Due to conflict, poverty and disease, mental health is a serious issue that might not be addressed in some areas around the globe. However, six different projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Vietnam, Pakistan and Haiti are examples of how mental health is improving in developing countries.
Kenya: Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF)
In 2004, Professor David Ndetei founded AMHF in hopes to improve the mental health of underprivileged individuals in Kenya. He heavily invested in training psychiatrists in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi in order to ensure high-quality mental health care for patients. A previous project that AMHF completed was The Kenya Integrated Intervention Model For Dialogue and Screening (KIDS). This program focused on treating mental illnesses in children and adolescents and preventing further mental health problems in adulthood.
Zimbabwe: The Friendship Bench
According to facts and figures supported by The Friendship Bench, one in four Zimbabweans suffers from common mental disorders. Poverty, marital problems and HIV all play a role in rising mental illness in Zimbabwe. The Friendship Bench attempts to combat kufungisisa, kusuwisisa and moyo unorwadza, which are all Shona terms for anxiety and depression, by employing lay health workers. These workers, also known as community grandmothers, speak with patients in casual and comfortable environments, provide home visits and offer support via mobile phones and tablets.
The Friendship Bench also has a key focus in community activation. After patients complete their therapy treatments, they are referred to a post-therapy support group with others who suffer from similar disorders. The effectiveness of The Friendship Bench proves to be successful — an assessment after six months of treatment and therapy groups resulted in the prevalence of depression decreasing by 10 percent in Zimbabwe.
Uganda: Group Support Psychotherapy
Although Uganda has been acknowledged for HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness efforts in recent years, the mental health implications of being diagnosed and the stigmas surrounding these diseases need improvement. Funded by Grand Challenges Canada and conceptualized by Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu, the Group Support Psychotherapy program helps treat depression in HIV/AIDS patients by implementing positive coping skills and helping patients obtain a liveable income.
The results of this program are impressive. After 6 months it was reported that an astounding 85 percent of patients claimed to have recovered from their depression. They also reported positive changes in terms of self-esteem and their ability to function in social situations.
Vietnam: Frugal Innovations – Promoting Mental Health Among Adults and Children
According to a 2011 study conducted by the World Health Organization, Vietnam ranked last among 144 low and middle-income countries on the basis of access to mental health treatment. The Frugal Innovations project, led by Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, launched this two-year pilot program to assist low-income adults in Vietnam. Two methods were performed in this project: community health workers were trained to help those suffering from anxiety and depression and coaching via telephone to help families with children who suffer from behavioral difficulties.
The pilot program was deemed a success. With further funding, this program will expand across nine provinces in Vietnam and offer child and family-focused components of treatment. If this program continues to succeed, an estimated 4,250 Vietnamese citizens with depression will have access to treatment.
Pakistan: Family Networks for Kids (FaNS)
Family Networks for Kids, created by The Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), helps children through mental health treatment and helps families of these children cope with the stigma and other challenges that come along with mental disorders. These treatments are technologically based, through tablets that provide interactive activities for children to complete. This technology is also beneficial for the entire family. Parents or other guardians can answer questions through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), which helps identify developmental disorders in children. This saves time and money by families not having to visit a doctor.
An assessment of this program showed positive results from participating children. Children that finished treatments reportedly had an increase in engagement with school and societal functions and improved self-care. With further training and funding, HDRF hopes to continue the FaNS program and help an estimated 3,000 more children and adults with mental health treatment.
Haiti: Zanmi Lasante
The biggest health care provider in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante, was founded in 1983. However, mental health treatment was not a key focus of this organization until the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in 2010. Four core issues focused on the most were depression, epilepsy, psychotic disorders and mental illnesses in children and adolescents.
Mental health treatment through Zanmi Lasante is normally offered through primary care services. Traditional healers, community health workers, psychologists, social workers, nurses and physicians are all employed through the organization for mental health treatments towards patients.
Leaps and Bounds
These six projects display how much mental health has improved in developing countries. Thousands of adults and children have been diagnosed and treated with various mental disorders due to these initiatives, benefiting from the expertise of trained professionals and generous amounts of funding. Due to their successes, these projects will continue to expand and help more people in need of treatment.
