The Colombian people and economy have suffered greatly from landmines placed around the nation in the 1990s by guerrillas, paramilitary organizations and drug traffickers. One estimate finds that mines are responsible for “12,000 injuries and deaths” since 1990. Their looming presence continues to hinder access to education, healthcare facilities and essential services. Governments and NGOs are having a difficult time with demining in Colombia due to the irregular and unpredictable placement of the mines. This complication makes funding for demining in the 63% of Colombian municipalities currently plagued by mines an international priority.
How Landmines Impact Civilians
Armed groups have targeted largely rural areas in mine placement. While mines were intended to harm military personnel, civilians in the rural communities have predominantly faced the tragic consequences. The lingering threat of hidden mines hinders daily life and safety in many municipalities. Due to landmines, communities suffer sudden deaths and mutilations even as Colombia progresses to a time of peace.
The percentage of civilian landmine victims went up from 45% in 2019 to almost 70% in 2020 despite widespread extraction efforts. It is also important to note that civilian deaths and mutilations disproportionately affect indigenous populations of the rural areas.
Global Demining Efforts
The United States is currently responsible for most of the funding for global humanitarian demining. Since 1993, the U.S. has allotted $4 billion to “conventional weapons destruction efforts” internationally. In 2020, the United States set aside $228.5 million for humanitarian demining efforts across 40 nations, including Colombia. Similar funding has successfully removed 1.4 million landmines across 376 square miles of land since 2016.
The funding from the U.S. is essential for the success of demining efforts in Colombia and the U.S. plays an important part in rallying other nations to contribute. As of May 2021, Colombia is the second-most densely landmine-filled nation after war-torn Afghanistan. Given the dire need for extracting landmines in Colombia, the funding provided by the U.S. is necessary to achieve economic stability, community development and improved security.
The United States is not alone in funding demining efforts. Norway is also a strong leader in supporting demining in Colombia, investing $20 million from 2016 to 2020. The United States and Norway also successfully garnered further support from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, the European Union, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. The nations have all been collaborating since 2016 with the goal of ensuring Colombia is completely mine-free by the end of 2021.
Benefits of Demining
Some of the most prominent successes of this international cooperation appear in the municipalities of Nariño and La Unión, which are now completely clear of landmines. The two areas are home to more than 31,000 Colombians across 200 square miles, making the complete removal of landmines a significant victory for these communities.
In 2019, HALO (Hazardous Area Life-Support Organization) began a study to uncover the impacts of demining on local communities in Nariño and La Unión. Its study finds clear correlations between humanitarian demining in Colombia and socio-economic development that directly benefits the most financially vulnerable families.
Average housing values increased by more than 500% alongside a 38% increase in average household incomes. The study also found that 88% of newly cleared land was used productively for community development, agriculture and transportation. The communities consequently saw a return of 772 formerly displaced families as well as a substantial increase in household spending.
Beyond the quantifiable benefits to impoverished families, demining improves access to healthcare facilities, schools and other social services as previously dangerous land is clear for transportation.
Looking Ahead
Essentially, the U.S.-funded demining efforts prove to have strong economic benefits for many Colombian families, which include formerly displaced and homeless people who were most economically vulnerable. Demining successes in Colombia stand to show the significance of proper funding for humanitarian demining in order to protect impoverished populations and aid communities formerly devastated by conflict. Removing landmines has clear links to restoring security to communities trying to move past conflict and violence as well as improving economic stability.
While the recent successes from U.S. funding are promising, more funds are still needed to demine the rest of Colombia. Most importantly, the recent victories show the importance of increased funding for these efforts. Some areas, including Choco and Antioquia, have not seen the good fortune that Nariño and La Unión have and are still very much plagued by landmines. Further commitment, funding and assistance are a beacon of hope to impoverished or displaced Colombian families living in mine-strewn municipalities. U.S. funds and initiatives in Nariño and La Unión show the possibility of a mine-free future for the entirety of Colombia.
– Jaya Patten
Photo: Flickr
The Ongoing Poverty and Civil Strife in Belarus
Belarus, meaning “White Ruthenia” or “White Russia” alternatively, has housed many different cultures and peoples across its history. With a population of just under 9.5 million people, however, the nation certainly has the population, as well as the various important resources necessary to develop the society, population and accompanying hard and soft infrastructure of the country in the post-Soviet Era. Its capital city, Minsk, is both the largest city in the nation, as well as one of the most historically rich cities in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, civil strife in Belarus is a significant problem and relates to President Alexander Lukashenko as well as poverty.
