Africa

BBC's Africa business editor Larry Madowo went to meet Sophia, one of the world's most famous robots.

Protesters march again in Algiers despite President Bouteflika's decision not to seek a fifth term.

After missing the last two Afcon qualifiers, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been included in coach Daniel Cousin's squad for Gabon's crucial final match in Group C.

People were burnt alive and a two-year-old was thrown into a septic tank, a UN investigation says.

Protesters accuse President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of a ploy to prolong his 20-year rule.

After discrediting state-owned enterprises, privatization advocates successfully pushed a broad reform agenda under the rubric of privatization from the 1980s, with the support of the Washington-based international financial institutions.

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Mar 12 2019 (IPS)

Privatization has been central to the ‘neo-liberal’ counter-revolution from the 1970s against government economic interventions associated with Roosevelt and Keynes as well as post-colonial state-led economic development.

Many developing countries were forced to accept privatization policies as a condition for credit or loan support from the World Bank and other international financial institutions, especially after the fiscal and debt crises of the early 1980s. Other countries voluntarily embraced privatization, often on the pretext of fiscal and debt constraints, in their efforts to mimic new Anglo-American criteria of economic progress.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Demonizing SOEs
Globally, inflation was attributed to excessive government intervention, public sector expansion and state-owned enterprise (SOE) inefficiency. It was claimed, with uneven and dubious evidence, that SOEs were inherently likely to be inefficient, corrupt, subject to abuse, and so on.

In the 1970s, the motives of many involved in the preceding public sector expansion – enabled by high commodity prices and earnings as well as low real interest rates due to easy credit, with the need to ‘recycle petro-dollars’ (invest revenues from petroleum exports) – were developmental and noble.

Regardless of their original rationale or intent, many SOEs become problematic and often inefficient. Yet, privatization is not, and has never been a universal panacea for the myriad problems faced by SOEs.

Only more pragmatic and appropriate approaches — recognizing their origins, roles, functioning, impacts and problems — can realistically expect to address and overcome the burdens they have come to impose on many developing economies.

Various meanings
Privatization usually refers to a change of ownership from public to private hands. Over recent decades, the term has been used more loosely. For example, it may only involve minority private ownership after the corporatization of an SOE, and the sale of a minority share of its stock, or even a majority share with control remaining in state hands by various means such as the use of a ‘golden share’.

It sometimes also refers to contracting out services previously undertaken solely by the government. The definition may include cases where private enterprises are awarded licenses to participate in activities previously reserved for the public sector.

Strictly speaking, however, privatization involves the transfer of at least a majority share of and a controlling interest in a public enterprise or SOE and its assets, or an entity (such as a government department, a statutory body or a government company) previously controlled and typically at least majority-owned by the government, either directly or indirectly.

Mainstreaming privatization
Following the oil price shocks of the mid- and late 1970s, inflation spread through much of the world. US President Jimmy Carter appointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the US Federal Reserve in 1980. The US Fed sharply raised interest rates to stem inflation, which precipitated the fiscal and debt crises of the early 1980s in many parts of the world, especially in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe.

The unexpected sovereign debt crises forced many countries to seek emergency financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), both headquartered in Washington, DC. The IMF provided emergency credit facilities requiring (price) stabilization programmes to bring down inflation, typically blamed on ‘deficit financing’ due to ‘macroeconomic populism’.

Generally, the WB worked closely to provide medium- and long-term credit to these governments on condition that they adopted structural adjustment programmes (SAPs). The SAPs generally prescribed economic globalization (especially of international trade and finance), national (or domestic) deregulation and privatization.

Since then, these international financial institutions have been more powerful in relation to developing countries than ever before. Soon, privatization became a standard requirement of SAPs. Thus, many governments of developing countries were forced to privatize by the SAPs’ loan conditions.

Many other governments voluntarily adopted such policies which became standard pillars of the emerging ‘Washington Consensus’ associated with the WB, the IMF and the US policy consensus of the 1980s. Privatization in developing countries was preceded by the political ‘counter-revolution’ associated with the rise and election of Margaret Thatcher as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan as the President of the United States of America.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a former economics professor, was United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, and received the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

The post Promoting Privatization appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

After discrediting state-owned enterprises, privatization advocates successfully pushed a broad reform agenda under the rubric of privatization from the 1980s, with the support of the Washington-based international financial institutions.

The post Promoting Privatization appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The Ethiopian Airlines plane was carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members, from 35 countries, when it took a nose dive six minutes after leaving the airport in Addis Ababa. Credit: Alec Wilson/CC by 2.0

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 12 2019 (IPS)

The United Nations headquarters is in mourning – and the UN flag is at half mast.