– Maddison Hines
5 Organizations Fighting for Women’s Empowerment in India
India has a complicated track record when it comes to women’s rights and women’s empowerment. On the one hand, the country is home to a number of feminist icons like Kamla Bhasin, who has been advocating for female education since the seventies, but on the other, around 93 women are raped in India every day. In addition, even in 2019, nonconsensual sex between a husband and wife is not considered rape according to India’s penal code. It is also estimated that 120,000 Indian women a year will be victims of domestic violence.
Fortunately, a number of organizations are tirelessly working to put an end to gender inequality in India. These five organizations fighting for women’s empowerment in India are dedicated to uplifting and protecting women.
5 Organizations Fighting for Women’s Empowerment in India
SEWA – Of the female labor force in India, more than 94 percent of workers make their living in the unorganized sector. Yet this demographic largely remains invisible due to the self-employed nature of their work. Since these women are not part of the mainstream salaried workforce, they do not have access to welfare benefits that laborers in the traditional workforce do, leaving them unprotected.
Incorporated in 1972, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, or SEWA, is a trade union made up of poor and self-employed female workers that earn a living through self-run small businesses or their personal labor. SEWA aims to organize women so that they can attain full employment and all its benefits including social security, which is defined as health care, child care and shelter. SEWA stimulates full employment and female self-reliance by offering a number of services including health care, child care, banking through the Sewa Bank (a cooperative bank with credit and finance services), insurance via VimoSEWA (SEWA insurance), legal services and housing.
Snehalaya – Snehalaya translates to “home of love” and is an NGO that was founded in 1989 in the Indian city of Ahmednagar. The NGO provides support to women, children and LGBT communities. Snehalaya specifically focuses on these vulnerable members of society that have suffered at the hands of HIV and AIDS, trafficking, sexual violence and poverty.
Snehalaya has made great strides in raising awareness for these disadvantaged communities and continues to offer safe havens and escapes to women and children imprisoned in the cycle of poverty and abuse. Currently, the organization reaches more than 19,000 beneficiaries a year by offering services including:
orphanages for children rescued from the sex trafficking industry;
offices that offer emergency care for abandoned infants in addition to medical and psychological support for expectant mothers;
30 emergency safe houses for women and children experiencing domestic violence;
100 25-acre Himmaatgram Biofarms that provide sustainable produce for Snehalaya projects; and
a free telephone helpline for children and the public to help at-risk children that receives around 300 calls a day.
NEN: North East Network – NEN is a women’s rights organization that was established in 1995 as part of the Beijing World Conference on Women. NEN operates mostly in North East India and focuses on women’s human rights and gender justice. NEN organizes training sessions, awareness programs, retreats, as well as short film and art competitions all with the goal of merging advocacy with activism. The organization continues to fight against gender-based discrimination while building support for government policies that promote women’s rights and increase female representation in political, public and community settings.
Azad Foundation – The Azad Foundation is a professional feminist organization founded in 2008 that specifically works with resource-poor women living in urban areas in India. The Foundation provides opportunities for disadvantaged women to earn a livelihood as professional drivers and has trained hundreds of women since inception. The Foundation also trained and then employed the first ever female bus driver in Delhi.
In total, the Azad Foundation has trained more than 1,800 women in a range of topics to including self-defense, sexual and reproductive health, basic first aid as well as map reading.
The organization, which was founded in Delhi, has now expanded and has training centers in Jaipur and Kolkata. By offering training to women so that they can become professional drivers to earn a decent living, the Azad Foundation bolsters the economic status of underprivileged women while offering them the independence of self-reliance.
MAKAAM – Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch: MAKAAM is a forum for female farmers’ rights that operates in 24 states in India. Even though women make up about 60 to 70 percent of the farming workforce in India, they only account for around 12 percent of landholdings. Since female farmers rarely own the land they work on, they are excluded from important support services provided by the government. However, MAKAAM seeks to empower female farmers by teaching them to assert their rights and gain ownership of their livelihoods and the natural resources that come with it.
These five organizations fighting for women’s empowerment in India are providing important support to all types of women in need all across the country. From female farmers to entrepreneurs and members of vulnerable communities these organizations are elevating an important part of Indian society that is often overlooked or disadvantaged.
