Extreme poverty rates in Sri Lanka are low compared to other countries in the region. According to the Asian Development Bank, only 0.2% of the employed population lived on less than $1.90 per day in 2021. However, the quality of life in Sri Lanka remains low as more than 13% of the Sri Lankan population lived on less than $3.65 per day in 2016. Estimates indicate that, by 2019, this rate may have reduced to about 11%, meaning more people were escaping poverty and capable of fulfilling their most basic needs. However, the struggles from the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 economic crisis have caused a regression in poverty rates in Sri Lanka, thus, being poor in Sri Lanka is a new reality for many.
Sri Lanka’s Impoverished
According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI), of every six people in Sri Lanka, one suffers from multidimensional poverty. However, being poor in Sri Lanka is more probable in certain areas and among specific age groups.
In Sri Lanka, there is a significant difference in poverty between rural and urban districts. More than 80% of the multidimensionally deprived are living in rural areas, which makes this group a priority.
Plantation communities in Sri Lanka face significant impacts of poverty. Although these communities make up 4.5% of the national population, according to data from 2019, plantation communities make up 14.4% of Sri Lanka’s poor. Plantation communities are vulnerable to poverty due to a history of oppression and marginalization. Many plantation workers face modern slavery conditions and do not earn a living wage. Children living in plantation communities are exposed to harsh working conditions and lack opportunities to prosper in life as access to quality education is lacking, among other issues.
Children, in general, are at risk of being poor in Sri Lanka. UNICEF reports that 42.2% of Sri Lankan children between 0 and 4 years old suffer from multidimensional poverty, according to the Child Multidimensional Poverty Index (CMPI). These deprivations include a lack of nutrition, inaccessible education and inadequate access to clean water sources. About 33% of poor children suffer from a form of malnutrition. However, there are no real differences between boys and girls in terms of exposure to poverty, which means there is no gender disparity in relation to poverty among children.
The Effects of the 2022 Crisis
Despite the country’s efforts to move away from poverty and the numerous improvements during the last decade, Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis has shaken the country. The World Bank estimates that poverty rates could double in 2022, rising from 13.1% to 25.6%. This would mark the highest poverty numbers in Sri Lanka since 2009.
The BBC explains that the COVID-19 pandemic marked the onset of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis as the tourism sector faced severe impacts. Then-President Rajapaksa’s “economic mismanagement” and poor financial decisions also played a significant role — Sri Lanka ran out of foreign currency and fell into immense financial debt.
Sri Lanka’s inflation rate stood at more than 50% by July 2022 and citizens faced “daily power cuts and shortages of basics such as fuel, food and medicines,” the BBC says. The Russia-Ukraine war has further exacerbated inflation across the world.
The situation affects poor households more severely as purchasing power becomes even lower. The economic recession also caused about 500,000 job losses in industry and service sectors between 2021 and 2022, the World Bank says.
Other Impacts
Russia is the third-largest exporter of Sri Lankan tea, but these exports drastically dropped since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Furthermore, Sri Lanka banned imports of fertilizer in April 2021, which gravely affected agriculture as farmers had no alternatives. In fact, the 2021/2022 planting season noted a 50% drop in production. This has affected food security in the country and the livelihoods of about 2 million farmers and 40% of the population deriving income from agriculture.
According to ReliefWeb in November 2022, 6.3 million Sri Lankans are enduring moderate or severe food insecurity. Furthermore, severe acute food insecurity affects 66,000 Sri Lankans, 18,000 of whom come from plantation/estate communities.
Deteriorating conditions have led to nationwide protests that concluded with the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Therefore, toward the end of July 2022, Sri Lanka imposed a state of emergency due to political and economic stability collapsing at the same time.
Taking Action
In September 2022, the IMF offered Sri Lanka an initial bailout loan of almost $3 billion. The funding looks to “stabilize the economy, protect the livelihoods of the Sri Lankan people and prepare the ground for economic recovery and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.” Furthermore, an IMF loan may encourage other lenders to reestablish trust with Sri Lanka, which currently has $50 billion worth of debt as of July 2022.
Due to the unprecedented inflation rates, the government reacted by increasing direct financial assistance. Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe implemented the Welfare Benefit Fast Track Programme ‘Leave No One Behind’ to assist low-income households in Sri Lanka. By October 12, 2022, the program had received 2.3 million applications for assistance. The program is projected to benefit about 3.9 million Sri Lankans.
Because Sri Lanka’s social safety nets have limitations due to the country’s lack of finance, foreign aid to Sri Lanka is crucial amid the country’s economic crisis.
