Africa - INTER PRESS SERVICE

By External Source
Jun 19 2020 (IPS-Partners)

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mohammed served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment. Ms. Mohammed first joined the United Nations in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning. She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms. Mohammed began her career working on the design of schools and clinics in Nigeria. She served as an advocate focused on increasing access to education and other social services, before moving into the public sector, where she rose to the position of adviser to three successive Presidents on poverty, public sector reform, and sustainable development. Ms. Mohammed has been conferred several honorary doctorates and has served as an adjunct professor, lecturing on international development. The recipient of various global awards, Ms Mohammed has served on numerous international advisory boards and panels. She is the mother of six children and has one grandchild.

ECW. As an inspirational global women leader who has dedicated your life to service, how do you see the progress and challenges we face in advancing gender equality and empowering the next generation of women leaders through girls and adolescent girls’ right to a quality education?

Amina J. Mohammed. I am inspired by the upcoming generation of women leaders who in the face of disasters, conflicts, and health emergencies prioritize their education and use their platforms to advocate for the right of all girls and young women to a quality education. Advancing gender equality and amplifying the voices of these young women needs to be at the center of all our work.

The great progress we have made globally to advance gender equality cannot be underscored enough – more girls are going to and staying in school than ever before and the number of out-of-school girls has dropped by 79 million in the last two decades. Yet, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 132 million girls were still out of school.

Girls – particularly adolescent girls – face significant barriers to a quality education in many contexts. There are risks of sexual harassment, exploitation, abuse and violence – both on the way to and at school. Many girls have competing demands on their time due to care and household responsibilities. Many families face the difficult choice of which of their children will get an education due to financial constraints – and many times, boys are chosen over girls. Girls’ education is particularly under threat in emergencies and for children on the move and we need to continue to empower this next generation of women leaders through a quality education.

All these issues have been exacerbated by COVID-19. Lockdowns and the socio-economic crisis have brought dramatic increases in domestic violence, including for girls and adolescent girls. Furthermore, rates of child marriages have increased, and it is not clear what effects that would have if schools remain closed for a long period.

To tackle the challenges exacerbated by the current pandemic, we need strengthened efforts to not only ensure gender equality dimensions are prioritized in all our work, but also apply targeted measures to ensure girls, and the most vulnerable, do not bear the heaviest burden and are protected.

ECW. There is a global education crisis in the world, and it is increasingly clear that education, or Sustainable Development Goal 4, is foundational to realising the full spectrum of the Sustainable Development Goals. How do you see the interrelation and why is it so important to connect those dots in advancing all of the Sustainable Development Goals?

Amina J. Mohammed. Education is a human right and is central for building sustainable and resilient societies, as well as for achieving personal aspirations and all the other Sustainable Development Goals. There is no doubt that equipping children and youth with relevant knowledge and skills has a catalytic impact on eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, improving health, driving economic growth and achieving gender equality.

Without investing in youth to create an enabling environment for them to learn and acquire skills for decent work, sustainability, climate change awareness and global citizenship, we will not deliver on our promise for the future we want.

Without ensuring quality and inclusive education for all, we will not be able to advance our efforts for more peaceful and inclusive societies and for promoting respect for human rights. Yet, we have seen warning signs that on current trends, the world is not on track to achieve the SDG4 goal and targets.

Before COVID-19, more than 260 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school. while more than 617 million were not learning, achieving only minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. Now COVID-19 has exacerbated the global education crisis with more than 1.5 billion children who face disrupted education while too many children are still at risk of not returning to school, especially those most marginalized – including girls, children with disabilities, and children on the move. Violence against children is increasing. COVID-19 is not just a health crisis – it is a human crisis and an education crisis.

Indeed, a quality education and lifelong learning is foundational to all other aspects of human development and sustainable development. The foundations for learning start in the womb – maternal health and nutrition is vital for brain development. We know that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life are critical and set the stage for learning throughout the lifecycle. We know that children who experience stunting also experience difficulties with learning. When children do not have access to clean water and sanitation or life-saving vaccines for preventable diseases, their lives are at risk. Without access to quality and relevant education, young people cannot build the skills needed to succeed in life and work, and consequently they and their communities suffer.

We need to make sure that all children and youth have an equal chance – girls and boys, children and youth with disabilities, children and youth from marginalized communities. In order to achieve real progress on any of the SDGs, our approaches need to put education at the center.

ECW. The UN General Assembly President recently stressed the need to continue to invest in education during the current COVID-19 crisis and pointed out that many governments in the South do not have the infrastructure to provide adequate remote learning through technology, and this risks deepening the already existing global education divide. How do we translate global cooperation into a concrete bridge that reduces the divides, starting with financing, economic cooperation, and socio-economic development and equity?

Amina J. Mohammed. The COVID-19 crisis in combination with the existing global digital divide has posed considerable challenges for addressing the learning crisis. The pandemic has presented an additional risk of deepening the global education divide and losing the gains that have been made so far. With nearly three quarters of learners being affected by the school closures globally, many countries are facing unprecedented economic challenges including how they can ensure the equity and inclusion of their education systems. Reliance on new technologies for the provision of education during the crisis has highlighted the importance of investing more into making all education systems more resilient, open, inclusive and flexible.

The lack of access to technological readiness and connectivity in some developing countries, but also the overall level of their preparedness to adapt the curricula, prepare learners, educators and families, as well ensure efficient assessment and certification processes, would need to be addressed at scale if we are to learn from the COVID-19 crisis.

To address this complex situation, we all need to work together in partnership to ensure that all children and youth continue to learn, maintaining a focus on the those most in need.

The technology to reach everyone everywhere is available. It’s up to all of us to make sure that at all levels we can scale up these solutions empowering teachers to meet every child and young person’s learning needs in every context. Of course, this should be complemented with improving education systems’ preparedness to face global challenges while advancing on the achievement of the sustainable development for all.

ECW. The UN Secretary-General’s Reform places strong emphasis on ‘The New Way of Working,’ the ‘humanitarian-development coherence’ and the principles of ‘less bureaucracy and more accountability.’ These approaches and principles are also embedded in the strategy and work of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), which is hosted by the UN (UNICEF). Having followed ECW’s work closely since its inception, how do you see ECW contributing to UN reform and the SDGs, especially as we accelerate during the Decade of Action, through concrete measures and results.

Amina J. Mohammed. Despite progress on education provision in crisis-affected situations, the persisting barriers to education have worsened due to the pandemic. ECW’s response during COVID-19 has exemplified the ways in which it implements the new way of working with humanitarian speed and development depth. During the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic, ECW and partners mobilized to provide education support at record speed. The quick release and flexibility of funding allowed UN country teams to respond quickly and to implement education interventions in the ways most appropriate for each context.

At the onset of COVID-19, utilizing the in-country education coordination mechanisms, a total of US$23 million was rapidly disbursed to 55 grantees across 26 countries within a period of 9 days between the receipt of initial applications and the first disbursements of funds. This collaborative approach ensures transparency, and promotes coordinated response and efficiency and effectiveness within the sector.

As an example, in Cameroon, the COVID-19 education response was developed by the education cluster members in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and key stakeholders. UNESCO and UNICEF were identified by the education cluster in country to receive the ECW first emergency response funds. The grantees are implementing with the support of the Education Cluster, the Government of Cameroon and civil society organizations. The US$1.5 million allocation in Cameroon for the COVID-19 response will ensure access and continuity of children’s learning, reaching 3.9 million children, of whom 2.2 million are girls, as well as 8,600 teachers, 60 per cent of whom are women.

ECW. With COVID-19, we have all had to adjust and reassess how we operate in the current environment to continue to deliver on the SDGs and will also need to look ahead as this crisis will stay with us for some time. What do you see as the priorities, both in terms of development sectors and strategic approach in mitigating the impact of the global COVID-19 crisis and the people we serve, especially those left furthest behind, such as low-income countries affected by conflict and refugee-hosting countries?

Amina J. Mohammed. Our first and foremost priority really is to address the human face of this global crisis and do it with a global response, which really does need solidarity. Therefore, in the UN, we see the emergency response as threefold. The health response in suppressing transmission of the virus. The Humanitarian response which we have to keep fueling to ensure people are safe in this crisis situation; and an urgent socio-economic response to stem the impact of the pandemic, by helping Governments and people act in a way that builds a better and greener future.

A UN socio-economic response framework was developed to protect the needs and rights of people living under the duress of the pandemic, with particular focus on the most vulnerable countries, groups, and people who risk being left behind.

The five streams of work that constitute this framework include: 1. ensuring that essential health services are still available and protecting health systems; 2. helping people cope with adversity, through social protection and basic services; 3. protecting jobs, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, and informal sector workers through economic response and recovery programmes; 4. guiding the necessary surge in fiscal and financial stimulus to make macroeconomic policies work for the most vulnerable and strengthening multilateral and regional responses; and 5. promoting social cohesion and investing in community-led resilience and response systems. These five streams are connected by a strong environmental sustainability and gender equality imperative to build back better.

The UN´s response in the field of social protection and basic services includes supporting governments to adapt, extend and scale-up services to secure sustained learning for all children, and adolescents, preferably in schools. As such, the UN is working with national education authorities and private sector education service providers to support preschools and schools that can safely remain open, while assisting governments to scale up digital and other forms of remote learning. All efforts need to be put in place to make sure all children and youth remain engaged in remote learning if available and return to school once these reopen. The UN is also supporting teachers through professional training programmes on alternative learning methods.

The UN recognizes a multilateral response like none ever before is required. One that needs the courage to flip the current orthodoxies because we need new tools, new measures and we need to lift the policy barriers that we often find as an excuse as to why we can’t do things at the speed that it needs to be done.

We are presented with a once in a generation opportunity to reach all children and deliver on the SDGs. To do so, we need to work together and leverage partnerships. Our priority is to ensure that all children are learning – whether that’s returning to school, accessing education for the first time, utilizing digital technologies or sitting in a classroom. We need to reach those that are furthest behind, we need to innovate how we do business, and we need to provide real-time response. Children in emergencies and children on the move are in greatest need of support and must be included in any approach.

ECW. In the face of the global COVID-19 crisis unprecedented to our generation, it is also a time for reflection and a real resolve to building back better. Considering that an inclusive quality education for every child and adolescent is one essential part of the solution, how can all of the UN’s constituencies pro-actively and concretely provide unwavering support to realize the values and commitments made 75 years ago?

Amina J. Mohammed. COVID-19 presents us with an opportunity for countries to build back better with equity and inclusion at the center, anchored in the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement on climate change. We have an opportunity to reimagine the overall purpose, content and delivery of education in the long term and importantly how the UN system could best support countries in making their education systems more resilient with current and future crises. It is important that we utilize the comparative advantages of each UN entity and other partners for a strengthened, efficient, and comprehensive global response. With UNICEF’s global field presence and education programming in 145 countries, and UNESCO’s network of specialized institutes and mandate to lead the global coordination of the achievement of the education related targets, the UN can utilize inter-sectoral approaches and tap into collective experience and practices from our expertise around the world.

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About Education Cannot Wait: ECW is the first global fund dedicated to education in emergencies. It was launched by international humanitarian and development aid actors, along with public and private donors, to address the urgent education needs of 75 million children and youth in conflict and crisis settings. ECW’s investment modalities are designed to usher in a more collaborative approach among actors on the ground, ensuring relief and development organizations join forces to achieve education outcomes. Education Cannot Wait is hosted by UNICEF. The Fund is administered under UNICEF’s financial, human resources and administrative rules and regulations, while operations are run by the Fund’s own independent governance structure.

Please follow on Twitter: @EduCannotWait @YasmineSherif1 @KentPage
Additional information at: www.educationcannotwait.org

 

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Djibouti Port. Credit: James Jeffrey/IPS

By External Source
JOHANNESBURG, Jun 19 2020 (IPS)

The unfolding US-China power rivalry bears a striking resemblance to the tensions between the US and the Soviet bloc during the Cold War years. Back then, African countries were positioned like pawns on a grand chessboard. Their social and economic progress was hampered because they expended energy aligning themselves with either of the superpowers in the battle for world supremacy between communism and capitalism.

With notable exceptions, African states generally failed to exercise positive agency for their own development. They also eroded the institutional and governance foundations vital for economic success.

In the current context of rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China, African countries may find themselves repeating the same mistakes unless they proactively shape their own destinies.

Despite their institutional under-preparedness, African countries can – and indeed must – be highly strategic and tactical in how they respond to the US-China tensions. Failure to do so will inevitably mean sacrificing their own interests

The tensions between the two great powers, characterised by a vicious trade war, are deepening at a time when the world economy is under enormous strain due to COVID-19. At the same time African countries are facing their worst economic crises since independence.

Africa is institutionally under-prepared to weather the combined effects of the health pandemic and severe economic recession. Its leaders will need to consciously design strategies of engagement that will help them to manage the ongoing superpower tensions to their advantage. They should do so without taking sides. This requires that they deal with each of these great powers based on pragmatic – rather than ideological – choices.

Despite their institutional under-preparedness, African countries can – and indeed must – be highly strategic and tactical in how they respond to the US-China tensions. Failure to do so will inevitably mean sacrificing their own interests.

There are three arenas of challenges and opportunities for the African continent in the current geopolitical climate. The first involves technological frontiers, the second is global supply chains, and the third is trade integration and economic cooperation.

