To understand human trafficking in Botswana, the following rudimentary information may prove useful. Human trafficking, or modern slavery as some call it, is a worldwide problem. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 40 million people fell victim to modern slavery in 2016. One can break this number down further into 16 million people exploited in the private sector, 15.4 million in forced marriages, 4.8 million in involuntary sex work and 4 million in state induced labor, such as forced labor during incarceration.
About the Victims of Trafficking and Violation Protection Act (TVPA)
In 2000, the U.S. government passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA). This law outlined the minimum requirements necessary to end human trafficking worldwide and created an office in the State Department to measure the U.S. and other countries’ progress in fulfilling this goal.
To track this progress, the State Department partners with foreign governments to collect data on the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts globally. The State Department then uses this information to create profiles for individual nations. The State Department ranks these profiles in a four-tier system. In descending order, the tiers are Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. Tier 1 indicates that a country’s government meets the TVPA’s minimum requirements, while Tier 3 indicates that a country’s government fails to meet the minimum requirements and is making little effort to do so.
The State Department publishes these rankings annually in the Trafficking in Persons Report. In each government’s profile, the State Department provides recommendations to help a government improve its ranking and eliminate trafficking. As such, the TIP Report is an important informational tool for U.S. State officials, NGOs and advocates when creating action plans to combat trafficking.
The Situation in Botswana
Botswana, a country north of South Africa and east of Namibia, meets the criteria for a Tier 2 country ranking. This means that, while the country does not meet all of the TVPA’s standards, it is making progress in eliminating trafficking.
There are two main types of human trafficking in Botswana. The first is the international variety. On this level, Botswana is a starting, middle or endpoint in human trafficking. Traffickers take Batswana (Botswana natives) to neighboring countries like Zimbabwe, while they take others, such as Ethiopians and Tanzanians, through or to Botswana.
One of the most common types of human trafficking to occur involves the sexual exploitation of women. In Botswana, the female unemployment rate was at 21.76% in 2020 (more than twice the unemployment rate during the Great Recession in the U.S.). Traffickers exploit this weakness through fake job offers and advertisements on social media.
The second type of human trafficking in Botswana is more culturally ingrained. It is not uncommon for the rural impoverished to send their children to stay at an affluent relative’s place under the assumption that the relative will provide the child with care and education. In reality, the relative usually exploits the child for free labor while denying the child an education. According to Madoda Nasha, deputy manager of Botswana’s Department of Trafficking in Persons, Batswana people view this type of behavior as natural and, as such, hardly ever report it.
A New Beginning
A cornerstone of the government’s ability to combat human trafficking in Botswana is the Anti Human Trafficking Act, which criminalized sex and labor trafficking as well as child labor. This law established protective services, such as care centers and a victim fund. Finally, it set up the Human Trafficking Prohibition Committee, which oversees the implementation of these services.
Although the Anti Human Trafficking Act shows great progress, it is not without its faults. This act can impose a 25-year prison sentence, a fine or both. Because a trafficker can get away with only a fine, the consequences are far more lenient than punishments for other violent crimes, such as rape. Furthermore, judges and prosecutors often lack knowledge of this law, which impedes efforts to convict traffickers to the fullest extent.
Recent Advancements
To address some of the failings of the Anti Human Trafficking Act, the government amended the law in 2018 to include higher fines and life sentences in prison terms. The same year, the government amended its penal code. The Penal Code Amendment of 2018 raised the age of consent to 18 and introduced harsher sentences for violent crimes. Lastly, victim protection services have seen an increase in government funding in recent years, rising from $41,930 in 2017 to $346,100 in 2019.
Furthermore, Botswana actively participates in fighting human trafficking at the international level. For example, between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, Botswana identified 31 foreign trafficking victims in its country and worked with countries as close as Zimbabwe and as far as Nigeria. Additionally, because Botswana is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), it also participates in the organization’s data collection and sharing efforts as well as public outreach and awareness efforts.