– Carla Tomas
Photo: Unsplash
Human Trafficking in the Maldives
The Maldives is a small island nation in the Indian Ocean that is known for its luxurious vacations. Behind its image of pristine waters and resorts, the country fights against the human trafficking of its people and foreigners. Since 2012, when the Maldives became a member of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the government has increased efforts to meet international standards in eliminating human trafficking in the Maldives. In 2013, it built on this initiative by passing a bill that criminalized human trafficking and identified fraudulent recruitment, forced labor and sex trafficking as human trafficking.
Human traffickers in the Maldives target and exploit both domestic and foreign workers. Nearly one-third of the Maldives’ population are migrant workers, mainly from Bangladesh and India, who serve in the construction and service sectors. The fraudulent recruitment of undocumented and documented migrant workers leads to the confiscation of identity and travel documents and debt. These false recruitment agencies work with employers and agents in the Maldives to force migrant workers to work with little to no pay. Other victims of human trafficking include Maldivian children and women. They end up in criminal enterprises in which criminal gangs use them to transport drugs. Maldivian and other South Asian women end up in the Maldives under the false pretense of tourism experience.
The Effects of COVID-19
When COVID-19 hit the Maldives in 2020, the inhumane working conditions and treatment of migrant workers worsened. According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2020 Trafficking In Persons report, there were approximately more than 230,000 migrant workers in the Maldives in 2020. Migrant workers often live in cramped collective living accommodations with limited access to water, sanitation and health care. One of those shared accommodation blocks in the capital of Malé experienced 95 positive COVID-19 cases all at once.
As COVID-19 relief rolled out, the government redirected financial and personnel resources away from anti-trafficking efforts as operations focused on the pandemic. This delayed the prosecution of trafficking crimes and the Maldivian government did not convict any traffickers for the second consecutive year. According to the 2022 Trafficking In Persons Report, 27 recruitment agencies were under investigation by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Maldivian authorities are working now with fewer resources due to the pandemic. Hence, foreign and national companies have been called upon to support human rights and stop human trafficking in the Maldives.
A New Action Plan
On March 30, 2020, the Maldives designed the Anti-Human Trafficking National Action Plan to adapt to the reduced resources and accelerate efforts to eliminate human trafficking in the Maldives. The National Anti-Human Trafficking Steering Committee (NAHTSC) oversees the national action plan and focuses on coordinating with the government in its efforts to combat human trafficking. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United States government are both international partners to the NAHTSC. These organizations provided technical assistance and guidance in the formulation of the Anti-Human Trafficking National Action Plan. The action plan’s goal is to achieve three outcomes:
Status as of 2022
The U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking In Persons categorizes the Maldives as a Tier 2 country. This means that although the government is making significant efforts to eliminate trafficking, it still has not met minimum standards. The Government of Maldives’ efforts during the year 2022 includes criminalizing all forms of sex and labor trafficking, increasing prosecutions of government officials and regulating the presence of foreign workers in the Maldives.
The Maldivian government remains dedicated to implementing anti-trafficking and prevention efforts. However, they still have work to do as the number of foreign workers (specifically the Bangladeshi and Indian workers) trafficked to the Maldives remains high. This persists despite a decrease in the number of overall trafficking investigations and zero reported convictions for the second consecutive year. In addition, a shelter for trafficking victims created in 2021 remains inoperable with no official standard operating procedures (SOPs) to refer victims for support and care services.
Moving Forward
In the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report for the Maldives, the U.S. Department of State laid out recommendations to further reduce human trafficking in the Maldives. Currently, the areas of victim identification and protection remain weak. It recommends establishing a working trafficking victim shelter with consistent protection services and support for foreign victims. Recommendations include anti-trafficking materials and the availability of support in appropriate languages for migrant workers. Other recommendations for 2023 also involve identifying indicators of human trafficking and holding employers and recruitment agencies accountable for labor violations. Some have also asked the government to increase its cooperation with migrant source countries by establishing memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and monitoring resort and guest homes.
The laws that are already in place serve as a solid foundation for increasing preventative, protective and prosecutive measures that the U.S. Department of State recommends. In addition to these laws, the government’s work is also supported by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) like Mission for Migrant Workers Maldives (MMWM), the first NGO to work exclusively with migrant workers experiencing human-rights violations. With the foundational laws, the incorporation of recommendations and the work of local NGOs, the Maldives can make significant moves toward eliminating human trafficking.
– Arden Schraff
Photo: Flickr
5 Charities Operating in Angola
RISE International
RISE International was formerly called the African Refugee Committee (ARC). Founded in 2001, ARC started as a nonprofit organization that provided relief and support to people displaced by the Angolan civil war. In 2003, a year after the war ended, ARC changed its name to RISE International.