The deaths of 21 UN staffers March 10, on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Addis Ababa, is one of the biggest tragedies in the extended UN family—with a flashback to the deaths of 22 people, mostly UN staffers, who lost their lives in the Canal Hotel bombing in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in August 2003.

The tragedy on Sunday had a wider impact because the UN staffers—enroute from Addis Ababa to Nairobi for the Fourth UN Environment Assembly March 11-15—were from 12 UN agencies and peacekeeping missions, plus representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs).

In the annals of UN tragedies, Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations (1953-1961), paid the ultimate price for peace when he died in a mysterious plane crash back in September 1961, which still remains unresolved after 58 long years.

Addressing delegates, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said; “A global tragedy has hit close to home—and the United Nations is united in grief.”

Extending his deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims, to the government and people of Ethiopia, and all those affected by the disaster, he said: “Our colleagues were women and men—junior professionals and seasoned officials—hailing from all corners of the globe and with a wide array of expertise.”

They all had one thing in common, he said, “a spirit to serve the people of the world and to make it a better place for us all”.

A breakdown of the number of staffers from each of the agencies and peacekeeping missions, includes the Food and Agriculture Organization(1), the International Telecommunications Union (2), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (3), the World Food Programme (7), UN Assistance Mission in Somalia  (1), the UN Development Programme (1),  the International Organization of Migration (1), the International Labour Organization (1), UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (1), the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (1), UN Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia  (1) and the World Meteorological Organization (1).

In a statement released Monday, the World Food Programme, which accounted for the largest number of deaths, said it is in mourning for seven WFP staff members who lost their lives.

“ As we confront this terrible loss, we reflect that all these WFP colleagues were willing to travel and work far from their homes and loved ones to help make the world a better place to live in. That was their calling, as it is for the rest of the WFP family.”

• Ekta Adhikari (28) from Nepal, whose duty station was Addis Ababa
• Maria Pilar Buzzetti (30) from Italy, duty station Rome
• Virginia Chimenti (26) from Italy, duty station Rome
• Harina Hafitz (59) from Indonesia, duty station Rome
• Zhen-Zhen Huang (46) from China, duty station Rome
• Michael Ryan (39) from Ireland, duty station Rome
• Djordje Vdovic (53) from Serbia, duty station Bangkok, on assignment to Rome

The WFP said: “We also mourn the loss of our colleagues at other United Nations agencies and all of those who died in the crash. Among them was Victor Tsang, a former employee of WFP who moved to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). We ask that everyone keep those who lost loved ones in their thoughts and prayers.”

FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva said: “My heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families of the #Ethiopian Airlines #ET302 plane crash”

Among the victims, he said, were UN staff members including one from FAO. “We are working to get in touch with family members and assist them in this time of tremendous pain”

The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 plane was carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members, from 35 countries, when it took a nose dive six minutes after leaving the airport in Addis Ababa.

At last count, the passengers, included 32 Kenyan citizens, 18 from Canada, nine from Ethiopia, eight from Italy, China and the US, and seven from the UK and France.

Ian Richards, President of the 60,000-strong Coordinating Committee of International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), told IPS: “Our colleagues are devastated by the loss of life in yesterday’s plane crash.”

He said many knew the victims or were familiar with their work.

“With every hour that passes we are learning more about the amazing things they were doing to make this world a better place, whether working on the environment, migration, humanitarian or other areas, and we won’t forget this.”

“Naturally our thoughts are with their families at this time and we will work with administration to make sure they get all the assistance they need,” Richards added.

At the opening of the UN assembly in Nairobi, delegates paid their respects with a moment of silence, according to press reports from the Kenyan capital.

Siim Kiisler, the Estonian environment minister, said: “We have lost fellow delegates, interpreters and UN staff.” “I express my condolences to those who lost loved ones in the crash.”

Inger Andersen, the incoming UN environment chief, said the organisation was “devastated”.

Among those who died were delegates from the African Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe, the US-based Save the Children and the Norway-based Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators.

Karanja Quindos, a retired teacher from Bahati, in Kenya’s Nakuru County, lost his wife Anne Wangui, his daughter Caroline Nduta, and his three grandchildren; Ryan Njoroge, 7, Kellie Paul, 4, and nine-month-old Ruby Paul.

Also on the flight was Isabella Beryl Achie, from Homabay county about 300 kilometres west of Nairobi. She had been travelling home from Egypt where had recently facilitated a seminar. 

