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The Connection Between Social Media and Poverty Reduction

Social Media and Poverty ReductionThe U.N. first asked “how can the international community best harness the power of media…to educate and transform?” in a 2017 conference. Although this requires a complicated answer, social media and poverty reduction can be connected by harnessing the power of information to foster development in a technologically advancing world.

The link is clear: the U.N. recognizes that there are many “opportunities for the media to play a strategic role for eradicating poverty.” This rests on the media’s ability to inform the public about poverty, in many cases by disseminating information through the voices of who have truly experienced it. This provides “an inclusive platform and an open forum to share the views and concerns of people living in vulnerable situations.”

 

Media and Poverty Reduction: Syrian Civil War

 

But what does this look like firsthand? When a video of a young Syrian boy named Omran Daqneesh covered in rubble surfaced in 2016, millions of people disseminated the video through their social media channels hours after its publication. The New York Times called the video “an image of civil war,” as for many it humanized the violent events taking place far from home.

Sharing these shocking images can spur quick action. A different image, that of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian boy who drowned while leaving Syria for Greece, gained similar attention. Sharing it via social media had real outcomes: MercyCorps garnered $2.3 million for Syrian refugees in one month, compared to the $4.5 million raised in four years before.

The information-sharing that took place with these images spurred discussions about poverty and war on social media. In many cases, the power in information-sharing means that “the media can play a major role in developing public understanding of economic, social, and environmental issues: the three pillars of sustainable development,” according to the U.N.

 

Governments Utilize Connection Between Media and Poverty Reduction

 

Many organizations and governments are harnessing the power in social media and poverty reduction. Rwandan health minister Agnes Binagwaho provides an example with #Ministermondays. Every other Monday, Binagwaho opens a discussion via Twitter for people to voice their concerns about health in the country. Listening to real voices, she is able to craft policies using the experiences she absorbs through social media.

Others are doing similar work. An online social media platform called Digital Green provides farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia a network to discuss best practices for farming. Similarly, the World Bank Finances app ensures that sustainable development initiatives put funding into the correct hands, preventing fraud via social media.

Unlike other media sources, social media gives a voice to those who have lived in poverty by creating public platforms to spread experience. In this way, the media “affords individuals and communities the possibility to become active in the development process” by using social media platforms as safe spaces for discussion, according to the University of Namibia. Over time, this is generating “long-term suitability and sustainability” for poverty reduction.

Social media and poverty reduction works for other forms of development. Success for the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals largely rests on the power of the media, according to the U.N., based on its ability to instigate change with credible information sharing. And media hides other tools for poverty eradication; the University of Namibia explains that it also “creates a platform for non-violent discussion and issue resolution” to prevent conflict.

Social media and poverty reduction can be linked through holding guilty parties accountable for their actions. An established social media source known as I Paid a Bribe is doing just this; it creates a space to safely expose corruption in developing countries by text or email. Stories are shared without fear of retaliation, exposing illegal actions and fighting corruption.

 

Media and Poverty Reduction: Shortcomings

 

Even so, media does not always work in favor of poverty reduction; many argue that poverty is often given little coverage time via traditional media sources. For example, a study of three prominent U.S. nightly news sources found that in 14 months, an average of only 2.7 seconds in every 22-minute program mentioned poverty. And not all people are able to access social media channels; ending the digital divide that leaves four billion people without internet can harness the power of social media to share stories for reducing poverty.

In some cases, “the knowledge and experiences of people living in poverty are often undervalued” in the media, and “solutions to their own problems are ignored.” This can improperly portray real world experiences. Giving little recognition to those who have lived in poverty, according to the U.N., ultimately plays a role in distorting public perception and negatively influencing policies about poverty reduction.

Despite barriers, the U.N. explains that “the time has come for all policy actors to recognize and support the vital contribution of the media” in reducing poverty. Developing the tools that social media provides to reduce poverty, when done effectively, is gaining traction for development today.

And although Omran Daqneesh’s video alone can not end a civil war, his impact is igniting progress for sustainable development. In a world like today, change stems from diverse voices, making way for progress that was impossible only decades ago.

