sections like small and medium enterprises, migrant labourers, unorganized sector, pregnant and lactating women and children, those suffering with critical ailments, etc.

This is in continuation of habitual inclusion and exclusion errors in the official database, which was also highlighted in the Economic Survey of 2016-17 that noted an estimated exclusion error from 2011-12 suggested that 2/5th of the bottom 40 percent of the population are excluded from the PDS. The corresponding figure for 2011-12 for MGNREGS was 65 percent.

The table below shows how miserly approach of India in providing much needed relief to each section of the economy. In fact, the PMGKY is eerily silent on utilizing the flagship programs on of the Modi government like the National Health Mission, PM-JAY: Ayushman Bharat (need of universal coverage) & Health and Wellness Centers, various component of National Urban Livelihood Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, etc., to combat the fallouts.

On March 27, 2020 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also announced measure to reduce the repo rate by 75 basis points and CRR by 100 basis points (3 per cent from earlier 4 per cent), and asked the banks to decide on moratorium on EMIs for next three months.

Source: https://qz.com/1819776/here-are-the-coronavirus-bailouts-being-prepared-around-the-world/ , Accessed on March 27, 2020

Analysis and Way Forward

The unprecedented consistency of a three-month planning and coordination from different stakeholders of the government, inclusion of COVID-19 tests under Ayushman Bharat and capping of the test price at INR 4500 by private hospitals, and commitment to procure 40,000 ventilators by June 2020 are welcome moves and provides a much-needed respite.

But a detailed strategy for the execution and delivery of services remains veiled. While focusing on symbolisms, major attributes like actual figures of payment for each beneficiary; daily or weekly timeline and roadmap for the infusion of these support measures, their monitoring and implementation, strengthen the monetary policy stance for utilizing the INR 15000 crore for the procurement of kits and equipment for healthcare and infusing it with more funds appears to be eschewed. There is an urgent need to include healthcare under the ‘Emergency Sector Lending’ and execute it on a war footing.

While the total aggregated amount announced for the benefit of its vulnerable sections appears to be huge, yet per person benefit come out to be inadequate. Further, it is evident that the lockdown was put into place without having a well-crafted strategy including the assured supply of essential commodities, services especially for medical care, kits, equipment, manpower and infrastructure preparedness as well as what happens to the poor and those who lose their livelihoods during this social distancing diktat and COVID-19 fears.

In the absence of clear-cut guidelines and proper implementation plans, the implementation of all these announcements appears to be allusive. This specifically demonstrates the vile attempt of the insensitive bureaucracy continuing with their colonial ‘collector’ legacy lacking any compassion for the masses.

In fact, the much-boasted strong macro-economic situation of the country over the past few months is exposed considering the risk averse and pessimistic approach towards public spending over the last few days.

There is no proper national level registry for poor and people involved in informal jobs or sector such as vegetable vendors, construction workers, rickshaw pullers, auto-rickshaw drivers and temporary staff etc.

There is urgent need for these registries to be instituted and updated using latest digital technologies and innovations, along with a dynamic unemployment registry to provide direct economic (universal basic income), health (universal coverage) and other necessary contingency protection and security support.

The government must fast-track the payment of delayed payments to each public and private enterprise in this time of crisis. Further, the utility bills of the most vulnerable must also be paid for by the governments. Also, to ensure that each ward (84420 in 4378 cities) and each Gram Panchayat (262734 in 6975 Blocks and 706 Districts) are fully equipped to serve the populace, each of them must be provided with emergency funds from the existing schemes like the Swach Bharat Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission, etc.

This will facilitate decentralization, enable maintaining hygiene, sanitization, providing necessary services, etc. The government must join forces with its resilient private sector, non-profits, citizens and faith institutions willing to steer through these turbulent times.

In totality, in the existing relief and monetary aid the masses have been left out from the government’s care, which is its primary duty. This shortcoming must be plugged as soon as possible and comprehensive pan-sectoral reforms for 21st Century must be undertaken to create the New India that we are dreaming of.