Lastly, the Mandela Washington Fellows (MWF), the flagship program of the United States’ Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), has implemented projects to fight human trafficking in Botswana. It has launched a website aimed at aiding civil society organizations and NGOs by providing them with international standard operating procedures for dealing with human trafficking victims. This allows for these groups to fast-track response and victim care. Additionally, MWF is a prominent force in raising awareness through community projects, social media and its work with the government of Botswana.
Despite all these advancements, there is still room for improvement, as outlined by the TVPA’s standards. However, if the last six years are any indicator of what is to come, Botswana could have a safe, slavery-free future.
– Riley Behlke
Photo: Flickr
Women’s Rights in Tunisia and Entrepreneurship
Poverty in Tunisia
The national poverty rate consistently fell between 2005 and 2015. In 2005, the poverty rate in Tunisia was 23.1%, and in 2015, the poverty rate was 15.2%. Poverty tends to disproportionately affect inland regions in Tunisia.
Inland regions register higher rates of poverty than coastal regions. This difference is often stark. In Centre West, a landlocked region, the rate of poverty was 30.8%, whereas, in Centre Est, a coastal region, the poverty rate was 11.4%. The national poverty rate for men and women, however, was nearly identical.
Role of Women in the Economy
By 2005 the number of female entrepreneurs in Tunisia was nearly 5000 and had impressively doubled to 10,000 by 2008. Despite the expansion of women’s rights in Tunisia, which has played out through a legal process, deferral to traditional gender roles continues to hold women back from pursuing entrepreneurial roles in society. A 2010 study found that this may be explained by an “inadequate support system” for women in Tunisia who aspire to develop careers in the business world.
Mowgli Mentoring
The development of a strong support system for women entrepreneurs in Tunisia is the goal of Mowgli’s partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The initiative partnered 12 Tunisian businesswomen with Mowgli mentors for a year. Its goal was to create a new culture of support and sustainability that will foster “economic and societal development throughout Tunisia.”
This approach is fundamental to shift the business culture in Tunisia. Institutional support for women entrepreneurs is tantamount to their success. Women entrepreneurs generally receive less institutional support than their male counterparts receive upon starting a new business. This includes a lack of financial support from financial institutions. Women entrepreneurs are also less likely to be offered opportunities to participate in business training, courses or schooling.
Women Entrepreneurs in Tunisia
Despite these obstacles, women entrepreneurs in Tunisia have developed innovative ways to improve support for women in business. Raja Hamdi is the director of the Sidi Bouzid Business Center. The center supports startups by providing mentors to evaluate business and market trends.
The Sidi Bouzid Business Center works closely with the Mashrou3i program, which is a partner of Go Market, a research and marketing firm located in the Kairouan region of Tunisia. Go Market was founded by female entrepreneur, Hayfa Ben Fraj. It works strategically in market analysis to support a “wide range of sectors and diverse fields such as technology, crafts and agriculture.”
Working Toward an Inclusive Economy
Although patriarchal structures of repression endure in Tunisia, the overall attitude is one of progress, equality and inclusion. Constituting one half of the population in Tunisia, women represent a latent workforce with the potential to reshape Tunisia’s economy through a series of innovative programs based on a culture of mutual support. Women’s rights in Tunisia will continue to increase as entrepreneurial opportunities for women flourish.
– Taylor Pangman
Photo: Flickr
Destigmatizing HIV/AIDS in Jamaica
USAID’s Health Policy Project
International initiatives, such as the Health Policy Project, have been an important resource for activists because it focuses on training and educating. This project is a part of USAID’s mission to counter HIV/AIDS around the world and USAID is its chief source of funding. Within the Health Policy Project, HIV positive individuals have been invited to larger conferences where they are able to learn more about how to counter stigmatization and how to mobilize others. Because these individuals are Jamaican and their stories are personal, their message tends to be more positively received by audiences. This has allowed for a greater discussion of HIV/AIDS because it gives faces to those who are being discriminated against.
