Nepal’s landscape is shaped by the Himalayas, which run along the country. The snow mountains and blue skies are recurrent pictures in the land. These geographic conditions divide the country into three different regions: the plains, the elevated flatland and hills and the mountain region.
Infrastructure in Nepal is also shaped by these features, with gaps in infrastructure between the plains and the mountains. In some areas, it is difficult to build roads and provide citizens with basic services such as electricity and water.
These gaps are visible in water infrastructure. For instance, only 83 percent of the population in Nepal has access to basic water services. Even though most Nepalese have water access, the quality of water varies by region.
Terai, located in the plains, has good water access but in the Western hills region sanitation is the principal concern. Only 16 percent of Nepalese have access to higher/medium quality water service, a percentage which shows the main problem with water infrastructure in the country.
Regarding electricity, only 76 percent of the population has access to energy. The electrical power infrastructure has not improved since 2002. In addition, Nepal faces 18 hours’ load shedding a day, which means that energy generators have to be shut down in order to prevent malfunctions of the power system.
Communications infrastructure also has gaps between the plains and mountain regions. More than 60 percent of the road network in Nepal is concentrated in the lowland areas of the country, specifically in Terai. There are 29,031 km of roads, 53 percent of which are paved roads, and 1,952 bridges in the South Asian country.
This situation affects the Nepali industry and economy. In this way, Nepal’s infrastructure depicts a dual problem. Whereas just 20 percent of Nepal’s population lives in urban areas, Nepal also has the fastest urbanizing indicators with a growth rate of five percent on average since the 1970’s. With these parameters, Nepal has to start to improve its infrastructure in order to improve urbanization in most of the country’s regions.
The infrastructure of Nepal was impacted by an earthquake that occurred in 2015. Around eight million people were affected and 250,000 houses damaged. Despite that, Nepal’s government and the private sector are working to relieve infrastructure in Nepal.
Government capital expenditures in infrastructure have exceeded four percent of Nepali GDP since 2015. This money has gone towards water, communication, transportation and electricity infrastructure.
In addition, the private sector is contributing to upgrading the country’s infrastructure. Transportation and communication infrastructure received an investment of 365 billion Nepalese rupees this year. Whereas water and energy infrastructure got 48 billion Nepalese rupees.
International organizations are providing assistance to Nepal as well. Since the 1970’s the World Bank has founded 12 road projects and recently it has developed the Road Maintenance Groups (RMG) program that employs local Nepalese labor in road infrastructure tasks.
With these advances, Nepal looks to the future. With growing urban areas in the country, infrastructure in Nepal has to reduce the gaps it has in the mountains regions, where access is difficult. However, the government, the private sector and international organizations are all contributing money to the country in order to boost infrastructure in Nepal’s three regions.
– Dario Ledesma
Photo: Pixabay
The Improvement of Education in Macau
Since the Macau Special Administrative Region of China was set up in December 1999, the government has provided 15 years compulsory education, comprised of three years of kindergarten followed by primary and secondary education each of six years. Out of 77 secondary schools in Macau, 65 offer free education. There are 10 accredited institutions for higher education in Macau, offering more than 250 academic programs.
Compared to China and other nations, education in Macau displays special features of its own. The whole society in Macau pays high attention to education, comprehensive curricula and professional development. Students are open to bilingual education and extracurricular activities.
While education in Macau is fast developing and has made great achievements, a few existing problems are also transparent. Before free and compulsory education was extended to 15 years in Macau, only 35.3 percent of the employed population had received a high school education.
Despite the overall education level of the labor force gradually improving in the past decade, in-grade retention rates are relatively high in Macao. As reported in 2013, the retention rate in junior middle school was as high as 15 percent; a previous study showed that 76 percent of senior high school graduates had been retained at some stage.
Tertiary education in Macau is also far from problem-free. The system of tertiary education is not consistent with other levels of education; performance appraisal in universities exists in name only. Due to the high cost of tuition in Macau, student resources and living space and restrictive. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of students choose the major of economy and business management, which leads to an unbalanced allocation of educational resources. This is harmful to the healthy growth of these institutions in the long run.
In 2017, the government launched the third phase of its Continuing Education Development Plan in Macao. For tertiary education, the corresponding services office kept on facilitating a variety of external cooperation projects within that field, and seek reinforced collaboration from China inland.