About Belarus
Belarus has an economy that refines great quantities of Russian oil and produces petroleum, yet has rich natural resources like peat, clay, dolomite, sand, chalk, salt and potassium deposits as well; during Soviet times, it was an economically advanced region within the greater USSR and had one of the highest standards of living within that collective. These resources should have given the small nation a leg up moving forward, serving as a potential model of success post-Soviet dissolution for its neighbors.
Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s however, this did not come to pass. Additionally, while the country has ostensibly contained outright poverty in the time since, the reality remains that the nation continues to endure as one of the poorest countries in Europe. Accordingly, civil strife, in the form of demonstrations and civil disobedience, continues to grow as Belarus, as a whole, feels the discomfort and burden of over 25 years of authoritarian restrainment.
There is, unsurprisingly, a stagnancy of progress in the countryside, and unrest within the cities, as the economic and social potentials for each remain difficult to attain. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is the one thread that links all of these issues together.
Civil Strife in Belarus Under President Alexander Lukashenko
Since Alexander Lukashenko came to power in 1994, the parliament has experienced diminishment as a relevant national structure of power on numerous occasions, most notably in 1996. However, the Lukashenko administration has continued this type of behavior in successive decades too, culminating with the most recent Presidential election of August 2020 and the fallout from the alleged government-sponsored voter fraud. This invigorated national protests within the nation and would lead to the subsequent international incident featuring the now-infamous Ryanair flight and its most famous passenger, Belarusian anti-Lukashenko activist, Roman Protasevich. Yet, while the E.U. has sanctioned Lukashenko and his government upwards of four times in just the last 20 years alone for violating human rights in one way or another, positive domestic change remains difficult to find. On the occasions that protests have occurred, like in the aftermath of the aforementioned election, the authorities quickly took care of it, Soviet-style.
Poverty in Belarus
It is quite true that, compared to the poverty statistics of Belarus 20 years ago, the Lukashenko government has allegedly, and, if statistically accurate, drastically diminished the suffering of people through an enlarged public sector that includes many of the industrial innovations of the nation. The reduction of the national poverty from 41.9% of the population in 2000 to just 5% by 2019 is absolutely a massive jump to be sure. Yet, it remains true that Belarus is more of a translucent than a transparent nation, and that beyond any facade that its President or administration would like to portray, there are both deep nuances, as well as suffering that is feeding the push back against Premier Lukashenko.
To this point, the region around the city of Minsk, as well as the regions or oblasts of Grodno and Gomel have poverty rates much higher than the city of Minsk itself or Brest and its surrounding area. However, the Mahiliou or Mogilev region to the southeast of Minsk remains the poorest of them all however with a recorded 31% of people living in poverty. Within some of these regions, estimates have determined that poverty persists at a rate of one for every five citizens. All of this indicates that while swaths of the population are now above the poverty line due, in major part, to work in the public sector and other industrial innovations of the country, there are still masses whose cities, fields and country towns remain economically depressed, politically unheard and practically disconnected.
Solutions to Help Belarus Move Forward
With the aforementioned political, economic and social repression of the past 25 years, former Foreign and Defense Minister of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius raised a reasonable point when he stated that “….Lukashenko is ready to sacrifice everything, even the remnants of his country’s independence and sovereignty, to preserve his position. Partly also because, like all dictators, he has serious concerns about his own security after leaving….” To make the aforementioned quote as clear for the international community as possible, Lukashenko recently stated that he would rather die than agree to a new, internationally observed presidential election.
Yet, between the United States Agency for International Development, as well the United Nations, and of course Human Rights Watch and other NGOs like Ponimanie and Humanium are continuing to chip away at the hardships within Belarus. While NGOs like the first require little introduction, the latter two, since 2000 and 2008 respectively, have been doing this by working to reduce and eliminate poverty and crime in these places, by educating and protecting the children. This should assure all of the people the necessary resources for thriving, not simply surviving, as well as help enhance industry and the rate of societal innovation. While the European Union, the United States and the greater international community continue to look at ways of punishing Belarus’s government for its breach of human rights regarding the Ryanair incident, while sparing the people themselves, Alexander Lukashenko remains a major roadblock to any and all positive innovations.