The post Life in the Times of Corona: Lockdown & Livelihood in the Lurch appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Balwant Singh Mehta is Fellow at Institute for Human Development (IHD) and Co-Founder & Visiting Senior Fellow at Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi; Simi Mehta is CEO & Editorial Director, IMPRI; and Arjun Kumar is Director, IMPRI.

 

Migrant workers have thronged there in tens of thousands with their families after having lost their jobs after the nationwide lockdown was announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 March 2020. These workers are desperate to reach their hometowns and villages. All orders of social distancing are unheeded since their basic needs of food, water, clothing and shelter are not being met.

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The ban was introduced in 2015 as schools reopened after the Ebola crisis.

The Kenyan marathon champion is trying to stay fit while self-isolating.

Credit: UN

By Ifeanyi Nsofor and Adaeze Oreh
ABUJA, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

As COVID-19 surges globally and leaves fear and panic in its wake, global efforts are underway to find a cure. Yet, the same level of response is lacking for several other infectious diseases that kill millions annually. These kinds of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a broad group of communicable diseases which affect more than two billion people and cost developing economies billions of dollars every year.

Lassa Fever is an example and is endemic in Nigeria and other West African countries such as Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone. At present, it kills about 17.8 percent of those infected in Nigeria. In 2020 alone, there have been nearly 4,000 suspected Lassa fever cases and more than 160 deaths.

First reported in 1969, there is still no viable vaccine to prevent it. An acute viral haemorrhagic illness that is similar to Ebola, the infection could last anywhere from two days to twenty-one days and is spread to humans through contact with food or household items that have been contaminated with rodent urine or faeces or from person-to-person.

Given the drive from the global north for a safe and effective vaccine and treatment for COVID-19, it is evident that for as long as diseases like tuberculosis, Lassa fever, as well as others like trachoma and sleeping sickness are limited to poor and marginalised populations, persistent underfunding will continue

Tuberculosis is another neglected disease. According to the World Health Organization, about 10 million people globally were infected with tuberculosis in 2018 including over one million children. India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and South Africa accounted for two thirds of all TB cases.

In same year, more than one and a half million people infected died, and over 200,000 of these deaths were recorded in children. What is most astonishing is that for decades TB has been both treatable and preventable. In fact, for the millions across the world living with TB, they are especially susceptible to COVID-19 with a likelihood of millions of deaths. This, according to Médecins Sans Frontières would be a “second tragedy”.

Collectively, while NTDs can lead to complications such as heart and kidney failure, visual impairment, seizures and in several cases death, they do not enjoy the attention of the global health community.

Perhaps because they are often limited to populations that are poor, live in remote locations and lack adequate sanitation. Recent scientific breakthroughs have led to the roll-out of effective drugs for diseases such as sleeping sickness and lymphatic filariasis with new rapid tests for sleeping sickness and leishmaniasis. However, these conditions have not attracted enough domestic and international donor support.

In contrast, between first report of COVID-19 in December 2019 and the first week in March 2020, more than eight billion US dollars has been raised for relief and response efforts worldwide and that figure is steadily rising.

A quick online search for mentions on COVID-19 research yielded over 3.6 billion results in less than half a second, whereas research on Lassa fever yielded only 1.2 million results. Given the global concern and commitment to advancing research, it is estimated that by the end of 2020 there could be a viable vaccine and effective treatment to protect the world and treat this infection; the race to the finish line is now a global competition and major biotechnology companies and the countries behind them all want in.

Given the drive from the global north for a safe and effective vaccine and treatment for COVID-19, it is evident that for as long as diseases like tuberculosis, Lassa fever, as well as others like trachoma and sleeping sickness are limited to poor and marginalised populations, persistent underfunding will continue.

This means that viable vaccines will remain a pipe dream and effective tests and treatments where they exist will not be made widely available and, in enough quantities, to wipe out these diseases.

In light of this reality, these are the steps that must be taken to address these neglected diseases.

First, developing countries that bear the greatest burden of these “neglected diseases” must develop local financing mechanism for healthcare. For too long, these countries have been passive recipients of donor assistance from western countries.

This aid is almost always conditional and tied to certain disease areas. These developing countries as a matter of priority need to shore up domestic finances to make effective interventions against these conditions widely available.