Meanwhile, the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments are planning to fly family members of the victims to Addis Ababa as plans to identify their remains get underway. In a joint press statement, Kenya’s Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and Ethiopian Airlines’ Kenya country manager Yilma Goshu said that the government has reached out to the families of 25 of the 32 Kenyans who perished in the Sunday morning crash.

Ethiopian Airlines also announced on Monday that the black box of the ill-fated flight had been recovered as efforts to piece together clues as to what may have happened to the plane begin.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@ips.org

• Additional reporting by Benson Rioba in Nairobi

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Alfred de Zayas at the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.

By Alfred de Zayas
GENEVA, Mar 12 2019 (IPS)

My mission to Venezuela in November/December 2017 was the first by a UN rapporteur in 21 years. It was intended to open the door to the visit of other rapporteurs and to explore ways how to help the Venezuelan people overcome the protracted economic and institutional crisis.

In preparation of the mission I studied all pertinent reports by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, UN High Commissioner, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Provea, Fundalatin, Grupo Sures, Red Nacional de Derechos Humanos, etc.

During the mission, thanks to the professionalism of UNDP, I was able to meet with members of the opposition, National Assembly, chamber of commerce, churches, professors, students, representatives of OAS, Carter Center, victims of violence, and civil society. Since my mother tongue is Spanish, it was easy to inter-relate with Venezuelans, walk the streets, visit the supermarkets.

I learned about the scarcity of foods and medicines, black markets, smuggling of subsidized petrol, foods and medicines into neighbouring countries. The situation did not reach and still does not reach the threshold of a “humanitarian crisis” as we know from Gaza, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Haiti, etc.

A major obstacle to solving the problems was the polarization of the population and the dearth of confidence-building measures. I recognized that the government needed advisory services and technical assistance from UN agencies in order to carry out needed economic and institutional reforms.

I convened a meeting with UN agencies in order to explore concrete strategies. In a 6-page confidential memorandum to the government and in my report to the UN Human Rights Council I formulated constructive recommendations, some of which were quickly put into effect. I had requested the release of 23 detainees, 80 were released on 23 December 2017, more in the course of 2018. UN agencies noticeably intensified their assistance, in particular FAO and UNIDO, especially to manage the impacts of the sanctions.

 

Alfred de Zayas with his team at the seat of the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry.

 

Following my visit I continued to follow developments and study documentation, statistics and arguments from all sides. My diagnosis: The crisis is not caused by the ideological “failure of socialism as an economic model” (socialism has not failed in Norway, Sweden, China), but by concrete and palpable causes, the dramatic fall in the price of crude oil, the over-dependence on exports, the failure to diversify the economy, an excess of ideologues and relative scarcity of technocrats in government.

Most importantly, the crisis is the result of the cumulative impacts of 20 years of internal and external economic war, financial blockade, and sanctions. The mainstream narrative attributes the crisis to incompetence and corruption, but these also plague most Latin American countries. Besides, the level of corruption in Venezuela in the 1980’s and 1990’s was higher and Chavez won the 1998 elections on a wave of disgust at the corruption of the neo-liberal governments. I spent two hours with the current Attorney General in Caracas, from whom I received ample documentation on the government’s vigorous anti-corruption campaign, investigations and on-going prosecutions.

US efforts to topple Chavez started early, and the CIA cooperated with the Venezuelan oligarchy in the failed coup against Chavez on 11/12 April 2002. The 48-hour President Pedro Carmona had promptly issued a decree doing away with 49 pieces of social legislation, suspending the Supreme Court, the Chavez National Assembly, dismissing governors, etc. Although there is nothing more undemocratic than a coup – Carmona and the US media spoke of “restoring democracy” in Venezuela.

Back in 1970, when Allende was democratically elected President of Chile, Nixon called in Kissinger and told him that the US would not tolerate an alternative socio-economic system in Latin America and that the US would make the Chilean economy “scream”. When in spite of sanctions the Allende government proved resilient, it was necessary to use more muscle and General Pinochet carried out the coup that ushered 17 years of “democracy” – and torture – in Chile. As we know from the studies of Stephen Kinzer and William Blum, US Military and CIA interventions in Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Nicaragua, Paraguay etc. have cost tens of thousands of lives and brought untold misery to millions of Latin Americans.

“Human Rights” has nothing to do with the US Venezuela policy. As it was in Iraq 2003 and Libya 2011, it is OIL. The US covets the largest oil reserves in the world, as well as the third largest reserves in gold and coltan. If Maduro is toppled, it will be a bonanza for US investors and transnational corporations.