Looking Ahead
While some argue that it is the state-owned structure of Belarus that inhibits the financial development of its citizens, one can clearly see that other nations with high percentages of state-owned infrastructure do not necessarily suffer this particular hardship; what Belarus actually needs is the ambition to legislate opportunities for the people, for the development of the people’s national and domestic infrastructure, as well as the creation and maintenance of functional economic structures, from localized, egalitarian domestic trade unions all the way up to fully participating within the European Union economic structure. Only when national conditions and expectations meet those of the Belarusian people and the greater international community can one say that the country will have made real progress eliminating poverty and civil strife in Belarus. However, until then, the work continues.
– Trent Nelson
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
City Planning and Poverty Reduction in Bogotá
Bogotá’s Challenges in the 1990s
Bogotá faced many challenges as a city in the 1990s. With a lack of city planning, informal settlements dominated the landscape. Nearly 200,000 illegal water connections existed and only 60% of the population had access to the main sewer system. Fearing crime and the bustle of moving cars, many could not enjoy the streets on which they lived, with impoverished neighborhoods lacking accessible public spaces.
With these challenges, Peñalosa knew there was only so much he could do. He realized that in his one term as mayor, he would not be able to lift every citizen of Bogotá out of poverty. Thus, he decided to look at the implications of poverty. To him, development constituted a “better way of living, not being richer.” The lack of access to water, food, housing, transportation and green space, which the wealthy class enjoyed in plenty, constituted poverty, not just a low monthly income. By addressing those issues directly, Peñalosa could combine city planning and poverty reduction without aiming to increase wages.
Formalizing Informality
One of the biggest problems urban populations face in the 21st century is informality. As of 2019, according to the United Nations, nearly one billion people live in informal housing or slums. Informal housing commonly leads to community marginalization and decreased access to food and water distribution networks. Fortunately, city planning and poverty reduction strategies can rectify these situations, and, Peñalosa did just that.
During his tenure as mayor, Peñalosa formalized 322 neighborhoods and provided nearly 700 sewers for informal settlements, drastically improving the livelihoods of those living in these neighborhoods. Utilizing many city planning strategies, he also provided better transportation access so that those living in these neighborhoods could access the amenities of the wider city. His strategy of focusing on formalizing and connecting informal settlements rather than increasing wages allows for a greater return on investment as the wider access to the city will naturally boost the quality of life.
Sustainability and Public Spaces
Peñalosa entered his tenure as mayor with the goal of developing Bogotá around people and not cars. In a city where just about 30% of people drove cars, designing a city entirely around this vehicle would be illogical. He especially wanted public spaces suitable for the most vulnerable, the elderly and children, aiming to reduce poverty by increasing standards of living.
Peñalosa focused on three types of public spaces for reducing poverty. He first focused on a common city planning and poverty reduction strategy: transportation. In his tenure he built roughly 220 miles of protected bike lanes, opening up the streets to more than just cars. He also formalized the public transportation network to allow more equitable access.
His second strategy for city planning and poverty reduction covered educational space, building libraries and public schools to accommodate 200,000 new students. The educational infrastructure serves as one of the most important tools in fighting poverty and boosting literacy.
Third, he focused on leisure spaces, ordering the construction and restoration of public parks. Access to these three spaces combined — transportation, educational facilities and leisure spaces — can greatly reduce the impacts of poverty. Furthermore, the public status of these amenities meant that access would not depend on an individual’s wage.
Implications for Fighting Poverty
Mayors around the world can use Peñalosa’s tenure as a blueprint for their own cities. The strategies for city planning and poverty reduction that Peñalosa used were innovative at the time, but further research has shown their efficacy worldwide. Formalizing informal areas and expanding green space has become a norm for urbanists across the globe. While not without its flaws, Peñalosa’s strategy to combine city planning and poverty reduction helped fight poverty by focusing on raising living standards rather than pure income measurements.
– Justin Morgan
Photo: Wikimedia
Spreading Awareness About Fistulas in Zambia
The Cost of Fistula Surgery
The fistulas come with a myriad of infections and chronic pain and can even cause nerve damage to the legs. While fistulas in Zambia are completely preventable and treatable, there are significant barriers to care for mothers. The surgical costs range from $100-400, an expense that is often far higher than what the majority of patients can afford.