For example, in 2016, about 44 percent of current health expenditures in Africa was financed through domestic government funds and 37 percent from out-of-pocket payments creating significant burdens on African households with no appreciable improvements in healthcare delivery.

Second, countries in the global south must actively develop their research capabilities. A near-total reliance on research from the global north will continue to leave massive gaps in healthcare delivery simply because research is always driven from a perception of need and priority.

For as long as many of these diseases continue to be domiciled in developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America, these continents must become the hubs of research into these conditions.

Third, corporate organisations in developing countries must begin to fund healthcare and health research. Already the private sector in Nigeria is partnering in the response to COVID-19. For instance, the United Bank for Africa is supporting African governments with $14 million for the outbreak response.

Other Nigerian private businesses have also joined in. However, these corporations should also fund epidemic preparedness because it is more cost-effective to prevent a disease outbreak. When pandemics such as COVID-19 happen, their returns on investments suffer.

As the push for decolonising global health continues, governments and the private sector in developing countries must also show leadership and fund the health of their people. It is the ethical and common-sense thing to do.

 

Dr Adaeze Oreh is a family physician, Senior Health Policy Adviser with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health and Fellow of the West African College of Physicians.  She is also a Senior New Voices Fellow for Global Health with the Aspen Institute.

Dr. Ifeanyi M. Nsofor, is a medical doctor, a graduate of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the CEO of EpiAFRIC and Director of Policy and Advocacy at Nigeria Health Watch. He is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity at George Washington University, a Senior New Voices Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a 2006 International Ford Fellow. 

The post Neglected Diseases Kill More People than COVID-19 – It’s Time to Address Them appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Ivory Coast international winger Wilfred Zaha shares a health message about coronavirus for the people of the country he represents.

Persons with NDDs participating in an art competition organized on the occasion of birthday of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, March 2019. Credit: NDD Protection Trust, Bangladesh

By Saima W. Hossain
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

A few days ago, a friend said to me that my focus on autism, although rather successful, had “sucked out all energy from other critical areas of social need in Bangladesh.” My friend wanted to know if I would be interested in expanding my visibility and successful approach to autism, to other issues that have apparently been left by the wayside due to everyone’s eagerness to work on an issue popular with the Prime Minister’s daughter! I know my friend’s statement was meant to be provocative, but it also made me reflect on what it was that I had set out to do when I began working in this area in Bangladesh. Has enough been achieved for me to ‘pass on the baton’ to the many others who have now dedicated themselves to this issue, thereby beginning to shift my focus towards addressing other social needs both in Bangladesh and elsewhere?

Bangladesh in many ways has been in the forefront of the autism conversation not because we have the most cutting edge innovative and effective services, but because we have achieved one of the most difficult issues in the area of autism: that of garnering the interest of those not personally directly affected by it.

When looking at what Bangladesh has achieved in the area of autism from the point of view of an expert and researcher, one must admit that Bangladesh has a long way to go. We still do not have sufficiently trained experts, evidence-based interventions and early diagnosis and support for families. Despite having a national committee represented by 16 ministries and a thorough multisectoral national strategic plan to guide them, backed by adequate laws, protections, and effective policies, programs are not visible on the ground to evidence that things are changing for the better for families. There is still much to be done.

Saima W. Hossain

Despite the fact that better services have not mushroomed in the country, overall disability services and inclusion has significantly improved. Participation in standardized and matriculation exams for many visually and hearing impaired students are routinely practiced; all new schools are required to be wheel-chair accessible; and primary school teachers train on disabilities and routinely register students in the school, although drop-out rates are not as yet accounted for. Disaster planning and management in Bangladesh has a comprehensive procedure on how to communicate and assist those with disabilities, including autism; all shelters are built to be accessible; staff are trained on what an individual on the spectrum may need; and mental health support during crisis situations have also been established as a standard practice. Government and private organizations have taken the initiative to help set up cafes, bookshops, souvenir shops, and art galleries to display and sell products made by persons on the spectrum, or those with disabilities. There are some which also employ such persons. Such social change reflecting awareness and acceptance was inconceivable even 5 years back.