What is sad is that some countries ostensibly committed to democracy, the rule of law and human rights, are supporting the sanctions and the Guaidó coup. We observe a Machiavellian, cynical instrumentalization of human rights and humanitarian aid for purely geopolitical reasons.

A solution of the crisis depends on direct dialogue between the opposition and the government. Such dialogue already took place in 2016-2018. Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hosted these talks and arrived at a reasonable accord. On the day of signature, 6 February 2018, Julio Borges, the leader of the opposition refused to sign. This augurs badly for any kind of international mediation by the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, by the High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet or by Mexico and Uruguay in the context of the Montevideo mechanism.

History shows us that sanctions kill, and when the level of killing reaches a certain threshold, sanctions become a crime against humanity. This is a worthy challenge for the International Criminal Court. What Venezuela needs is an end to sanctions and interference in is internal affairs, an end to the violations of Articles 1-2 of the UN Charter and of articles 3, 19 and 20 of the OAS Charter by the US and its “coalition”. Venezuela needs international solidarity and respect of its sovereignty.

Alfred-Maurice de Zayas (USA, Switzerland), Professor of Law, Geneva School of Diplomacy (J.D., Harvard, Dr. phil. Göttingen) . Former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order, former Secretary of the UN Human Rights Committee, former Chief of the Petitions Department at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Author of 9 books and numerous scholarly articles.

 

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of IPS.

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Hundreds welcome President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to drop his bid for a fifth term.

Kenya's electricity surplus could be capitalised on by a company reconditioning electric vehicles.

Journalist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani writes about an influential ruler's bid to promote farming.

Chess player Babatunde Onakoya is using the game to educate children in Nigerian slum communities.

Aviation officials resist calls to ground the model involved in Sunday's Ethiopian Airlines crash.

By Leyla Acaroglu
MELBOURNE, Mar 11 2019 (IPS)

Not too long ago, the term “zero waste” was just one of those boring policy directives or catchphrases thrown around by governments.

But in the last few years, ‘going zero waste’ has taken on a new direction as a lifestyle trend of the insta-famous, who are helping to make zero waste a movement that anyone can get involved in.

A “zero-waste lifestyler” is someone who actively reduces their waste consumption, designing their life to avoid acquiring things that will end up as trash – especially disposable and non-recyclable products and packaging.

They usually plan meals in advance to avoid convenience packaging and ensure they always have a reusable water bottle, coffee cup, straw, and carry bags on hand to actively refuse disposable items.

Actually, a life without waste is nothing new: pre-planning meals and taking your own containers, composting organic waste, proactively purchasing reusable products, and even making essentials like soap and toothpaste at home were a normal part of life before the onset of hyper-convenience encouraged the kind of runaway disposability we have now.

Many of the heroes of the zero waste lifestyle movement have incredible stories to tell of only producing one small jar of actual ‘trash’ a year, all through active lifestyle design and adopting everyday lifestyle changes.

In addition to individuals who take measures at home against waste, larger organizations are getting on board with the lifestyle: dedicated zero waste stores and even entire shopping centers have sprung up in major cities around the globe to accommodate the growing trend of plastic-free, package-free, and zero waste consumption.

Major multinational companies have started to embrace the global trend towards sustainability as well. We are seeing leaders in circular economy emerge in some sectors, such as apparel, consumer goods and furniture.

Loop; a circular delivery service, which is set to launch this year with major brand partners, caters to the growing demand for products and services with a zero-waste philosophy.

Ikea recently announced that they would be 100% circular by 2030, and Lego is working on a plastic-free brick.

But walk down the aisles in any supermarket around the world, and it’s obvious that the vast majority of product providers have yet to catch on to this massive cultural shift.

The last eighteen months have proven particularly important for awareness and action: China stopped taking the world’s plastic trash, which sent ripple effects around the world and effectively broke the recycling industry.

Along with the waves of plastic trash washing up on tourist beaches around the world, China’s bold move has helped bring the destructive nature of hyper-consumption to the forefront of people’s minds, and shown that we can’t recycle our way out of our global trash problems.

One of the big issues that the zero waste movement highlights is that recycling is a flawed solution, one which only works effectively when the flow of used materials is captured and reused in similar or higher value products.

This is often not the case, though, and despite two solid decades of zero waste policies, we are still seeing a global increase in trash generation. The World Bank estimates that at the current rate of increase, we will see 70% increase in waste generation by 2050. This is all by design. Waste, whether it be in trash or recycling, is a design flaw.