4 Factors That Increase the Risk of Fistulas
In wealthier countries that properly address these four issues, fistulas are virtually unheard of, showing that poor health outcomes and poverty are inextricably linked.
Stigmatization of Fistulas in Zambia
While the medical ramifications of fistulas are devastating, these consequences come in conjunction with complete social ostracization and shame. Husbands often view the typically stillborn births that come with fistulas as a failure of the mother. It is very common for husbands to shame and abandon their wives, labeling the woman’s medical issues as personal failures.
Doctors often do not adequately inform women with fistulas that they have a legitimate medical issue. The abandonment from their husbands is soon joined by the same treatment from family and friends. The isolation and stigma increase the risk of depression among women suffering from fistulas. Lack of proper awareness and education means fistulas have become a source of shame. Hence, many women suffer in silence for decades, even until death.
Spreading Awareness Through Radio
In 2017, the Fistula Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to providing impoverished young women with proper and free medical attention for fistulas, launched a radio program to educate communities about fistulas in Zambia. The program reached extensively into many provinces of Zambia and mobilized many women to seek proper medical care to repair their fistulas at the six Zambian fistula care centers the organization established to perform the reconstruction surgery for free.
In 2019 alone, the Fistula Foundation performed 319 fistula repair surgeries, all free of charge. In total, the Foundation has aided in the provision of 774 surgeries. The Fistula Foundation also partnered with the famous Zambian singer Wezi to air a song about the dangers of fistulas. The spread of this song, through both radio and CDs, has created a surge in Zambian women seeking treatment. As a direct result of Wezi’s song, 56 women have sought treatment.
Grassroots Activism
In conjunction with the awareness campaigns and Wezi’s song, the Fistula Foundation has encouraged grassroots movements like the Safe Motherhood Action Group (SMAG) to work with community volunteers to spread awareness to help prevent fistulas and end stigma. SMAG leads discussions within communities about the dangers of child marriage with regard to the increased rates of fistulas in young mothers, the necessity of keeping girls in school and the importance of delivering children in medical facilities. SMAG has implemented more than 3,000 community outreach programs, reaching more than 90,000 people with crucial information about fistulas and interconnected social issues.
The Fistula Foundation heavily relies on community leaders to spread the word, designating them the “entry points” to communities and change. The organization’s work highlights the importance of creative community engagement and education initiatives in promoting proper care and destigmatization of fistulas in Zambia.
– Jaya Patten
Photo: Flickr
5 Facts About Access to Clean Water in South Africa
5 Facts About Access to Clean Water in South Africa
The Road Ahead
According to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director Audrey Azoulay, “the fate of humans and water is inextricably linked.” Our reliance on clean water for survival is coupled with the need to actively maintain water supplies for drinking and sanitation purposes. Therefore, water must be conserved and protected to ensure another Day Zero water crisis does not occur in the future.
– Chloe Young
Photo: Flickr
The Successes of Demining in Colombia
How Landmines Impact Civilians
Armed groups have targeted largely rural areas in mine placement. While mines were intended to harm military personnel, civilians in the rural communities have predominantly faced the tragic consequences. The lingering threat of hidden mines hinders daily life and safety in many municipalities. Due to landmines, communities suffer sudden deaths and mutilations even as Colombia progresses to a time of peace.
The percentage of civilian landmine victims went up from 45% in 2019 to almost 70% in 2020 despite widespread extraction efforts. It is also important to note that civilian deaths and mutilations disproportionately affect indigenous populations of the rural areas.
Global Demining Efforts
The United States is currently responsible for most of the funding for global humanitarian demining. Since 1993, the U.S. has allotted $4 billion to “conventional weapons destruction efforts” internationally. In 2020, the United States set aside $228.5 million for humanitarian demining efforts across 40 nations, including Colombia. Similar funding has successfully removed 1.4 million landmines across 376 square miles of land since 2016.
The funding from the U.S. is essential for the success of demining efforts in Colombia and the U.S. plays an important part in rallying other nations to contribute. As of May 2021, Colombia is the second-most densely landmine-filled nation after war-torn Afghanistan. Given the dire need for extracting landmines in Colombia, the funding provided by the U.S. is necessary to achieve economic stability, community development and improved security.