Governmental Initiatives for Anti-Discrimination
On a legislative level, the Jamaican Government has pushed multiple initiatives and studies to better the living conditions and access to care for those living with HIV. For example, healthcare discrimination is countered through the Client Complaint Mechanism and the Jamaica Anti-Discrimination System by educating the population, monitoring minority communities and training healthcare workers. In addition to that, these organizations collect reports of discrimination from around the country and help to investigate and correct them. These bodies are also working to provide free HIV treatment across the country and hope to accomplish this in the coming years.
Jamaica AIDS Support
Jamaica AIDS Support is the largest non-governmental organization working to counter and destigmatize HIV/AIDS in the country. Besides the promotion of education and treatment, the organization also provides access to mental health treatment for those who are HIV positive. This has allowed for a larger discourse about mental health and how it relates to this disease as well as a greater social acknowledgment of how stigmatization hurts others. In 2016, Jamaica AIDS Support began the Greater Treasure Beach Area pilot project, which aims to educate young people on HIV/AIDS so that in the coming generations there will be more tolerance and acceptance of those living with HIV.
Eve for Life
Local organizations, such as Eve for Life, have also been instrumental in the fight against HIV/AIDS discrimination by approaching the issue through empowerment. Eve for Life specifically works to empower women living with HIV through multiple education initiatives as well as smaller groups meant to support these women. One such group, Mentor Moms, works to help young mothers living with HIV to secure treatment and it provides smaller meeting groups where these similar women can find community. So far, it seems these initiatives have been overwhelmingly successful as more female activists have become involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS, which has led to greater social consciousness about the disease.
Conquering Stigma and Countering HIV/AIDS
Destigmatization initiatives in Jamaica are the key to countering HIV/AIDS and the country is off to a promising start. By utilizing personal narrative and education, activists hope to secure a world that is more welcoming for their children than it was for them. In the words of UNAIDS country director, Manoela Manova, “The more we do to ensure that people feel safe and respected, the closer the country will come to ending AIDS.”
– Mary Buffaloe
Photo: Flickr
Dr. Walensky and the Global COVID-19 Response
President Joe Biden’s selection of Dr. Rochelle Walensky to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be instrumental in strengthening the agency’s global COVID-19 response moving forward. By strengthening the agency in three key ways, Dr. Walensky will benefit the CDC’s pandemic response both at home and abroad.
3 Ways Dr. Rochelle Walensky Will Benefit COVID-19 Global Response
Although the CDC has previously lacked in its ability to respond to the pandemic both domestically and internationally, Dr. Walensky’s leadership will benefit the global COVID-19 response by strengthening the agency’s focus on adequately combating the virus globally. Her prior experience and research insights will help shine a light on those at risk of being left behind.
– Emely Recinos
Photo: Flickr
Dogs Can Detect Crop Pests and Diseases
Containment of these diseases can only occur once the diseases become detectable. By this stage, the damage has already affected significant amounts of crops beyond the point of recovery and containment. One disease alone can cause financial losses in the hundreds of millions. A single outbreak of Karnal bunt fungus in North Texas caused a $250 million loss in revenue in 2001.
More Food, More Pests?
The world’s food supply faces increased biological threats due to climate change, increased travel between countries and increases in large-scale food production. The need for food increases each year as well, with a predicted 9 billion people in need by 2050. Mass agriculture of staple crops, such as wheat, rice, palm, cassava and various fruit and vegetables, face dangers unique to each crop:
Additionally, the loss of staple foods to crop pests and diseases can contribute to livestock malnutrition. Roughly 36% of the world’s crops are grown for feeding livestock. In some developing countries, these animals are essential to meeting a minimum caloric intake. Thus, famine in developing countries can commonly be exacerbated by a secondary loss in crop-dependent food supplies, such as cattle or goats.
However, a potential solution to the malnutrition of both humans and livestock lies in an unforeseen place.
Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks
A dog’s sense of smell is consistently strong, with some odors detectable in parts per trillion. The scent abilities of the world’s four-legged canine friends have an ancient history of benefits. This includes successful applications in hunting, national security, border patrol, medicine and agriculture. This skill also makes dogs well suited for training in detecting crop pests and diseases.
Dogs have a particular knack for new scents, described as a form of neophilia. “This technology is thousands of years old – the dog’s nose; we’ve just trained dogs to hunt new prey: the bacteria that causes a very damaging crop disease,” says U.S. Department of Agriculture Researcher Timothy Gottwald.
Agricultural scientists approve of this new application (detection of crop pests and diseases) of a canine’s olfactory system. Equally important to note is the cost-saving potential of training dogs over traditional identification and lab processing as money is a pivotal issue in developing countries when eradicating crop diseases.
Conclusion
Food security, the increase in crop pests and diseases and the costs of testing for agricultural diseases is a dynamic problem combination in need of unique solutions. To date, dogs have been successful in identifying crop diseases such as clubroot, wheat rust and citrus greening. The sensory abilities of dogs also show promise in early and accurate detection. These early successes imply that training canine companions can be a worthwhile and life-saving venture for millions of food-insecure people in the future.
– Katrina Hall
Photo: Flickr
How Investing in Transportation Can Aid India’s Poor
There is a lack of reliable transportation in India. This causes a variety of problems such as health risks, time consumption and is not viable for many who are disabled.
Commuting to India’s Populous Cities
India’s large cities are filled with clustered streets and congested traffic. Still, about 37% of the urban population commutes by foot every day. For those who cannot afford a car, or another form of transportation, finding work can be a challenge. In this sense, the city is not inclusive to disadvantaged groups as they cannot feasibly get around for work or any other reason. This type of system makes it increasingly difficult for the poor to make their way out of poverty as constantly commuting by foot limits opportunities as well as causes problems.
Additionally, in most areas throughout the cities, there are no clear lanes for those not using motor vehicles. For transportation in India, all modes of travel share lanes which causes great disorder and danger for commuters on foot.
Poverty and Transportation
Roughly one-quarter of India’s urban population lives below the poverty line. These are the people who are in need of new ways to commute around the city. Several Indian cities have tried to implement a metro or rail system to alleviate traffic issues in their main corridors. However, this solution still does not reach those in need because oftentimes the route does not include the more impoverished areas, and further, the rates are too expensive for most to afford.
However, this is not always the case. The Delhi Metro is the country’s largest metro system and has also been the most successful, carrying around 2.8 million people every day. The Indian government has also been working to revamp the bus system, looking to add up to 504km of new lines for the new Rapid Bus Transit System between 2009 and the now. This process has been greatly aided by allowing private companies to have access to these routes in exchange for providing the resources necessary for this huge project. It is estimated that this initiative will increase ridership from 120 million to 150 million per day.
These changes to transportation in India will be crucial in reaching lower-income areas so that they may commute more easily to work. Transporting people from the outskirts of the city into the center gives them better access to sanitation, healthcare, food and work. There is much potential in a project like this to integrate as many people as possible into the flourishing of a city. Currently, those without reliable transportation are excluded from many of the necessities for rising out of poverty. Hopefully, with these new projects, that can change.
– Jackson Bramhall
Photo: Flickr
Path to Eliminating Human Trafficking in Namibia
Measuring Human Trafficking
The most widely accepted and comprehensive measurement of human trafficking is the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report released by the United States Department of State. The report measures countries on how well they prosecute human trafficking offenders, protect human trafficking victims and prevent human trafficking from occurring in the first place. This system divides countries into three tiers and ranks them based upon what minimum standards of compliance they meet.