While RISE continued to provide relief to refugees, it added a new plan: rebuilding Angola by bridging the country’s education gap. RISE builds schools for children in rural areas that receive little to no attention from the Angolan Ministry of Education. Since its inception, the charity has provided education to over 140,000 Angolan children and built 194 schools, with several more underway.
Hope For Our Sisters (HFOS)
Hope For Our Sisters (HFOS) is an advocacy group for women’s health focusing on maternal care. The organization is working to eradicate fistula in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal.
Various factors can cause fistula depending on its type. This charity mainly focuses on obstetric fistula, caused by prolonged or obstructed labor and traumatic fistula, resulting from sexual violence and trauma. Women suffering from fistula are often abandoned by their loved ones and ostracized from their communities.
HFOS partners with other charities and organizations in Angola to provide rehabilitation, aftercare and empowerment for these shunned women. They also sponsor awareness campaigns to prevent the occurrence of the disease and provide treatments, including repair surgery.
It currently has two ongoing projects in Angola: the Ultrasound Empowerment Program and the Aftercare Program. The Ultrasound Empowerment Program helped 151 and another set of 50 women have been empowered to generate income through the Aftercare program.
Mothers2mothers
Mothers2mothers is an award-winning charity that operates in several sub-Saharan countries. Driven by its commitment to eradicating AIDS and maternal and child deaths, the charity started working in Angola in 2019. Since then, it has partnered with the country’s government and the Ministry of Health to offer aid to more than 10,000 Angolans, as of December 2022.
The charity uses its innovative Mentor Mother Model in local communities to administer HIV tests and treatments to those who need them. This model involves selecting women trusted by their communities and training them to administer necessary medical care. Its efforts have also resulted in the virtual elimination of mother-child transmission of HIV among its beneficiaries.
World Vision International
World Vision is a global leader in humanitarian aid. Created in 1950, the charity’s mission was inspired by a homeless Chinese girl helped by Bob Pierce, its founder. Pierce got the idea to seek a permanent solution to poverty. That idea birthed the World Vision.
Today, the charity has helped over 200 million children escape poverty in over 100 countries worldwide. One of those countries is Angola. World Vision began operating in the sub-Saharan nation in 1989. Its Angola mandate is to improve food security, provide access to water and sanitation services and offer better education opportunities to disadvantaged children.
Every year, about 1 million people in Angola benefit from the charity’s programs each year.
UNICEF
UNICEF’s interventions in Angola have had profound and widespread outcomes over the years. In 2022 alone, the charity reached 214,449 people with clean and safe water and vaccinated over 270,000 children against measles, polio and acute diarrhea. And the list goes on.
Despite its huge success, UNICEF’s humanitarian impact in the sub-Saharan country remains limited due to inadequate funding. The organization currently needs $33 million to cater to the humanitarian needs of 1.5 million Angolans.
Providing a Brighter Future
These five charities operating in Angola have achieved commendable results. The commitment and actions of the nonprofits have helped to revive core sectors of Angola’s economy, including health care, agriculture and education. With more children in schools, Angola can envision a brighter economic future with fewer woes. Thanks to some of these charities, thousands of Angolan women are healthier and safer and can provide for their families and children.
– Amarachi Orjiude
Photo: Flickr
The International Ministerial Conference on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
The U.K. hosted the International Ministerial Conference on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict on November 28, 2022, and November 29, 2022. This meeting is a follow-up to the Global Summit of 2004 and also marks 10 years since the establishment of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative. About 10 years ago, more than 150 nations made commitments to bring an end to sexual violence in conflict-affected countries. Despite these promises, sufficient actions to address these issues on a global level are lacking.
Angelina Jolie Highlights Barriers
Actress Angelina Jolie, who actually co-hosted the Global Summit of 2004 and is one of the co-founders of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, recently called attention to the lack of action to address the issue of sexual violence in conflict.
Jolie has called out funding gaps and what she describes as a “lack of political will,” according to an opinion piece that the Guardian published in November 2022. She also cites abuses of power, declaring that one of the issues is “security council members abusing their veto power, such as in the case of Syria.” Jolie is referring to how Russia “used its security council veto powers 11 times to block action targeting its ally Syria,” the Guardian reports.
Syria is responsible for a variety of war crimes from the use of chemical weapons to the use of sexual violence in conflict as an act of terror. The U.N.’s Commission of Inquiry found that “the Syrian Government and associated militias used rape and other forms of sexual violence as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Syria.”
In her opinion piece for the Guardian, Jolie advocates for the “creation of a permanent international body that can help fill the accountability gap” as well as a “new, permanent, international commission to document and investigate sexual violence in conflict.”