 

New technological frontiers

There is overwhelming evidence that technological innovation is the key driver of economic growth. Therefore, access to and exploitation of new technologies such as 5G is vital to Africa’s development. Fifth generation technologies are important options for a continent like Africa where mobile technology has leap-frogged more traditional technologies.

Access to technologies like 5G offers access to universal broadband, which is critical for the continent’s advance to a digital economy.

In May last year the US government put the Chinese firm Huawei, the world’s leading supplier of 5G network infrastructure, on its list of entities deemed to pose a significant risk to national security and foreign policy interests.

Huawei was effectively banned from importing and incorporating key US technologies into its products and services. This included both hardware, such as high-tech semiconductor components, and software, like Google Mobile Services (GMS). The ban was later extended to key technologies from non-US firms. These included the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a major Huawei supplier.

In the month following the initial ban, the CEOs of four major South African telecommunications operators – Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C – wrote a joint letter to South African president Cyril Ramaphosa requesting his urgent intervention on the US action against Huawei. Their aim would have been to lend diplomatic weight to prevent damage to South Africa’s telecommunications sector.

In July last year Ramaphosa came out in support of the four operators as well as Huawei. He said the ban was:

an example of protectionism that will affect our own telecommunications sector, particularly the efforts to roll out the 5G network, causing a setback on other networks as well.

This was an example of pragmatism on the part of the South African government.

African policymakers should strenuously safeguard their right to choose from the widest possible range of technology options that suit their countries’ development needs. And they should insist on acquiring and developing new technologies like 5G based on pragmatism.

 

Global supply chains

The second theatre of struggle for African countries is in global supply chains.

The COVID-19 reality, combined with the ratcheting up of US-China tensions over trade, technology and supply chains, has opened up opportunities that African countries should exploit.

Combined, they have exposed serious problems in supply networks across various sectors. These include digital products, food, pharmaceutical and medical supply chains.

These sectors represent opportunities for African countries to develop new products, services and capabilities. They could, for example, provide answers to safeguarding Africa’s food security needs, local production of essential drugs and medicines, low-cost medical tests and equipment, and logistics.

But African countries will need to work more collaboratively to develop thriving economic sectors and cross-border industrial linkages. Trade will, in our view, be a critical enabler for this.

This leads us to the third domain, namely the need for African countries to deepen trade integration and economic cooperation. This will provide a basis for diversifying from over-reliance on export markets such as China and the US, and to build internal resilience.

 

Intra-Africa trade

Intra-African trade accounts for just 16% of total African trade. This compares with 52% in Asia and 73% in Europe. African trade is highly concentrated on a few economic hubs: China and Europe together account for 54% of total African trade, with China being Africa’s single largest trading partner. It accounts for over 14% of total African trade.

The African Continental Free Trade Area creates the institutional and infrastructural framework for Africa to strengthen intra-African trade, diversify its trading partners and implement long-overdue trade policy reforms.

COVID-19 has induced significant delays in the implementation of this trading arrangement. It should, in fact, have magnified a sense of urgency. But instead of showing adaptability, African leaders pressed a pause button. As a result, the continent could miss an opportunity to accelerate development of cross-border value chains in medical supplies and equipment and other areas.

 

Imagination and courage

African countries should seize the opportunities presented by deepening tensions between China and the US to realise positive agency and chart their own future. They will need to be more proactive and adaptive under the fluid and uncertain global environment. This will require a great deal of imagination and courage.

African countries face a daunting set of challenges and constraints. But policymakers always have options.

Mzukisi Qobo, Head: Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand and Mjumo Mzyece, Associate Professor of Technology and Operations Management, University of the Witwatersrand

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

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Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Courtesy: Pramila Patten

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 19 2020 (IPS)

While the coronavirus does not discriminate, its impact does. And the needs of survivors of sexual violence in conflict “cannot be put on pause, and neither can the response” during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, Jun. 19 marks the sixth annual International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. This year, the day focuses on the COVID-19 impact on survivors of sexual violence and to ensure that neither them nor their access to care is forgotten, Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, told IPS.

Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Centre, said that COVID-19 has been disproportionately affecting women, with higher risks of domestic violence, and difficulty in accessing assistance. 

“All of these risks are amplified in conflict settings, resulting in very real concerns over delayed access to care and legal processes,” she said.  

She said countries must go beyond paper commitments and take concrete steps to end impunity for these crimes, and provide meaningful support to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). 

“This crime is preventable, we just need the political and moral will to make it so,” she said. 

The day, which is being observed ahead of next month’s debate on conflict-related sexual violence at the Security Council, aims to raise awareness about sexual violence in conflict, which is often used as a tactic of war, terror and political repression.

Patten told IPS that in the last two years, their work on the rights of children born of rape in conflict zones led to a Security Council resolution that highlighted the importance of “survivor-centred approach” in addressing the issue.

Excerpts of the interview with Patten follow. Some of the answers have been paraphrased for clarity.

Inter Press Service (IPS): How many people are annually affected by the issue of sexual violence in conflict? Are there specific countries where the issue is especially rampant? 

Pramila Patten (PP): It is indeed difficult to ascertain the exact prevalence owing to a range of challenges, including underreporting resulting from the intimidation and stigmatisation of survivors, as well as restrictions on access for United Nations staff. Unfortunately, most survivors of CRSV face daunting social and structural reporting barriers that prevent their cases from being counted, much less addressed. It is estimated that for each rape reported in connection with a conflict, 10 to 20 cases go undocumented.

The Secretary-General’s report on CRSV currently focuses on 19 countries for which credible and verifiable information is available. Some examples where CRSV remains rampant are the [Central African Republic] CAR, the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] DRC, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia. 

IPS: How are these specific regions equipped to handle the coronavirus crisis’ impact on this issue? 

PP: No country is really “equipped” to address CRSV at this time of the pandemic. All conflict countries have just one priority: to tackle the spread of COVID-19. U.N. entities are all supporting countries through this emergency, with their main focus on supporting countries in their COVID-19 preparedness. When it comes to supporting my mandate, they are also facing their own challenges as resources are having to be diverted to the COVID-19 response.

Additionally, in a number of my priority countries, suspension of programmes of different U.N. entities has resulted in essential gender-based violence service providers being unable to deliver services during the period of lockdown. In others, COVID-19 prevention guidelines are having other unintended effects such as the limitations in movement of Women Protection Advisors and human rights monitors or reduced patrols and restricted face-to-face interaction with local communities. 

IPS: What are the most crucial needs that have to be addressed because of COVID-19’s impact on sexual violence in conflict? 

PP: Since I took office, I have been advocating for a survivor-centred approach to CRSV — one that seeks to empower the survivor by prioritising her rights, needs and wishes. Survivors of sexual violence needs a range of comprehensive services: from medical to psychosocial and legal support. Because victims of sexual violence are often rejected by their families and communities, economic support is essential in the rehabilitation process.

However, one of the crucial needs of survivors is unimpeded and timely access to medical services. In particular, after rape, some interventions will only be effective in the hours (e.g. treatment of injuries) or few days (e.g. HIV prophylaxis, emergency contraception) after the assault. 

IPS: How has the pandemic affected addressing the issue of sexual violence in conflict?

PP: Firstly, the pandemic is having an impact on the reporting of cases. In addition to shame, stigma, and fear of repercussions, now cases are going unreported because of quarantines, curfews and other restrictions on movement, including limited access to first responders and civil society organisations such as women’s groups who often serve as first points of call, as well as fear of contracting COVID-19.

Secondly, there is an increased burden on health services due to the pandemic, with resources being prioritised for COVID-19. Contraction of routine health services means barriers to service provision for victims of sexual violence, including reduced supply of essential services, and access to sexual and reproductive health.

Referral pathways have also changed with the closures of shelters and women-friendly spaces in certain settings. In some settings where the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a militarisation of the health system, negative effects for women and children have also been noted. 

Thirdly, we are noting an impact on the rule of law and accountability. With the lockdown on judges, justice workers, prosecutors and lawyers, COVID-19 is severely affecting the functioning and effectiveness of justice systems. The lack of access to justice opens doors to a context favourable to impunity. Combatting impunity for sexual violence is a fundamental aspect of deterring and preventing such crimes. 

IPS: What are the challenges for this support system becoming remote?  

PP: The challenges are mainly in engaging with governments “remotely” in the implementation of the commitments they have undertaken through the signing of Joint Communique with the U.N. on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence. 

On the one hand, their attention and resources are focused on COVID-19. On the other hand, a number of implementation plans that needed to be prepared – for example, in Mali, CAR, DRC, and Sudan, with the technical support of my office, have been stalled on account of closure of borders. A range of technical support which my office was scheduled to provide to a number of countries – from Iraq to Somalia, and which requires in country visits, have also been impacted negatively. 

However, with an advocacy mandate instead of a programmatic mandate, I am not so significantly hampered in providing coherent and strategic leadership. Even remotely, I am able to make progress. 

IPS: What do you hope for this Day to achieve in the future?

PP: This day is an opportunity for me to be the voice of these numerous invisible and voiceless survivors and to make critical recommendations such as the need for: all parties in conflict to immediately cease all forms of sexual violence, sexual and gender-based violence response services to be designated as essential services in order to prevent their de-prioritisation and defunding, and efforts to address sexual and gender-based violence must be integrated into national COVID-19 response plans.

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Excerpt:

In marking the sixth annual International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, experts reiterated how crucial it is to keep accessible services to survivors, as they are being affected in complex ways due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The post Q&A: Sexual Violence Survivors and their Access to Care Should not Be Forgotten appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Coconut farmers in Mafia Island, Tanzania, rely solely on donkeys as the mode of transporting their products from farms to markets. Credit: Alexander Makotta/IPS

By Alexander Makotta
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, Jun 19 2020 (IPS)

As she says goodbye to a group of her friends, Esther Ishabakaki asks whether any of them knows a good tailor who might be interested in joining her newly-opened clothing business. It’s a venture she started three months ago after quitting her farming venture.

Setting up a greenhouse in Tanzania’s commercial city, Dar es Salaam, Ishabakaki started by attempting to grow tomatoes. But a series of challenges chipped away at her passion and dreams for a horticulture business.

“I had invested a lot in that business: money, time, even emotion. But when you fall at every hurdle, it reaches a point where you just give up. I concluded I better quit and trial a different business,” 35-year-old Ishabakaki tells IPS.

Inexperience in greenhouse farming was a challenge when Ishabakaki started farming tomatoes. But while her skills improved as time went by, it was the post-harvest losses that she says she was unable to control.

After harvesting perfectly fine produce, Ishabakaki, like many millions of farmers, faced the gauntlet of preserving the quality and quantity of her crops before they reached the consumer.

Increasing domestic food demand and a rising unemployment rate are just some of the factors pushing governments across the continent to try and strengthen the agriculture sector, and Tanzania is no exception.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), for instance, says youth unemployment in Tanzania currently stands at 11 percent.

Unfortunately, Ishabakaki’s experience with post-harvest losses is not unique. Experts say it resonates with many youth and farmers at large in the country, and could be driving new entrants to quit the market.

“The problem of post-harvest losses in the agriculture sector is huge,” Adella Ng’atigwa, a researcher and agricultural economist at the Ministry of Agriculture, tells IPS. As a research fellow of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ng’atigwa is currently working on a policy brief that documents post-harvest losses the reasons for this, as well as outlining the obstacles that prevent the youth from participating in Tanzania’s agricultural sector.

She notes that some crops are more affected than others – cabbage farmers often report losses of up to 60 percent of their produce.

“Farmers in Njombe, in the southern highlands of Tanzania, told me that poor demand is a major cause of produce loss in the area. But I also noticed that poor handling of crops and lack of agronomic practices also contributes to this problem,” says Ng’atigwa.

She also pointed out that poor transportation and storage facilities and low quality packaging contributes to the problem.

But Ng’atigwa is hopeful that cooperation between the government and private sector could help resolve the problem.

“Public Private Partnership could invest in infrastructure development, like construction of pack houses and investment in agro-processing.

“This approach could be used to increase the frequency of youth training and awareness and the creation of horticultural Post-harvest Management innovations through extension officers,” she says.

In addition, Ng’atigwa says the government could lower taxes on post-harvest management initiatives, making their services more affordable and accessible to farmers. 

Traders sell vegetable produce at the Darajani market in Zanzibar. According to research, certain produce such as cabbage and tomatoes are more prone to post-harvest losses than others. Credit: Alexander Makotta/IPS

The IITA, a non-profit that works with partners in Africa to enhance crop quality and productivity, is working to fill some of the gaps with regards to the challenges still facing the agriculture sector. 

Through its youth programme, IITA says it helps young people turn their challenges into opportunities to create jobs for themselves and others.

The programme works from farm to fork, starting with seed sowing, through to marketing and all the way to processing the product for consumption.

“We have an incubation programme, where we train people to acquire skills for agribusiness, skills for entrepreneurial development, skills for management of different technical skills and then we prepare them to become businesspeople in agriculture,” Dr. Victor Manyong, IITA Director for Eastern Africa, tells IPS.

Manyong believes there are plentiful opportunities in agriculture for youth to make money; for example by increasing production at the farm level.

He confirms young people are keen to take on these opportunities, but often need help along the way.