– Cleo Krejci

Photo: Flickr

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Future Solutions for the Problem of Hunger in Central America

Hunger in Central AmericaSince mid-2014, the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica have been victims of a severe drought. The El Niño conditions that began in March of 2015 have caused staple crops to wither and thousands of cattle to die. These El Niño conditions worsened, and, by the end of June 2016, there were 3.5 million people affected by the drought and 1.6 million at the mercy of hunger in Central America.

This crisis, while dire, has been a rare outlier in the largely successful efforts to ease the pangs of hunger in Central America. Among the major problems contributing to the food shortages of Central America has been widespread poverty. Extreme poverty in Central America was reduced by 50 percent between 1995 and 2011.

The same can be said for hunger itself. Between 1992 and 2014, the number of people affected by hunger in Central America was reduced from 68.5 million to 37 million. While success this resounding is encouraging, it does not by any means imply that the fight to end hunger in Central America is over.

The El Niño drought was one of the worst in recent memory. Though its severity was extreme, it remains indicative of a problem which Central American farmers must face constantly. Droughts devastate Central America with shocking regularity, whether caused by El Niño or other malignant weather patterns.

In order to address the droughts, which, alongside endemic poverty, have been the biggest contributors to the problem of hunger in Central America, the U.N. has begun working with the governments of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala in order to better construct strategies that will allow the countries to remain independent in cases of severe drought. The U.N. has instructed farmers to plant crops that are both less water-dependent and more flood-resistant.

The problem of hunger in Central America is not one which will solve itself, but continuing to allow the countries hit hardest by droughts and poverty to rely on foreign aid and intervention a strategy that will not work in the future. The pattern the U.N. and forward-thinking governments like those of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have established is one that must be followed. Countries such as these can utilize the ingenuity of their people alongside the expertise of foreign aid to alleviate both poverty and hunger, creating a prosperous cycle that will benefit themselves both now and in the future.

– Connor S. Keowen

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Global Poverty Issues Addressed by United Nations Agenda 21

United Nations' Agenda 21After meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 to discuss sustainable development during the World Summit, the United Nations published Agenda 21. The action plan Agenda 21 addresses social, economic, conservation and developmental issues across the globe.

The United Nations used this meeting as a means to establish sustainable development as a global undertaking. U.N. Agenda 21 notes that people’s needs of today shouldn’t compromise the needs of future generations. It was then declared that the 1990s would be a “turnaround decade” in which leaders would work furiously to reverse the world’s most pressing issues.

The issues that the United Nations saw the world facing during the ’90s were so extreme that it was not certain that the future would be sustainable for generations to come. Climate change, water security and global poverty were among these issues, and the United Nations Agenda 21 leaders decided to meet again in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2002.

By addressing current global issues, the United Nations Agenda 21 acknowledges the damage that the world is currently facing and suggests optimal solutions for future generations.

The United Nations works to solve these problems at international, national, regional and sub regional levels, and they encourage people to act at the local level to help improve global conditions. Additionally, policies are implemented in different federal, state and local governments to help alleviate poverty, protect the environment and create a more sustainable world.

A key component of fighting global poverty and assisting developing countries is the United Nations improvement of access to exports. The expansion of exported goods allows developing countries to improve their market, thus reducing the amount of the population living in poverty.

By diversifying exports, the United Nations saw improvements reflected in production, prices and environmental, social and resource costs.

Although issues such as the diversity of exports had improvements since the making of Agenda 21, there is still a long way to go. The United Nations encourages civilians to do what they can at the local level. It also prompts leaders at the national and international level to address these pressing global issues and improve the future for generations to come.

As stated in the United Nations Agenda 21, “No nation can achieve this on its own; but together we can—in a global partnership for sustainable development.”

– Kassidy Tarala

Photo: Flickr

Rotasiil, the New Rotavirus Vaccine

Rotavirus Vaccine
Rotavirus infection remains the leading cause of severe diarrhea, which is the second leading cause of death in infants and children worldwide. This virus runs rampant in developing countries, killing about 1,300 children every day. However, a new rotavirus vaccine from the Serum Institute of India may slow down the march of rotavirus across the world.

