Water scarcity and unequal water access are two pressing problems facing the global community. The political response to this crisis has created the field of water politics. In order to address this crisis, the global community must consider water as a human right and prioritize implementing sustainable solutions for the future.
The Problem
Water is one of humans’ basic needs. However, every continent has regions experiencing the effects of water scarcity. With experts predicting that one in five people will live in areas with unsatisfactory resources to meet water needs by 2025, this is an urgent issue.
Although water is a renewable resource, restored by snowmelt and rainfall, human practices are depleting the world’s water supply. Diverting water for agriculture, households and industry has become so taxing that some of the largest rivers run dry before reaching the ocean. Human activity can also pollute water sources to such an extent that they cannot support aquatic life or be used as drinking water.
Water Scarcity and Conflict
Water Politics Limited, a geopolitical risk advisory and consulting firm, found that water scarcity could lead to conflict or political instability in many countries. Sources including the Euphrates, Tigris, Jordan, Nile, Danube and Okavango rivers as well as the Tibetan watershed and resources will become insufficient to support the surrounding areas. These sources currently provide water to dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Water scarcity will therefore affect communities across the globe. Importantly, it may spark conflict over remaining water resources, within a nation or even between nations. Anya Groner at The Atlantic points to evidence of past conflicts that have revolved around water. These include the riots in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2012, which responded to inequality in the distribution of water resources.
The Pacific Institute put together a timeline of water conflicts from the earliest records until 2019. Causes of these conflicts include territorial disputes, drought, inequities and municipal water cuts. The severity of conflict may range from protests and theft to more violent killings and bombings. This makes it clear that decreases in water access may lead to political or violent conflict if the world does not take action to ensure sustainable, equitable water access for all.
Water Politics: Managing the Resource
Countries facing water scarcity have the difficult task of allocating a limited resource. To ensure that everyone can access water, these countries must take many different steps. Cape Town, South Africa, is an apt case study. In 2018, a combination of a dry climate, a three-year drought, and high water usage all put the city within 90 days of running out of water. The severity of this crisis required the whole region to pull together to decrease their water usage.
To avoid turning off the taps, the government restricted residents to 50 liters of water a day. Violators faced large fines for overusing water. Further, the government banned wasteful activities like refilling swimming pools and washing cars. Residents also took to social media to share tips about saving water. Specifically, the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” campaign emerged to encourage everyone to resist flushing when applicable.
Social media, however, was not just useful as a tool to disseminate information and motivate residents to conserve water. Perhaps more importantly, it also drew the global community’s attention to the state of the world’s water resources and the consequences of water scarcity. The Environmental Protection Agency has also used social media to inform the public about the value of safe drinking water. The agency aims to get users to create their own water conservation campaigns to implement into their communities.
Technology and Water Politics
However, awareness about this issue cannot solve it on its own. Innovators around the globe have engineered new ways to collect freshwater and provide clean water to communities worldwide. These solutions may be as simple as rain barrels used during monsoon season in Vietnam, or as complex as a nylon net hoisted into low clouds to collect condensation in island nations. Technologies like desalinization and iodine tablets have also helped transform water sources into safe drinking water.
Additionally, Water Politics Limited is conducting research on how to maximize water access through political action. It is investigating water transport and pipeline initiatives, exporting water, worldwide water rights and public participation in water conservation.
Moving Forward
As nations move forward with water politics initiatives, we must pay attention to regions most at risk of experiencing severe water scarcity. Places like sub-Saharan Africa with dry climates have already been plunged into prolonged droughts, facing political conflict as a result. Thankfully, public awareness campaigns, technological innovations and governmental cooperation can ensure that everyone has a right to safe drinking water.
– Ellie Williams
Photo: Flickr
Project Prakash: Healing Congenital Blindness in Rural India
Blindness and Poverty
In rural areas, a lack of knowledge about blindness means that blind children are often subject to lifelong stigma. Some people, for example, may believe that blind children possess demons. Parents often turn to someone who is not in the medical field to perform a ritual to rid them of their evil spirits.
Importantly, if children do not receive medical treatment early on, their condition can get worse with age. This deprives them of education and puts them at a higher risk of dying young. Furthermore, blind girls often face a high risk of sexual abuse. Blind children in rural India may also never have the opportunity to escape poverty, as they are unlikely to find future job opportunities if they reach adulthood.