– Isabel Fernandez
Photo: Pixabay
How Mental Health in Developing Countries is Improving
Due to conflict, poverty and disease, mental health is a serious issue that might not be addressed in some areas around the globe. However, six different projects in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Vietnam, Pakistan and Haiti are examples of how mental health is improving in developing countries.
Kenya: Africa Mental Health Foundation (AMHF)
In 2004, Professor David Ndetei founded AMHF in hopes to improve the mental health of underprivileged individuals in Kenya. He heavily invested in training psychiatrists in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi in order to ensure high-quality mental health care for patients. A previous project that AMHF completed was The Kenya Integrated Intervention Model For Dialogue and Screening (KIDS). This program focused on treating mental illnesses in children and adolescents and preventing further mental health problems in adulthood.
Zimbabwe: The Friendship Bench
According to facts and figures supported by The Friendship Bench, one in four Zimbabweans suffers from common mental disorders. Poverty, marital problems and HIV all play a role in rising mental illness in Zimbabwe. The Friendship Bench attempts to combat kufungisisa, kusuwisisa and moyo unorwadza, which are all Shona terms for anxiety and depression, by employing lay health workers. These workers, also known as community grandmothers, speak with patients in casual and comfortable environments, provide home visits and offer support via mobile phones and tablets.
The Friendship Bench also has a key focus in community activation. After patients complete their therapy treatments, they are referred to a post-therapy support group with others who suffer from similar disorders. The effectiveness of The Friendship Bench proves to be successful — an assessment after six months of treatment and therapy groups resulted in the prevalence of depression decreasing by 10 percent in Zimbabwe.
Uganda: Group Support Psychotherapy
Although Uganda has been acknowledged for HIV/AIDS treatment and awareness efforts in recent years, the mental health implications of being diagnosed and the stigmas surrounding these diseases need improvement. Funded by Grand Challenges Canada and conceptualized by Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu, the Group Support Psychotherapy program helps treat depression in HIV/AIDS patients by implementing positive coping skills and helping patients obtain a liveable income.
The results of this program are impressive. After 6 months it was reported that an astounding 85 percent of patients claimed to have recovered from their depression. They also reported positive changes in terms of self-esteem and their ability to function in social situations.
Vietnam: Frugal Innovations – Promoting Mental Health Among Adults and Children
According to a 2011 study conducted by the World Health Organization, Vietnam ranked last among 144 low and middle-income countries on the basis of access to mental health treatment. The Frugal Innovations project, led by Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, launched this two-year pilot program to assist low-income adults in Vietnam. Two methods were performed in this project: community health workers were trained to help those suffering from anxiety and depression and coaching via telephone to help families with children who suffer from behavioral difficulties.
The pilot program was deemed a success. With further funding, this program will expand across nine provinces in Vietnam and offer child and family-focused components of treatment. If this program continues to succeed, an estimated 4,250 Vietnamese citizens with depression will have access to treatment.
Pakistan: Family Networks for Kids (FaNS)
Family Networks for Kids, created by The Human Development Research Foundation (HDRF), helps children through mental health treatment and helps families of these children cope with the stigma and other challenges that come along with mental disorders. These treatments are technologically based, through tablets that provide interactive activities for children to complete. This technology is also beneficial for the entire family. Parents or other guardians can answer questions through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), which helps identify developmental disorders in children. This saves time and money by families not having to visit a doctor.
An assessment of this program showed positive results from participating children. Children that finished treatments reportedly had an increase in engagement with school and societal functions and improved self-care. With further training and funding, HDRF hopes to continue the FaNS program and help an estimated 3,000 more children and adults with mental health treatment.
Haiti: Zanmi Lasante
The biggest health care provider in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante, was founded in 1983. However, mental health treatment was not a key focus of this organization until the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in 2010. Four core issues focused on the most were depression, epilepsy, psychotic disorders and mental illnesses in children and adolescents.
Mental health treatment through Zanmi Lasante is normally offered through primary care services. Traditional healers, community health workers, psychologists, social workers, nurses and physicians are all employed through the organization for mental health treatments towards patients.