Jolie highlights that these solutions have been a point of discussion for years but no progress is visible. “The conference should not be another moment when survivors have to come forward to explain their pain and suffering again, and to show their willingness to work with governments, only for countries to be unwilling to act on their commitments over the long term,” Jolie said.
Effects on Global Development
Gender-based violence has a harmful effect on global development. Elevated rates of domestic and sexual violence reduce staff output and cause reductions in productivity to the scale of 10 work days annually per employee. The Council on Foreign Relations reports that “In some countries, even pre-pandemic, gender-based violence was estimated to cost up to 3.7[%]of gross domestic product (GDP)— more than double what most governments spend on education.” Lockdowns at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic heightened cases of gender-based violence across the world.
US Actions and Commitments
Despite these criticisms and the exacerbating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. is taking action to address these issues. Acknowledging the gravity of the issue, in November 2022, the State Department announced that in response to this crisis, the U.S. will increase aid and encourage accountability by “Committing an additional $400,000 to the United State’s annual contribution of $1.75 million to the Office of the U.N. Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG) on Sexual Violence in Conflict.”
The U.S. will also expand the Safe from the Start initiative, which prioritizes gender-based violence responses in humanitarian efforts. The U.S. will establish a Presidential Memorandum against sexual violence in conflict, “which will commit the U.S. government to fully exercising existing authorities to promote justice and accountability for acts of conflict-related sexual violence.” Lastly, the U.S. will allocate $10 million to “civil society efforts” for investigations and reporting and $2 million for “survivor-centered, trauma-informed approaches to fostering survivor resilience during and after conflict.”
Positives
While international initiatives to end sexual violence in conflict are facing issues such as funding gaps, security council abuses and a lack of institutional capability, the U.S. is stepping up to address many of these issues in response to the International Ministerial Conference. Jolie calls on the international community to stay true to their commitments long-term to help establish an effective response to conflict-related sexual violence throughout the world.
– Braden Hampton
Photo: Flickr
5 Charities Operating in South Sudan
South Sudan is a country in dire need of assistance. Having seceded from Sudan over a decade ago, the fledgling nation’s history has been fraught with conflict between its government and armed opposition groups. The fighting stopped in 2018 when South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir and the leader of the main opposition force agreed on a peace deal. The opposition leader became the vice president and he and Kiir have been working toward unity and a new constitution.
However, the South Sudanese people are still in trouble. More than 60% of the population is facing food insecurity, the country is chronically underdeveloped and extensive flooding devastates many areas. Here are five charities operating in South Sudan.
5 Charities Operating in South Sudan
Concluding Thoughts
These five charities operating in South Sudan are making a substantial difference in the country because of their direct approaches and willingness to garner input from the South Sudanese people.
– Matthew Wikfors
Photo: Flickr
Measuring the Poverty Level in India
Difficulties in Assessing Poverty in India
Since the Indian government has not published any National Sample Survey (NSS) results since 2012, which includes the national statistics regarding poverty in the country, researchers began studies to determine the amount of poverty within India, particularly extreme poverty.
The studies employ different methods to measure the poverty level in India in order to provide more recent estimates. Both studies, the first by Bhalla, Bhasin and Virmani and the second by Roy and van der Weide, arrive at “dramatically different conclusions.” Although each approach has its shortcomings, Ideas for India says the studies “highlight that the real poverty that lies behind the Great Poverty Debate 2.0 is the poverty of data.”
When it comes to assessing poverty in India, despite the lack of official recent statistics on poverty rates, one may consider elements that link to poverty, such as literacy rates or food insecurity, to paint a picture of a country’s overall poverty conditions.
Illiteracy and Food Insecurity as Indicators of Poverty
Indeed, illiteracy is linked to poor financial conditions as poverty often means low-income families are unable to afford quality education for their children. In India, according to 2017-18 data from the National Statistical Office (NSO), the latest literacy rate in India overall stands at about 77.7%. This means the national illiteracy rate stands at 22.3%, which means, in a population of about 1.4 billion people, a significant portion of people cannot read or write. Such a high illiteracy rate correlates to high poverty rates in India.
Regarding food insecurity rates in India, according to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) of 2022, India has regressed by six positions since 2021, ranking 107th out of 121 countries in terms of hunger levels. India scored 29.1, which equates to a “serious” level of hunger. According to data from 2019-2021, 16.3% of India’s population suffers from undernourishment. Furthermore, around 35.5% of Indian children under 5 suffer stunting, a form of malnutrition with detrimental consequences.
End Poverty
End Poverty is an Indian NGO established in 2009 to develop innovative and creative solutions to address poverty in India. Though mandated to work across India, End Poverty currently works in seven Indian states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa.