Project Prakash: A Solution
Project Prakash provides free treatment to any child who needs it. It operates in many hospitals throughout India to provide non-surgical intervention for blind children. This type of treatment may include glasses or an eye patch. For children who do require surgical treatment, the organization works with the Charity Eye Hospital in Delhi to treat cataracts, congenital infections and misaligned eyes. Most importantly, the entire process of treatment, transportation, hospital stay, surgery and recovery costs nothing for the child or their family.
Project Prakash’s work also extends beyond treatment itself. Instead of letting children go after they receive medical intervention, the organization helps them throughout the recovery process. Sinha understands that blind children regaining vision do not immediately have perfect sight; much like a baby, it is a process. Children’s vision is often blurred at first, and it takes time to make out finer details.
Over 40 weeks, children learn how to use their new sense through a variety of tests. The full scale of the tests range from the sensitivity of vision, shape matching, identifying different colors, detection of facial features and recognizing objects. Once the child can process multiple pieces of visual information at once, their vision improves.
Research
The effects of Project Prakash’s work go beyond the children themselves. The hospital where children receive surgery also operates as a research facility to study neurology and vision. By providing such an intensive process for children to learn how to use their vision, the organization can learn a lot about the brain’s ability to learn and adapt.
The organization’s findings challenge the theory developed by David H. Hubel and Torsten N. Wiesel that the connection between brain stimulation and visual information forms during a particular developmental period. They theorized that if a child does not go through this stage, they will never be able to adapt later in life. However, Sinha proved that teenagers with various congenital conditions were able to recover their eyesight after never having seen before. He therefore determined that people learn to see through experience. This valuable information makes it more likely that other blind children can receive treatment, knowing that it will help them see no matter their age.
The Future of Project Prakash
Project Prakash’s mission may soon extend beyond blindness. Its research could provide insight into other developmental disorders caused by genetics or the harsh conditions of poverty. Overall, the organization’s findings open up the possibility that these factors’ negative effect on the brain may be reversible, like blindness.
So far, Project Prakash has treated 2,000 children in underserved communities in rural India. More than half have received surgical treatment to restore their vision. By doing so, the organization is helping children live longer, better lives with more opportunities for the future.
– Zoe Schlagel
Photo: Flickr
Qatar Charity: 29 Million People Reached
Alarmed by the convoluted context in the Middle East and the number of orphan children from wars and conflict, Qatar Charity is committed to being a leader in the global emergency response and sustainable development solutions. The organization currently has field offices in 30 countries and is developing partnerships in 20 more. Qatar Charity continues to aim for a wider reach and help in fields such as social welfare, sanitation, education, nutrition and economic empowerment that will ultimately help vulnerable communities prosper.
Qatar Charity’s Initiatives and Programs
Since 1979, Qatar Charity has been working exhaustively in its commitment to poverty reduction. Three examples are not enough to demonstrate the huge impact that this organization has made, but it is a hint of the capacities and effective programs and strategies that allow the organization to fulfill its goal.
WASH facilities provision in Pakistan
Mirpur Khas, Sindh, is a dry territory in Pakistan. The limited access to food and scarce water supplies have led to extreme poverty, unemployment and threats to the health and safety of the inhabitants. In 2019, Qatar Charity intervened in the locality. It worked to promote health, hygiene and awareness through educational programs and the provision of safe drinking water and proper sanitation facilities. The organization installed 440 BioSand filters in households and constructed 278 flush latrines.
Aid to Sudan
Qatar Charity has initiated a lot of projects to help Sudan overcome disasters and improve the poor living conditions. This year, Qatar Charity, in partnership with Qatar Airways, sent an aircraft to Sudan carrying 100 tons of food and medical supplies that were later distributed under the “Peace for Sudan” campaign.
Additionally, the Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Charity signed an agreement to implement a project to strengthen the health system emergency preparedness in Sudan. It will equip isolated health centers, train health workers and issue the emergency preparedness plan in 16 localities. This project is expected to benefit around two million people.
COVID-19 Relief in Yemen
Qatar Charity is helping 150,000 Yemenis that were impacted by the pandemic. For this cause, the organization targeted areas with poor health services. It now provides equipment to treat those affected by the virus and sterilization devices to prevent more infections. Additionally, it granted sanitizers, cleaning materials, masks, medical ventilators, oxygen cylinders and other materials to help Yemen cope with the virus amid the country’s lack of financial resources, support and medical supplies.