At the Fourth UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya March 11-15, the world will gather to discuss the future of global consumption. From government leaders to industry leaders and from activists to innovators – all will be discussing the next phase of sustainable consumption and production.

At the same time, UN Environment is urging people to take a closer look at their own consumption patterns and “think beyond, live within”, through their #solvedifferent campaign. It is a testimony to the momentum of the zero-waste movement and the positive change on the horizon.

In an initiative together with UN Environment, I have been working to develop an “Anatomy of Actions”, showcasing the lifestyle swaps that anyone, anywhere can take to support a more sustainable life.

From the food we eat to what we spend our money on, and from the way we move around to the dreams and aspirations we all have for a better future – there is a suite of actions you can take to support the cultural shifts needed to achieve the sustainable development goals.

Change takes time and is often hard to see whilst we are in the middle of it. But after years of people pushing in all sorts of directions, we are seeing a global tidal wave of action emerge.

The momentum is contagious, and it’s never too late to join the movement. In fact there are five simple actions you can start with today: Swap out meat for plant-based proteins; Ditch everyday disposables such as cups, plates, bags, and take-out containers; Invest in repairable and long-lasting stuff (and make sure to repair it when it needs to be fixed!); Opt for low-carbon mobility options like biking, mass transit, or ridesharing; and move money from high-impact industries to renewables through swapping energy providers, banks, and investment portfolios.

There are many challenges ahead of us when it comes to sustainability, and major corporations are still far behind in the trend of adopting the changes needed to adapt to a circular economy.

But the progress is real, underway and transformative. The question is not if, but when we will see the tipping point where we, as a collective species, start to design goods and services to be a positive influence on the planet.

The post The Rising Trend of Zero Waste Lifestyles appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Leyla Acaroglu is an Australian designer, sustainability innovator, and educator. She is the founder of two design agencies, Disrupt Design and Eco Innovators.

The post The Rising Trend of Zero Waste Lifestyles appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika pulls out of the presidential election race amid nationwide protests.

Julio Esquivel and two children in the La Casita de La Virgen soup kitchen in Villa La Cava stand next to the filter that removes 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses and parasites, with a capacity of up to 12 liters per hour. The purifier became the starting point for raising awareness in this shantytown on the outskirts of the Argentine capital about access to water as a human right. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

By Daniel Gutman
BUENOS AIRES, Mar 11 2019 (IPS)

“Look at this water. Would you drink it?” asks José Pablo Zubieta, as he shows a glass he has just filled from a faucet, where yellow and brown sediment float, in his home in Villa La Cava, a shantytown on the outskirts of Argentina’s capital.

In La Cava, as in all of Argentina’s slums and shantytowns – known here as “villas” – the connections to the water grid are illegal or informal, and it is very common for homes to be left without service. And when the water does flow, it is generally contaminated.

“If we have money, we buy 20-litre jerry cans for drinking and cooking. If we don’t have enough money, we drink the water we have, although there are entire weeks in which it comes out yellow. I’ve already been intoxicated several times,” Zubieta’s wife, Marcela Mansilla, told IPS, with the resignation of someone who has lived with the same situation for as long as she can remember."The water here comes out with sand and dirt, and it stinks. It's been like this for years and that's why it's common to see kids with pimples, gastroenteritis, diarrhea or worse. In recent years we have had more than 10 cases of tuberculosis and outbreaks of hepatitis." -- Julio Esquivel

At the door of the bare brick house where the couple and their four children live there are some old rusty artifacts, which they picked up in their work as “cartoneros”.

This is the term used in Argentina, for garbage pickers – people excluded from the labour market who every night drag their carts through the streets of the cities and scavenge in search of recyclable materials or other objects that may have some commercial value.

A few meters from where the Zubieta family lives, a community soup kitchen has been operating for 25 years in a single-storey building painted white, where 120 children from La Cava are fed every day and which also functions as a recreational center, with activities aimed at keeping them off the streets.

It is called La Casita de la Virgen and in November 2016, a large blue and red plastic device was installed there, which quickly became very important in the lives of the local residents.

It is a microbiological water purifier designed by a Swiss company that can filter up to 12 litres per hour of contaminated water, eliminating 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses and parasites.

The equipment, which does not use electricity or batteries and has been distributed in humanitarian crises in different parts of the world, was installed by the Safe Water Project, a social enterprise founded in Buenos Aires in 2015, which promotes immediate and replicable solutions to the problem of access to water.