To sum up, the current education in Macau has great potential for future improvement. Kindergarten education urges more attention from governmental and public support, and there is a need for better integration of all levels of education. Meanwhile, the structure of tertiary subjects also requires adjustment to meet the economic development strategy with diversity in this region.
– Xin Gao
The Behno Standard: Factory Workers Transform into Humans
Punjya is a man who has sought to revolutionize the conditions in which factory workers operate, especially women. During a 2012 research trip on women’s health in India, he witnessed some extraordinary handmade textile work in rural villages. He was appalled to learn that 90 percent of these beautiful artworks were tailored by women who are paid less than $1 per day.
One year later, a tragedy would ultimately push him into advocacy. On April 13, 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than 1,100 workers, the majority of whom were women. This incident brought intense awareness to factory conditions and the need to support workers.
Behno is a word used to describe love, harmony, and balance in its most beautiful connections with creative solutions. It is primarily an artistic expression used by communities full of like-minded individuals who strive for that harmony and balance with love. It is also the name used for the ethical fashion line that Punjya founded in New York.
Its central focus is on providing these factory workers with an environment to pursue their designs without their health being compromised. Through a partnership with a large nonprofit in rural Gujarat, India, called Muni Seva Ashram, Punjya began The Garment Worker Project. This was debuted in July 2016 as the first implementation of the Behno Standard through a collection of social programs.
The Behno Standard is broken into six categories: health, garment worker mobility, family planning, women’s rights, worker satisfaction and benefits and eco-consciousness. Its crucial emphasis is on offering a new meaning to the label ‘Made in India,’ often synonymous with unspeakable worker conditions. With the Behno Standard, Punjya strives to change that outlook and prove that a healthy working atmosphere leads to efficiency and high-quality products.
In Punjya’s own words, “Ethical fashion is such a collaborative space because the supply chain is massive and so convoluted. We encourage other brands to reach out to us, and we reach out all the time, to collaborate and utilize each others’ platforms.” Due to his inspiration for starting in the fashion business, he doesn’t want Behno to be a brand that tries to compete on the basis of profit. Instead, he wants his brand to be the unique type of team that collaborates with other companies.
Business doesn’t necessarily need to be a competition but can delve into a community goal. In that sense, the Behno Standard is transforming the connotations of factory work and joining together to revolutionize how the fashion business operates through human connections.
– Nicole Suárez
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Women’s Empowerment in the Central African Republic
Similar to a few other undeveloped nations, economic and social discrimination are common barriers to women’s empowerment in the Central African Republic. Single women are not regarded as the heads of households and are often denied family subsidies to which they are entitled. While the constitution guarantees equal rights, many women, especially seniors and those without families, had been accused of being witches. The proportion of women in government ministries and female seats in parliament remains relatively low, at 12.5 percent as of 2015.
While equal inheritance and property rights are enshrined in civil law, women are vulnerable to discriminatory customary laws, especially in rural areas. There is no penalty for spousal rape, nor a minimum sentence for rape. Incomplete statistics suggest that one in seven women had been raped during the previous year, while the true incidence of rape could be even higher. Of women surveyed, 22 percent claimed physical harm by a member of their household. Also, there is no set of penalties on sexual harassment till then.
A 2013 report found that access to primary school was not equal for girls and boys. While 65 percent of girls were enrolled in the first year of school, this number sharply declined to 23 percent after the sixth grade. Many girls left school in their early teens to marry and have children. The illiteracy rate of females was also much higher than that of males.
A recent study reported that this nation has the second-highest rate of child marriage in the world, where 68 percent of teenage girls got married before the age of 18 and 29 percent were married before the age of 15. There is no prohibition against polygamy and bride-trading, which poses significant barriers to women’s empowerment in the Central African Republic.
A few global institutions such as U.N. Women and the International Rescue Committee put great effort into the protection of women’s empowerment in the Central African Republic. Their officials appealed to the international community to mobilize for the peace and security of women.
While some notable progress had been recognized on women’s empowerment in the Central African Republic, gender inequality and other related issues persist, demanding patient global advocacy on closing the long-existing gender gaps for this nation.