The challenges faced while attempting to bring long-term change particularly in a developing country is clearly evidenced by the situation of autism in Bangladesh. On one hand, we have tremendous social awareness, and an almost zealous need by political and social movers and shakers to do something demonstrable for autism. On the other hand, the severe lack of evidence-based quality therapeutic and other support services predominates those whose lives depend on them. Political will, finance and resources aside, that any large-scale initiative in Bangladesh being a country of more than 160 million, in a small mass of land mostly covered with waterways and prone to frequent natural and manmade disasters, is testing. The issue of autism, similarly, has been a complex challenge that required a multifaceted approach, creative thinking, and the will of those who are absolutely dedicated to it.

Graduates of bakery training conducted by PFDA – Vocational Training Center (PDFA-VTC). Credit: PFDA-VTC

Through the unilateral view of autism, we may not have achieved all the milestones most countries use to measure achievement in addressing autism. However, when looked through the prism of social change, the parameters of the theory of change have successfully been achieved by Bangladesh. If social awareness was the only goal, we have achieved that in spades, however, a true understanding of what individuals and their families need, is still a goal that we are working to achieve. The country’s commitment to this gives me hope that it will be achieved at some point.

*Saima W. Hossain, a licensed School Psychologist, is currently Advisor to the Director General of WHO on Autism and Mental Health, Member of WHO’s Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health, Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and NDDs in Bangladesh, and Chairperson of Shuchona Foundation.

The post A Story of Triumphs and Tribulations: Implementing Services for Autism in Bangladesh appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: Jency Samuel/IPS

By Vijay Mahajan
HYDERABAD, India, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

Farmers, agricultural labourers, and informal sector workers are the worst hit by COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns. Here are some steps that the government and banks can take to help them cope financially.

According to the last published Census of India data, there are as many as 480.2 million workers in India. Of these, only 30.3 million are in the formal sector; the remaining 93 percent includes 110.9 million farmers, 140.4 million landless agricultural workers, and 210.9 million non-agricultural workers. Almost none of them get a monthly pay cheque or bank transfer. Their cash flows are dependent on them working.

Agricultural workers are paid daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on their contract with the farmer. But with COVID-19 bringing transportation, mandis, and market demand to a standstill, farmers are starting to face difficulties harvesting their rabi crop. As a result, they’re likely to stop hiring farm labourers, creating a serious cash flow crunch for both farmers and agricultural workers.

The same holds true for informal sector workers earning a living as a machine operator in a small enterprise, a street vendor of vegetables, a barber, a presswala, domestic help, a safai karamchari, a hamal loading and unloading goods in warehouses and transport yards, a small shopkeeper, a contract worker in a mall, and so on. At best, they may have received their wages till March 20th, and some may get something more by the end of the month, but after that the future is bleak, unless life limps back to normal.

Under such circumstances, the government needs to take steps that will:

• Reach a large number of agricultural and informal sector workers
• Provide subsistence wages and food supplies
• Do it with minimal possibility of leakage, corruption, exploitation, and delay
• Keep the fiscal burden on the government as low as possible

 

In order to reach this large number of agricultural and informal workers, we need to look at the three big systems we have in place, which are still functioning during the crisis:

 

1. The banking system

The banking system is all-pervasive through branches, micro-banking outlets, and ATMs, and works with the help of IT and telecom systems. There are more than 330.66 million Jan Dhan (basic savings bank deposit) accounts, with more than INR 10 trillion deposited. In addition, for just one loan programme, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), the banks had reached out to nearly 210 million borrowers. Likewise, the Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) reached another 70 million farmers. Banks therefore have the capability to reach out to more than 500 million 1 individuals who already have a deposit or a loan account (with KYC done), electronically.

 

2. The payments system

While we use this system to send money to each other, the government has been using it extensively to make millions of Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs). In 2018-19, DBTs of subsidies in cash and kind crossed the INR 30 trillion mark. They were provided to 1,230.8 million beneficiaries through 3510 million transactions. The number of discrete beneficiaries is hard to estimate, since the above number also includes multiple transactions during the year to the same beneficiary (such as in the case of monthly old age pensions). Despite this, the reach of an all-electronic, Aadhaar-enabled, DBT is unmatched.