Firstly, Tier 3 countries do not meet minimum standards and do not attempt to comply. Tier 2 countries do not meet all of the minimum standards but actively work toward them. Ultimately, Tier 1 countries comply with the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking. Still, that does not mean human trafficking completely ceases to exist in these countries. These tiers are diplomatic tools as well as a guide for the allocation of resources. For example, a Tier 2 county needs more international assistance than a Tier 1 country, while a Tier 3 country may face negative consequences such as trade restrictions.
Namibia’s Path to Tier 1
The United States Department of State identified Namibia as a “Special Case” in the 2008 TIP report. This designation means observers suspect the country of having a significant amount of human trafficking but there is not enough reliable data to determine its tier ranking. The specific concern with Namibia was that the country was engaged as both a source and destination for child sex and labor trafficking.
In 2009 Namibia moved up to Tier 2 sitting on the Watch List from 2012 to 2015. Namibia was removed from the Watch List but stayed at Tier 2 from 2016 to 2019. Since then, Namibia has taken significant steps toward eliminating human trafficking.
During the TIP reporting period for 2020 rankings, Namibia made sufficient improvements to move from Tier 2 to Tier 1. These improvements include:
In 2020 alone, Namibia arrested 31 individuals for sex and labor trafficking and has 29 open investigations, compared to the investigation of nine cases in 2018. The government was also able to identify 30 victims of human trafficking, including 20 children. NGO shelters cared for all the victims.
Looking to the Future
Even countries with Tier 1 ratings have work to do to continue making steps toward the complete elimination of human trafficking and prevent backsliding. While Namibia has made dramatic improvements, the United States Department of State noted that training for frontline responders was not always adequate. Furthermore, there was some miscommunication between different government and civil sectors. To continue on its current path of progress, the Department of State recommends that Namibia improves training and coordination. The Department also recommends that Namibia’s government should continue to prosecute offenders and provide for victims. By continuously improving its services, Namibia can get closer to eliminating human trafficking and provide safer living conditions for its citizens.
– Starr Sumner
Photo: Flickr
Poverty and Income Diversification — The Escape
Farming
There is an issue of volatility that is inherent in farming. Variability in conditions can adversely affect crop yield, which ultimately impacts the income received by farmers. According to Farm Europe, competition can also be problematic. If all the poor in a given region take up farming as a means of earning income, then at some point, the supply outweighs the demand. When that happens, either crop prices will either decrease or crops will waste away in storage. This effect is further amplified when governments are unable or unwilling to offer adequate compensation for farmers’ excess crops.
Even in the United States, abundant in resources and well-developed in agricultural techniques, farming is a constantly changing industry. The USDA reports a wide fluctuation in income earned by a typical commercial farmer between 2000 and 2014. As a result, there is a need for income diversity worldwide, and this is particularly illustrated by some of the success stories in impoverished countries.
Vietnam
Since the 1990s, Vietnam has experienced high rates of economic growth. Researchers with the IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute) assert this is due in large part to income diversification.
Vietnam’s highest concentration of poverty is located in the Northern Hills. An analysis of the region suggested that those able to earn income by way of agricultural production, as well as non-farming activities, experienced the highest spike in their earnings over time. However, where does that leave those solely reliant on farming?
Residents limited to farming only managed to earn a living by applying the principle of diversification to their crops. They deviated from the typical crop grown, rice, and added cash crops, like coffee and tea, to their output. The cash crops yielded a much higher profit per unit of sale and required less land, labor and resources to grow and maintain. Even so, their spike in income did not match that of those who participated in both farming and non-farming activities. Nonetheless, the practice of diversification provided a much more stable source of income overall.
Niger
Niger currently ranks as the fifth most impoverished country in the world, and it is actively striving to end its poverty issue. People are seeing positive results attributed to the dynamic between poverty and income diversification.
A study conducted on over 600 smallholder rice farming families in Niger revealed that those who also participated in non-farming wage employment were better off than those who strictly farmed or were self-employed in some capacity related to farming. An important effect of a second stream of income was the ability to maintain the size of a given farm. The ancillary job could generate enough profit during a poor season to cover overhead costs for the following season.