“They need technical skills, they need entrepreneurial skills, they need business skills. We have interacted with young people who want to do business but they don’t even know how to develop a business plan. There are young people with good ideas but they can’t develop them because they don’t have capital,” he says.

Other agricultural experts agree with Manyong that there are many opportunities in the agricultural sector for young people, but warn that there must be a holistic investment in youth to help them seize these opportunities.

Revokatus Kimario, Executive Director at Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative, which prepares, enables, and supports innovative, knowledge-intensive agriculture entrepreneurs, believes the best place to start is with young people’s mindset.

“We have to change people’s mindset right from a young age, to embrace agriculture as a business just like any other business.

“Apart from that we have to employ the use of technology in this sector, not only to appeal to young people but also to increase efficiency in production,” Kimario tells IPS.

Regarding post-harvest losses, which continues to discourage young people like Ishabakaki, Kimario says the solution could be the market.

He says young farmers need to be trained to respond to the market demand with the type and volume of crops they grow.

“The market has to tell you what to produce, at what quantity, quality and time. If you are producing tomatoes for instance, you will know whether your market wants fresh or processed ones.”

 

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Security Council: Time is on no-one’s side in Syria, warns top UN envoy. Credit: United Nations

By Susanne Grabenhorst
BERLIN, Jun 19 2020 (IPS)

The Covid-19 pandemic has spread across the world. Although the numbers of infections and deaths vary between countries, they are increasing dramatically in some places, threatening people’s health as well as the basis of their economic and social lives.

The effects of the infection, but also of the political measures to contain it, such as shutdowns and lockdowns, are particularly dangerous for those countries whose medical and financial resources are limited.

Their populations often suffer from war, poverty, the consequences of climate change and exploitation by a deeply unfair economic system. One of the consequences is that large numbers of health workers have left those countries.

If on top of that, they are targets of unilateral sanctions, the suffering of the civilian population will increase and that in turn will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe – in particular for women, the elderly, young people and children.

In this context, UN Secretary General António Guterres has called for a lifting of sanctions. A demand that Pope Francis endorsed in his Easter message.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of sanctions, Alena Douhan, also urgently pleaded for the lifting or at least suspension of ‘unilateral coercive measures’. She called for help for the health systems of states subject to sanctions to enable them to respond appropriately to the corona pandemic.

All governments that use sanctions as a foreign policy tool should immediately end any measures that impede the trading and financing of medical services and materials, food and essential goods.

Susanne Grabenhorst

In a statement on 10 June 2020, the German Advisory Board for Civilian Crisis Prevention also recommended that the German Presidency of the UN Security Council in July be used to put Covid-19 back on the agenda as a threat to international peace and security.

They also suggested to call for the temporary suspension of sanctions and the opening of borders for humanitarian and medical care for particularly hard hit population groups.

Sanctions lead to unnecessary suffering

Countries such as Iran, Syria, Venezuela and Cuba, but also Russia and China, are currently subject to sanctions. The EU alone is imposing sanctions against 33 states and non-state entities. The sanctions also directly and indirectly affect essential goods such as medicines and medical tools and equipment, thereby endangering the health and lives of millions of people.

The threat of ‘secondary sanctions’ against third-country nationals who do business with the sanctioned state hampers alternative supply options. Moreover, the legal uncertainty leads to so-called ‘over-compliance’ by financial institutions and companies fearful of the possible consequences. This further exacerbates the negative consequences for the sanctioned state.

Even in the face of the corona pandemic, the US and EU member states, which are using these unilateral sanctions to pursue their foreign policy goals, do not seem to shy away from the predictable consequences for the human right to health and life. There are individual offers of help.

However, the de facto blockade of essential medicines and medical supplies during a pandemic not only poses a massive threat to the affected populations, but also endangers the entire human race – given that the spread of the virus does not stop at national borders.

Moreover, the sanctioning states are hindering the options and opportunities for knowledge exchange and concerted action against the pandemic, which, in their own words, can only be defeated by the combined efforts of the whole of society.

Syrian refugees resort to ever more desperate measures to resist pandemic impact. Credit: United Nations

We are all dependent on each other and will only be able to control the spread of the virus together. This means that sanctions against states with vulnerable health systems must be lifted.

The US continues to impose its sanctions on Iran unabated and has in fact tightened them since the outbreak of the pandemic. It is even disregarding an order from the International Court of Justice in October 2018 that explicitly obliged the US to lift sanctions against the export of medicines, medical equipment, food and agricultural products.

EU member states have not managed so far to mitigate the consequences of the US sanctions policy. Instex, the company set up by Germany, France and the UK to maintain trade with Iran, has managed to carry out a single transaction, in March 2020.

The plight of Syria and Gaza

The sanctions imposed on the government of war-ravaged Syria by the US and the EU, among others, obstruct not only reconstruction but also the containment of the pandemic.

According to a recent publication by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, they contribute to making money transfers from abroad and the import of food and foodstuffs more difficult, increasing production costs and impeding the production of medical goods.

The UN World Food Programme estimates that 9.3 million Syrians no longer have enough to eat. The UN assumes that only two thirds of Syrian hospitals are still operating. In addition, up to 70 per cent of those Syrians who had been working in the health sector have now fled the country.

Nevertheless, on 17 June the US imposed new sanctions under the Caesar Civilian Protection Act, after the code name of a whistle-blower of state torture. The sanctions penalise most transactions with the Syrian state and are aimed at restricting its military, construction projects and oil and gas industry.

Whilst the halt to arms exports is certainly welcome and a measure that we generally support, other economic activities affect governments and companies worldwide, including Assad allies Iran and Russia. So, Syria’s economic situation will deteriorate even further.

In addition, the EU extended sanctions, which have been enforced since 2011 at the end of May. On 15 March 2020, the governments of Great Britain, France and Germany declared that the Syrian government alone was to blame for the current situation and the devastating humanitarian consequences.

So far, the areas in Syria under Assad’s control have been denied any EU aid for food or medical supplies. The investigation and prosecution of crimes committed by all parties to the conflict is a legitimate goal, but cannot, in the current situation, constitute grounds for refusing or obstructing such aid measures.

Another example of the negative impact on health systems is the longstanding blockade of Gaza by Israel, with the support of the US and Egypt, which the EU is not tackling with sufficient resolve. The desperate health care situation and the confined living space there could lead to a highly dangerous situation in the event of a Corona outbreak.

Experts such as Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and the international and human rights lawyer Shannon Maree Torrens are therefore warning of a potential catastrophe. Despite the efforts of the Gaza administration and the WHO, there is cause for great concern over the Covid-19 cases that have now been identified.

The pandemic is a powerful demonstration of the fact that we live in a world defined by networks. We are all dependent on each other and will only be able to control the spread of the virus together.

This means that sanctions against states with vulnerable health systems must be lifted. The objection that many of the problems arising from the pandemic are the fault of the states themselves is not an argument against lifting them, nor an excuse for inaction.

*This article was originally published in International Politics and Society. Based in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s (FES) Brussels office, International Politics and Society aims to bring the European political debate to a global audience, as well as providing a platform for voices from the Global South. Contributors include leading journalists, academics and politicians, as well policy officers working throughout the FES’s global network.

 

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Excerpt:

Susanne Grabenhorst is Chair of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) , a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 63 countries*.

The post Sanctions, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Will Lead to Humanitarian Catastrophe appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Jun 18 2020 (IPS-Partners)

The Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho is a place of stark beauty; deep canyons, majestic highlands, vertiginous hillsides, alpine grasslands, sun and sky. Although no bigger than Belgium, it is a critical watershed, giving rise to the headwaters – the ‘white gold’ – that feed two of the major river systems of southern Africa, the Senqu (Orange) and uThukela.

But, living in this mountainland comes with more than its fair share of rigours, and small-scale farmers like Mrs Maitumeleng Mabaleka struggle to survive. Land degradation and climate change have upended traditional agricultural practices for her and many others like her who struggle to make a living or grow enough food to feed their children and build a better future.

“I have been selected to be a lead farmer in my village to help other households with some advice on vegetable production and food preservation. I have become an agent of change.” – Maitumeleng Mabaleka, community leader.

The risks posed by climate change can mean the difference between life and death, prosperity and poverty.

Drought, rising temperatures, and an increase in extreme weather, are pushing people to migrate, and triggering new conflicts. It is a roadblock to the country achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and reach their Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement.

With the support of the UNDP and funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Lesotho is building innovative incentive programmes its Reducing Vulnerability from Climate Change (RVCC) project.

These incentives allowing farmers to rehabilitate and protect their environment and foster climate-resilient agricultural that will transform the way they plant crops, raise livestock and manage their natural resources.

A story of hope

A community leader, Maitumeleng Mabaleka was provided a simple shade net and drip irrigation for her household garden. With the improved production on her half hectare household farm, she has increased her annual income by US$2,000 by selling fresh produce and preserved vegetables from her farm.

“In the past, my vegetable production was low due to drought and sometimes insects, but now I am able to harvest water from my roof and water my garden in an efficient manner using drip irrigation – relatively new technology.” – Maitumeleng Mabaleka

The surplus has been a boon for the family. Her husband, who is retired, looks younger and healthier every day with all the farm-fresh food on the table. To protect against future shocks – everything from the next big drought to a catastrophic pandemic like COVID-19 – Maitumeleng preserves some of her surplus with bottling and solar dryers provided through the project.

Incentives work

Lesotho’s afro-alpine ecosystems are as fragile as they are beautiful. Land and water resources are deteriorating because of prolonged droughts. Ecosystems are being pushed to their limits by over-cultivation, overgrazing, and over-harvesting, as communities are forced to adopt coping measures that push the land beyond its capacity. And the people of Lesotho, the Basotho, are suffering.

This creates a vicious cycle that drives climate change and increases of deeply-rooted poverty. Recent droughts induced by El Niño are pushing even more Basotho into poverty and hunger, with one out of three people facing acute levels of food insecurity and more than half of the country living below the poverty line.

The incentive packages introduced through the RVCC project encourage voluntary land rehabilitation. These packages started with drought-tolerant seeds, agricultural equipment, and improved livestock breeds. In exchange farmers are rehabilitating and resting rangelands, they’ve improved water-harvesting capacity and other sustainable land management .

The project is in the process of including cash transfers as well as fuel-efficient stoves, solar power-packs and solar cookers.

The project has trained local leaders such as Chief Shoaepane on how to sustainably manage rangelands and wetlands.

“As an area Chief it was becoming difficult to govern these days because the neighbouring communities were fighting over access to better rangelands. Another major challenge was indiscriminate burning of rangelands by herders, which is now gradually ending because we are closely working with the government officials in raising awareness about management of our resources. Now that we participate in quarterly community-leader meetings and capacity building opportunities, we work closely with livestock owners and herders and encourage our communities to practice rotational grazing and other sustainable land management practices.” – Chief Shoaepane

According to the Chief, these improved practices have seen a return of wildlife to the area, and are sowing the seeds for a more peaceful and productive society.

“Our children will get to know some of the remaining wildlife in the country following the extinction of some species. There has been a reduction of violent clashes concerning village boundaries and grazing rights.” – Chief Shoaepane

“Now that we participate in quarterly community-leader meetings and capacity building opportunities, we work closely with livestock owners and herders and encourage our communities to practice rotational grazing and other sustainable land management practices.” – Chief Shoaepane. Photo: Russell Suchet

Climate-smart enterprises

Mr Bataung Mafereka is an agricultural genius. Before the project came, his tiny 5,000-sq-metre lot produced just US $800 a year in vegetables and was often damaged by frost and hail.

With a new shade net and other tools, he earned US$1,667 in just five months growing tomatoes and he has hired four workers to support the new enterprise. With year-round growing capacity, he and his team will switch to maize and beans later in the year to earn more money.

“I have been empowered by this project to produce throughout the year. This gives me competitive advantage over other regional farmers who do not have the type of infrastructure and skills that I now have acquired. Most of the youth in my village were forced to leave and look for employment in the cities, but I will stay here with my family to improve my village and prove that farming can solve our economic problems.” – Bataung Mafereka

Sweet success

Female producers has been a key to the project’s success—more than 75 percent of those who take part in the project are women.

With the world bee populations under threat, some enterprising producers are turning to beekeeping.

Mrs Mamorena Seqao has been beekeeping for a few years now, but with better equipment and five new hives, she now makes US$1,600 per year from her organic honey, beeswax candles and propolis, which is used in health supplements.

She sells mostly in neighbouring South Africa—a true transformation from a local producer to an international businesswoman on the rise in a field traditionally dominated by men.

“South Africans like Lesotho products as they are produced organically. This year I got so many orders for my propolis that I had to buy from other local farmers and resell it to my customers.” – Mamorena Seqao

The RVCC project is implemented by Lesotho’s Ministry of Forestry, Range and Soil Conservation with support of UNDP and finance from the Least Developed Countries Fund. Learn more at www.ls.undp.org.

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This handout picture released and taken on June 17, 2019 by the Turkish coastguard shows illegal migrants being rescued after their boat sank in the Aegean sea, off the coast of southwestern Turkey. Today the odds are heavily stacked against young people from Bangladesh and other poor countries seeking a better life in Europe. Photo: Afp/Turkish Coastguard

By Tasneem Siddiqui
Jun 18 2020 (IPS-Partners)

May 27, 2020 marked another dark chapter in the history of global migration. On that day, 26 sons of Bangladesh were brutally murdered in Libya. The crime for which they paid this ultimate price was that they dared to dream! They dreamt of having a better life. They had the audacity to reject the rigid class-based society of theirs, which offers little scope to make an upward transition in life. Had fate been kind to them, they would have made it to Italy, or Spain, or some other European nation. They gambled with their life and lost the game. How long can such gambling continue?