The Impact
The organization is committed to helping communities in extreme poverty, crises and perplexing circumstances. It analyses the needs and areas of intervention and works closely with the governments to coordinate its efforts to the country’s development strategies. The organization considers the development and humanitarian indicators of the areas, the accessibility of humanitarian partnership and cooperation opportunities. Through this framework, and with the help of thousands of sponsors, it has successfully become an example of commitment and solidarity.
In countries with weak institutions and fragile societies, dynamics make it harder to cope with disasters. Many times, the casualties and costs in terms of infrastructure, human capital and economic resources are significant. When a disaster occurs, it is necessary to act rapidly and build a proper strategy to save lives, avoid traumas and ultimately help communities thrive. For this reason, Qatar Charity works to effectively address the causes in the countries in which it operates.
– Isabella León Graticola
Photo: Unsplash
The Rise of International Water Politics
The Problem
Water is one of humans’ basic needs. However, every continent has regions experiencing the effects of water scarcity. With experts predicting that one in five people will live in areas with unsatisfactory resources to meet water needs by 2025, this is an urgent issue.
Although water is a renewable resource, restored by snowmelt and rainfall, human practices are depleting the world’s water supply. Diverting water for agriculture, households and industry has become so taxing that some of the largest rivers run dry before reaching the ocean. Human activity can also pollute water sources to such an extent that they cannot support aquatic life or be used as drinking water.
Water Scarcity and Conflict
Water Politics Limited, a geopolitical risk advisory and consulting firm, found that water scarcity could lead to conflict or political instability in many countries. Sources including the Euphrates, Tigris, Jordan, Nile, Danube and Okavango rivers as well as the Tibetan watershed and resources will become insufficient to support the surrounding areas. These sources currently provide water to dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Water scarcity will therefore affect communities across the globe. Importantly, it may spark conflict over remaining water resources, within a nation or even between nations. Anya Groner at The Atlantic points to evidence of past conflicts that have revolved around water. These include the riots in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2012, which responded to inequality in the distribution of water resources.
The Pacific Institute put together a timeline of water conflicts from the earliest records until 2019. Causes of these conflicts include territorial disputes, drought, inequities and municipal water cuts. The severity of conflict may range from protests and theft to more violent killings and bombings. This makes it clear that decreases in water access may lead to political or violent conflict if the world does not take action to ensure sustainable, equitable water access for all.
Water Politics: Managing the Resource
Countries facing water scarcity have the difficult task of allocating a limited resource. To ensure that everyone can access water, these countries must take many different steps. Cape Town, South Africa, is an apt case study. In 2018, a combination of a dry climate, a three-year drought, and high water usage all put the city within 90 days of running out of water. The severity of this crisis required the whole region to pull together to decrease their water usage.
To avoid turning off the taps, the government restricted residents to 50 liters of water a day. Violators faced large fines for overusing water. Further, the government banned wasteful activities like refilling swimming pools and washing cars. Residents also took to social media to share tips about saving water. Specifically, the “if it’s yellow, let it mellow” campaign emerged to encourage everyone to resist flushing when applicable.
Social media, however, was not just useful as a tool to disseminate information and motivate residents to conserve water. Perhaps more importantly, it also drew the global community’s attention to the state of the world’s water resources and the consequences of water scarcity. The Environmental Protection Agency has also used social media to inform the public about the value of safe drinking water. The agency aims to get users to create their own water conservation campaigns to implement into their communities.
Technology and Water Politics
However, awareness about this issue cannot solve it on its own. Innovators around the globe have engineered new ways to collect freshwater and provide clean water to communities worldwide. These solutions may be as simple as rain barrels used during monsoon season in Vietnam, or as complex as a nylon net hoisted into low clouds to collect condensation in island nations. Technologies like desalinization and iodine tablets have also helped transform water sources into safe drinking water.
Additionally, Water Politics Limited is conducting research on how to maximize water access through political action. It is investigating water transport and pipeline initiatives, exporting water, worldwide water rights and public participation in water conservation.
Moving Forward
As nations move forward with water politics initiatives, we must pay attention to regions most at risk of experiencing severe water scarcity. Places like sub-Saharan Africa with dry climates have already been plunged into prolonged droughts, facing political conflict as a result. Thankfully, public awareness campaigns, technological innovations and governmental cooperation can ensure that everyone has a right to safe drinking water.