 

3. The Public Distribution System (PDS)

The official name for what we commonly refer to as ‘ration shops’, there are nearly 527,000 of these nationwide. The PDS procures food grains and delivers it to consumers. To prevent leakages, electronic point of sale devices have been installed in 467,000 ration shops, as of December 2019. In 2018-19, the PDS served 800.7 million people under the National Food Security Act, 2013.

The above three systems are great assets in this time of COVID-19, provided telecom, computer systems, and the logistics of cash and food can be sustained. Given their wide reach and ability to move funds almost immediately, the government can use these systems to ease the life of India’s agricultural and informal workers over the next several months.

 

Here are some steps that the government can take to provide relief and support:

 

1. Ask banks to extend the overdraft facility of up to INR 10,000 to all the 330 odd million Jan Dhan bank account holders.

These accounts already exist and banks only need to inform account holders that such a facility has been activated. People can come to the branches or go to the nearest micro-banking outlet to get cash. Also, as more than 290 million Jan Dhan account holders have been issued RuPay debit cards, these should be activated so that people can use ATMs as well as make digital payments. This will reduce the demand for cash.

To ease the pressure on banks, the government should offer a default guarantee on Jan Dhan overdrafts. Even if almost all the account holders—say 300 million people—take an average overdraft of INR 5,000, the total amount will be INR 15 trillion. As these loans will go from banks, there will be no fiscal stress on the government, and banks can also use their excess liquidity for this purpose. Even if we assume a 10 percent default rate, the government has to pay banks only INR 15,000 billion.

 

2. Ask banks to extend working capital cash credit loans to all current PMMY loan borrowers and KCC-holder farmers.

Cumulatively, there are 210 million loan accounts under the PMMY scheme since 2015, worth more than INR 100 trillion. At least half of them, nearly 110 million, are likely to still be current borrowers with banks. They, in addition to the nearly 70 million KCC-holder farmers, can all be extended working capital limits equal to the loan that was granted to them. These limits should be in the form of cash credit.

The government should offer a default guarantee to banks for these additional cash credit limits as well. If we assume about 150 million out of nearly 180 million eligible borrowers draw INR 30,000 each from their cash credit limit, the total amount would be INR 45 trillion. If we assume a five percent default rate, the burden on the government will be INR 220,500 million.

 

3. Permit the 50 million Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) account holding workers to withdraw the equivalent of four months of contribution from their Provident Fund (PF).

This will amount to about 96 percent of basic monthly pay, as the PF contribution is 12 percent of basic pay each by employer and employee. This may be permitted every month for the next quarter, subject to their having a balance in the PF account. This will enable workers who have stopped earning due to layoffs to continue to get a subsistence income.

 

4. Release three months’ cash subsidy to old age pensioners, the disabled, woman-headed households, and any other disadvantaged category, via DBT.

This will bring about INR 350,000 million cash in their hands when they need it most, and yet it will not increase the government’s fiscal burden since this was pre-budgeted.

 

5. Direct the PDS outlets to distribute free 35 kg wheat or rice quota for three months.

Providing this to each of the 230 million ration card-holding households will greatly reduce any panic about starvation, and reach a very large number of people in the slums and in rural India. Assuming the net cost of ration delivered is INR 30 per kg, this amounts to an outlay of about INR 720,450 million, to help create a sense of ease among 920 million people (assuming a household of four people per ration card).

The cumulative fiscal cost of the above recommendations is INR 720,450 million for the PDS scheme and another potential INR 370,500 million for the default guarantees.

This together is around three percent of the government budget in 2020. The primary funds of INR 60 trillion will come from a banking system that is flush with liquidity, and they will be guaranteed against default. Apart from easing life for agricultural and informal workers, these steps may just about revive our banks as well.

 

Footnotes

There is very little overlap between the three schemes: KCC is mostly farmers, and they had accounts before Jan Dhan was launched. Similarly, few KCC farmers diversify out of agriculture to non-farm micro-enterprises (PMMY), although in the same household, their wives and other family members may have PMMY accounts.