An extremely contagious virus, Rotavirus spreads easily through contact with an infected individual’s feces or by consuming contaminated food and liquid. It often spreads between young children when they are in close quarters. The virus causes gastroenteritis or inflammation of the stomach and intestines. It then leads to severe watery diarrhea, vomiting, and sometimes fever.

Young children in developing countries are particularly at risk due to severe dehydration. In areas with access to clean water and medical care, rotavirus deaths are nearly nonexistent. Unfortunately, improvements in hygiene and sanitation are not enough to prevent rotavirus transmission. Preventative measures, like vaccines, are critical to protecting the lives of those in regions without medical care.

There are currently two rotavirus vaccines in use, Rotateq and Rotarix. The new vaccine, dubbed BRV-PV, demonstrated higher efficacy than both Rotateq and Rotarix in Phase 3 testing. BRV-PV, which will be marketed as Rotasiil, had an efficacy of nearly 67% for preventing severe gastroenteritis. Rotarix and Rotateq had efficacies of 61 percent and 39%, respectively.

In addition to the increased efficacy, BRV-PV offers another critical benefit over the other options: stability at high temperatures. Providing rotavirus vaccine access to remote or developing areas continues to be difficult as Rotarix and Rotateq need to be refrigerated to temperatures between 36°F and 46°F. However, BRV-PV will now allow for ease of storage and transportation. This could prove to be the difference-maker for preventing thousands of rotavirus-related deaths in communities with limited health care.

BRV-PV  is already licensed for use in India and is currently under review for WHO qualification. Once it is approved by the WHO, BRV-PV can be bought by the United Nations (UN) and other government agencies for distribution to places desperately lacking access to rotavirus vaccines.

While there have been several rotavirus vaccines available for purchase, the requirements for their storage and transportation made them generally unavailable for low-resource areas. BRV-PV could prove to be an exciting public health victory by supplying affordable rotavirus vaccines to people who need it the most, saving thousands of lives.

– Akhil Reddy
Photo: Flickr

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Closing the Gap in Global Education

Closing the Gap in Global EducationDebates about education often center on the quality of public schools, diminishing budgets, scarce resources and technological provisions in the United States. While a focus on domestic educational issues is commendable and necessary, there is a grimmer picture across the world. According to the World Inequality Database on Education, fewer than 50 percent of the poorest children have completed primary school in 39 out of 88 countries. The economic productivity and social quality of life of any country depends on its educated population, and closing the gap in global education is the key to global prosperity, safety and stability.

Indeed, education can eliminate bigger problems such as poverty, inequality, insecurity and disease. Equal access to a quality education, including access to content and means of delivering instruction and following a set curriculum, remains an unrealized dream and a struggle for many.

The last two centuries have seen an exponential increase in the number of children attending primary school globally, from 2.3 million to 700 million today. What is troubling is that children in the poorest households of developing nations, those arguably most in need of educational opportunities, are four times as likely to be out of school as those in the wealthiest households.

It is going to take another 100 years for children in developing countries to reach the education level of their counterparts in developed countries.

Access to a quality education remains a basic building block to success. Current approaches to educational equity necessitate a fundamental rethinking in that they must take into account that many children are unable to go to school because schools simply do not exist in parts of developing countries.

If schools do exist, teachers may lack proper training and simply be incapable of handling the demands of a classroom setting. Furthermore, barriers inherent in certain areas, such as societal demands and expectations, can hamper learning outside the classroom.

Technological tools and resources ignite curiosity and promote more efficient, up-to-date learning. A huge growth in social media platforms can certainly be aligned with classroom activity and curriculum, establishing more innovative ways for students and teachers to learn about global issues.

Though technology makes learning opportunities more widely accessible by decreasing the significance of geographical boundaries, a lack of technological infrastructure means that many children are deprived of the digital educational resources taken for granted in developed nations. For these students, the difficulty of closing the gap in global education comes with an additional cost: loss of productivity.

In 2015, the United Nations heavily promoted the Millennium Development Goals to achieve free universal primary education for all children by the year’s end.

Although it was unfortunate that the pace of improvement by countries could not keep up with the desire to have universal primary education, the primary school net enrollment rate did reach over 90 percent, and the number of out-of-school children fell from 100 million in 2000 to 57 million in 2015 . Movement toward closing the gap in global education is signified by the fact that not a single country in the world today is completely without a schooling system.