– Ellie Williams
Photo: Flickr
Mental Illness Issues in Ethiopia
A Troubled Past
Despite the fact that an estimated 15% of Ethiopians suffer from mental illness and substance abuse disorders, for decades almost nothing was done to address or treat these issues. In the 1980s, there was only one psychiatric hospital in the entire country and such an insignificant number of psychiatrists, that it was almost impossible to find treatment. Moreover, the psychiatrists who did practice at the time were often not interested in developing new research and treatment techniques. Because of this, most cases of mental illness went untreated, leaving mental health sufferers to face both isolation and discrimination.
A Passionate Doctor
When Dr. Atalay Alem started his medical work, there was only one psychiatric hospital in the country. After his decades of work, spanning from the 1980s until modern day, his efforts to improve the psychiatric treatment of Ethiopians have had a massive payoff. He started as a medical doctor before receiving his degree in psychiatry. After that, he became a psychiatric professor at Addis Ababa University, where his research and his passion for better mental health services were instrumental in the expansion of Ethiopia’s mental health care. Alem was also a key founder of the graduate psychiatry program at Addis Ababa University, giving more Ethiopians a chance to make a difference in the field. Today, there are almost 90 psychiatrists practicing in Ethiopia. Apart from these psychiatrists, there are hundreds of psychiatric nurses as well. These nurses are part of what has made such widespread psychiatric care possible and their presence has aided in the addition of mental health services at most Ethiopian hospitals. For his efforts, Alem was awarded the Harvard Award in Psychiatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics in 2019.
A Positive Future
Though Ethiopia has a total of under 100 psychiatrists, the current number is a great improvement from just a few decades ago. Moreover, with the help of Alem and other passionate psychiatrists, research efforts continue to grow. Alem is currently working on a study that looks at the way severe mental illness impacts rural Ethiopian communities in order to evaluate how to improve treatment and maximize impact. The Ethiopian government is also invested in improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. The government, starting seven years ago, created a mental health strategy to aid the country’s mentally ill and allocated government funds to the overall improvement of mental healthcare. These funds have gone toward improving health services, such as more adequate healthcare training and increased access to psychiatric medications. Part of the reason Ethiopia’s mental health treatment has improved so much is due to the partnership between the Ethiopian government and the World Health Organization. WHO was absolutely key in providing guidelines for how to implement these new mental health care strategies.
Though progress always takes time, with the help of doctors like Alem and partnerships with organizations like WHO, Ethiopian mental health care has better days ahead.
– Lucia Kenig-Ziesler
Photo: Flickr
Update on SDG 4 in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has made progress in reaching SDG 4 in the Dominican Republic. To reach this goal, the country aims to achieve inclusive and equal lifelong learning for all in Quisqueya, a nickname for the small Caribbean nation.
The Situation
The Sustainable Development Goals’ site claims that the rate of net primary enrollment is going up with 92.7% of kids attending primary school. However, that rate has been falling since 2015 when it was 93.5%. The country’s education system includes three sections, much like the ones in the U.S.: Pre-school (Nivel inicial), Primary School (Nivel basico) and Secondary School (Nivel medio). For pre-school, only the final year is mandatory for children. Meanwhile, primary school is compulsory for all the kids. However, while the country legally mandates it, schools and authorities do not enforce attendance.
Baseball and Education in the Dominican Republic
In New York City, the Truancy division of the NYPD seeks kids who skip school. The Dominican Republic has no such system in place. Baseball is a big part of Dominican culture and many see it as the only way to get away from the island and onto a better life.
The MLB has a major recruitment presence in the country and many boys leave their schooling to train with MLB recruiters in hopes of reaching the major leagues. However, very few of those kids ever make it to the MLB and do not garner a proper education to carry them through life. Even those boys who are fortunate enough to make it to the MLB end up with limited education and have very little resources to establish a second career after retirement or injury.
In his paper “Children Left Behind: The Effect of Major League Baseball on Education in the Dominican Republic,” Adam Wasch proposes two solutions for this problem. The first is for the MLB to establish an international draft with the same education standard as the American draft so that the international recruits must have at least up to high school education. The other solution is for the MLB to create a Child Labor Corporate Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct would denounce the use of child labor and rearrange the recruitment and training program so that it would not interfere with the children’s education.