– Xin Gao
Photo: Flickr
Project Begins to Improve Road Infrastructure in Laos
Unfortunately, road infrastructure in Laos is limited, underdeveloped and particularly vulnerable to extreme weather conditions. According to the World Bank, 50 percent of the roads observed were in fair or good condition and only 56 percent of the rural population in Laos has access to an all-season road.
In 2017, The World Bank and Laos Ministry of Finance signed an agreement to dedicate $25 million to the Second Road Sector Project in Laos, which is mainly designed to create climate-resistant road infrastructure and to improve road connectivity in parts of Laos that are susceptible to natural disasters.
As a country, Laos is no stranger to natural disasters such as landslides, floods, earthquakes and cyclones. For villagers in rural areas, floods are the biggest detriment to crops, which are not only a source of income but also a source of sustenance for many farm families.
The six provinces at the center of the Second Road Sector Project are particularly defenseless in the wake of natural disasters. The central provinces face issues with backwater flooding while the northern provinces are most susceptible to flash floods and landslides.
Ensuring climate resilience in these provincial roads involves routine road maintenance. Spot maintenance is also needed to improve the poorest sections of existing road infrastructure in Laos.
These maintenance changes include increasing drainage, decreasing or stabilizing large slopes, elevating low roads that are vulnerable to flooding and re-graveling existing roads. The upgrades aim to lessen the effects of different forms of flooding and will help maintain the accessibility of more roads following natural disasters so that people in the most rural areas may attend work and school and have access to important services.
On the institutional level, the project called for critical changes in policy and the public sector, such as providing training and technical assistance which ensure proper and timely implementation of the roadwork projects. In the case of the highly probable natural disaster, project proceeds are re-allocated to an emergency response for the poor northern and central provinces. The emergency response includes a specified list of goods, services and infrastructure work that are to be implemented following a natural disaster.
While the project was only implemented a year ago, the World Bank and the Lao Ministry of finance have made tangible steps toward progress. By October 2017, the World Bank collected a large amount of data on the conditions of road infrastructure in Laos and the climate-resilient road maintenance component is already in motion, making certain parts of Laos better prepared than they were in 2016 for the next flash flood or earthquake. The World Bank projects that these changes will give 57 percent of people access to all-season roads by 2022 with the hope that this number will continue to increase.
– Danielle Poindexter
Photo: Flickr
Uplifting Women’s Empowerment in Uzbekistan
Before declaring independence in 1991, Uzbekistan’s gender roles were influenced by Soviet policy regarding equality and traditional Uzbek values and culture. These factors caused difficulties while transitioning into an independent, sovereign state, limiting growth and empowerment for women in Uzbekistan.
Soviet Union traditions tended to provide formal equality for men and women when it came to education, health and political offices. However, women were largely segregated to unpaid work or lower-paying jobs because of household tasks and childcare. This unequal division of labor remains in existence. The government of Uzbekistan has developed projects to increase women’s empowerment in Uzbekistan.
The government of Uzbekistan took action to address gender issues through legislation, ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The government also proceeded to work to improve women’s economic status by allowing special credit access to female employers and business that employ women. In an effort to maximize women’s political roles, the government requires political parties to include a certain percentage of female candidates.
The Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan and UNPD partnered for the “Empowering Women to Participate in Public Administrations and Socio-Economic Life” project. Beginning in November 2017, this project’s motive is to enable women to participate in drafting laws and policies in regards to international human rights treaties. Women, through this project, perform workshops and conferences to influence societal prejudices.
UNICEF representative in Uzbekistan Robert Fuderich brought awareness during the November 20 annual campaign “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World” to the idea that violence against women causes grave consequences that affect the society as a whole. Organizations such as the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan, the OSCE Project Coordinator in Uzbekistan and the National Association of NGOs and Uzbekistan-India Friendship Society are all working to uplift women’s empowerment in Uzbekistan. U.N. agencies (UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA and UNV) developed the U.N. Joint Programme, which includes the socio-economic standing of women and how to empower women through Uzbekistan.
Several agencies are taking significant roles in addressing gender inequality in Uzbekistan. Achieving a legislative foundation for women’s empowerment in Uzbekistan will help enable women to improve their socio-economic standing while bettering all of society.