End Poverty directly supports and empowers the poorest by providing them with opportunities to attain an education, develop skills and secure employment opportunities in order to rise out of poverty. End Poverty has three core programs in place: rural development, dairy development and sustainable agriculture.
The rural development program is important because about 68% of India’s people live in rural areas, according to 2011 data, and poverty is more pronounced in rural areas. The rural development activities include establishing infrastructure and schools, providing opportunities for income generation, strengthening access to education and providing water, hygiene and sanitation services.
Despite the lack of official recent statistics on poverty in India, one can use other indicators, such as the illiteracy rate, to assess the poverty level in India. Moreover, the important work of researchers contributes to a better understanding of the country’s socioeconomic conditions. But, regardless of the precision of statistics, the efforts of organizations help counter poverty by improving the standards of living among the most disadvantaged people.
– Evan Da Costa Marques
Photo: Unsplash
Fuel Crisis in Europe Causes an Increase in Pollution
After years of economic downfall, increased rates of poverty and supply chain disruptions, Europe finds itself launched into a desolate fuel crisis due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian crisis. The cost of fuel and electricity is likely to increase, further impacting families as they try and survive Europe’s cold winters.
Although the fuel crisis in Europe is often accredited to the Russo-Ukranian War, the problem has its roots in years of crises and decisions that have left Europe with an acute shortage of fuel. Aside from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the backlash from the 2020 pandemic is the most immediate culprit. The pandemic saw a lower production of natural gas and inadequate maintenance, leading to problems in production now. It also has led to a sharp increase in fuel demand after the lifting of restrictions, causing a shortage in fuel.
In addition to the pandemic and sanctions on Russian exports, much of the fuel crisis in Europe has stemmed from a decrease in energy production. Many countries have been trying to phase out natural gas and coal, shifting towards more sustainable alternatives. In fact, in the past decade, natural gas production halved, with imports making up 83% of gas consumption today.
Impact of Fuel Shortages
Because many homes in Eastern and Central Europe already rely on burning coal and wood to heat their homes, the fuel crisis has exacerbated the ongoing coal shortage. Many countries in the EU have pledged to eliminate the use of coal due to its carbon footprint. In addition, Europe placed sanctions on the coal exports of Russia – one of Europe’s biggest coal producers.
The shortage of coal and other fuel sources has led to many European leaders rolling back on measures designed to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. Several coal-producing countries, such as Poland and Bulgaria have increased their coal usage and reopened old cold-fire plants. Poland has also lifted bans on burning lignite and household coal, though the country fears that the lifted ban still will not meet Polish energy needs.
Wood burning is also expected to increase throughout Europe as governments encourage their citizens to burn wood to keep warm. Countries like Bosnia Herzegovina and Bulgaria have even banned wood exports, fearing that there will not be enough wood for domestic purposes.
An Increase in Pollution
With an increase in the use of dirty fossil fuels and wood burning comes concerns for the impact on people’s health and well-being. It is well-known that countries with high usage of coal and other fossil fuels have a significantly higher rate of air pollution which causes thousands of deaths. One report estimated that 18 coal plants alone were enough to cause around 19,000 deaths in nearby regions. Wood burning is just as deadly as coal, if not more. One study earlier this year found that wood-burning accounted for the most pollution-related health issues and was responsible for €17 billion in health costs across Europe.
The tremendous impact that coal or wood burning has on people’s health means that a sharp increase in usage of it will also increase health issues. This is especially concerning for impoverished groups across Europe as they are the most likely to be affected by this issue. As prices have surged, research has found that poorer households that cannot afford energy are more likely to resort to burning coal, wood or other harmful materials.
This is especially problematic considering that poorer people are more likely to have exposure to air pollution as it is. They are more likely to live in areas with worse air quality and do not often have access to health care to treat possible health issues.
Mitigation Strategies
Despite the tremendous effects the energy crisis has had on Europe, governments are working to fight it. In October, the EU introduced a new package that is intended to lower energy costs and secure energy supplies. The package intends to impose a variety of measures that would lower costs, such as negotiating prices, establishing a dynamic price limit and working to lower demand for gas.
Many other countries have introduced similar packages, spending almost €500 billion across the continent to curb prices, lower energy taxes and provide subsidies to citizens struggling with energy costs. Both packages intend to lower the burden of energy costs on families and citizens, especially low-income citizens who tend to be affected the hardest by high prices.