Today’s economy is knowledge-based and highly competitive. Schools in developed nations are entrusted with students who lack neither skills nor talents, but educational opportunities.

Some factors are beyond students’ control, such as where they were born and what their financial means are. But with the recent advancements in educational models, global education disparity can meaningfully be addressed and mitigated.

– Mohammed Khalid

Photo: Flickr

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Neonatal Mortality in Africa and How the UN’s SDGs Can Help

Neonatal Mortality
The United Nations plans to combat under-five mortality with its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2, which aims to “end preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age.” The project, if successful, will help to fight neonatal mortality as well.

The 17 SDGs are launching following the commencement of the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 with a 2030 target date. The MDGs were able to save approximately six million children worldwide, which was a 53% reduction in under-five mortality.

There is still room for progress. Neonatal mortality comprised 45% of deaths among children under five in 2015 and continued to be a significant component of under-five deaths. As a result, as part of SDG 3.2, the U.N. aims to lower neonatal mortality to as low as 12 per 1,000 births.

The neonatal mortality rate was highest in the World Health Organization’s Regions of Africa. This region was where over one-third of under-five child deaths occurred in the neonatal period. A recent study that appeared in Geospatial Health determined the significant factors that contributed to neonatal mortality in East and West Africa and outlined ways in which the SDGs can help.

The study identified home birthing as a major risk factor for neonatal mortality in East Africa. Another risk was maternal exposure to unprotected water sources. Both of these factors largely contributed to the correlation between home births and neonatal mortality. This correlation is because these people face exposure to unclean water, which can lead to an infection of either the umbilical cord or the intestinal tract.

The SDG Goal Six aims to tackle the problem of unsafe and inaccessible water. By 2030, the U.N. hopes to “achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.”

One common explanation for the high neonatal mortality rates in East Africa has been a lack of education for women. SDGs 4.1 and 4.5 intend to ensure all boys and girls free, quality primary and secondary education. This policy will help eliminate any gender disparities in education.

Home births were a risk factor for neonatal mortality in West Africa, too. The study found that 48.6% of mothers had home deliveries. Other significant risk factors included mothers who did not intend to have another child or who only completed primary education.

The study suggests improving prenatal care, including family planning education, and ensuring access to at least secondary education. SDG 4.3 seeks to make technical vocational training more accessible, and SDG 3.87 aims to create maternity health care systems that include “universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services.”

If the U.N. has the same success for the SDGs that they did with the MDGs, they could save millions of more lives and drastically reduce neonatal mortality.

– Lauren Mcbride

Photo: Flickr

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15 Innovative and Ecofriendly Startups

Innovative and Ecofriendly Startups
This year’s UN High-Level Political Forum came with more than just talks. Some of the most innovative and ecofriendly startups of the year gained recognition and further development opportunities. The theme for 2017 was “Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world.” The SWITCH Africa Green-SEED partnership granted the awards.

SEED itself is a byproduct of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. It works to promote social and environmental entrepreneurship at the local level for sustainable development and poverty reduction.

SWITCH Africa Green is a multi-country project, working in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. They push for sustainable development through a greener economy in the private sector. SEED’s national project partners alongside the United Nations put these plans to action, and the EU funds them.

A jury of independent international experts select the SWITCH Africa Green-SEED award winners. Additionally, they must operate within agriculture, manufacturing, tourism or waste management as innovative and eco-friendly startups. 2017’s winners are as follows:

Burkina Faso

Coopérative Sahel Vert, of the Sahel region, is the first enterprise to construct efficient biodigesters that release biogas and organic fertilizer from human and animal excrement. This allows households to gain additional income.

Lagazel produces and markets two types of sustainable solar lamps of robust and high-quality nature for urban and rural regions with no electricity. Its production strategy allows local employment. In addition, the lamps address climate change mitigation and encourage eco-friendly lifestyles.

TECO2 develops resistant school benches made from plastic waste and other locally sourced inputs. They also mitigate deforestation and environmental pollution in substituting the use of wood as a raw material.