—
Know more:

• Learn more about how the COVID-19 lockdown has cut India’s poor adrift.
• Understand why we need an income support plan to support the poor and how it could work.

 

Vijay Mahajan is CEO of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies. He founded PRADAN in 1982 and the BASIX Social Enterprise Group in 1996. Vijay has co-authored the book The Forgotten Sector and has written over 60 articles. He is also the chair of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a global microfinance forum. He is an alumnus of IIM-A and IIT-Delhi, and a mid-career fellow at Princeton University, USA.

 

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

The post Supporting Informal Workers During the COVID-19 Crisis appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The first case of coronavirus was found near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.Over a million Rohingya refugees are now cramped in hilly terrains of Ukhiya in southeastern regions of Cox’s Bazar along Bangladesh border with Myanmar. Credit: ASM Suza Uddin/IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

As coronavirus makes its way through different continents, countries, and communities around the world having claimed more than 23,000 lives, experts are ringing alarm bells about the implications of the disease as it hits South Asia, which hosts almost 2 billion of the world’s population. 

In South Asia, the number of cases being reported has increased in March, the same month the first fatalities were detected in the region. 

Last week, the first case of coronavirus was found near Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where more than 850,000 Rohingya refugees are placed. Meanwhile, four people tested positive in Mumbai’s slums, triggering concerns about what it means in places where people live in close quarters, often in poor and unhygienic conditions.

Experts are worried that the pandemic will have deadly effects on a region already suffering from issues such as communal violence in India, refugee crisis between Myanmar and Bangladesh, and terrorism in Afghanistan. 

Refugee camps and slums

“When you have a pandemic like the Covid-19 affecting all over the world including countries with the best healthcare, the Rohingya refugees in the camps in Cox’s Bazar are certainly at a higher risk,” Saad Hammadi, Amnesty International’s Regional Campaigner in South Asia, told IPS.  

In Bangladesh, the testing capacity is currently only in the capital, he said. “Clinics inside the camps are only capable of providing basic healthcare whereas the pandemic can require very complex healthcare services including mechanical ventilation for some patients, particularly the elderly people with existing respiratory conditions,” he added. 

As for slums in places like Mumbai, he says the population density poses an “inevitable challenge” in the current situation. From slums in Mumbai, to Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan and Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, the trials are similar. 

“For these people social distancing is a luxury of space that they do not have,” says Hammadi. “Their access to health, food, shelter and the most essential services are usually the minimum that is afforded to anyone. Clearly, their vulnerability to such pandemic is much higher due to living in crammed conditions, deficiency in nutrition and poor sanitation and hygiene.” 

Louise Donovan, Communications/PI Officer at the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, agreed that the physical nature of the camps can make it challenging to ensure social distancing. 

She said they have ramped up efforts with heightened communication methods such as radio spots, videos, posters, leaflets to increase awareness about the situation. They’ve also ramped up hygiene measures to ensure water and soaps are available to everyone there. 

Both Donovan of UNHCR and Hammadi of Amnesty highlighted the importance of digital communication at a time like this, in order to ensure the communication is done correctly. 

“Mobile data communications restrictions in the Rohingya refugee camps should be lifted,” said Donovan. “Life-saving health interventions require rapid and effective communication.” 

“The best that Bangladesh can do is immediately lift restrictions on internet and telecommunications in the camps and provide refugees with accurate information about the virus,” said Hammadi. 

Terrorism in Afghanistan

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the country is reeling from various issues such as a recent terrorist attack that killed 25 at a Sikh temple and U.S. pulling $1 billion in aid within days of each other. 

“There are several districts across Afghanistan which are under direct control of Taliban where people are deprived of basic services including health care as well as remain unaware of developing information in relation to precautions and preventions on COVID19 spread in Afghanistan,” Samira Hamidi,  South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International in Afghanistan, told IPS. “ If Taliban do not cooperate under international humanitarian law and allow the health workers to enter these districts, the spread of COVID19 can cause massive harm to people.”

Given that social distancing has been named a crucial factor in containing the disease, a major force that can help stop is pausing conflicts. U.N. secretary general António Guterres on Monday appealed for a global ceasefire in order to contain the current spread of the disease. But experts are worried if countries and world leaders will comply with that. 