Leaps and Bounds
These six projects display how much mental health has improved in developing countries. Thousands of adults and children have been diagnosed and treated with various mental disorders due to these initiatives, benefiting from the expertise of trained professionals and generous amounts of funding. Due to their successes, these projects will continue to expand and help more people in need of treatment.
Fighting the Global ‘Burden’ of Widows in Poverty
Widespread recognition has increased the benefits that empowering women can create for impoverished communities. Yet improved educational and business opportunities for women have neglected the world’s 258 million widows, 85 million in China and India alone. Advocates cite the baffling omission of widows’ welfare from the U.N.’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) as evidence of a critical blind spot in aid efforts. Widows are shown to suffer disproportionately in measurements of poverty, with a minimum of 38 million considered extremely impoverished in 2015. This poverty level is roughly 15 percent of widows compared to the 10 percent of the general worldwide population considered extremely poor by the World Bank in the same year.
This disparity is a result, in part, of the traditional practices of many cultures by which women continue to be seen solely as dependents of their fathers or husbands. Particularly in developing countries, a woman with neither is left with no support system. She becomes deemed a burden to society and, with no income to educate her children, contributes to continuing generations of poverty.
Treatment of Widows Around the World
Stigmas and traditional superstitions have a profound social and mental impact on women whose husbands have died. In many cultures, a widow is blamed for a husband’s death; in fact, many women face accusations of murder or neglect of their duties as wives. It is common for widows to be isolated and banned from participation in community activities and family events. In India, it is customary for widowed women to be prohibited from remarriage, with an appearance in public interpreted as ill-omens.
Human Rights Watch has identified common human rights violations against widows in Zimbabwe and other sub-Saharan countries. Some of the most widespread practices are the denial of inheritance, despite protected national and international laws, and ‘property grabbing’ in which a widow’s in-laws physically or verbally assault her in attempt to take her land for themselves.
Other customs termed ‘harmful practices’ by the U.N. include wife-inheritance, in which a woman is forced to marry her deceased husband’s relative, and ritual cleansing of widows through rape. In some cases, women have been forced to cleanse themselves by drinking water used to wash their husband’s corpse. All such practices run a serious risk of transmitting communicable disease, including HIV and Ebola.
Organizations Supporting Widows in Poverty
Aid organizations focusing on welfare for widows in poverty have expanded since 2000, but there remain only four main NGOs with the capacity to provide aid programs internationally:
The Loomba Foundation – When sexist stigmas in India isolated and shamed founder Lord Raj Loomba’s widowed mother without justification, he came to believe that the key to pulling widows out of poverty is gender equality. Since 1997, the Loomba Foundation has funded programs to educate widows and their children, promoted women’s empowerment in Africa and Asia and published the only comprehensive research on the experiences of widows in poverty.
Global Fund for Widows (GFW) – Acting as the financial base for partnerships with many smaller non-profits working in local communities, GFW has been working in Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, India and parts of Central America since 2008. GFW funds skills programs for widows, organizes employment opportunities and offers a Micro-Social Capital program that provides women with the means to start small businesses in their communities.
Women for Women International – Creating employment opportunities and economic independence is a small part of Women for Women’s approach to widows’ welfare. They work with women at local levels to educate them in political engagement with the belief that having confidence and a voice in their own affairs is the best long-term solution to the suffering of widows in poverty.
Widows’ Rights International (WRI) – WRI is an organization specializing in legal precedent for cases involving widows’ human rights. WRI works with the UNHRC, U.N. Committee on the Status of Women and national governments to create a policy for the benefit of poor widows and educate women about their rights. Their goal is to combat ignorance and therefore violations of human rights which they have condemned as “tantamount to torture.”
The ‘Widow Issue’
Data measuring the number of widows in extreme poverty, although limited and often unreliable, estimates a decrease of 22 percent between 2010 and 2015. Encouragement is visible in statements by former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that presses U.N. member states to condemn harmful, traditional practices like widow-inheritance and burning in observance of International Widows Day (June 23rd).
Wider research is necessary to illuminate the extent and causes of widows’ suffering, but further efforts must target regions like South Asia, which report 50 percent of the world’s poor widows, as well as developed countries like Russia and the U.S., which in 2015 saw significant and as yet unexplained increases in the number of widows’ living in extreme poverty.