The Road Ahead
The impact of the fuel crisis in Europe has been tremendous on its citizens. It has led to an increase in coal, wood burning and pollution, which has particularly affected poor citizens. It is also predicted that low-income countries and citizens will continue to see an increase in air pollution and a decrease in health. However, the proposed packages to lower energy costs could not only decrease the financial burden on citizens but decrease the need to burn wood, coal and other harmful fuels.
– Padma Balaji
Photo: Flickr
Being Poor in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s Impoverished
According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI), of every six people in Sri Lanka, one suffers from multidimensional poverty. However, being poor in Sri Lanka is more probable in certain areas and among specific age groups.
In Sri Lanka, there is a significant difference in poverty between rural and urban districts. More than 80% of the multidimensionally deprived are living in rural areas, which makes this group a priority.
Plantation communities in Sri Lanka face significant impacts of poverty. Although these communities make up 4.5% of the national population, according to data from 2019, plantation communities make up 14.4% of Sri Lanka’s poor. Plantation communities are vulnerable to poverty due to a history of oppression and marginalization. Many plantation workers face modern slavery conditions and do not earn a living wage. Children living in plantation communities are exposed to harsh working conditions and lack opportunities to prosper in life as access to quality education is lacking, among other issues.
Children, in general, are at risk of being poor in Sri Lanka. UNICEF reports that 42.2% of Sri Lankan children between 0 and 4 years old suffer from multidimensional poverty, according to the Child Multidimensional Poverty Index (CMPI). These deprivations include a lack of nutrition, inaccessible education and inadequate access to clean water sources. About 33% of poor children suffer from a form of malnutrition. However, there are no real differences between boys and girls in terms of exposure to poverty, which means there is no gender disparity in relation to poverty among children.
The Effects of the 2022 Crisis
Despite the country’s efforts to move away from poverty and the numerous improvements during the last decade, Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis has shaken the country. The World Bank estimates that poverty rates could double in 2022, rising from 13.1% to 25.6%. This would mark the highest poverty numbers in Sri Lanka since 2009.
The BBC explains that the COVID-19 pandemic marked the onset of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis as the tourism sector faced severe impacts. Then-President Rajapaksa’s “economic mismanagement” and poor financial decisions also played a significant role — Sri Lanka ran out of foreign currency and fell into immense financial debt.
Sri Lanka’s inflation rate stood at more than 50% by July 2022 and citizens faced “daily power cuts and shortages of basics such as fuel, food and medicines,” the BBC says. The Russia-Ukraine war has further exacerbated inflation across the world.
The situation affects poor households more severely as purchasing power becomes even lower. The economic recession also caused about 500,000 job losses in industry and service sectors between 2021 and 2022, the World Bank says.
Other Impacts
Russia is the third-largest exporter of Sri Lankan tea, but these exports drastically dropped since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Furthermore, Sri Lanka banned imports of fertilizer in April 2021, which gravely affected agriculture as farmers had no alternatives. In fact, the 2021/2022 planting season noted a 50% drop in production. This has affected food security in the country and the livelihoods of about 2 million farmers and 40% of the population deriving income from agriculture.
According to ReliefWeb in November 2022, 6.3 million Sri Lankans are enduring moderate or severe food insecurity. Furthermore, severe acute food insecurity affects 66,000 Sri Lankans, 18,000 of whom come from plantation/estate communities.
Deteriorating conditions have led to nationwide protests that concluded with the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Therefore, toward the end of July 2022, Sri Lanka imposed a state of emergency due to political and economic stability collapsing at the same time.
Taking Action
In September 2022, the IMF offered Sri Lanka an initial bailout loan of almost $3 billion. The funding looks to “stabilize the economy, protect the livelihoods of the Sri Lankan people and prepare the ground for economic recovery and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.” Furthermore, an IMF loan may encourage other lenders to reestablish trust with Sri Lanka, which currently has $50 billion worth of debt as of July 2022.
Due to the unprecedented inflation rates, the government reacted by increasing direct financial assistance. Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe implemented the Welfare Benefit Fast Track Programme ‘Leave No One Behind’ to assist low-income households in Sri Lanka. By October 12, 2022, the program had received 2.3 million applications for assistance. The program is projected to benefit about 3.9 million Sri Lankans.
Because Sri Lanka’s social safety nets have limitations due to the country’s lack of finance, foreign aid to Sri Lanka is crucial amid the country’s economic crisis.
– Carla Tomas
Photo: Unsplash
Fighting Against Statelessness
Being stateless happens when a person does not enjoy any nationality. Therefore, not having citizenship means that a person does not have any bonds to the legal obligations and rights of any country. In a world where nations are still the dominant players, nationality is one of the core aspects of forming one’s identity. Currently, more than 10 million people around the world are stateless. It is important to see how statelessness enhances other problems, such as economic uncertainty, and how the international community acts in order to improve this situation.