Hamidi highlighted this as well, and pointed out the “lack of an unconditional ceasefire and lack of continuation of reduction in violence” which, if continued, will make the situation worse. 

“If the insecurity continues, it will make the health workers’ contribution impossible to provide immediate support to COVID19 patients,” Hamidi said. 

On a local level, relief organisations are doing their part while looking up to the governments to lift current restrictions that are detrimental to the efforts. 

Donovan says UNHCR has trained 180 community health workers to raise awareness about the issue in the camps, who are expected to train a further 1,400 refugee community health workers. For isolation, the organisation has 400 beds available if a need arises, but have said they’re working with the government to have 1,500 beds. 

Hammadi, of Amnesty, has said it’s crucial for governments to be transparent about the information and spread of the disease. 

“The pandemic is set to break into thousands of cases in a region that hosts nearly 600 million people who are vulnerable and marginalised,” he said. “In spite of a bleak prospect of a respite from the pandemic anytime soon, countries will do better with transparency in their reporting of the case than withholding vital information that can help researchers and health experts to respond to the crisis more effectively.”

 

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The post Slums, Camps, Terrorism: Experts Worry about Coronavirus Hitting South Asia appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Farhana Haque Rahman
ROME, Mar 30 2020 (IPS)

As the coronavirus pandemic shifts around the world, now stretching even the developed health services of richer nations to breaking point, here at IPS our dedicated journalists in developing countries are standing strong in giving a voice to the Global South.

This means IPS, with its far-flung network of correspondents and contributors, is committed as ever to reporting from the countries least able to resist this pandemic but which remain beyond the glare of the mainstream media.

It also means continuing our coverage of fundamental issues that have remained at the core of our mission for more than 55 years. Recent articles we have posted, beyond our coronavirus news, include HIV testing in Africa, FGM in Djibouti, impact on the war in Yemen, afforestation efforts in Zimbabwe, women’s rights, human trafficking, agriculture research, food sustainability and the global climate crisis.

This global disaster could tear apart fragile countries already depleted of resources or stable governments to respond. The consequences are not hard to imagine for those caught up in conflict, with humanitarian aid disrupted and peace efforts derailed. Geopolitical tensions are already worsening in some cases, even as there is some hope that states at war or near-war will suddenly find a way to work together in confronting a common enemy. Not knowing when and how the virus will hit worst gives added urgency to our mission at IPS.

Farhana Haque Rahman

Reporting locally and tackling global issues, we remain engaged with international organisations, UN entities, NGOs and civil society in ensuring their opinions and research have a platform in our combined efforts to build a more equitable world. As Prof Muhammad Yunus, Nobel peace laureate, said, IPS reaches areas and people that mostly remain unreached. Our capacity-building work empowers journalists, media organisations and civil society to communicate more effectively.

Local ownership, authenticity and diversity of views are core values of the IPS reporting network. Since its inception in 1964, IPS has believed in the role of information as a precondition for lifting communities out of poverty and marginalisation. Raising the voices and concerns of the poorest creates a climate of understanding, accountability and participation around development, promoting a new international information order between South and North.

More than ever, organisations like IPS are vital in the development of this new participatory system of global governance involving governmental, inter-governmental and non-governmental institutions. Effectively tackling the coronavirus pandemic requires reliable and trusted channels of information that translate needs and challenges, achievements and failures to all levels and spheres of our shared global responsibility, shaping and then monitoring the global response.

With a wide network of journalists spread in about 140 countries, we are truly a global media organization and we would like to salute our courageous reporters and contributors across the world who work and look after their families at the same time. We care for your safety. Your well-being is our priority.

IPS also thanks wholeheartedly its readers and donors for their generous support. Quality reporting cannot be sustained without funds. As an organization we have overcome crises before with you by our side. More than ever we need your help and generosity to get through this critical period. The marginalized and voiceless, with all their diverse perspectives, must not be left in silence.

Stay safe with your families.

Farhana Haque Rahman is Senior Vice President, IPS Inter Press Service

The post Saluting IPS Journalists and Supporters during Covid19 Pandemic appeared first on Inter Press Service.

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