The United States is not alone in funding demining efforts. Norway is also a strong leader in supporting demining in Colombia, investing $20 million from 2016 to 2020. The United States and Norway also successfully garnered further support from Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, the European Union, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. The nations have all been collaborating since 2016 with the goal of ensuring Colombia is completely mine-free by the end of 2021.
Benefits of Demining
Some of the most prominent successes of this international cooperation appear in the municipalities of Nariño and La Unión, which are now completely clear of landmines. The two areas are home to more than 31,000 Colombians across 200 square miles, making the complete removal of landmines a significant victory for these communities.
In 2019, HALO (Hazardous Area Life-Support Organization) began a study to uncover the impacts of demining on local communities in Nariño and La Unión. Its study finds clear correlations between humanitarian demining in Colombia and socio-economic development that directly benefits the most financially vulnerable families.
Average housing values increased by more than 500% alongside a 38% increase in average household incomes. The study also found that 88% of newly cleared land was used productively for community development, agriculture and transportation. The communities consequently saw a return of 772 formerly displaced families as well as a substantial increase in household spending.
Beyond the quantifiable benefits to impoverished families, demining improves access to healthcare facilities, schools and other social services as previously dangerous land is clear for transportation.
Looking Ahead
Essentially, the U.S.-funded demining efforts prove to have strong economic benefits for many Colombian families, which include formerly displaced and homeless people who were most economically vulnerable. Demining successes in Colombia stand to show the significance of proper funding for humanitarian demining in order to protect impoverished populations and aid communities formerly devastated by conflict. Removing landmines has clear links to restoring security to communities trying to move past conflict and violence as well as improving economic stability.
While the recent successes from U.S. funding are promising, more funds are still needed to demine the rest of Colombia. Most importantly, the recent victories show the importance of increased funding for these efforts. Some areas, including Choco and Antioquia, have not seen the good fortune that Nariño and La Unión have and are still very much plagued by landmines. Further commitment, funding and assistance are a beacon of hope to impoverished or displaced Colombian families living in mine-strewn municipalities. U.S. funds and initiatives in Nariño and La Unión show the possibility of a mine-free future for the entirety of Colombia.
– Jaya Patten
Photo: Flickr
How the Olympics Forward Fashion Eliminates Poverty
The 2020 Olympics officially started on July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. During the traditional opening ceremony, countries participated in a commencement parade dawning various outfits and garments that paid homage to their home countries and cultures. Following this event, the world’s audience became interested in these cultures and used the internet to learn more about them. The forward fashion at the Olympics was especially interesting to viewers of the games. As a result, international poverty-based nonprofits and tourism websites have seen heavy traffic, which will help the economies of dozens of nations.
The 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Olympic Games have continued to be the most anticipated sporting event across the globe. After the pandemic-induced delay of the 2020 games, the world can finally watch the events it has waited five years for. According to VOA News, more than 17 million people watched the opening ceremony.
Millions of viewers appreciated the outfits of the athletes. Competitors wore dazzling cultural garments to represent their ethnicities and home regions. For example, AP News highlighted the beautiful outfits adorned by representatives from Iran, Cameroon, the Virgin Islands and other nations. They called the affair “a mosaic of cultures and fashions and traditions.” Viewers reviewing and commenting on the parade flooded popular social media outlets like TikTok and Twitter, with hashtags like #OlympicsOutfits trending.
How the Fashion Boosted Poverty Related Research
After the opening ceremony concluded, Google searches for countries like Kenya and Ghana skyrocketed. According to Google Trends, these countries received a 20% boost in searches across the globe. In turn, websites promoting tourism and aid to these nations also experienced heavy web traffic. This was a significant and much-needed boost since the pandemic diminished these essential international discussions. Organizations like UNICEF and the World Bank also had more site visitors than average.
Multiple articles also highlighted the cultural importance of the athletes’ outfits. News about the clothing trended worldwide. While some media firms praised the fashion of the ceremony, others scrutinized the seemingly lackluster outfits from Italy and the U.S.
How Poverty Will Diminish as a Result
As more and more people continue to research the Olympics forward fashion, expectations have determined that poverty could decrease globally. Of course, a rise in tourism will help a country’s economy, but furthermore, the positive cultural representation will also relieve impoverished conditions in a myriad of regions.