The residents of La Cava also participate in activities promoted by the company, in which they talk about and discuss their experiences and needs in terms of water, learn about its cycles, and acquire healthy habits to prevent illnesses due to misuse, all of which strengthens their access to water as a human right.

José Pablo Zubieta shows one of the hoses with which the different houses of Villa La Cava make their informal connections to the grid to get water. The service is available a few hours a day but provides contaminated water to this shantytown of 10,000 people north of the Argentine capital. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

The purifier helps ensure clean water to the children who eat in the soup kitchen, who often bring empty bottles or jugs, so they can take home clean water.

The Safe Water Project, which is financed with contributions from companies, state agencies and civil society organisations, is actives in 21 of the country’s 23 provinces and in Uruguay.

Through this collaborative formula, 2,000 families and more than 800 schools and community centres now have access to safe drinking water, reaching around 100,000 people.

“The water here comes out with sand and dirt, and it stinks,” Julio Esquivel, founder and head of the Casita de la Virgen, told IPS. “It’s been like this for years and that’s why it’s common to see kids with pimples, gastroenteritis, diarrhea or worse. In recent years we have had more than 10 cases of tuberculosis and outbreaks of hepatitis.”

“Contaminated water influences health. I’m not a doctor, but it’s easy to see,” adds Esquivel. He is wearing a T-shirt with the image of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, in whose projects to assist the needy he has worked in different cities around the world.

A boy looks at a makeshift drainage channel that runs through Villa La Cava, a slum located in the north of Greater Buenos Aires, in San Isidro, a municipality that blends extreme poverty with luxurious mansions home to some of Argentina’s wealthiest families. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

Esquivel is what is known in Catholicism as a consecrated layman: he took a vow of poverty and solidarity with the poor and today lives in a small house in La Cava, the same place where he was born 53 years ago.

“Before they brought us the filter, I tried to boil the water, despite the high cost of the cooking gas, or to add a few drops of bleach to purify it. The filter was a big change for us,” he said.

La Cava is located in San Isidro, one of the 24 municipalities making up Greater Buenos Aires, which has a population of around 14 million people, over one-third of the country’s population.

In the poor suburbs surrounding Buenos Aires, Argentina’s most complex and unequal area, there are 419,401 families living in 1,134 slums, according to official data from 2016. This number marks a phenomenal growth in 15 years: there were 385 villas in 2001, the year of an economic collapse that left hundreds of thousands of people out of work.

A visitor to La Cava, home to more than 10,000 people on some 18 hectares, gets a quick x-ray of Argentina’s social reality: to get to the villa you must first cross tree-lined avenues flanked by walls that protect large mansions, where some of the richest families in Argentina live.

They of course have access to clean piped water, just like in the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires proper.

In La Cava, however, local resident Ramona Navarro told IPS that “people got used to washing clothes and dishes at night, because during the day the water almost never runs.”

Outside a house are seen a cart and some of the odd objects found by garbage pickers, the informal work on which many of the people of La Cava, a shantytown on the north side of Buenos Aires, depend. Credit: Daniel Gutman/IPS

She and her neighbour María Elena Arispe said that on the hottest days of this southern hemisphere summer, in response to people’s protests, the government of the Municipality of San Isidro sent several trucks one afternoon, which distributed two jerry cans of water to each house – barely a bandaid solution for a situation that is as serious as it is chronic.

The trucks can only drive down the main streets of La Cava, which is full of narrow passageways where children and skinny dogs play in the mud that is formed by the un-channeled drains from the houses.

The lack of clean water and sanitation is a reality that plagues every villa in the country.

In fact, in January, after residents of Villa 21 in Buenos Aires complained about the stench, professionals from the faculty of Community Engineering at the University of Buenos Aires found bacteriological contamination in the water and warned about serious health risks.

That is what motivated Nicolás Wertheimer, a young doctor, to create the Safe Water Project.

“I started working at a hospital in Greater Buenos Aires and when I saw that diarrhea caused by contaminated water was one of the main causes of death among children under five, I wanted to do something,” Wertheimer told IPS.

According to official data, 84 percent of the population of Argentina has access to piped water, but that is no guarantee that the resource is reliable.

“The homes in the shantytowns have the service thanks to informal connections, which generate interruptions in the flow of the network and then often contaminate it,” Wertheimer said.

“In the city of Buenos Aires, the majority of society does not recognise the lack of access to drinking water as a problem. But anyone who has worked in the area of health knows that it is a very serious problem,” said the doctor.

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