Why is Statelessness a Problem?
Nationals from a country receive certain rights. Participating in political and social tasks, such as a right to social security, freedom of movement and voting are rights that citizens take for granted. However, in some countries, there are residents which are stateless and so they have no access to these basic rights. If a state denies a stateless person protection, it is denying him or her basic human rights. As a result, they have limited access to development and have challenges progressing in life successfully. This situation leads on many occasions to perpetual economic instability. Stateless people have no legal right to work in their country of residence, which makes it very difficult for them to have reliable job opportunities. Residents which the formal economy largely ignores, are vulnerable victims of exploitation such as forced labor and prostitution.
Moreover, statelessness is often the result of discriminatory laws against women. More than 20 countries around the world still have gender-discriminatory laws that make both women and children more vulnerable to becoming stateless. Unequal legislation such as the Qatari does not allow mothers to pass their nationality to their children, even if there is no recognized father and it will render the child stateless. Another example is Jordan, where women married to non-nationals cannot pass their Jordanian nationality to their children. Fighting against statelessness and avoiding the risk in countries with gender-discriminatory legislation, reduces the prevalence of other problems, such as the perpetuation of patriarchal societies and domestic violence. It also helps reduce the risk of child marriage for girls whose only opportunity is to acquire their spouse’s nationality.
International Law is a Key to Change
The main issue for people fighting statelessness is that they cannot count on the protection of a specific nation, so the international community becomes an important ally to monitor statelessness and help people going through the toughest challenges. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an agency to which The United States is the largest donor, is also dedicated to helping reduce statelessness worldwide. UNHCR drafted the 1954 and 1961 Conventions, through which stateless people received recognition and a guideline focused on reducing statelessness.
Based on Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the 1961 convention has as a core objective to avoid statelessness as a result of deprivation of nationality, as everyone has the right to a nationality. While the loss of nationality is a possibility and the national legislation contemplates it, what the 1961 Convention attempts to eliminate is the deprivation of nationality based on discriminatory laws. Therefore, based on Article 9 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention established that both men and women should have the same right to acquire and pass on their nationality.
What is Improving?
In 2014, UNHCR launched the #IBelong Campaign, an action plan focused on fighting against statelessness and optimally eliminating it within 10 years. The most important actions taken are the following:
The latest data revealed by UNHCR in 2021 shows that 96 states are party to the 1954 Convention and 77 are party to the 1961 Convention. This suggests that ever more countries worldwide are committed to the process of fighting against statelessness. Furthermore, since the #IBelong Campaign:
Looking Ahead
Recent action regarding statelessness proves that the international community is making a significant effort to improve the situation. The extent to which international law can make a difference is limited to member states. States are independent to decide if the Conventions regarding statelessness become binding in their legislation. Thus, even though it is difficult for international law to make a difference, the growing commitment to solving statelessness is mainly what allows international law to play a crucial role in fighting statelessness globally.
– Carla Tomas Laserna
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China’s Agricultural Sci-tech Poverty Reduction Strategy
Over the past four decades, the Chinese government’s poverty reduction efforts in China have reduced the number of Chinese citizens living in extreme poverty by 800 million. This equates to a contribution of “close to three-quarters of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty,” the World Bank says. The country reached this poverty reduction goal through a two-pillar system.
The first pillar included “broad-based economic transformation to open new economic opportunities and raise average incomes,” while the second pillar aimed to provide targeted support to the most disadvantaged households. China’s significant poverty reduction rates are also a result of the country’s efficient government.
Shrimp Farming in Inner Mongolia
Aquaculturist and farmer Wang Changgui told Global Times in November 2022 that Ordos City in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region had recorded a “successful yield” of shrimp this year.
One can attribute the increased shrimp yield to the knowledge and skills of one of the many experts sent by the Chinese government to rural areas to counteract poverty. The Ordos agriculture and animal husbandry bureau directed Wu Tao to research the soil in Inner Mongolia. Wu found that soil in the area had levels of “high salinity,” making it an ideal environment to farm shrimp.
Fellow researcher Zhu Changbo noted that the farmers in the area usually need to use water to manually remove the salt brought to the ground surface. However, the process of shrimp harvesting removes a lot of the salt from the water, which is beneficial for the soil and plants.
With the help of its researchers, China aims to “popularize agricultural science and technology, foster the spirit of sci-tech innovation and entrepreneurship, bolster poverty eradication efforts and promote rural vitalization.” The implementation of China’s agricultural sci-tech poverty reduction strategy is also seeing success in other countries.