Conclusion
The relationship between poverty and income diversification has become a central focus for policymakers across the globe. It is an effective way for individuals to mitigate the impacts of poverty. Empowering impoverished families to earn steady income can solve many issues embedded in poverty. If a family can individually afford food and water, they can pay to keep their lights on or go for a visit to a doctor. Moreover, the idea of attaining an education or further developing their current form of income becomes a realistic possibility. Diversifying income creates a pathway to not only sustaining livelihoods, but lays the groundwork for prosperity.
– Christian Montemayor
Photo: Flickr
Human Trafficking in Botswana
To understand human trafficking in Botswana, the following rudimentary information may prove useful. Human trafficking, or modern slavery as some call it, is a worldwide problem. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 40 million people fell victim to modern slavery in 2016. One can break this number down further into 16 million people exploited in the private sector, 15.4 million in forced marriages, 4.8 million in involuntary sex work and 4 million in state induced labor, such as forced labor during incarceration.
About the Victims of Trafficking and Violation Protection Act (TVPA)
In 2000, the U.S. government passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA). This law outlined the minimum requirements necessary to end human trafficking worldwide and created an office in the State Department to measure the U.S. and other countries’ progress in fulfilling this goal.
To track this progress, the State Department partners with foreign governments to collect data on the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts globally. The State Department then uses this information to create profiles for individual nations. The State Department ranks these profiles in a four-tier system. In descending order, the tiers are Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. Tier 1 indicates that a country’s government meets the TVPA’s minimum requirements, while Tier 3 indicates that a country’s government fails to meet the minimum requirements and is making little effort to do so.
The State Department publishes these rankings annually in the Trafficking in Persons Report. In each government’s profile, the State Department provides recommendations to help a government improve its ranking and eliminate trafficking. As such, the TIP Report is an important informational tool for U.S. State officials, NGOs and advocates when creating action plans to combat trafficking.
The Situation in Botswana
Botswana, a country north of South Africa and east of Namibia, meets the criteria for a Tier 2 country ranking. This means that, while the country does not meet all of the TVPA’s standards, it is making progress in eliminating trafficking.
There are two main types of human trafficking in Botswana. The first is the international variety. On this level, Botswana is a starting, middle or endpoint in human trafficking. Traffickers take Batswana (Botswana natives) to neighboring countries like Zimbabwe, while they take others, such as Ethiopians and Tanzanians, through or to Botswana.
One of the most common types of human trafficking to occur involves the sexual exploitation of women. In Botswana, the female unemployment rate was at 21.76% in 2020 (more than twice the unemployment rate during the Great Recession in the U.S.). Traffickers exploit this weakness through fake job offers and advertisements on social media.
The second type of human trafficking in Botswana is more culturally ingrained. It is not uncommon for the rural impoverished to send their children to stay at an affluent relative’s place under the assumption that the relative will provide the child with care and education. In reality, the relative usually exploits the child for free labor while denying the child an education. According to Madoda Nasha, deputy manager of Botswana’s Department of Trafficking in Persons, Batswana people view this type of behavior as natural and, as such, hardly ever report it.
A New Beginning
A cornerstone of the government’s ability to combat human trafficking in Botswana is the Anti Human Trafficking Act, which criminalized sex and labor trafficking as well as child labor. This law established protective services, such as care centers and a victim fund. Finally, it set up the Human Trafficking Prohibition Committee, which oversees the implementation of these services.
Although the Anti Human Trafficking Act shows great progress, it is not without its faults. This act can impose a 25-year prison sentence, a fine or both. Because a trafficker can get away with only a fine, the consequences are far more lenient than punishments for other violent crimes, such as rape. Furthermore, judges and prosecutors often lack knowledge of this law, which impedes efforts to convict traffickers to the fullest extent.