Improvements in School Attendance and Literacy
Fortunately, the country’s lower secondary completion rate has been steadily increasing for the better part of the last decade, which bodes well for SDG 4 in the Dominican Republic. Since 2013, when the rate sat at 77.92%, it increased to 89.34% in 2018. This means that more kids are completing at least a Primary School education than ever before. Education has taken more of a focus in the Dominican Republic. In 2016, the literacy rate for youth (15-24 yrs old) was 98.8%, which is a 5.1% difference from the adult percentage where 93.7% of the adult population is literate. Both demographics have been steadily improving throughout the last decade, meaning that not only are kids receiving a better education, the adults are also seeking out improved education.
Poverty in the Dominican Republic
Poverty in the Dominican Republic is on a decline. In 2015, it was 21.70% and decreased three years later to 13.80%. The undernourished population of the country has also reduced. In the one-year span of 2017-2018, the poverty rate decreased by 0.9%. According to the Medina Administration, from 2012-2019, 1.5 million Dominicans left poverty and 650,000 Dominicans left extreme poverty. The middle class jumped from 22.6% to 30% in the same time span. The Administration also claimed that it created 823,389 jobs in those seven years.
The Dominican Ministry of Education receives up to 22.6% of the Dominican Republic’s budget spending, making it a priority of the Dominican Republic’s government in the last few years. In the budget that received approval for the year 2020, the government assigned the Education Ministry more than RD$194,523 million. The state must spend 4% of the GDP on pre-university education.
As the new ruling political party, the Modern Revolutionary Party, settles in, the international stage is looking to the new party to see how it will continue the upward trend of education in a country that has historically struggled with providing proper education to all its citizens. Hopefully, it will continue to help the country on its path to reaching SDG 4 in the Dominican Republic.
– Pedro Vega
Photo: Flickr
Baseball Players Helping to Fight Poverty
Baseball Players Helping to Fight Poverty
As an international sport that brings players together from all over the world and from all different backgrounds, baseball has the power to unite. Players like David Ortiz and Albert Pujols have given back to the communities that they grew up in, improving the lives of those who walk the same ground they walked before they were professional athletes. The Striking Out Poverty 2019 campaign has also helped individuals who are affected by poverty. The Professional baseball community and its fight against poverty shows the impact that can be made when individuals who have a platform help those in need.
– Zachary Laird
Photo: Flickr
Gap Year Programs Fighting Poverty in Ecuador
Roughly the size of Colorado, Ecuador is a South American country rich in cultural and ethnic diversity. However, poverty in Ecuador is rampant, with more than 21% of Ecuadorians living below the poverty line. Poverty also disproportionately affects Indigenous populations, who have less access to resources like clean water and health care. Fortunately, many gap year programs fighting poverty in Ecuador let students get involved in the cause while allowing them to experience Ecuadorian culture. Here are three gap year programs fighting poverty in Ecuador:
3 Gap Year Programs Fighting Poverty in Ecuador
Firsthand Experience
Jeffery Fishman is a rising sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. Fishman took a gap year to live in Ecuador for eight months and help with poverty alleviation efforts there.
In an interview with The Borgen Project Fishman said that “While living in the Imbabura Province of Northern Ecuador as a Global Citizen Year fellow, I worked at Fundación Arupo, an Ibarra-based therapy center for children with special needs. Fundación Arupo is a unique therapy center in that it provides physical, speech, occupational, psychological and psycho-pedagogical therapy all in one location. In the mornings, I worked to organize monthly events for students in local school districts to teach them about special needs and to encourage an inclusive learning environment. In the afternoons, I helped out the therapists during therapy sessions with the children. Additionally, I lived with an Indigenous host family who introduced me to the Kichwa culture.”
Fishman explains that while living in San Vincent, an agrarian society, he saw poverty firsthand. He said that “Most community members were agrarian workers, who lived off the day-to-day income they earned through selling their crops at markets. As a result, salaries in the community were often unstable and variable depending on the season and product demand. Even so, the community was very tight-knit and was able to band together to help each other out when they fell upon hard times. In terms of infrastructure, the community faced frequent water shortages that could last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.”
Poverty Alleviation and Cultural Immersion
While Fishman engaged in much rewarding anti-poverty work, he was also able to experience Ecuadorian culture. “My favorite Ecuadorian food was llapingachos, which are these fried potato pancakes cooked in achiote and are super crispy and delicious,” he said. “I loved conversations with my host family, where we shared aspects of our lives. Our nights together were filled with laughter and smiles until our cheeks were sore, and no matter how my day was going, I knew dinner would always cheer me up!”