Agricultural Assistance in Other Countries
Because the Chinese government has seen poverty reduction success within China, it is also working to decrease poverty rates in other countries through agricultural sci-tech. China’s agricultural success stories include:
Through China’s agricultural sci-tech poverty reduction strategy, China’s rural regions and other developing countries are seeing greater agricultural success, which reduces poverty by raising incomes and strengthening food security.
– Aspen Oblewski
Photo: Flickr
Ending the War on Drugs in Latin America
The “War on Drugs” is an international focus that began in 1961 when the U.N. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs recommended countries adopt punitive measures for drug charges. Prohibitionist efforts to eliminate illegal drug use intensified 10 years later when U.S. President Richard Nixon announced his war on illegal drugs, which he deemed “public enemy number one” on June 17, 1971.
After this, the U.S. took the lead in the war on drugs, leading international drug-control efforts such as halting the harvesting of the sacred Incan coca plant and criminalizing product consumption. These efforts mainly impacted Latin America, specifically Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, which are the main cocaine producers. Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are the distributor countries that funnel drugs into Europe and the U.S. These Latin and Central American countries have experienced community and environmental damage, as well as an increase in violence and corruption because of the war on drugs. Even when levels of drug production in one country decrease, production moves to another country, a phenomenon called the “balloon effect.”
The war on drugs in Latin American countries weakened the economy, environment and overall safety and well-being of citizens. As new progressive leaders in Latin America gain power, Latin America begins the work of creating less punitive measures for drug offenses with the hope of ending the war on drugs.
The Need for Change
The “war on drugs” harms the national development of “narco-economies” and infringes on human rights, through forced labor and torture, the absence of fair trials and the right to a clean and healthy environment. Ending the war on drugs in Latin America is an important step because it frees up Latin American resources to focus on reparations for human rights violations.
Policies created during the war on drugs negatively impact marginalized communities. For example, women serve in prison for drug-related offenses at a higher rate than men, even though women with drug offenses are often non-violent and first-time offenders. These policies have also led to the use of harmful practices such as racial profiling. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention conducted a study released in 2021 on the “war on drugs,” which found that the war resulted in mass incarceration, disproportionate sentencing, abusive use of the death penalty and extensive human rights violations. The UN system Common Position on drug policy states that drug use and dependency are not to be treated as a criminal matter, but as a health issue that should be treated using public health education, mental health support and rehabilitation and reintegration programs.
New Leadership, New Policies
The main voice for ending the “war on drugs” in Latin America comes from the new Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a progressive leader of the state whose focus is peace in Latin America. Petro calls for a reversal of anti-narcotics efforts like ending the criminalization of coca growers and instead focusing on prosecuting the criminal organizations that profit off of drug trafficking.
Colombia, as well as Cuba, Norway, Venezuela and now Mexico, are all guarantor countries participating in the process of peace with the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN). The recruitment of countries to participate in ending the war on drugs in Latin America is a large focus for Petro, who joined a conference of leaders in Latin America at the National Palace in Mexico to announce reforming Latin American drug policy. After the conference, Petro announced on social media that “concrete agreements” were made in regard to development, sovereignty, migration and integration.
Looking Ahead
During Colombian President, Gustavo Petro’s appeal to the world to end the “hypocritical war on drugs” at the U.N. general assembly in 2022, he called out the world’s obsession with carbon, oil and money, which has led to deforestation and the destruction of Latin American stability and health. Petro announced a new time of peace in Latin America, because, in Petro’s own words, “without peace with the planet, there will be no peace among nations. Without social justice, there is no social peace.”
President Gustavo Petro represents a new age of progressive leaders whose focus is to repair the damage to the environment and citizens due to the war on drugs and the climate crisis. His efforts have gained the attention and support of the Puebla Group – made up of progressive Latin American leaders – and The Global Commission on Drug Policy, an organization of cultural and political leaders whose goal is to push reforms for international drug control by using responsible regulation.
With the support of these groups and leaders, economic, social and environmental justice will be at the forefront of future policy creation. Ending the war on drugs in Latin America is no easy task, as it involves creating a nurturing, supportive society for those addicted to and involved with drugs. However, it is a crucial step that must be taken to reverse the climate and humanitarian crisis created by the war on drugs.
Moving forward, the U.N. Human Rights Council requires drug policies to cohere with international human rights laws. Moreover, countries are to provide technical and financial assistance to drug policy to ensure that they protect fundamental freedoms and human rights. In addition, current drug policies are to be replaced with a restorative justice approach involving support rather than punishment for drug offenses. With these policy changes and the focus of dedicated world leaders like Colombian President Gustavo Petro, ending the war on drugs in Latin America is an achievable reality.
– Arden Schraff
Photo: Flickr