Recent Advancements
To address some of the failings of the Anti Human Trafficking Act, the government amended the law in 2018 to include higher fines and life sentences in prison terms. The same year, the government amended its penal code. The Penal Code Amendment of 2018 raised the age of consent to 18 and introduced harsher sentences for violent crimes. Lastly, victim protection services have seen an increase in government funding in recent years, rising from $41,930 in 2017 to $346,100 in 2019.
Furthermore, Botswana actively participates in fighting human trafficking at the international level. For example, between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, Botswana identified 31 foreign trafficking victims in its country and worked with countries as close as Zimbabwe and as far as Nigeria. Additionally, because Botswana is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), it also participates in the organization’s data collection and sharing efforts as well as public outreach and awareness efforts.
Lastly, the Mandela Washington Fellows (MWF), the flagship program of the United States’ Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), has implemented projects to fight human trafficking in Botswana. It has launched a website aimed at aiding civil society organizations and NGOs by providing them with international standard operating procedures for dealing with human trafficking victims. This allows for these groups to fast-track response and victim care. Additionally, MWF is a prominent force in raising awareness through community projects, social media and its work with the government of Botswana.
Despite all these advancements, there is still room for improvement, as outlined by the TVPA’s standards. However, if the last six years are any indicator of what is to come, Botswana could have a safe, slavery-free future.
– Riley Behlke
Photo: Flickr
Protests in Thailand: Inequality and Poverty
Since February 2020, protests in Thailand have been underway calling for a restructuring of the Thai monarchy and demanding that King Maha Vajiralongkorn relinquish his assets to the people. Thailand performs well in many areas that are criteria for consideration as a developed country, including the enrollment of school-aged children and access to water and sanitation. However, the nation suffers from a severe discrepancy in income distribution. Now, four years after the King has taken the throne, the Thai people are calling attention to the country’s struggles with inequality and poverty.
The Many and the Few
With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the world’s economy to a screeching halt, including shutdowns and travel bans, Thailand’s tourism industry crashed. Since then, poverty has skyrocketed. Meanwhile, Thailand’s high society can do most anything inconsequentially – the monarchy more than anyone else.
Most of Thailand’s elite are highly educated citizens living in the capital city, Bangkok. With Thailand’s long and frequent history of coups, there is widespread distrust surrounding politics and the government. However, the elite has historically leveraged its wealth to preserve its own interests, disregarding the needs of the majority.
Two student groups galvanized anti-governmental support that spurred the 2020 protests in Thailand. The protestors, most of them young, called for change and openly criticized the monarchy. This cry for reform mobilized tens of thousands of protestors to rally in support of the demands made against the crown.
Among the demands made, which included legal equality for all and the un-dissolution of the Future Forward Party, the people also criticized the monarchy’s handling of the pandemic. Despite Thailand’s success in stanching outbreaks of new infections, subsequent economic devastation plunged middle-class and poor populations deeper into poverty. This undid much of the progress that Thailand’s poverty-mitigating measures made in the past few decades.
Thailand’s Fortune
Thailand garnered most of its existing fortune during the 20th century through real-estate holdings, maintaining an estimated 40,000 rental contracts. All of this adds up to over 16,210 acres of land across Thailand.
In 1948, Thailand began declaring its assets the property of the Thai people. The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) managed these assets for the next 70 years. However, in 2018, Thailand’s courts then declared these assets to be directly under the control of the King. The protests in Thailand stem from the skepticism of this approach. King Vajiralongkorn, who has ruled since 2016, has been deeply unpopular and controversial throughout his reign. He succeeded his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who many saw as a man of the people. Thailand’s current struggle with poverty, and the monarchy’s inability to alleviate the situation, has exacerbated the contrast between the two kings. Poverty and the pandemic have called citizens’ attention to the role that the monarchy plays in Thailand’s economy and thus the role it plays in the struggles of the people.