Fishman’s experience, along with these three gap year programs fighting poverty in Ecuador, highlights the enriching experience of volunteering abroad. Not only can students who take a gap year immerse themselves in a new culture, but they can also actively work to help fight poverty in Ecuador and elsewhere around the globe.
– Kira Lucas
Photo: Flickr
Zimbabwe Schools Cannot Expel Pregnant Schoolgirls
Countries in sub-Saharan Africa Commonly Expel Pregnant Schoolgirls
It was a common practice in Zimbabwe for schools to expel pregnant schoolgirls. It is also common in many African countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, and Togo. In fact, there are no re-entry policies or laws that protect pregnant schoolgirls’ rights to education in 24 African countries. Some schools in Africa go as far as conducting mandatory pregnancy tests on schoolgirls. This poses a significant challenge for women on the African continent since the highest adolescent pregnancy rates in the world are found there. Some pregnant schoolgirls resort to procuring unsafe abortions while others drop out upon learning that they’re pregnant.
Part of the problem is that African Union member states centered discussion about this issue around the idea that pregnancy outside of marriage is wrong. These opinions stem from broad interpretations of religious teachings. The view is that if they allow pregnant schoolgirls the opportunity to continue their education, it would normalize pregnancy outside of marriage.
Causes and Consequences of Adolescent Pregnancy
While many use the morality argument to stigmatize pregnant schoolgirls, many factors are outside of these girls’ control. In Africa, the main causes of adolescent pregnancy are sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, poverty and lack of information about reproduction and sexuality. Other main causes are lack of access to birth control and family planning services. Child marriages also play a large role in adolescent pregnancies in Africa. Approximately 38% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 12% are married before age 15 in sub-Saharan Africa.
Since adolescent pregnancy usually stops a girls’ education, poverty is a determinant and a consequence of adolescent pregnancy. Low levels of education can confine girls to low-paying jobs and low socioeconomic status. Additionally, there are socioeconomic consequences and health risks associated with adolescent pregnancy. In Africa, when compared to women aged 20-24, adolescents under the age of 15 are five to seven times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth.
The Benefits of Countries Making it Illegal for Schools to Expel Pregnant Schoolgirls
There are many benefits of countries making it illegal for schools to expel pregnant schoolgirls. For starters, education leads to a reduction in poverty. A girl’s future earning potential can increase by up to 25% from only one year of secondary education. On a larger scale, the average gross domestic product of a nation rises by 0.3% when that nation’s female education rate rises by one percentage point.
Educated women tend to have children who are healthier and more educated than children with uneducated mothers. A child is 50% more likely to survive past age five if they are born to a mother that can read. A research found that a child’s life expectancy increases by an average of 0.32 years for every year their mother goes to school. Women who received a quality education were “more than twice as likely to send their children to school.” Therefore, providing women with education has the potential to create a cycle of adolescent education. The education of women can also lead to a reduction in domestic violence. There are connections between fewer years of education and higher risks of intimate partner violence. When women are more aware of their risks and rights, it is easier for women to keep themselves safe.
Now it’s Illegal for Schools to Expel Pregnant Schoolgirls
Due to COVID-19, concerns over the effect of school closures on sexual abuse and unwanted pregnancies have increased. As a result, officials in Zimbabwe have made it illegal for schools to expel pregnant schoolgirls. The goal of the legal amendment is to reinforce a 1999 guideline. A guideline that did not sufficiently protect girls’ right to an education. This amendment is arguably overdue since 12.5% of Zimbabwe approximate 57,500 school dropouts were due to pregnancy or marriage reasons in 2018. Women’s rights campaigners have stated that they believe this measure is vital for tackling gender inequality in the classroom. In addition, it will stop many girls from deciding to drop out of school.
Hopefully, Zimbabwe’s overdue amendment will influence other African countries to protect women’s right to an education and make it illegal for schools to expel pregnant schoolgirls.
– Araceli Mercer
Photo: Flickr
Protecting the Health and Human Rights of Refugees During COVID-19
In March as the worldwide outbreaks quadrupled and human rights organizations around the world urged governments the dangers the coronavirus would impose on refugees and asylum seekers. The World Health Organization, the UNHCR and several other organizations put out a joint press release that pressured governments to release migrants and undocumented individuals from immigration detention centers as well as include them in public health relief efforts. Here are three countries that have prioritized protecting the health and human rights of refugees during COVID-19. They show that these policies could be sustained even beyond the crisis.