– Marissa Field
Photo: Flickr
The Pressing Need for Improved Credit Access in Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is a small sovereign state saddled between India and China, with an estimated population of less than 800,000. For hundreds of years, Bhutan existed in almost total isolation from the outside world. Upon King Jigme Wangchuck’s ascension to the throne in 1972, he began an ambitious program of modernization and reform that continues today. Despite much progress in poverty reduction, institutional development and new infrastructure, Bhutan still has a large number of poor, rural workers who lack credit access.
Microcredit: A Way Forward for Credit Access in Bhutan?
Since the 1970s, microfinance has — in best cases — transformed poor workers in developing countries into successful entrepreneurs making vital contributions to their local economies. By extending small lines of credit at low rates, microcredit lenders enable workers to invest in wealth-generating capital such as plows, stone ovens and weaving looms.
Microfinance has been slow to catch on in Bhutan owing to underdeveloped infrastructure and a lingering barter economy. A 2010 Institute of Microfinance report concluded that microfinance was then still a nascent form, but remained upbeat about its potential, stating “easy access to institutional credit is prerequisite to convert agriculture enterprise into profitable activity (sic).”
According to the report, only an estimated 20 percent of all Bhutanese farmers—and just 10 percent of small farmers—had access to credit in 2010. It also highlighted a number of challenges to expanding microcredit in Bhutan, such as a tendency for rural workers to trade in goods rather than currency.
The World Bank suggests that for microfinance to really take root, it has to operate within a larger context that includes favorable government policies, available technology—as well as sensitivity to the real needs of borrowers.
The effectiveness of microfinance in reducing poverty has increasingly come into question in recent years, but most studies suggest it still brings benefits when implemented correctly and with the correct motives. In addition to addressing the conditions necessary for effective microfinance operations, The World Bank emphasizes that credit rates must be subsidized below market levels to truly benefit poor borrowers— highlighting the role of government and non-profit organizations.
Obstacles to Credit Access in Bhutan
Despite overwhelming needs, microcredit options are few in Bhutan. An article by the International Finance Corporation concludes that lack of access to finance remains a key inhibitor of private investment and business growth.
As of 2013, there was only one national program offering microfinance options, but the Royal Government has shown willingness to facilitate increased levels of fair and profitable micro-financing. For instance, in 2016, Bhutan’s Royal Monetary Authority produced a set of guidelines for governing the conduct of micro-financial institutions that protect the interests of borrowers. It will, however, be a challenge for the government to enforce these regulations in rural areas where most economic activity goes unrecorded.
Bhutan’s rural population and underdeveloped transit infrastructure present additional obstacles to sustainable micro-finance. Bernd Baehr, Project Director of RENEW Microfinance—one of the largest NGO micro-financers operating in Bhutan—told Bhutanese media source, Kuensel, that, “micro-finance in Bhutan cannot be profitable unless the infrastructure and technology keep up with the pace of development.” To illustrate this, Baehr pointed to the vast inefficiencies resulting from field officers often having to have to drive for up to six hours to reach clients.
Looking Forward
Considering these obstacles, the overall picture for Bhutan’s economic development looks positive. When the country’s per capita GDP was first recorded in 1961 it was the lowest in the world at just $52. Now, Bhutan’s per capita GDP is more than $3,000 and the economy is experiencing sustained annual growth of around seven percent.
By capitalizing on these gains, Bhutan’s Royal Government can establish the groundwork for sustainable future investments. Improving infrastructure and financial regulation, and incentivizing subsidized lending to poor, rural borrowers could begin to help poor workers access credit and secure essential capital to elevate them from serfdom and poverty.
– Jamie Wiggan
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in Grenada
Grenada is a small, densely populated island located in the southern Caribbean. The country is often nicknamed “Spice Isle” for its legacy of exceptional spice production. In recent years, Grenada has had stable economic growth averaging more than 5 percent annually, making it one of the fastest growing economies in the region. However, its location within the hurricane belt and its heavy reliance on commodity exports make the country vulnerable to economic shocks caused by natural disasters and market fluctuations.