– Bronti DeRoche
Photo: Flickr
5 Development Projects in Sudan to Know About
Sudan has been rife with conflict for most of its existence. The country is dealing with economic challenges, health concerns, a large population living below the poverty line and the ever-present threat of violent conflict. Many organizations are working in Sudan to help improve conditions for those living there, and progress is being made. As an example, the life expectancy in Sudan has risen from 58.4 in 2000 to 64.2 in 2015. Ahead are five development projects that are making a difference in Sudan.
Development projects in Sudan have played an important role in improving the quality of life for those living in the country. With continued investment from the global community and regular evaluation of projects’ effectiveness, there is hope for a more stable and peaceful Sudan.
– Aaron Childree
Photo: Flickr
Infrastructure in Senegal
In terms of physical infrastructure, Senegal has 19 airports, a total railway line length of 906 km and road connectivity of 0.07 kilometers per square kilometers of land. While these statistics are far better than a couple of decades ago, Senegal still falls behind the rest of the world. Senegal’s road connectivity of 0.07 is far below that of the world average of 0.46. Additionally, only 61 percent of the population has access to electricity.
In order for Senegal to catch up to the rest of the world, they will need major increases in funding. According to the World Bank’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which assesses the “competitiveness landscape” of a country’s economy, Senegal came in with a score of 3.7 for the 2015-2016 year. The score is also an indicator of the level of transport, electricity and telephone infrastructure. Senegal compares poorly to other countries, but it must be noted that the highest-scoring countries are developed nations with access to greater funding.
A number of developmental agencies, such as the African Development Bank (AFDB) have projects in Senegal. Between 2008 and 2012, the AFDB conducted the Road Development and Transport Facilitation Project, which focused on improving road infrastructure in the Southern Bamako-Dakar Corridor between Senegal and Mali. While the main goal of the project was to make Senegal’s main port more accessible to Mali, the improved road has provided better access and transportation to the people of Senegal as well. Transportation has become much more convenient for villagers in the region, and there have been major reductions in flooding and erosion of the road.
Ultimately, infrastructure in Senegal is much better than that in other developing countries, but it still needs a lot of improvement. Most of this work cannot be completed without significant increases in funding that will have to come from private and foreign investment. Senegal has the potential to raise its GCI score through improvements to its infrastructure and should do what it can to garner more financial support from other nations and independent organizations.
– Liyanga de Silva
Photo: Flickr
Infrastructure in Nepal: Gaps Between Mountains and Plains
Infrastructure in Nepal is also shaped by these features, with gaps in infrastructure between the plains and the mountains. In some areas, it is difficult to build roads and provide citizens with basic services such as electricity and water.
These gaps are visible in water infrastructure. For instance, only 83 percent of the population in Nepal has access to basic water services. Even though most Nepalese have water access, the quality of water varies by region.
Terai, located in the plains, has good water access but in the Western hills region sanitation is the principal concern. Only 16 percent of Nepalese have access to higher/medium quality water service, a percentage which shows the main problem with water infrastructure in the country.
Regarding electricity, only 76 percent of the population has access to energy. The electrical power infrastructure has not improved since 2002. In addition, Nepal faces 18 hours’ load shedding a day, which means that energy generators have to be shut down in order to prevent malfunctions of the power system.
Communications infrastructure also has gaps between the plains and mountain regions. More than 60 percent of the road network in Nepal is concentrated in the lowland areas of the country, specifically in Terai. There are 29,031 km of roads, 53 percent of which are paved roads, and 1,952 bridges in the South Asian country.
This situation affects the Nepali industry and economy. In this way, Nepal’s infrastructure depicts a dual problem. Whereas just 20 percent of Nepal’s population lives in urban areas, Nepal also has the fastest urbanizing indicators with a growth rate of five percent on average since the 1970’s. With these parameters, Nepal has to start to improve its infrastructure in order to improve urbanization in most of the country’s regions.
The infrastructure of Nepal was impacted by an earthquake that occurred in 2015. Around eight million people were affected and 250,000 houses damaged. Despite that, Nepal’s government and the private sector are working to relieve infrastructure in Nepal.
Government capital expenditures in infrastructure have exceeded four percent of Nepali GDP since 2015. This money has gone towards water, communication, transportation and electricity infrastructure.
In addition, the private sector is contributing to upgrading the country’s infrastructure. Transportation and communication infrastructure received an investment of 365 billion Nepalese rupees this year. Whereas water and energy infrastructure got 48 billion Nepalese rupees.