According to the Community Action Programme on Social Exclusion, optimistic outlooks on a nation and culture can alter the probability that countries enter an impoverished state. Without a positive viewpoint of the region and its people, countries are less likely to have policy development in government. Further, these countries get less international appreciation, which leads to the migration of the rich and a sinking economy for the poor. However, with further representation in the Olympics and continued research from the international audience, appreciation of the teams’ cultures is likely to spread across the world. Whether or not the Olympics forward fashion will continue to be a hot topic, the impacts of cultural knowledge will last.
– Laken Kincaid
Photo: Unsplash
Helping Survivors of Sexual Assault in South Africa
Sexual Assault in South Africa
Sexual assault in South Africa is shockingly high. Estimates determined that a sexual offense occurs every 10 minutes. Between April 2019 and March 2020, police statistics reported 53,295 sexual offenses but it is likely that most crimes are not reported. The Medical Health Council estimates that victims only report one in nine attacks. Violence toward women seems to be a normalized part of society as data from 2000 shows similar results. Some claim women in South Africa might experience rape every 17 seconds. Others say every 26 seconds but regardless of exact numbers, it is clear sexual violence toward women is a massive problem for the country.
Police are defensive about sexual assault in South Africa. They say the rate of sexual offenses decreased in the province of Gauteng, but the Institute for Security Studies has pointed out a flaw in their logic. If one considers updated population statistics, the rate of sexual assault increases by 1.5%. As a result, one can determine that 127 people out of 100,000 people were victims of sexual assault.
Rape is an extremely underreported crime. A study in Gauteng in 2010 showed that one-quarter of women who underwent questioning experienced rape in 2009. However, “only one in 13 women raped by a non-partner reported the matter to the police, while only one in 25 of the women raped by their partners reported this to the police.” Therefore, as previously mentioned, statistics about sexual assault in South Africa only show a small amount.
Why Are Numbers So High?
A few factors can show why sexual assault in South Africa is so high. These include how the country struggled to move on from apartheid along with high unemployment, high poverty and unequal land distribution. Both the government and pro-democracy groups used violence to further goals, and after 50 years, society saw violence as normal. The government “used violence to keep control over the ‘non-white’ population, whilst the pro-democracy campaign encouraged violence as a means to further their goals.” The police used violence against women which led to many women fearing or mistrusting the police. This mindset continues to this day.
Police Conviction Records
Convictions for instances of sexual assault in South Africa are low. Around 14% of perpetrators receive sentences for sexual assault with that number going down to 3% when it is against adult women. Around one in 400 rapes in South Africa end in a conviction. Reports say some police take bribes so charges will go away and in Southern Johannesburg, around one in 20 pieces of evidence goes missing. The reasons why most women do not report sexual abuse are clear, as are the reasons why the real number is high. The chances of conviction are very low. While numbers and data often are skewed and naturally change over time, the overall amount of evidence suggests clear problems in the police force when it comes to responding to sexual assault.
Care Centers
Thuthuzela Care Centers have really helped people and since 2006, 51 centers have emerged. The centers are helping survivors and trying to improve conviction rates. Most are near or even attached to hospitals as sometimes medical assistance is necessary. For years, the centers made progress, and now, many centers get around 60-80 patients a month. During holidays, the number is up to around 100-120. The United Nations and the government are currently working to improve the centers even more.
Care centers operate using a five-step process:
The care centers provide many services to help survivors. However, long-term solutions should also emerge so the actual root of the problem can reach a resolution. However, care centers are still a significant step in the right direction.
– Alex Alfano
Photo: Flickr
Examining Women’s Rights in the Maldives
Obstacles to Women’s Rights in the Maldives
The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching effects on the citizens of this island nation. Tourism and related services affect standards of living and lifestyles significantly. In 2019, poverty in the Maldives had fallen to 2.1%. In 2020, the World Bank estimated that poverty rates would rise to 7.2%.
The pandemic has impacted women’s rights in the Maldives in two significant ways. Firstly, women experienced income losses more severely than men, and secondly, women reported an increase in gender-based violence and domestic violence.