Countries Protecting the Health and Human Rights of Refugees During COVID-19
Amnesty International stated that in order to fix the refugee crisis “the world urgently needs a new, global plan based on genuine international cooperation and a meaningful and fair sharing of responsibilities.” Policy experts are hopeful that these new policies will help governments to consider new possibilities for a more humane approach to helping displaced migrants and asylum seekers in the future. The health and human rights of refugees need to be protected.
– Isabel Corp
Photo: Flickr
Update on SDG Goal 4 in Bangladesh
Since 2015, Bangladesh is one of the many countries that have made remarkable improvements in reducing poverty, which meets SDG Goal 1. For instance, in 2018, only three years after implementing the SGDs, the proportion of the population living below the international poverty line decreased by 8.3% relative to 2010. Similarly, the percentage of the population living below the domestic poverty line decreased by 9.9% from 2010 to 2018.
This decrease in poverty is a marked improvement. However, Bangladesh still faces many challenges in establishing an adequate educational system. To tackle such an expansive issue, the government has set multiple targets in its aim to achieve SDG Goal 4 in Bangladesh.
Here are five accomplishments in the Bangladeshi effort to provide a more inclusive education system:
Established Various Education Expansion Programs
The Bangladeshi government has launched various projects with help from organizations such as the World Bank and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). These projects were created to address specific issues and build upon successes of the Bangladeshi education system to accomplish SDG Goal 4. For instance, Bangladesh boasts a 99% child enrollment rate and a steadily growing 73% literacy rate. However, participation in secondary and higher education is lacking in Bangladesh; the International Labor Organization recently noted that 27% of youths aged 15 to 27 were not engaged in any form of education, employment or training.
Projects such as the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project (HEQEP) and Secondary Education Quality and Access Enhancement Project (SEQAEP) aim to increase the participation of Bangladeshi youths in the educational system. Additional projects include the Secondary Education Sector Investment Program (SESIP) and Generation Breakthrough and Teaching Quality Improvement (TQI). These projects will attempt to overcome the barriers to education and reduce inefficiencies in the system. This includes improving school infrastructure, increasing transportation options and eliminating redundant standardized testing.
Expanded Education in Rural Areas
Education in rural Bangladesh is especially troubling. Many regions lack access to primary schooling, leaving little opportunity for people to grow professionally. To increase overall participation, the Bangladeshi government expanded access to preprimary and primary schooling, specifically in rural areas. Over the past few decades, the government has built thousands of schools and improved infrastructure in rural areas. Rural education still remains an area of concern in Bangladesh. The various projects mentioned above aim to ensure consistent growth in rural education so as to ensure the attainment of SDG goal 4 in Bangladesh.
Increased Enrollment Rates
Due to primary education’s expanded opportunities, enrollment rates have risen dramatically in recent years. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the overall school enrolment rate stood over 90% by 2015. As a result, literacy rates are constantly improving and are now at 73%. The demographics of students also diversified as more females have been given a chance to partake in formal schooling.
Textbook Celebration Day
A holiday called the Textbook Celebration Day occurs annually on January 1 to promote better education in Bangladesh. As implied by the name, the festival provides students all across the country with free textbooks. Students from preprimary to secondary level are all eligible to receive books written in Bengali and various ethnic languages, including Chakma, Marma, Sadri, Tripura and Garo. In 2019, there were over 35,21,97,882 textbooks distributed among 4,26,19,865 primary and secondary level students.
Bangladesh Bhavan
The Bangladeshi Ministry of Education established Bangladesh Bhavan, a center for people who want to engage in cultural education. The two-story building includes various amenities such as a 450 capacity auditorium, museum and library. It also has a research center, two seminar halls and a cafeteria. Moreover, the center is located in India, which according to both countries’ prime ministers expresses the two countries’ harmonious ties.
Although Bangladesh was once severely lacking adequate education systems, the implementation of SDG 4 has drastically improved their situation. Bangladesh has not only built more schools but also increased material distribution and cultural education. Additionally, the government has worked to address the gender imbalance among students. With continuous efforts from the Bangladeshi government and outside organizations, education in Bangladesh will inevitably flourish.
– Heather Law
Photo: Flickr