Unfortunately, we have no answer to that because the odds are always stacked against these young men. Think of Asadul, one of those hapless victims. There was no land for him to cultivate. What job prospects did he have? Are education and individual capabilities sufficient to secure a job? Did he have the right political contact or money to bribe his way into a job? Was business an option for him? Where would he get the capital needed? Would any bank offer him loan without collateral?

But don’t we, one may ask, have the anti-trafficking law of 2012 that is supposed to stop these tragedies? So many judges, lawyers and police personnel have been trained to enforce the law. So many NGOs have taught the villagers how to file FIRs. So many tele-dramas have been aired to highlight the plight of migrant workers. In reality, rules to implement the law were only framed in 2017. The majority of the special courts are yet to be established. Trafficking cases are tried in special courts of women and children. There have been so many cases of abuse against women—dowry-related violence, acid throwing, physical torture by husband or in-laws, etc. Our understaffed judiciary cannot handle all these cases, let alone cases against traffickers. Till 2019, out of 5,700 cases, only 250 were resolved. The kingpins remain above the law. Who will dare to give evidence against them? Fifty-four petty foot soldiers were convicted.

One cannot help but think how brave those young men were. Asadul went from Madaripur to Kolkata via Benapole by bus, and from Kolkata by plane to Mumbai, Dubai, Cairo, Benghazi, and finally almost there to Tripoli. It is hard to believe that this young man had never stepped out of Madaripur before this journey.

There are so many questions that come to mind. Why have the western powers made such a mess of countries like Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Libya where our men used to go for work? Why have the western powers enacted a policy of “Fortress Europe” when employers of those countries are so happy to use irregular migrants? Why have the developed states not treated trafficking with the same vigour as they did radical extremism? Perhaps, they feel they have played their due part by shuffling Bangladesh between tier 2 and tier 3 in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.

Our law enforcement agencies have cutting-edge surveillance equipment. Yet they have failed to apprehend the masterminds who traffic innocent youths by preying on their hopes and dreams.

Take the case of a young man named Zillur. He was also stranded in Libya while trying to go to Europe. Zillur left Bangladesh on a tourist visa to Sudan through the Chittagong airport. Isn’t it strange that our immigration officers did not think it odd that an illiterate person, with no history of travel and a brand new passport, should suddenly decide to go to Sudan for tourism? Did border and coast guards spare a thought as to why hundreds of poor Bangladeshis and Rohingya men, women and children were migrating to Thailand by boat? Can you recall any case where a member of law enforcement or of the civil administration was held accountable for these tragedies? In political science, we call this impunity.

I call migrant workers “today’s freedom fighters”. In 1971, freedom fighters gave us independence. Today, migrants are pushing the country forward by earning foreign exchange. For so many years, we have been honouring the achievements of migrants and their left-behind families as shonar manush—the golden sons and daughters of Bengal. We even framed a slogan: “The sweat of the migrants earning, keeps the wheels of our country turning.”

I have dedicated 25 years of my life to this cause. But today, I can celebrate migration no more. My heart has been broken along with the mothers of all those poor young men. I can no longer paint migration as a life-enhancing experience for many. Neither can I call it a tool for development with the conviction I once did. For the poor rural families, it has turned into an enticement to enter the jaws of death—or at best, the quickest path to impoverishment.

Tasneem Siddiqui is Founding Chair, RMMRU, and Professor of Political Science, University of Dhaka.

This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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A woman wearing a mask to protect herself from the contagion of the coronavirus, waits to buy food outside a store in the Playa municipality, in Havana, Cuba. As of Tuesday, Jun. 16, 1.7 million people have been affected by the virus across Latin America and the Caribbean -- doubling in the last week. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS

By Samira Sadeque
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 18 2020 (IPS)

The multi-dimensional impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America could lead to a “hunger pandemic” if not addressed with urgency. 

Norha Restrepo, communications officer at the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Latin America office, shared this concern with IPS following a briefing by the United Nations agency on Tuesday about COVID-19’s impact on the region. As of Tuesday, Jun. 16, 1.7 million people have been affected by the virus across Latin America and the Caribbean — doubling in the last week.

Miguel Barreto, WFP’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, raised concerns about the region’s massive informal labour sector, which have been especially hard-hit by lockdowns, as well as the grave effects of other compounding factors such as food insecurity and climate change. 

“Our region already had problems related to economic and climate shocks, as well as insecurity and displacement,” he said at the briefing, adding that between 50 and 70 percent of workers in the region earn their income through jobs in the informal sector, which makes them more vulnerable and facing food insecurity under lockdown. 

“Now, with COVID-19 restrictions in place to save lives, millions have lost all or part of their income. Many do not know where their next meal is coming from,” he said. 

Restrepo echoed Barreto’s thoughts in conversation with IPS.

“In an extraordinary situation like this one, every other aspect of society will definitely be impacted,” she said. “But for the most vulnerable, the people who really depend on the society and the economy moving, the impact on hunger was immediately seen — and this can really get worse. So we definitely have to do much more to avoid this from becoming a hunger pandemic as well.” 

A vulnerable demographic

Experts all pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean have recently become the hotspot for the virus because it’s a region that was already facing its share of struggles. 

“Latin American countries became hot spots because measures of prevention and control are much less effective than in industrialised countries,” Dr. Cesar Chelala, a global health consultant who has in the past voiced concerns about the public health issues in the region, told IPS.   

In a March 2019 report, Chelala detailed how issues such as “sprawling urbanisation, environmental problems, and increasing levels of obesity that affect all age” as well as prevalence of non-communicable diseases were a massive concern in the region.

With the virus being especially quick to spread in crowded areas, and affecting people with underlying conditions, the prevalence of Chelala’s highlighted factors are worrisome. 

“Any serious underlying condition lowers a person’s immunity and, as a result, the impact is much bigger. That is why not only very sick people but also older people are more prone to getting the most serious forms of the infection,” he told IPS.

Beyond the concerns of the direct impact of the virus, there are also concerns of secondary impacts — such as the consequences of the lockdown and food insecurity. 

With such a large part of the workforce being out of job during lockdown, the poor are only getting poorer, and having trouble accessing food — whether because of financial troubles or their inability to physically go to a store, said Restrepo of WFP.  

As a result, issues such as food insecurity have heightened, according to Restrepo, who added that with COVID-19, there has been an increase in people living with severe food insecurity — from 700,000 to 1.6 million people. 

Furthermore, she added, the migrant crisis is also affecting the situation. She said more than five million Venezuelan migrants are in the region, and are extremely vulnerable as they’re not part of any social protection system because they are not citizens.

These migrants also maintain informal jobs, and thus, for them it’s “extraordinarily complicated to cope,” she added. 

Meanwhile, other concerns about the individual economies in the region remain. 

Dr. David Alexander Walcott, Founder of NovaMed and a doctor in Jamaica, told IPS that given tourism is crucial for Jamaica’s economy, the lockdown means people are having to make difficult choices between earning a livelihood and remaining alive.

“One of the urgent issues to be addressed is how do we reopen our economy and allow the traditional sectors that have kept Jamaica afloat to thrive,” he said. “How is it that we tow the line between managing our caseload and being responsible from a public health perspective while being responsible from an economic perspective?” 

Solutions 

Potential solutions would require the collaboration of every actor, said Restrepo. 

In addition to that, Chelala pointed out the role the education sector can play in providing appropriate messages to the students and the general population. “Accessible water and sanitation, and the hygiene measures involved, are important to control the spread of the disease,” he added. 

Restrepo suggested that the countries would benefit from soft credit to governments by  international financial institutions. This way, she said, “governments can invest the money into protecting and supporting the most vulnerable people.”  

She also suggested social protection which can help people stay at home so those working in the informal work sector don’t have to go out or have to choose between death and an income.

She added: “Because the pandemic is such an enormous magnitude, it means everybody has to be involved — from the individuals to really enormous institutions with a lot of capital.”

Related Articles

• Coronavirus Leads to Nosedive in Remittances in Latin America
• Food Markets in the Caribbean Take Stock of Vulnerability during COVID-19
• Latin America Has Weak Defences Against the Pandemic

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Amina Mohammed. Credit: United Nations

By Amina J. Mohammed
GENEVA, Jun 18 2020 (IPS)

I welcome this opportunity to speak to this urgent and necessary debate of the Human Rights Council.

I bring you warm greetings from Secretary-General António Guterres, who shares your abhorrence of racism and is committed to fighting it with every tool we have.

Allow me to quote from the letter he sent last week to all UN staff: “The position of the United Nations on racism is crystal clear: this scourge violates the United Nations Charter and debases our core values.”

The Secretary-General has called for dismantling racist structures and confronting the systemic ills of institutions. In the UN, he has launched a one-year process to address these grave staff concerns.

He has also called for massive investments in social cohesion. Diversity, he has stressed, “is a richness, not a threat”.

I wish to echo the recent cogent words of UN Under-Secretaries-General who are African or of African Descent. In a statement three days ago, they stressed that: “Not enough can ever be said about the deep trauma and inter-generational suffering that has resulted from the racial injustice perpetrated through centuries, particularly against people of African descent. To merely condemn expressions and acts of racism is not enough. We must go beyond and do more.”

The Human Rights Council meets as marches for racial justice and equality fill the streets of cities and towns around the world. The most recent trigger for these protests was the killing of George Floyd in an appalling act of police brutality.

But the violence spans history and borders alike, across the globe. Today, people are saying, loudly and movingly, “Enough”.

The United Nations has a duty to respond to the anguish that has been felt by so many for so long. This cause is at the heart of our Organization’s identity.

Equal rights are enshrined in our founding Charter. Just as we fought apartheid years ago, so must we fight the hatred, oppression and humiliation today.

UN Human Rights Council in session. Credit: UN Photo / Violaine Martin

We must also never forget the crimes and the negative impacts, in Africa and beyond, of the transatlantic slave trade, one of history’s most appalling manifestations of human barbarity.

Across the world, Afro-descendants continue to be trapped in generational cycles of poverty created by unfair obstacles to their development.

They receive unequal services, and face unjustifiable housing and employment practises. Racial profiling is widespread. And because of poverty and structural racism, they are also among the communities hardest-hit by COVID-19.

As we recover from the pandemic, returning to these systems is out of the question. We also need measures that will genuinely re-set law enforcement.

The battle against racism did not end with this or that legislation, and racism was not vanquished by this or that election. The poison of racism still rages, and so the fight must still be waged.

On a personal level, from my high school days in the United Kingdom through my career across the private sector, civil society and now international public service, I have grown thick skin. I have even become numb, to the extent that one has forgotten how to feel the injustice of racial slurs and my human right to live a life of dignity and respect.

When I consider the beauty of my diversity and the amazing diversity of race… When I consider that we are born equal, only to find that the colour of one’s skin sentences us to a life of discrimination and injustice…

I ask myself, I ask all of you, I ask people everywhere : How can we possibly continue to turn the other way? Enough is enough.

The world must rise to end racism in all its obnoxious forms. Let us turn the page of history today by making this a turning point when we agree that all humans have the right to thrive with dignity and freedom from racism and discrimination in all its forms.

I too, like Martin Luther King Jr, have a dream where my granddaughter Maya will grow up in a world where she will not be judged by the colour of her skin but by the strength of her character.

Lasting peace, and sustainable development can only be built on the equality, human rights and dignity of everyone. The United Nations, its leadership and staff, stands with all those who are pursuing the end of the scourge of racism in all its forms.

This is today’s sacred battle.

The post Scourge of Racism Violates UN Charter appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Excerpt:

Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General, in an address to the UN Human Rights Council

The post Scourge of Racism Violates UN Charter appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Credit: Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Inger Andersen
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jun 18 2020 (IPS)

The world before COVID-19 looks very attractive right now. In light of the disease, mass unemployment and social distancing, a return to pre-pandemic normality seems appealing. Yet we should remember what normal was.

Normal was obtaining 85 per cent of our energy fossil fuels and losing 7 million people a year to air pollution. Normal was careening toward a global temperature rise of over 3.5 C by the end of the century, with island nations facing obliteration. Normal was 1 in 8 species threatened with extinction, continued squeezing of wild spaces into smaller and smaller corners, and the rampant illegal trade in wildlife. Normal contributed to causing this pandemic

We should also remember that COVID-19’s effects on health, jobs and economies are simply an acute version of what climate change is predicted to bring – and in places already has. Unless we aspire to a better normal with recovery, we are treating the symptom, not the disease. We must build back better than before.

Many governments are preparing stimulus and relief packages to support COVID-19 recovery. Trillions of dollars will be ushered into the economy across Asia and the Pacific. These stimulus measures should help us achieve a better normal – a greener, more equitable normal. How? A recent survey of 230 economists in 53 countries suggests that green, climate-friendly stimulus measures are the best options for an economic rebound, offering the highest economic multipliers in the short- and long-terms.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Even before the pandemic, the UN determined that climate action could trigger $26 trillion in economic benefits by 2030, create more than 65 million new jobs and avoid 700,000 premature deaths from air pollution. Governments have no shortage of options when it comes to directing a green, equitable stimulus package. They can offer support to the construction industry to develop energy efficient and zero-energy buildings. This is a high employment sector, and investments can be quickly implemented.