International organizations are providing assistance to Nepal as well. Since the 1970’s the World Bank has founded 12 road projects and recently it has developed the Road Maintenance Groups (RMG) program that employs local Nepalese labor in road infrastructure tasks.
With these advances, Nepal looks to the future. With growing urban areas in the country, infrastructure in Nepal has to reduce the gaps it has in the mountains regions, where access is difficult. However, the government, the private sector and international organizations are all contributing money to the country in order to boost infrastructure in Nepal’s three regions.
– Dario Ledesma
Photo: Pixabay
Women’s Empowerment in Equatorial Guinea Needs Improvement
Employment
In 2015, the Equatorial Guinean government recognized the low rate of participation of women in the labor force. A report published by the U.N. in 2014 showed how vulnerable employment rates continue to be higher for women than for men. In a vulnerable working environment, women might suffer low incomes, fundamental rights violations and inadequate working conditions.
In 2013, 82 percent of the female working-age population was part of the country’s labor force, compared to 94 percent of the male working-age population. Today, women represent only around 45 percent of the total labor force, and their income is lower than men’s.
Access to Education
Gender plays a role in disparity in school attendance. According to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals report, girls are more likely to be excluded from education than boys and it is more common for girls to drop out of school among poor households. Despite free education, the ratio of school attendees is 92.1 percent for men and 76.4 percent for women.
Women’s empowerment in Equatorial Guinea was also threatened in 2016, when the Ministry of Education issued a ministerial order according to which girl pupils must submit a pregnancy test result prior to enrollment. Pregnant schoolgirls are not admitted by school authorities, forcing teens to seek abortions in many cases.
Gender-Based Violence
Instances of gender-based violence among women in Equatorial Guinea are very high. This includes domestic violence and sexual assaults. In 2011, 63 percent of women 15 and older had suffered some form of violence, with 32 percent being victims of sexual assault. The cultural acceptance of gender-based violence lowers the number of victim reports and legal prosecutions.
Rape is illegal and punishable by 12 to 20 years of imprisonment, but the law does not address spousal rape. Furthermore, in most cases, authorities fail to prosecute the guilty party. According to the U.S. Department of State, police and the judicial system in Equatorial Guinea are more likely to treat domestic violence as a private matter to be resolved in the home.
The Good News
Fortunately, positive steps have been taken for women’s empowerment in Equatorial Guinea. In 2015, the government recognized that, in the past, access to education and some specific careers were “traditionally man dominant,” and it committed to creating better educational and employment opportunities for women. Different projects have also been initiated by cooperation agencies, civil societies and women’s organizations in response to gender-based inequality.
In May 2016, the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, invested $3.5 million to be spent over five years in different African continents. The investment is for projects which aim to prevent and respond to violence against women. Campaigns and mass demonstrations have also been created in Equatorial Guinea to address gender inequality.
Raising awareness and educating women about their own rights is the first step to obtain women’s empowerment in Equatorial Guinea. It is immensely important that the country’s government and other organizations continue the fight to end women’s inequality.
– Greta Ruffino
Photo: Flickr
Access to Education in Uganda Improves With Exam Ban
The country’s Ministry of Education found that the quality of education on a primary level was lacking. With the country’s overall literacy rate at 70.2 percent, the ban is the result of a desire to shift focus away from exam results and improve teachers’ instruction skills. This step provides a ray of hope for access to education in Uganda.
Because teachers are so crucial in the quality of education, the first focus for access to education in Uganda is teaching capabilities. The Ministry of Education has embarked on massive training program of teachers at all levels, called the Teacher Training Education Project. The project aims not only to train the teachers, but also to make sure that they have the necessary equipment for teaching, and that they are able to be supportive to their colleagues, according to a report on the project by the Ministry of Education.
The ban on entry exams is good news, but there are still other factors that Ugandans must overcome in order to attend school, such as finances. Tuition at the primary level is free; however, families tend to struggle with paying for school-related expenses such as books. Tuition to secondary-level schooling is free only if a student does well on his or her Primary Leaving Exams.
The dissolution of the entry exams is a step in the right direction regarding access to education in Uganda, but there are still many more steps to take in the future. If the country wants to ensure that quality of education endures, further measures, such as continuous teacher training and free schooling and supplies, must be taken.
– Dezanii Lewis
Photo: Flickr