Women in the Workforce
In the Maldives, which has a historically patriarchal culture, many women rely on informal employment and financial contributions from others to make a living. This disqualifies them from unemployment and other forms of COVID-19 assistance. Although many men also engage in informal work, 54% of women have seen their income decline during the pandemic compared to only 40% of men.
As a result of the pandemic, many women are not only earning less and receiving less from family or friends but are also unable to qualify for assistance. Government support and charity remain the only stable resources during the pandemic. However, women benefit less from both forms of aid on average.
With the economic success of tourism and related fields, many women migrate to the capital city of Malé where opportunities for formal work and economic independence abound. Still, only 59% of women make a living from paid employment relative to 70% of men.
When the COVID-19 virus began to spread, tourism in the Maldives came to a halt and women were the first to lose their jobs. As the economy suffered, the cost of living in Malé forced many to return home to rural communities and resort to informal work. The implication is that many of these women may never return to the city or to formal employment.
Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence
COVID-19 brought financial stress and upheaval to many homes in the Maldives. In a U.N. Women survey, 68% of Maldives women reported increased mental and emotional stress since the onset of the pandemic. The study identified likely stressors to include economic strain and the rise in gender-based violence.
A surge in gender-based violence and domestic violence reports occurred after the nation’s lockdown and again when the Maldives lifted its COVID-19-related restrictions. During the lockdown, welfare services were secondary to the pandemic response and there was also a relatively low number of reports. However, the instances of violence may be higher. Lockdown and restrictions place the affected women in constant, close proximity with perpetrators while financial stress and lifestyle changes compound instances of violence. In the Maldives, societal norms dictate the authority of men and shame women for coming forward with reports of gender-based violence.
Moving Forward
Despite these recent setbacks, the country is making progress in improving women’s rights in the Maldives. Women have made strides for gender parity in education and are building a sense of empowerment through financial security. The nation has set an example for other countries with an equal ratio of boys to girls enrolling in and completing primary and secondary school.
The Maldives’ Strategic Action Plan for 2019 to 2023 notes women’s economic participation, representation in government, sexual harassment and domestic violence as policy priorities. The planning document also recognizes that additional resources are necessary to follow through on important gender equality legislation. The Maldives introduced it recently to address these disparities.
Within the past decade, the Maldivian government has introduced the following legislation to advance women’s rights in the Maldives: the Gender Equality Act (2016), the Sexual Harassment and Prevention Act (2014), the Sexual Offenses Act (2014) and the Domestic Violence Act (2012).
COVID-19 presents a challenge to the momentum building for women’s rights in the Maldives, but with the return of international tourism, projections determine that the economy will rebound. Looking forward, women’s economic empowerment should remain a priority for the Maldives to continue making significant gains in gender equality.
– Angela Basinger
Photo: Flickr
Stadium Diplomacy: Foreign Aid to Côte d’Ivoire
An unlikely form of foreign aid to Côte d’Ivoire is on the rise: donated sports stadiums from China. However, these gifts do not come free.
Côte d’Ivoire’s Olympic-Sized Gift From China
In an act of foreign aid to Côte d’Ivoire, China gifted a massive 130 million euro stadium in Ebimpé. Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara boasts an impressive 60,000 person capacity. It is the biggest stadium in Côte d’Ivoire and the ninth-largest in all of Africa. The new Olympic level venue will host the African Cup of Nations finals in 2023, a major soccer tournament.
Stadium Diplomacy
For decades, China donated massive new sports stadiums to numerous African countries in an act of goodwill and self-interest. Stadium diplomacy, the term for this new political strategy, offers China and the other country a unique deal. The receiving nation sees a boost to its economy through the revenue these stadiums generate. Additionally, China gets numerous benefits in return.
In the last 50 years, China constructed more than 100 sports stadiums all over the continent of Africa. This guaranteed itself access to natural resources, privileged trading contracts, strengthened relations, access to political leaders and supporters in the United Nations. China is now the biggest trading partner of all of Africa. Stadium diplomacy falls under the category of soft power, a type of diplomacy that uses attraction, negotiation and cooperation rather than force.
How Can Stadiums Fight Poverty?
While Côte d’Ivoire boasts one of West Africa’s most robust economies, 39.4% of its population still lives in poverty. Furthermore, the economy experienced a recent downturn since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The services and manufacturing sectors, both involved in constructing and running a stadium, are among those people expected to bring the nation’s economy back on track.