It may be tempting to scale up funds for infrastructure like roads, but that funding can go to improved and greener public transport systems to service more people. More public transit capacity will reduce the load on roads and reduce air pollution and emissions. The lockdown has shown it’s possible to lean more heavily on IT to decentralize business operations, reducing time lost and carbon produced in commutes and travel. Governments should now consider incentives to companies that invest in IT solutions for their operations.

Many industries will be looking for bailouts to bounce back. There is no time like the present for governments to include terms that will require companies to work toward climate neutrality. Airlines supported by governments should be asked to make stronger commitments and take bolder action to reduce emissions, which will be needed anyway for the industry to guarantee long-term sustainability and employment for the millions who rely on it. The example is being set by those governments who have made their support dependent on energy efficiency targets and shifting short haul flights to rail.

Bailouts to the auto industry can be directed to investments in e-vehicle and battery production, and efficiency technology. Where bailouts should not happen is in the fossil fuel sector. Developing Asian countries account for nearly one-third of global fossil fuel subsidies.

The COVID-19 recovery period is the right time to end these subsidies, and ensure there are no new investments in coal. The savings to governments can support investments in areas like public health and renewable energy. This is one answer to the question of where stimulus money will come from.

Inger Andersen

Across Asia and the Pacific, governments have scarce financial resources to apply toward recovery measures at the scale needed. This underlines that existing resources must be deployed to policies with the highest economic multipliers. It also implies that finding additional revenue will be a priority.

Putting a price on carbon emissions and reforming subsidies for agriculture and fossil fuels can be especially effective with oil prices at record lows, when the social impact of removing subsidies will be lessened. Measures like feebates – – which impose a fee on high-carbon vehicles and give a rebate to low-carbon cars – to incentivize greener transport and energy efficiency improvements provide more options for increasing revenue.

Green bonds can also finance energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Outside China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, green bonds are scarce in the region. Now is the time to capitalize on a proven idea to support a sustainable and resilient recovery from COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a message from nature. So is the ongoing climate crisis. Normal isn’t working. We need to build back better.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Inger Andersen is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme

The post We Should Not Aim to Return to Normal appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jun 18 2020 (IPS)

How often have you heard someone lamenting or even condemning inequality in society, concluding with an appeal to meritocracy? We like to think that if only the deserving, the smart ones, those we deem competent or capable, often meaning the ones who are more like us, were in charge, things would be better, or just fine.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

Meritocracy’s appeal
Since the 1960s, many institutions, the world over, have embraced the notion of meritocracy. With post-Cold War neoliberal ideologies enabling growing wealth concentration, the rich, the privileged and their apologists invoke variants of ‘meritocracy’ to legitimize economic inequality.

Instead, corporations and other social institutions, which used to be run by hereditary elites, increasingly recruit and promote on the bases of qualifications, ability, competence and performance. Meritocracy is thus supposed to democratize and level society.

Ironically, British sociologist Michael Young pejoratively coined the term meritocracy in his 1958 dystopian satire, The Rise of the Meritocracy. With his intended criticism rejected as no longer relevant, the term is now used in the English language without the negative connotations Young intended.

It has been uncritically embraced by supporters of a social philosophy of meritocracy in which influence is supposedly distributed according to the intellectual ability and achievement of individuals.

Many appreciate meritocracy’s two core virtues. First, the meritocratic elite is presumed to be more capable and effective as their status, income and wealth are due to their ability, rather than their family connections.

Second, ‘opening up’ the elite supposedly on the bases of individual capacities and capabilities is believed to be consistent with and complementary to ‘fair competition’. They may claim the moral high ground by invoking ‘equality of opportunity’, but are usually careful to stress that ‘equality of outcome’ is to be eschewed at all cost.

As Yale Law School Professor Daniel Markovits argues in The Meritocracy Trap, unlike the hereditary elites preceding them, meritocratic elites must often work long and hard, e.g., in medicine, finance or consulting, to enhance their own privileges, and to pass them on to their children, siblings and other close relatives, friends and allies.

Gaming meritocracy
Meritocracy is supposed to function best when an insecure ‘middle class’ constantly strives to secure, preserve and augment their income, status and other privileges by maximizing returns to their exclusive education. But access to elite education – that enables a few of modest circumstances to climb the social ladder – waxes and wanes.

Most middle class families cannot afford the privileged education that wealth can buy, while most ordinary, government financed and run schools have fallen further behind exclusive elite schools, including some funded with public money. In recent decades, the resources gap between better and poorer public schools has also been growing.

Elite universities and private schools still provide training and socialization, mainly to children of the wealthy, privileged and connected. Huge endowments, obscure admissions policies and tax exemption allow elite US private universities to spend much more than publicly funded institutions.

Meanwhile, technological and social changes have transformed the labour force and economies greatly increasing economic returns to the cognitive, ascriptive and other attributes as well as credentials of ‘the best’ institutions, especially universities and professional guilds, which effectively remain exclusive and elitist.

As ‘meritocrats’ captured growing shares of the education pies, the purported value of ‘schooling’ increased, legitimized by the bogus notion of ‘human capital’. While meritocracy transformed elites over time, it has also increasingly inhibited, not promoted social mobility.

A different elite
Thus, although meritocrats like to see themselves as the antithesis of the old ‘aristocratic’ elite, rather than ‘democratize’ society through greater inclusion, meritocracy may even increase inequality and further polarize society, albeit differently.

While the old ‘aristocratic’ elite was often unable to ensure their own children were well educated, competent and excellent, meritocrats – who have often achieved their status and privileges with education and related credentials – have often increased their significance.

Hence, a meritocratic system – seemingly open to inclusion, ostensibly based on ability – has become the new means for exclusion, which Chicago University Professor Raghuram Rajan attributes to the digital revolution.

Meritocrats have increased the significance of schooling, with credential attainment legitimizing growing pay inequality, as they secure even better education for thus own children, thus recreating and perpetuating inequalities.

Recent public doubts about, and opposition to rising executive remuneration, MBA education, professional guild cartels and labour remuneration disparities reflect the growing delegitimization of ostensibly meritocratic hierarchies and inequalities.

High moral ground
To add insult to injury, meritocratic ideology suggests that those excluded are undeserving, if not contemptible. With progressive options lacking middle class and elite support, those marginalized have increasingly turned to ‘ethno-populism’ and other ‘communal’ appeals in this age of identity politics.

Unsurprisingly, their opposition to educational and economic inequalities and marginalization is typically pitted against the ethnic ‘Other’ – real, imagined or ‘constructed’ – typically seen as ‘foreign’, even if domestic, as the ‘alien within’.

Markovits argues that meritocracy undermines not only itself, but also democratic and egalitarian ideals. He insists that meritocracy also hurts the new ‘meritocratic’ and ‘technocratic’ elite, hoping to recruit them to the anti-meritocracy cause, perhaps reflecting his appreciation of the need to build broad inclusive coalitions to bring about social transformation.

“Progressives inflame middle-class resentment, and trigger elite resistance while demagogues and charlatans monopolize and exploit meritocracy’s discontents. Meritocratic inequality therefore induces not only deep discontent but also widespread pessimism, verging on despair.”

Reducing inequality possible
In the US and elsewhere, tax policy, other incentives and even Covid-19 will encourage replacing mid-skilled workers with automation and highly skilled professionals, e.g., facilitated by the growing use of artificial intelligence applications.

One alternative is to reform labour market as well as tax policies and regulations to promote more skilled, ‘middle-class’ employment. Those introducing new technologies would then be motivated to enable more productive, higher income, middle-class employment.

A more open, inclusive and broader educational system would also provide the workforce needed for such technologies. Thus, the transitions from school to work, which have tended to increase inequality, can be transformed to reduce inequality.

Rather than de-skill workers to be paid less in order to become more profitable, ‘up-skilling’ workers to be more productive can also be profitable. For example, an Indian cardio-thoracic hospital has trained nurses for many routine medical procedures, allowing specialist doctors to focus on tasks really requiring their expertise.

At relatively lower cost, using workers who are not fully trained doctors, but are paid and treated better, can cost-effectively deliver important healthcare services at lower cost at scale. Such innovations would strengthen the middle class, rather than undermine and erode it.

The post Meritocracy Legitimizes, Deepens Inequality appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The June 9 peaceful physically distance protests before the police used water cannon to disperse the participants. Credit: MONIKA DEUPALA, BIKRAM RAI and SHRISTI SHERCHAN.

By Diya Rijal
KATHMANDU, Jun 17 2020 (IPS)

Last week, Kathmandu erupted with protests organised collectively through the social web by Nepal’s urban young fed up with the shenanigans of the country’s septuagenarian rulers.

Most demonstrators outside the prime minister’s resident in Baluwatar or at Mandala were millennials — born after the democratic changes of 1990. They were outraged by one scam after another and the government’s mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis.

Pragati Parajuli joined the protests on 9 June after finding out about it through social media. She had been increasingly furious about the state of the quarantine facilities, neglect of returning migrant workers and felt she needed her voice to be heard.

“People are dying due to lack of food, they are deep in debt, and during such a scary time, when people have nowhere else to look at other than the government, the government has not been with the people,” said Parajuli.

The slogans during the demos zeroed in six main demands: PCR testing for everyone at risk, a 4-tier triage approach for the vulnerable population, proper protection for frontline health workers, and legal action against those stigmatising people at risk, relief for people most affected by the lockdown, and transparency and accountability in the Rs10 billion COVID-19 relief budget allocation.

The 9 June protest was largely peaceful, participants wore masks and maintained physical separation. It had been going on for more than an hour before police first miked asking protesters to leave the area. Then they advanced with water cannon, detaining 10 people.

“The crowd was triggered when police arrived to negotiate a timeframe for the protest, and started chanting murdabad,” explains Aayush Basyal who was also on the street that day.

Photographs of youngsters braving water cannons spread through social media platforms, and followers of the account COVID-19 Nepal: Enough is Enough snowballed. It even got the United Nations Human Rights to tweet calling on the government to ‘respect the right to hold peaceful assemblies and protests safely’.

The police attempt to quell a peaceful protest drawing attention to mishandling of the COVID-19 crisis, then took on a more aggressive anti-government tone. The government’s line has been that its COVID-19 lockdown procedures do not allow assembly of 25 or more people.

“I never expected the government to stoop so low and use force on teenagers who were sitting peacefully,” said Parajuli. “Why the concern about virus transmission at the end of the protest when it had gone on for more than an hour? Besides the police were themselves not maintaining social distancing.”

Shashank Shrestha does not recall any provocation from the protesters before the armoured vehicle with water cannon appeared. “If they allowed it go on for 20 more minutes, the crowd probably would have dispersed peacefully,” he added. “It was this show of force that fueled more protests the next day.”

Indeed, as the images and videos spread on the Internet, more young people responded to the call to come out on the street again not just in Kathmandu but in cities across Nepal.

Robic Upadhayay was among a dozen online organisers who was maintaining the Facebook site. He said: “Our view was that we should not have to protest. Let the government listen to the voices of the youth. My friends and I tried to share our views through social media, but the government did not listen. That is why we hit the streets,” explained Upadhyay.

The organisers then started getting requests to help mobilise protests in various other neighbourhoods, and the Facebook group became a platform that grew in a chain reaction to nearly 200,000 young people.

“We told them to protest, but to make sure that it was peaceful, non-violent, without political agenda and abiding by safety measures to reduce the risk of infection,” Upadhyay added.

During the 80-days extended lockdown, the government had failed to bring back the migrant workers-many stuck in countries without jobs. Nepal bring the first of the migrant workers back home but they did not meet the government’s own minimum standards and themselves became virus incubators. The young protesters were following this news on the digital media, and were aware of the hardships and suffering caused by government inaction.

As the protests escalated, #EnoughIsEnough started trending on Twitter, and other hashtags such as #SanitizetheGovernement and #DownwiththeIncompetency became online emblems of the protests.

 

Glimpses of the June 9 peaceful physically distance protests before the police used water cannon to disperse the participants. Credit: MONIKA DEUPALA, BIKRAM RAI and SHRISTI SHERCHAN.

 

Compared to protests in other parts of the world against the economic impact of the lockdown, the demonstrators in Kathmandu raised slogans and carried placards with messages on the coronavirus that were precise and looked like they were written by epidemiologists.

For example, they carried banners asking for more PCR tests and to stop using the unreliable RDT. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend the use of Rapid Diagnostic test (RDT) which detects antibodies, and encourages the use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) which tests for the actual virus because the false positives in RDTs.

There are also media reports of irregularities in the continuing imports of RDT kits. The government has allocated 6.8 billion to its COVID-19 response, of which 2.3 billion is for quarantine management. People went to the streets demanding to know where all the money has gone. In repsonse, the prime minister’s press adviser Surya Thapa shared an expenditure report after the protesters’ demand for transparency grew.

Sabin Gyawali was one of the coordinators for the protest in Butwal who tried to lay down the rules about distancing masks, but he says that with more than 1,000 people turning up it was difficult to enforce.