Financial Infrastructure
Grenada has two main bodies regulating its financial operations. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is a regional body established in 1983 in order to maintain the stability of the eastern Caribbean currency and the integrity of the banking system. The ECCB serves as Grenada’s central bank, setting the country’s monetary supplies, lending rates and enforcing regulations upon the banking sector. A second body, the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN), was introduced in 2007 by an act of parliament for the regulation of the non-bank financial sector that includes insurance agencies, credit unions, pension schemes and other financial services.
Credit Access Constraints
In addition to having a firm regulatory system, Grenada currently has five commercial banks and 10 credit unions operating in the country that offer a range of credit options for individuals and businesses. However, with around 65 percent of the country’s population living outside of urban settings, along with unattractive interest rates and a risk-averse corporate climate, credit access in Grenada remains an obstacle to equal and sustainable development. In fact, a recent report by the World Bank ranked Grenada 130th out of 189 countries in terms of access to credit. Similarly, a 2013 report by the Caribbean Development Bank cites lack of access to credit as one of three widely recognized constraints to the development of the private sector.
Grenada Development Bank
Being aware of the lingering issues, the government established the Grenada Development Bank (GDB) in a concentrated effort to improve credit access in Grenada. Overseen by GARFIN, the development bank was created to serve five core purposes:
The bank operates under close government oversight to ensure it is guided primarily by Grenada’s development needs. Although in existence since 1976, GDB has undergone a series of structural revisions and has recently seen significant improvements to both its profits and its lending contributions. In an interview with the OECS Business Focus magazine, GDB Managing Director, Mervyn Lord, said the role of the bank is to finance the gap in the economy, thereby providing the only financing option for a whole range of Grenadians who do not qualify for commercial or credit union loans.
For instance, GDB offers mortgages to homebuyers who can demonstrate their ability to make monthly repayments even though they do not have the available funds to pay a deposit. Lord also added that GDB tries to accommodate borrowers by reducing red tape requirements and accepting any source of capital (rather than just cash) to secure business loans.
Future of Credit Access in Grenada
While many development indicators are pointing in the right direction for Grenada, there are still steps that need to be taken to safeguard its recent growth. A 2018 IMF report commends the Grenadine authorities for strengthening the financial system but advises that GARFIN improves its data monitoring and stress-testing system. Although a sign of improved credit access in Grenada, the rapid uptick seen in credit union lending could lead to high default rates if not closely monitored and regulated.
– Jamie Wiggan
Photo: Flickr
Top 10 Facts About Hunger in the United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a small nation that consists of a federation of seven emirates along the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula. As of 2017, it is ranked as the eighth richest country in the world, mainly due to its status as a global supplier of fossil fuels. While the country is considered food secure its heavy dependence on food imports coupled with unsustainable agricultural practices and overfishing, pose unique challenges. Keep reading to learn the top 10 facts about hunger in the United Arab Emirates.
Top 10 Facts About Hunger in the United Arab Emirates
If the UAE can find ways to work around the potential threats of climate change and resources being exhausted, hopefully, the country will be able to create more sustainable food sources for its citizens.
– Keira Charles
Photo: Unsplash
The Trauma of Afghan IDPs and Returnees
Conflict and natural disasters have plagued Afghanistan for many years, causing thousands of Afghans to flee their homes and country. According to reports by The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), as of September 2018, there were at least 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan, and more than 5.2 million Afghan refugees repatriated with their agency between March 2002 and September 2018. This all-encompassing displacement has resulted in an overwhelming number of Afghan IDPs and returnees trying to reintegrate into society, placing immense strain on host communities and causing an increased need for humanitarian aid. Not all IDPs and returnees seek refuge in government-controlled areas, making their need for humanitarian assistance even greater.
A Territorial Tug of War and Its Effects
For decades, Afghanistan has faced a heightened state of security, but in 2017 the country was downgraded to a post-conflict status. Yet, that very same year, its territorial map was redrawn, as the Afghan military fought to secure urban areas. Their departure from rural regions allowed the Taliban to capture new districts. This led to the reclassification of Afghanistan as an active conflict country.
According to a CNN report, in November 2015, approximately 72 percent of Afghanistan was government-controlled, while Taliban forces or other insurgents held only seven percent. By October 2017, 56 percent of the country’s districts were under the authority of the Afghan government, while 30 percent was contested — an incremental redistricting signaling the Afghan army’s loosening stronghold.