Give2Asia
The protests in Thailand have called attention to what many NGOs have been working toward alleviating for many years. Since 2001, Give2Asia, a San Francisco-based NGO that works in 23 countries, has helped 2,500 charities attain more than $342 million in grants to carry out their missions. The organization focuses on empowering individuals and teaching vocational skills to women and children.
In Thailand, Give2Asia is partnering with several organizations and foundations to provide medical supplies in response to the pandemic. The country’s handling of the pandemic is a major grievance that the 2020 protests in Thailand are attempting to highlight.
Give2Asia and its partner groups also circulate information regarding the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the most vulnerable populations. They do this by distributing information in an easy-to-understand format and by providing care kits for elderly, orphaned and disabled people. Raks Thai, while furthering Give2Asia’s initiatives in empowering women, also offers support for migrant workers and their families by offering vocational training workshops and supplementing income.
Efforts like those above call attention to the protests in Thailand and the challenges the nation will face moving forward. Hopefully, through continued efforts, Thailand will be able to reach a higher level of equality in the future.
– Catherine Lin
Photo: Flickr
The World Bank Group Announces a $12 Billion Initiative
A Multitude of Goals
Since early March 2020, the World Bank Group has provided grants to low-income countries to help with the distribution of health care equipment. Recognizing that the pandemic disproportionately impacts the impoverished and has the potential to push up to 115 million more people into poverty, the World Bank Group has been active in financing an early, timely response to the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income areas. As of November 2020, the World Bank Group has assisted more than 100 developing countries in the allocation of medical supplies and technologies.
With the spread worsening all across the globe, the next step is to administer vaccinations. This new initiative hopes to strengthen health care operatives while also providing economic opportunities within those communities. Other expectations are increasing awareness of public health, training health care workers and focusing on community engagement. As a result, the four primary goals of the World Bank Group’s Crisis Response are to save lives that are endangered by the COVID-19 virus, protect the impoverished and vulnerable, retain economic stability and facilitate a resilient recovery to the pandemic.
Moreover, the World Bank Group has extensive experience with dispersing vaccines, specifically for combating infectious diseases like tuberculosis and malaria. Through these experiences, the World Bank Group understands the importance of quick, tailored distribution based on individual country needs. As a result, countries will have flexibility in how to receive and administer vaccines — for example, through the improvement of health care infrastructure, procurement with the support from varying, multilateral mechanisms or reshaping policy and regulatory frameworks.
Partnerships and Funding
Funding for this project will consist of “$2.7 billion new financing from IBRD; $1.3 billion from IDA, complemented by reprioritization of $2 billion of the Bank’s existing portfolio; and $6 billion from IFC, including $2 billion from existing trade facilities.”
The IDA will provide grants to low-income countries while the IBRD will be supplying grants to middle-income countries. The World Bank’s private sector arm, the IFC, will be the main donor for continued economic stability within its clientele. The IFC’s support will specifically aid in the continuation of operating and sustaining jobs. The total funding will cover a broad scope to strengthen the health care sector. These solutions hope to reduce the harmful economic and social impacts of COVID-19.
World Bank Group president, David Malpass, has been working extensively with these institutions on this project. Malpass pointed out that the need for economic backing is significantly important when it comes to receiving this vaccine. Manufacturers might not deem these low-income communities as important as those in more advanced economies. Hence, it is extremely important to provide this funding to ensure global vaccine equity.
Moving Forward
Many countries have been able to discover viable vaccine treatments. It is important to distribute future doses globally and equitably as COVID-19 pushes more and more people into extreme poverty. Malpass wrote, “The pandemic is hitting developing countries hard and the inequality of that impact is clear … The negative impact on health and education may last decades — 80 million children are missing out on essential vaccinations and [more than] a billion are out of school.”
As the number of global cases increases each day, it is becoming even more important to provide relief to all countries. Low-income countries and communities are the most vulnerable. For this reason, the World Bank Group makes it transparent that its main mission is to provide extended relief to these countries during the pandemic.
– Natalie Whitmeyer
Photo: Flickr