“The protest was peaceful, there was no violence, and no conflict with the police,” he said. “We felt a bit guilty that although we were protesting about the pandemic, we ourselves were not able to abide by the social distancing protocols.”

The demonstrations were also infiltrated by political parties, which made it difficult to get everyone to follow rules. “When we said sit, they would stand up,” Bataule says. “We did stop them from saying things that were offensive, and they did not grasp the idea that a protest could be independent.”

In Bhairawa, Sudipa Chaudhary Mahato says she decided spontaneously to join the protests because she identified with the cause. But her parents were initially reluctant to allow her to go out.

It was also a spur of the moment decision for Smriti Baral, one of the organisers of the protest in Pokhara on 11 June.  After seeing the protests spread in Kathmandu she felt it was her duty to make the voice of the younger generation heard.

“We had been sitting peacefully for an hour when a group of men joined us and started shouting political slogans, and that was when the police intervened,” Baral recalls.

One of the slogans the young demonstrators used was ‘Police Hamro Sathi’, and this helped defuse the situation in some places. Elsewhere, they distributed red flowers to police, and in one instance on Saturday in Kathmandu police stood at attention and saluted while the demonstrators sang the national anthem. 

To be sure, not all young people went out into the streets. Shikha Neupane said she supports the protest’s objectives, but disagrees with the method. “It is impossible to be physically separated when police intervene,” she said, and felt it was contradictory to be supporting PCR kits when the gatherings risked further spread of the disease. For Neupane, it was also the fear of becoming a carrier and infecting her grandmother.

Niraj Kafle has similar reasons for not joining: “The demands are legitimate, and they need to be addressed, but we are currently in a pandemic. What if there is a spike because of the protests?”

A petition addressing the demands of the demonstrations is circulating through social media platforms with nearly 5,000 signatures. Public figures like Miss Nepal Shrinkhala Katiwada, actress Priyanka Karki, and others like Ayushman Joshi, Sisan Baniya have shown their support through social media pages. Another online petition targets the Ministry of Health and WHO, and already has 12,000 signatures.
Yet another counter-petition which says the youth protests are putting thousands of Nepali lives at risk. Started by Binod Shrestha, it accused the demonstrators of having a political agenda and even called protests ‘second degree murder.’

The criticism seems to have hit home. In Facebook posts, some organisers have said the protests would continue, but in a way that does not require large gatherings of people. Indeed, the battleground appears to have shifted from the streets to cybersphere where there are heated discussions between the protesters and supporters of mainstream parties.
The protests also coincided with vote in Parliament on Saturday for an amendment to the official Nepal map that included Limpiyadhura, and many had asked that it be called off. Indeed, there were protests for the map and against the government going on simultaneously.

“It is a difficult time, and I understand why people are angry, I feel the same rage,” says Pragati Parajuli. “Some people see this as a moment in history to fight everything at once, but when that happens we lose sight of what we are fighting for. We need to be focused on the specific agenda of pressuring the government to be more effective in controlling the spread of the disease.”

 

This story was originally published by The Nepali Times

The post Social Movement Through Social Media appeared first on Inter Press Service.

By External Source
Jun 17 2020 (IPS-Partners)

The cost and consequences of the land transformation grossly underestimated says the UN

The cost and consequences of land use change are underestimated as demonstrated by COVID-19. Investing in the over 400 million hectares of land earmarked for restoration will help to build back better and safeguard our relationship with nature.

“The rapid and negative economic and social impacts of COVID-19 worldwide show the consequences of land use change are underestimated. The failure to slow and reverse the process of land use change may come at a very high cost in the future. It is in our interest, therefore, to ensure that as part of building back better, we take steps to help nature recover so that it works with and for, not against us,” says Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

“In a short space of time, COVID-19, a zoonotic disease, led to the worst economic crisis since the Second World War. A majority of the countries went into lockdown for two-months, on average. The global economy is heading for a recession and social relations are changing. The urgency both at the policy and practical levels to slow down and reverse land use change cannot be overstated,” Thiaw said.

“On the policy level, building back better means ensuring the policies to pre-empt or minimize land use change exist. On the practical level, it means the incentives to inspire consumers and producers to avoid land use change are provided. Both call for a world where people accept the right to draw from nature comes with the responsibility to take care of it – a social contract for nature,” he added.

Zoonosis is the crossing of viruses from animals to humans. The international community has battled five zoonotic diseases in two decades. Medical science shows that three out of every four emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. Natural scientists claim land use change creates the ground for it, as the interaction and physical distance between animals and humans gets closer.

According to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), over 70 percent of all the natural, ice-free land is affected by human use. Moreover, this could rise to 90 percent by 2050, if global land use follows the same path.

Agricultural land for food, animal feed and fibre is behind this vast change, according to IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land. For the most part, the by-products from agriculture are consumed by urban dwellers and foreign inhabitants, not the local communities producing the goods, according to the World Atlas on Desertification.

Out to 2050, over 500 million hectares of new agricultural land will be needed to meet the global food demand, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

“It’s reassuring, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, that we can build back better. In the last five years, countries agreed on the actions to halt land use change. Since then, close to 100 countries have earmarked areas for repair and restoration by 2030, in the largest ever global restoration initiative. A preliminary analysis shows over 400 million hectares earmarked under this initiative, which is about 80% of the agricultural land required to meet global food demand out to 2050,” he added.

The restoration of these areas as part of building back better to avoid future zoonosis would bring other crucial benefits, particularly mitigating climate change.

The IPCC Report shows that land-based actions are an essential part of the tools to be used to draw down carbon from the atmosphere into nature to stay below 2 degrees Celsius. It warns, however, that these land-based actions are only effective now, not later, because the land’s ability to fix carbon will decline, especially where the land is unhealthy.

Every year, the ecosystem services lost due to land degradation are worth US$10.6 trillion per year, according to a study by the Economics of Land Degradation. By contrast, switching to sustainable land management practices could deliver up to US$1.4 trillion in increased crop production.

“The time for action is ripe because the social and economic outcomes of restoring degrading land are consistent with what citizens are demanding from their governments – jobs, action on climate change, peace and security,” Thiaw adds.

“The involvement of consumers is also essential,” says Park Chong-ho, Minister of Korea Forest Service.

“The Republic of Korea has provided US$570 million dollars for 15 years since 1973 to reverse land use change because after the Korean War we learned that halting and reversing land change is only possible when consumers make different choices that are backed by financial investments that aid the desired change,” he explains.

“Deforestation rates fell sharply as poverty declined, and the government launched national forest rehabilitation projects to restore devastated forests and to support income generation of consumers. If consumers reward the land users who are increasing land productivity and governments provide additional support to them, it is possible to slow and reverse land degradation,” he added.

Republic of Korea is hosting the virtual global observance this year. Desertification and Drought day is held every year on 17 June, starting in 1995, with a view to raise awareness about the two issues.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Detailed information about the observance is available on the UNCCD Website: https://www.unccd.int/actions17-june-desertification-and-drought-day/2020-desertification-and-drought-day

For interviews contact: kjimenez@unccd.int or press@unccd.int

Free to use materials for the media can be downloaded from the UNCCD site and cited appropriately to avoid copyright infringement. Available products include the programme for the day, messages from celebrities and world leaders, including Secretary General António Guterres and UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw, high resolution photographs, 6 short video films and human interest stories.

The post Press Release, Desertification and Drought Day, 17 June 2020 appeared first on Inter Press Service.

The empty corridors of a locked down UN Secretariat in New York. Credit: United Nations

By Gita Gopinath
WASHINGTON DC, Jun 17 2020 (IPS)

The Great Lockdown is expected to play out in three phases, first as countries enter the lockdown, then as they exit, and finally as they escape the lockdown when there is a medical solution to the pandemic.

Many countries are now in the second phase, as they reopen, with early signs of recovery, but risks of second waves of infections and re-imposition of lockdowns. Surveying the economic landscape, the sheer scale and severity of the Global Lockdown are striking.

Most tragically, this pandemic has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide. The resulting economic crisis is unlike anything the world has seen before.

This is a truly global crisis. Past crises, as deep and severe as they were, remained confined to smaller segments of the world, from Latin America during the 1980s to Asia in the 1990s. Even the global financial crisis 10 years ago had more modest effects on global output.

For the first time since the Great Depression, both advanced and emerging market economies will be in recession in 2020. The forthcoming June World Economic Outlook Update is likely to show negative growth rates even worse than previously estimated. This crisis will have devastating consequences for the world’s poor.

Aside from its unprecedented scale, the Global Lockdown is playing out in ways that are very different from past crises. These unusual characteristics are emerging all over the world, irrespective of the size, geographic region, or production structure of economies.

First, this crisis has dealt a uniquely large blow to the services sector. In typical crises, the brunt is borne by manufacturing, reflecting a decline in investment, while the effect on services is generally muted as consumption demand is less affected.

This time is different. In the peak months of the lockdown the contraction in services has been even larger than in manufacturing, and it is seen in advanced and emerging market economies alike.

There are exceptions—like Sweden and Taiwan Province of China, which adopted a different approach to the health crisis, with limited government containment measures and a consequently proportionately smaller hit to services vis-à-vis manufacturing.

It is possible that with pent-up consumer demand there will be a quicker rebound, unlike after previous crises. However, this is not guaranteed in a health crisis as consumers may change spending behavior to minimize social interaction, and uncertainty can lead households to save more. In the case of China, one of the early exiters from lockdown, the recovery of the services sector lags manufacturing as such services as hospitality and travel struggle to regain demand.

Of particular concern is the long-term impact on economies that rely significantly on such services—for example, tourism-dependent economies.

Second, despite the large supply shocks unique to this crisis, except for food inflation, we have thus far seen, if anything, a decline in inflation and inflation expectations pretty much across the board in both advanced and emerging market economies.

Scene in New York City Subway during COVID-19 Outbreak. Credit: United Nations

Despite the considerable conventional and unconventional monetary and fiscal support across the globe, aggregate demand remains subdued and is weighing on inflation, alongside lower commodity prices. With high unemployment projected to stay for a while, countries with monetary policy credibility will likely see small risks of spiraling inflation.

Third, we see striking divergence of financial markets from the real economy, with financial indicators pointing to stronger prospects of a recovery than real activity suggests. Despite the recent correction, the S&P 500 has recouped most of its losses since the start of the crisis; the FTSE emerging market index and Africa index are substantially improved; the Bovespa rose significantly despite the recent surge in infection rates in Brazil; portfolio flows to emerging and developing economies have stabilized.

With few exceptions, the rise in sovereign spreads and the depreciation of emerging market currencies are smaller than what we saw during the global financial crisis. This is notable considering the larger scale of the shock to emerging markets during the Great Lockdown.

This divergence may portend greater volatility in financial markets. Worse health and economic news can lead to sharp corrections. We will have more to say about this divergence in our forthcoming Global Financial Stability Report.

One likely factor behind this divergence is the stronger policy response during this crisis. Monetary policy has become accommodative across the board, with unprecedented support from major central banks, and monetary easing in emerging markets including through first time use of unconventional policies.

Discretionary fiscal policy has been sizable in advanced economies. Emerging markets have deployed smaller fiscal support, constrained to some extent by limited fiscal space. Furthermore, a unique challenge confronting emerging markets this time around is that the informal sector, typically a shock absorber, has not been able to play that role under containment policies and has instead required support.

We are now in the early stages of the second phase as many countries begin to ease containment policies and gradually permit the resumption of economic activity. But there remains profound uncertainty about the path of the recovery.

A key challenge in escaping the Great Lockdown will be to ensure adequate production and distribution of vaccines and treatments when they become available—and this will require a global effort. For individual countries, minimizing the health uncertainty by using the least economically disruptive approaches such as testing, tracing, and isolation, tailored to country-specific circumstances with clear communication about the path of policies, should remain a priority to strengthen confidence in the recovery.

As the recovery progresses, policies should support the reallocation of workers from shrinking sectors to sectors with stronger prospects.

The IMF, in coordination with other international organizations, will continue to do all it can to ensure adequate international liquidity, provide emergency financing, support the G20 debt service suspension initiative, and help countries maintain a manageable debt burden.

The IMF will also provide advice and support through surveillance and capacity development, to help disseminate best practices, as countries learn from each other during this unprecedented crisis.

The post The Great Lockdown Through a Global Lens appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Rwanda may be a small country of some 12 million people, but its membership in the East African Community provides it with a market of some 100 million. Credit: Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

By Mantoe Phakathi
MBABANE , Jun 17 2020 (IPS)

In its effort to accelerate Rwanda’s green growth development initiative, its local businesses encouraged their Italian counterparts to invest in the East Africa region.

In a virtual discussion, the director of operations at the Private Sector Federation (PSF) of Rwanda, Yosam Kiiza, said Rwanda’s strength lies with its membership with the East African Community (EAC). The EAC is composed of five countries and has a population of over 100 million people.

“This means that investing in Rwanda is an opportunity to export to the rest of the other member countries as well as the Great Lakes Region,” he said.

Rwanda also shares a border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) whose population is 80 million. Although the DRC is not yet a member of the EAC, it provides a vast market for its smaller neighbour, Rwanda, which has a population of 12 million.

Two webinars, organised by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in partnership with Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) as part of an agreement between the Italian and Rwandan ministries of environment, were held this month. The online discussions were aimed at facilitating green technology transfer and creating partnerships between companies from Italy and Rwanda.