Today, the security situation in Afghanistan remains complicated because the Taliban’s national influence is on the rise, and insurgents still dominate large parts of some northern provinces. The Taliban’s continuous ground attacks, along with U.S. airstrikes and territorial shifts, have resulted in more casualties and worsening conditions for Afghan IDPs and returnees in militant-controlled areas.
The Reality of Non-Government-Controlled Afghan IDPs and Returnees
According to British & Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG), in 2016, the Common Humanitarian Fund only allocated two percent of their Afghan designated funding for non-government-controlled areas. Due to the limited humanitarian funding and access constraints resulting from safety and security issues, displaced persons and reintegrating returnees residing in contested and conflict-ridden regions experience challenges at higher rates. The following are examples:
Another reason why Afghan IDPs and returnees in high-security areas are adversely affected by state fragility is that most are unaware of their constitutional rights under the Afghanistan Constitution and National Policy on Internally Displaced Persons. Two principal ways for these populations to receive assistance are through emergency humanitarian assistance and reporting or registering claims with the Department for Refugees and Repatriation (DoRR). Claim registration with DoRR, however, is very complex and expensive.
Efforts to Establish an Effective, Targeted Response
In the summer of 2017, UNHCR Afghanistan contracted Orange Door Research and Viamo to survey returnees and conflict-induced IDPs. For comparative analysis, UNHCR also surveyed the general population. The survey provided a detailed view of migration patterns, assistance needs and vulnerability. It distinguished populations based on gender and income, as well as location and time of return or displacement. UNHCR and its partners studied the findings to develop a strategy that would generate protection outcomes and solutions for the following problems: insufficient access to adequate housing and education, peacebuilding support, self-reliance and the sustainable reintegration of IDPs and returnees through regional strategies with the goal of expanding humanitarian access. UNHCR’s findings also determined appropriate planning, response and advocacy for the inclusion of displaced persons’ and returnees’ needs in national priority programs.
REACH, a joint initiative of IMPACT, ACTED and UNOSAT, partnered with the UNOCHA and the Humanitarian Access Group to implement the Afghanistan Hard-to-Reach Assessment. In March 2018, REACH assessed Afghan districts to provide geographical and sectoral findings to establish an assessment of needs, vulnerabilities and access constraints for a multi-sectoral approach.
The first round of findings highlighted education and healthcare vulnerabilities in hard-to-reach districts and stressed key protection concerns. In May 2018, the second round of data was collected to allow comparison. The aim of the Afghanistan Hard-to-Reach Assessment was to inform the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan to improve these districts’ inclusion in the Afghanistan humanitarian response.
Detailed in Afghanistan’s Humanitarian Response Plan for 2018-2021 is the Humanitarian Country Team’s (HCT) updated multi-year Humanitarian Response Plan. The HCT has granted a temporary widening of current humanitarian parameters to prioritize the conveyance of life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable and affected people, help restore livelihoods, and rehabilitate trauma victims and assist in their societal reintegration.
Such strategic changes to humanitarian response plans recognize that multi-sectoral responses are needed to help Afghan IDPs and returnees in areas not under government control. To ensure their inclusion in both regional and national response programs, there must also be full disclosure of their constitutional rights and a more affordable and streamlined humanitarian aid registration process.
– Julianne Russo
Photo: Pixabay
Top 10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Somalia
Top 10 Facts About Life Expectancy in Somalia
Though the situation on the ground in Somalia is showing signs of improvement, the country’s life expectancy is still far below the global average. As factors such as disease are combated by immunization efforts and better sanitation, this number will continue to creep upwards. These top 10 facts about life expectancy in Somalia highlight the past, present and future about this issue in this truly unique country.
– Chelsey Crowne
Photo: Flickr
Blockchain Technology: Innovation for Global Agriculture
Blockchain technology has the potential to improve a plethora of industries including agriculture. Blockchain deals with cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, but instead of being limited to just digital cash it offers a large secure database as well. This database includes ledgers of transactions and accounts, which gives farmers secure records and eliminates the need for middlemen such as banks or brokers. This data can either be rejected or approved, but once approved it is available to all levels of the blockchain. This technology is extremely difficult to hack or alter and has a relatively low maintenance cost.