The stadium will bring an influx of people and infrastructure to the region. It will also bolster the economy, fueling the service and manufacturing sectors and provide jobs, all as a result of foreign aid to Côte d’Ivoire. Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara will also help develop the nearby Anyama region, which is building its first metro line in preparation for the crowd.
Criticism of the Stadiums
However, stadium diplomacy has its critics, with many Africans desiring more direct help. While Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara praised the stadium as “one of the most beautiful things our country has accomplished in the field of sports,” other nations have expressed concern and even anger.
Gabon, a nation that lies along the western coast of Central Africa, faced a major backlash among its citizens for participating in stadium diplomacy. Engong Stadium, located in Oyem, had a quick and dramatic turnaround from construction to abandonment. The lavish complex sports has three basketball courts, a tennis court and an international standard track-and-field. However, it is now empty and unused. Locals were angry about what they saw as a misuse of resources and money. “We cannot eat your stadiums” they chanted, adorned in combat uniforms. At the same time, groups stormed the overgrown field and burned down the presidential box.
Whether Côte d’Ivoire’s new stadium will turn its economy around will become more clear in the future. However, one thing is certain: stadium diplomacy in Côte d’Ivoire offers an extremely innovative and very plausible way to alleviate regional poverty.
– Caroline Bersch
Photo: Unsplash
Causes and Prevention of Child Mortality in Uganda
Causes of Child Mortality in Uganda
Roughly 16% of child mortality cases in Uganda are caused by pneumonia. Symptoms of the illness include chest pain, persistent coughing, fever and low body temperature. About 99% of pneumonia cases occur in less-developed countries such as Uganda, making clear the correlation between poverty and pneumonia. In poverty-stricken areas, malnutrition, poor air quality and limited access to healthcare cause the development and dispersion of pneumonia among a population. Children in Uganda are vulnerable and quickly become victims of the illness.
Malaria also leads to child mortality in Uganda. Malaria is a fatal disease caused by parasites that spread from person to person. Symptoms include fever, headache and chills. Young children are especially susceptible to the disease, and in 2019, 67% of malaria cases affected children younger than 5. The illness can kill children within 30 seconds. Malaria is most common in Africa and costs the continent $12 billion each year. Access to treatment is difficult to obtain in the poverty-stricken areas of Uganda where malaria dissipates. The most impoverished areas of Africa are the ones most affected by malaria, with children younger than 5 at most risk.
Finally, diarrhea causes 10% of infant deaths in Uganda. Symptoms of the infection include cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever. Studies have shown that in Pajule Subcounty and other rural areas of Uganda, the rates of diarrhea are higher. A lack of clean water and inadequate health education contribute to these health consequences.
Working Toward a Solution
Recognizing the issues that surround child mortality in Uganda, many organizations have taken the initiative to reduce the severity of the situation. One such organization is the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is dedicated to the well-being and longevity of children worldwide. Among its many programs to address under-five deaths in Uganda, UNICEF has established a water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program seeking to increase access to clean drinking water and teach healthy sanitation habits. Only 8% of mothers with children younger than 5 have access to soap and resources necessary for handwashing. Such habits lead to illnesses such as diarrhea. In tandem with the Government of Uganda, UNICEF is working to provide sanitation resources and increase awareness of healthy habits.
With similar intentions and efforts, Living Goods is a nonprofit organization collaborating with Bangladesh-based BRAC to help rural Ugandan mothers prevent infant mortality. Through its Community Health Promoters (CHP) program, the organization implements grassroots efforts to improve community health. CHPs are workers who go door-to-door to communicate healthy practices, relay important information, diagnose child illnesses and provide care to mothers and their newborns. This work has led to a 27% decrease in under-five child mortality in targeted regions. Ugandan villagers now take more precautions in order to maintain their own health and that of their young children.
Looking Ahead
Child mortality in Uganda is a problem that has not yet been eliminated. Many Ugandan families face unhealthy living conditions that are unfavorable to a child’s health. However, organizations such as UNICEF, Living Goods and BRAC are working to educate rural villages on the importance of sanitation and are giving families the resources to establish healthier lifestyles. Thanks to such efforts, under-five death rates are declining. If the work of these organizations continues, in the near future, more positive progress lies ahead.
– Mariam Kazmi
Photo: Unsplash