Kiiza was speaking during the Jun. 10 webinar that targeted major stakeholders, such as institutions, entrepreneurs, investors, developers etc., who have a key role in the green growth and sustainable development of their country’s economy in both Italy and Rwanda.

Through its transformation to low carbon development and green growth, Rwanda is a minefield of opportunities. The first webinar was held on Jun. 03.

In the virtual discussion, REMA Deputy Director-General Faustin Munyazikwiye urged business people to embrace green investment to help the country meet its climate action plan and achieve its Vision 2050 — Rwanda’s growth plan to achieve high-income status.

Meanwhile, Kiiza said the PSF is keen on investments that will deliver green growth solutions primarily in public health, air quality, and environmental restoration as well as creating sustainable jobs in tourism, transport, agriculture and manufacturing.

“The Italian business community is ready for the challenge,” the President of the Small Industry of Assolombarda, Alessandro Enginoli, said. A study tour of 30 Italian companies – he continued — was planned for March. The tour, organised in cooperation with GGGI and the Italian Trade Agency, was cancelled because of travel bans implemented by both governments to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, said Enginoli, “I’m confident we can do it again as soon as possible, probably in October.”

He said the dialogue between the two federations, Assolombarda and PSF, started a year ago when he first visited Rwanda. Assolombarda is the regional private sector association from Lombardia Region and a member of the National Private Sector Federation, Confidustria. It is the largest industrial association in Italy, representing 7,500 companies. The Small Industries represents 4,500 companies with a turnover of about €32 billion.

“Italy is known for its high concentration of small and medium companies,” he said, adding: “This model is perfect for African needs. The Italian business model is a win-win model that creates local development and job creation.”

Absolute Energy, an independent investment platform focused on renewable energy, is already pursuing a path of affordable energy in Rwanda. According to Absolute Energy chief executive officer, Alberto Pisanti, energy is a means to development. He said considering that agriculture is more developed compared to other countries, closing the gap between the sector, water and energy is the way to go.

Pisanti highlighted the gaps in agriculture such as the fact that 70 percent of farm work in Africa is done manually, 90 percent has no artificial irrigation and that the continent has 50 percent of global uncultivated arable land and imports 66 percent of the food it consumes.

“There’s a lot to do. Clearly you need machinery, transformation, reduce waste and work as much as possible locally to avoid people migrating to the cities thus abandoning rural areas,” said Pisanti.

He said it was for that reason that his company believes in rural electrification and decentralized generation is key especially in countries like Rwanda. But there are challenges, he said, adding that doing a business in a village that is too small may not be viable.

Also sharing his experiences of running a business in Rwanda was Giovanni Davite, co-owner and executive director of Kipharma, a business started by his father in 1969. It now has a turnover of €12 million. He described Rwanda as a stable yet fast-growing country whose leadership has a strong vision. He warned though that it requires patience.

“If you’re in business to do a quick buck, Rwanda is not for you,” he said.

Other industries that made presentations include agriculture, ecotourism, wood, construction and textile. Representations were also made by by Daniele Kihlgren, President of Group Sextantio-DOM, which focuses on sustainable tourism and Vicky Murabukirwa, a senior partner from construction company Duval Great Lakes Ltd.

Diane Mukasahaha, the chairperson for the Apparel Manufacturing Group (AMG), said she was grateful that the Government of Rwanda banned the import of second-hand clothing because this has created an opportunity for the local industry. She said this industry creates a lot of jobs.

“In just one year, AMG created 500 jobs,” she said.

Italian Ambassador to Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, Massimiliano Mazzanti, was pleased that the Embassy was involved in this initiative and encouraged entrepreneurs who want to start their business in Rwanda to avail themselves of the support of the Italian Embassy.

According to Claudia Beretta, who works on a project that is focusing on private sector engagement with GGGI, the Government of Rwanda does not leave out the word ‘green’ when talking about development. Responding to a question from IPS, Beretta said the airport is a good example of linking development to sustainability.

“It’s the biggest infrastructure project and the objective of the government is to have the greenest airport in Africa,” she said.

She said GGGI, an international organisation that assists countries develop inclusive and sustainable economic growth, is working closely with the government to make this vision a reality.  Beretta added that other opportunities exist in the renewable energy sector which can contribute towards reducing post-harvest losses. She said rural electrification through renewable energy could help farmers with refrigeration systems that would keep produce fresh until it reaches the market.

“The majority of the population is using charcoal and wood to cook and this is a big problem for the environment and health of the population. The government is working towards supporting new technologies and alternative fuels such as LPG,” she said.

Beretta noted that this is a challenge considering that buying power for rural communities is low although this could be overcome through business models that offer affordable energy.

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The post Why Rwanda is a Great Green Growth Investment appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Cherie Blair meets with graduates from the Asian University for Women (AUW) at the Rohingya refugee camps at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. More than 40 women from the university are involved in humanitarian work in the area. Credit: Asian University for Women

By Cecilia Russell
London, Cox’s Bazaar, Johannesburg, Jun 17 2020 (IPS)

The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns falls heavily on the shoulders of women even in the global north. Women take the brunt of housework and caretaking duties, homes schooling, working from home and perhaps looking after elderly parents, says Cherie Blair.

“Imagine you’re a woman in the Rohingya refugee camp (near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh). You left your own home with the few belongings you can grab and carry, and (are now) living in a crowded space,” she continues. “You can imagine how those difficulties compound.”

Blair, who is the chancellor at the Asian University for Women (AUW) and two graduates, Rimu Byadya and Tanzil Ferdous, were in an exclusive conversation with Inter Press Service (IPS). Blair, Byadya and Ferdous spoke about women, the Rohingya crisis and COVID-19.

Cherie Blair, Chancellor of the Asian University for Women (AUW). Credit: Cherie Blair Foundation for Women

Byadya and Ferdous are on the frontline of humanitarian efforts assisting the more than 800 000 Rohingya refugees now living in camps in Bangladesh.

Byadya explains that COVID-19 brought both practical and profound changes to the community. On a practical level, the food assistance programme had to change. Before the pandemic refugees were given a WFP Assistance Card (which functions like a debit card) and could choose their food. Now it’s pre-packaged to meet their nutritional and daily energy needs. On a more profound level, it has created social and economic challenges for both the refugees and the host communities.

A rapid gender assessment found women were acutely affected, she says.

“The impact is felt significantly in the host community. I think part of the reason is women in the refugee community were most likely to be home because of their traditional norms,” Byadya says. “This traditional role continued even though the humanitarian community had encouraged the women to become actively involved in the broader community. The impact of the lockdowns had also increased risks of gender-based violence, which is often not physical violence but mental and economic pressure.”

Blair agreed, COVID-19 has a huge impact.

“As we know, in Africa, for example, there have not been many deaths reported as in Europe and the US. But they have been affected by what has happened to the global economy,” she says. “The world knows about China’s pivotal role in the global supply chain. When China is locked down, the knock-on effects of that on the world’s economy are immense.”

Blair says there is much work to do COVID-19 has affected everybody.

Rimu Byadya, graduate of the Asian University for Women (AUW), now heads up the World Food Programme’s gender unit. Credit: Asian University for Women

“Whether it’s the conditions in Cox’s Bazar that are made more difficult, or, or the garment factories in Bangladesh and Vietnam. Many of them have just had their contracts cancelled. They have garments piling up there which they can’t sell. They have had to lay off their workers. Businesses are going out of business. I mean the compound impact of that on the local, national and international economy is immense,” she says.

Blair sees the solution is for women to become advocates for the “fundamental human right of women to be able to participate equally in society.”

She points out the depressing results in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020. These results indicated that in terms of economic opportunities, women were worse off in 2019 than they had been the previous year. The report suggested it would take 257 years before men and women get equality in this sphere.

“And part of that, I’m afraid, is about the impact of technology. And part of that is reflected in women being concentrated in low paid and part-time working (conditions).”

This fight for equity is a profoundly personal fight for Blair. When she was young – like Byadya and Ferdous are – she thought women had time to make the changes. Now with a granddaughter soon to be born – she says this child must have the same opportunities as her grandson.

Her foundation, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, is working toward the empowerment and mentoring of women in business – reaching out to businesswomen to give them the skills to survive and thrive post-COVID-19.

Tanzil Ferdous Ferdous, graduate of the Asian University for Women (AUW) works as the Assistant Project Control Officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Refugee Agency. Credit: Asian University for Women

Ferdous, as a young intern, watched as hundreds of thousands of the mostly Muslim minority Rohingya fled a violent crackdown in neighbouring Myanmar. She sees a need for the international communities’ involvement in finding a solution to the refugee crisis.

She recalls the situation in 2017 where the refugees came in massive waves into Bangladesh.

“We were listening to the trauma of refugees. Many of them were victims of sexual violence, and I spoke their dialect, so did a lot of translation and transcribing. I listened to their stories of physical violence, sexual violence – of seeing their children killed in front of them,” Ferdous says.

The Bangladeshi people were welcoming, but with COVID-19, there is a growing fear of the refugee community – misplaced fear that it is from the refugee camps that the disease will spread.

The irony is that within a month of the International Court of Justice at The Hague’s ruling relating to the protection of the Rohingya people – the world’s attention turned from their plight to COVID-19 pandemic. However, for those in the frontlines of humanitarian efforts for refugees living near Cox’s Bazar, their concern for the Rohingya’s future is paramount.

Blair acknowledges that this cannot continue forever.

“We have to give credit to Bangladesh, a small, but developing country itself welcomed the Rohingya. But that leads to tension in the local communities,” she says within a knock-on effect for the freedom of movement for the refugee community. Blair says that as a human rights lawyer, she is aware it would be a matter of law that the government of Myanmar would be required to report back to the court. So, the case isn’t going to go away. “There will be further interrogation of what’s happened.”

However, she acknowledged that these issues come up in the tide as news and then fall in the news agenda again.

“We have to raise our voices in whatever way we can,” she says.

Blair suggests that post-COVID-19 success lies in the development of leadership.

Returning to the AUW, she sees the development of young leaders – like Byadya and Ferdous – as a critical part of creating a success story for women and countries in Asia, like Bangladesh.

Blair said more than 40 women from the university were working in the humanitarian field in Bangladesh.

“I see the AUW a beacon on the hill, saying, spreading its light across the region and saying we value young women. Their education is an absolute priority if the world is going to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The university, through its programmes, has created opportunities for some women in the Rohingya camps. It has reached women in the garment industries in Bangladesh. Moreover, it draws its students from a multitude of Asian countries and minorities groups.

“The whole idea of AUW is to come together to work together and add to the unique shared experience. The training that liberal arts give you to critically analyses your opinions and the opinions of others, engage in a dialogue so that they listen and learn from one another in the face of prejudice.

“I think it is very powerful and also obviously can be broadly applied at a time like this … when we should be working together to solve the crisis.”

Blair is optimistic about the post-COVID-19 era – no matter how bleak it may seem now.

Quoting Margaret Mead – Blair says: “Never underestimate the ability of a committed group of people to change the world. Mead said it’s the only thing that can (change the world).”

Rimu Byadya
Byadya graduated from AUW with a degree in Public Health and went on to receive a master’s in International Health and Tropical Medicine from the University of Oxford. Byadya now leads the Gender Unit of the World Food Programme’s Rohingya Response operations in Cox’s Bazar.

Tanzil Ferdous
Ferdous graduated from AUW with a degree in Economics and Development Studies. She is the first Bangladeshi to win the “Emerging Young Leaders Award” from the US State Department for her work in youth and community development and advancing women’s rights in Bangladesh. Ferdous now works as the Assistant Project Control Officer at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Refugee Agency.

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By External Source
Jun 17 2020 (IPS-Partners)

 

“If we keep producing and consuming as usual, we will eat into the planet’s capacity to sustain life…

…until there is nothing left but scraps.”

                     — Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification

 

As populations become larger, wealthier, and more urban, there is far greater demand for land.

Today, more than two billion hectares of previously productive land is degraded.

Over 70 per cent of natural ecosystems have been transformed.

By 2050, this could hit 90 per cent.

By 2030, food production will require an additional 300 million hectares of land

The fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter after the oil industry.

By 2030, the fashion industry alone is predicted to use 35 per cent more land…

…over 115 million hectares, equivalent to the size of Colombia.

In the West Java Province of Indonesia, garment companies use 2500 liters of water…

…to produce just a single T-Shirt.

85% of India’s daily water needs would be covered…

…by the water used to grow cotton in the country.

100 million people in India do not have access to drinking water.

2020 Desertification and Drought Day will focus on links between consumption and land.

#FoodFeedFibre

The post 2020 Desertification and Drought Day appeared first on Inter Press Service.

Containment measures, such as physical distancing and self-isolation, may be impossible for those who rely on the support of others to eat, dress, and bathe. Credit: Bigstock

By Srilakshmi Bellamkonda
HYDERABAD, India, Jun 16 2020 (IPS)

Since the beginning of the year, more than 200 nations across the globe have been affected by COVID-19. Many are still reeling under the devastating effects of the pandemic, with both public health and the global economy having taken a major blow.

Emerging markets seem to be especially vulnerable, given that their healthcare facilities tend to be ill-equipped to tackle a pandemic of this nature and scale. Worse, and even more worrying, is the fact that the end to this global crisis is still nowhere in sight, and we have not been able to assess the damage to lives and livelihoods.