Blockchain and Farming
Although blockchain alone does not have the power to massively increase profits for farmers, it provides a digital infrastructure that includes tracking and automation. In the case of farming, blockchain not only records transaction ledgers but also lists data such as soil moisture, seed quality, demand and sale date and more. This clarity and immediate access to information allow farmers to market themselves and sell crops for their actual worth rather than a lower cost. By eliminating the need for a middleman, blockchain has the potential to connect farmers directly to consumers and retailers.
Ecuador
In Ecuador, the FairChain Foundation, a nonprofit to aid business in the developing world, has attempted to implement blockchain technology in cocoa farming. This company aims to drastically change the farming market and pay farmers the actual value of their crops. The ability to document crops allows Ecuadorian farmers to record cocoa bean volume and be able to see the status of their crops from harvest to delivery. FairChain is attempting to use blockchain technology to develop a chocolate bar using cocoa beans from sustainable Ecuadorian farmers that practice zero deforestation in the Amazon.
China
In Haosheng village, Wenchang city, the mayor has decided to develop its rural areas through aerospace technology. The village has also implemented blockchain agriculture along with space technology to streamline its farming production. The use of this technology has allowed the farmers of this region to unify making both payment and improvement easier. Blockchain agriculture has greatly improved the quality of life in this area and Haosheng even has a blockchain restaurant that uses the technology to track crops from harvest to table. The use of this blockchain restaurant ensures the quality of the produce and allows farmers to market their crops accordingly.
Blockchain technology has proven extremely valuable in the areas it has been implemented. In both Ecuador and China, it has had the ability to make agriculture productive and profitable. It not only has validity as a cryptocurrency but can be carried out in a number of other industries other than agriculture. With blockchain technology, farming could step out of being seen as a low-income profession and become something that can provide a livelihood for people in rural areas.
– Olivia Halliburton
Photo: Flickr
The U.N. and Distribution of International Aid Funds
Established during the 1940s, the United Nations has been responsible for the distribution of international aid funds for decades. As the need for aid increased, the U.N. developed programs to assist in the way they distribute aid across countries in need.
United Nations Refugee Agency
There are four subdivisions, or entities, within the U.N. that regulate the distribution of international aid funds. Following the mission of the U.N., the subdivision, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), focuses on the well-being of persons identifying as refugees, returnees, stateless people, internally displaced or asylum-seekers. The goal of this subdivision is to ensure the safety and security of those seeking refuge. International aid in this department helps stabilize and rebuild the lives of people forced from the place they call home.
UNICEF and the World Food Programme
There are two entities whose focus is centered around the welfare and well-being of children. History has shown that children displaced by poverty, war, famine or other uncontrollable circumstances, often fare the worst. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) center their international aid efforts around providing food and other services for children and families unable to secure resources in traditional ways. UNICEF helps secure medical resources for countries where hospitals have been destroyed and which have insufficient resources and manpower or where hospitals and medical centers are too far from underserved communities.
UNICEF, however, distributes more than just medical resources. Last year, UNICEF offered mental and psychosocial services to thousands of Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh.
The war-torn country of Yemen illustrates the need for the distribution of international aid to fund programs like WFP. Due to the war, men find it challenging to find work, which makes it difficult for fathers to provide for their children. Without food and proper nourishment, death is often the bleak future for young children, as was the case for a young boy named Mohamed in Hajjah. Shortly after being photographed, he passed away due to malnourishment. WFP works diligently to provide children around the world with food so that stories like Mohamed’s are anomalies, not the norm.
The United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the fourth entity which provides strategies and plans to help implement sustainable change. This subdivision acts as an accountability partner for countries across the world, to ensure that governments are actively participating in the rebuilding and stabilizing efforts being produced through the U.N. The UNDP currently has a strategic plan in action supporting government partnerships with businesses. This three-part plan encourages economy growth within underprivileged communities.
Over 70 years later, the U.N. continues to handle the distribution of international aid funds by helping citizens, families, communities and countries across the globe.
– Christina Taylor
Photo: Flickr