Much of the advocacy on how to stay safe during the pandemic has not factored in the inability of people who are immobile or living with mental illnesses to follow these instructions. Containment measures, such as physical distancing and self-isolation, may be impossible for those who rely on the support of others to eat, dress, and bathe.


Despite governments having taken drastic steps, including offering varying degrees of support to their citizens, there remain certain sections of society that have been inadvertently excluded. Persons with disabilities (PwDs)—more than one billion in number globally—are one such group.

This is because much of the advocacy on how to stay safe during the pandemic has not factored in the inability of people who are immobile or living with mental illnesses to follow these instructions. “Containment measures, such as physical distancing and self-isolation, may be impossible for those who rely on the support of others to eat, dress, and bathe.” 1 The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a document highlighting this issue, and explaining how Persons with Disabilities may be at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19. Some of these include:

• Accessibility issues may limit how often PwDs are able to wash their hands
• PwDs who require additional support may find it difficult to practice physical distancing, and many caregivers may be reluctant to provide their services due to the contagious nature of the novel coronavirus
• People with intellectual impairments cannot be expected to cope with self-isolation
• People with visual disabilities rely on “touch functions for mobility and work”, thereby increasing their risk of infection
• Public health information remains inaccessible, which acts as a barrier, particularly for people with hearing impairments
• PwDs may be at greater risk, as people with underlying health conditions, particularly those related to respiratory function, immune system function, heart disease, or diabetes, are more likely to be infected with COVID-19

 

 

In India, the government needs to be more proactive

The situation is no different in India, where 2.21 percent of the population, or 26.8 million people are officially recognised as Persons with Disabilities. Here, some of the challenges highlighted above may be intensified, due to ignorance and poverty, or the lack of a conducive environment and amenities.

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPWD) recognises that People with Disabilities are more vulnerable to the virus because of their physical, sensory, and cognitive limitations. These limitations come in the way of their capacity to access, interpret, and use the information and services being made available to deal with COVID-19, and can lead to further marginalisation. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has also mandated that under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, departments in the states and union territories should disseminate information on COVID-19 in audio formats and Braille, while also ensuring that the government websites are accessible.

While these guidelines are welcome, their actual implementation requires long-term preparedness and mass awareness, backed by a multi-pronged approach. A recent study indicates that little progress has been made in implementing these guidelines, leaving people who are differently abled to rely on second hand information, which at times could be diluted and/or misinterpreted and misleading. Lack of captions and sign language communication in media coverage further excludes people with hearing impairments. Moreover, those with inaccessibility or people with hearing dysfunction, who depend on lip reading, are unable to communicate with doctors and health workers in this time of crisis.

Another challenge is accessing ration supplies and cooked food distributed by the authorities or organisations, since the mobility to the place of distribution is tedious, and additional infrastructural support at the distribution point is often limited. This lacklustre response is indicative of how we, as a society, have a long way to go in being sensitive to the needs of People with Disabilities. In Australia, to cite one example, a separate, exclusive shopping time slot is allocated for PwDs at grocery stores to ensure they have access in line with their needs. Another major blow for PwDs by the pandemic is to their livelihood and income generation. Two out of three PwDs in India today are unemployed, and a majority of the rest work in the unorganised sector as migrant or contractual labour—the group that has been most severely impacted by job losses due to the lockdown. Loss of income is among the main reasons why PwDs are being driven to the brink of poverty and exclusion.

 

What needs to change?

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Arman Ali, Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) demanded uniformity of pensions, increase in ex-gratia payments, announcement of an adequate economic package, information in accessible formats, and the enforcement of comprehensive, strict guidelines for the protection and safety of PwDs.

The state disability commissioners are nodal authorities assigned to coordinate with other relevant bodies. But since these positions are ad hoc in nature with no independence to plan and execute, there is little or no motivation to do what is necessary. This apathy points to the urgent need to establish an exclusive centralised statutory body, similar what other vulnerable sections have in place, such as the National Commission for Minorities and the National Commission for Women.

The urgency to address this cannot be overemphasised. We are already late in addressing the trauma and the inconvenience experienced by PwDs, and this needs to be alleviated with concerted and quick action. Some of these steps include:

• The Aarogya Setu app should include dedicated sections with specific information for PwDs and the information should be available in sign language
• Door-step delivery of food or rations should be ensured for free or at affordable rates
• Direct cash assistance can be provided, along with special provisions under the public distribution system (PDS) for PwDs
• Conversion of public materials into the ‘easy read’ format so that they are accessible to people living with intellectual disabilities or cognitive impairment
• Providing financial compensation for families and caregivers who need to be self-isolated and are prone to infection
• Setting up exclusive helplines in multiple formats (for example, telephone and e-mail) for PwDs to communicate with the government, ask questions, and raise concerns
• Considering caregivers as essential workers, providing them with curfew passes, and exempting them from other lockdown measures that may affect the continued provision of support services
• Ensuring adequate provision of facilities at quarantine centres and provision of transportation to and from the centres

While these are times when everyone needs to take good care of themselves and interact with others with caution, this is also the time for society to be aware of the needs of PwDs, and to ensure we do not forget those in need of assistance, support, and understanding.

Given the lockdown and the loss of livelihoods, the onus rests on the legislative and administrative agencies to address these gaps and to ensure the inclusion of People with Disabilities, both in letter and spirit.

 

Srilakshmi Bellamkonda heads the skill development initiative for people with disabilities (PwDs) at Dr Reddy’s Foundation

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

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Participation in horticulture gives Tanzanian youth income options within a short period

By External Source
Jun 16 2020 (IPS-Partners)

Horticulture is a field of agriculture that involves a short growing season averaging three months and offers quick yields and returns on investments despite the high rate of postharvest losses.

In Tanzania, with the Government-initiated National Strategy for Youth Involvement in Agriculture (NYSIA) for 2016–2021, horticulture is one viable option that would give Tanzanian youth income within a short period. Operated through the Ministry of Agriculture, the vision of the scheme is to empower youth to participate fully in agricultural development, contribute to economic growth, and address the challenge of unemployment.

Horticulture offers employment throughout each crop cycle, an aspect that is advantageous to youth employment, yet this field of agriculture records a high rate of losses. According to research, about 50 to 70% of horticultural output is lost during harvesting, handling, packaging, transporting, and marketing. Hence, postharvest management is critical to success in the horticulture sector.

Adella Ng’atigwa, a fellow of the Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence (CARE) in Policy for Youth Engagement in Agribusiness and Rural Economic Activities in Africa project, carried out a study on ways to empower youth to reduce horticulture postharvest losses in Tanzania. In the research, Ng’atigwa reveals that lowering the rate of postharvest loss for fresh produce would raise returns to young agripreneurs as well as increase food security in Tanzania.

Ng’atigwa conducted the study among youth in three of the six districts in the Njombe Region of the southern highlands of Tanzania. It reveals the stages at which losses occur, and some of the causes for crop loss that include poor storage facilities, weak transport systems, inadequate market location, poor handling, and inferior packaging materials.

Along with inadequate market location being a significant cause for postharvest losses in the Njombe Region, price fluctuations were cited as the most encountered problem facing young horticultural producers.

Based on the research findings, Ng’atigwa recommends staggered planting and harvest periods, timely harvesting, and ripening while warehoused, as ways to manage postharvest losses. Other recommendations include cold storage, solar drying, improved agronomic practices, more market places, and improved transport facility. Achieving these will raise returns and attract more youth to the horticulture industry in Tanzania.

Ng’atigwa added that there is a need to create incentives for the small and medium financial institutions and microcredit financial institutions in Njombe to provide loans with an affordable interest rate for youth. Such youth-friendly credit schemes will help them to access farm inputs and postharvest management (PHM) innovations.

With Africa striving towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and zero hunger, Tanzania’s move to improve horticulture, a sector that generates more than US$354 million per annum, is laudable. Addressing the challenge of postharvest losses would create a significant impact on the country’s economy and the livelihoods of youth investing their time and money in the sector.

Source: IITA News

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Credit: US government

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 16 2020 (IPS)

The world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons—estimated at over 13,400 at the beginning of 2020 – have a least one thing in common with humans: they are “retired” when they reach old age.

The 2020 Yearbook, released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), says there was a decrease in the number of nuclear weapons worldwide in 2019.

And this was largely due to the dismantlement of “retired nuclear weapons” by Russia and the US—which together possess over 90 per cent of global nuclear weapons.

The world’s nine nuclear-armed states—the US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)—together possessed an estimated 13,400 nuclear weapons at the beginning of 2020.

This is a decrease of about 465 nuclear weapons—mostly dismantled– from the stockpile of 13,865 the nine states possessed at the beginning of 2019, according to the SIPRI Yearbook released June 15.

But what happens to these “retired” weapons?

Dr M. V. Ramana, Professor and Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security and Director, Liu Institute for Global Issues at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at University of British Columbia, told IPS: “We do know a fair amount about how the US deals with retired nuclear weapons, namely those weapons that are no longer part of the active operational arsenal, or the hedge (extra weapons, just in case), the strategic reserve, and so on.”

They are sent to the Pantex plant in Texas where the fissile pits are removed from weapons, said Dr Ramana, author of The Power of Promise: Examining Nuclear Energy in India.

https://federallabs.org/labs/national-nuclear-security-administration-nnsa-pantex-plant-0

Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Robert Kelley, a Distinguished Associate Fellow at SIPRI and a veteran of over 35 years in the US Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex, told IPS “You might try to make a distinction between “retirement” and “dismantlement.”

Weapons are really retired when there is no longer a military mission for them. That will happen when the delivery systems become obsolete, and is longer available. Or the mission disappears, he said.

An easy one, he said, is nuclear artillery shells. The US gave up on those in about the 1980s. So, there are no more “nuclear cannons.”

But since the nuclear shell was fired from a conventional cannon that could fire either a conventional shell or a nuclear shell, it was the mission going away that led to retirement, he added.

“Saner people started to realize that having a bunch of tactical nuclear shells that could be launched by low level military units was pretty stupid.”

“Many tactical weapons like that were retired but could conceivably come back. Once retired they would go into bunkers at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo Texas and await being dismantled — taken apart and pieces recycled,” said Kelley, who managed the centrifuge and plutonium metallurgy programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In some cases, he pointed out, this is technically hard to do and the rate of dismantlement may only be a few weapons per year. The total backlog of all kinds is probably thousands in the US.

“The Brits had only two systems left in the 1980s — one bomb and submarine launched nuclear warheads. They gave up the mission for the bombs so they were retired and it was a years-long process to take them apart at Burghfield near Reading, UK”.

Dangerous work done very carefully, declared Kelley, a former Director of the Department of Energy Remote Sensing Laboratory, the premier US nuclear emergency response organization.

World nuclear forces, January 2020

Meanwhile, SIPRI points out that around 3,720 of the nuclear weapons are currently deployed with operational forces and nearly 1,800 of these are kept in a state of high operational alert

A key finding is that despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2019, all nuclear weapon-possessing states continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals. And the outlook for arms control is “bleak.”

Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director at the Washington-based Arms Control Association (ACA), told IPS it is no surprise that SIPRI is reporting that the nuclear arms control outlook is bleak.

“We have been warning of the dangers of an unconstrained global nuclear arms race for quite some time. As global leaders appropriately focus on the steps necessary to deal with the deadly effects of the coronavirus pandemic, they cannot afford to lose sight of the actions necessary to address the ongoing threat of nuclear proliferation and catastrophic nuclear war—the ultimate pandemic”

He argued that tensions among the world’s nuclear-armed states are rising; the risk of nuclear use is growing; hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent to replace and upgrade the already bloated arsenals of the world’s nine possessors of nuclear weapons; and key agreements that have kept nuclear competition in check are in serious jeopardy.

“We are on the verge of an unprecedented global nuclear arms race. The resurgence of the nuclear weapons threat is due, in large part, to the failure of national leaders to seize earlier opportunities to significantly reduce the nuclear threat and to pursue a more intensive dialogue on measures to move toward the common goal of a world without nuclear weapons”.

Kimball said the failure of the United States just to agree to extend the only remaining treaty regulating the world’s two largest arsenals — the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty — before its 2021 expiration date is but one example.

“This dire situation requires new and bolder leadership from responsible states. They must work together to build majority support for a plan of action that calls for specific, concrete steps that would fulfill their legal and political commitments on to end the arms race and pursue nuclear disarmament, beginning now,” declared Kimball.

Kelley said modern strategic nuclear packages are highly integrated with the delivery system. The size, weight, shape, mounting bolts are designed at the same time as the military delivery system.

If an old ICBM, for example, is retired, the nuclear explosive becomes obsolete. So, it is retired, and there is very little one can do with it while it awaits dismantlement. The older systems are generally not interchangeable with something new so they really are obsolete.

“In terms of recycling, are you aware that the major weapons states have a huge glut of highly enriched uranium and plutonium?,” he asked

Under the Megatons to Megawatts program, the Russians retired hundreds of nuclear warheads and sold the diluted HEU to the US to burn in power reactors. Something like 10% of the electricity in the US is produced by burning uranium that came from Russian thermonuclear warheads, Kelley said.

There is a similar story for plutonium but it is longer and gets complicated.

“Are you aware that thousands of warheads designed for US service missions are awaiting retirement because there is no mission?”, asked Kelley.

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com

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