Ghana

Recfam creates biodegradable and affordable self-titled PRIDE pads out of banana and plantain fibers for schoolgirls and women without access to proper menstrual hygiene products. Women are included in the manufacturing process and personal health education for young girls is provided.

WASHKing supplies and installs biodigester toilets, built locally using available materials, for low-income urban households. It incorporates a biodegradable powder developed in India, and the system is able to separate effluent and turn it into nontoxic water for agriculture or landscaping.

Kenya

Horizons Business Ventures Limited processes essential oils from local seeds and leaves. They employ women in collection groups and creating biodiverse commercial products from existing natural resources. By-products are redeveloped into animal feed and organic pesticides.

ICOSEED Enterprises found an alternative for costly sisal in leftover banana stem fibers from harvests and integrates them into fabrics for marketable items. Farmers gain additional income for the fibers and stitching, and slurry returns from fiber extraction go to manure or biogas usage.

Kencoco Limited produces long-lasting and high heat reaching charcoal briquettes made of coconut shells and husks. Targeting rural Kenya, it saves households money long-term compared to alternative fuels that damage the environment, and makes use of coconut waste and charcoal dust.

Mauritius

Walali Company Limited, located on Rodrigues Island, fashions an agro-processing chain that utilizes retort pouch technology to package native octopus and red beans. The goods are perishable and add value to these culturally significant and organic products. Contracts granted to individual suppliers ensure warranted prices and a secure market.

South Africa

Ekasi Energy manufactures natural biomass pellets from compressed wood waste, alongside clean cooking appliances, for homes with little or no grid power. The product further reduces health threats caused by burning wood or other energy sources and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

iThemba Phakama allows voluntary waste pickers no-cost lease agreements to use specialty manufactured tricycles equipped for waste transport. Salvaged waste can then be recycled and sold by members, and the enterprise is financed through advertisements put on the tricycles’ sides.

Umgibe Farming Organics and Training Institute supports more than 41 local farmer cooperatives with a sustainable and organic food growing system. Umgibe allows small-scale or urban farmers to build up capacity and earn more income to become commercial businesses.

Uganda

Brent Technologies transforms sourced motor oil waste into diesel fuel or fresh motor oil. Wastes from the process create roofing asphalt shingles, forming an eco-friendly supply chain.

Gorilla Conservation Coffee prevents small-holder farmers bordering Bwindi National Park from damaging the forest with poaching or wood chopping. It buys premium coffee and processes it to sell as a branded roasted coffee. This benefits the farmers, and the organization donates funds upon purchase to the protection mountain gorillas in the region.

Masupa Enterprises is the last of these innovative and eco-friendly startups. It offers affordable briquettes made from dry leaves, peels, paper and other wastes, sold in conjunction with cooking stoves. Women are employed in production and marketing. Otherwise necessary negative health and environmental effects are avoided.

These 15 innovative and eco-friendly startups have come to accomplish much in terms of sustainable development, reducing poverty and improving livelihoods in their locales, and stand as global examples for all other entrepreneurs and those in the fight against poverty.

– Zar-Tashiya Khan

Photo: Flickr

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Narrowing the Gap: Investing in the Poorest Children


On June 28, the U.N. International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) released its report “Narrowing the Gaps: The Power of Investing in the Poorest Children.” The new peer-reviewed report compiled data from 2003-2016 and supports the claim that investing in the health of the world’s poorest communities saves lives and is cost-effective. The following are 10 facts learned from the compelling report.

  1. This report is a result of UNICEF’s 2010 prediction that although the cost of reaching the poorest children is high, greater results would outweigh the cost.
  2. The key finding in “Narrowing the Gaps: The Power of Investing in the Poorest Children” is that for every million dollars invested in the most deprived populations, the number of lives saved is nearly double that saved by an equal investment in other populations.
  3. The number of lives saved is even greater for children under five. More than four more lives are saved per $1 million invested in poor communities compared with other communities.
  4. In this report, people living on an average income below $3.10 per day were considered to be poor.
  5. Children living in extreme poverty are twice as likely to die before five years of age than children living in better circumstances. Most die from preventable diseases.
  6. While progress was made to address the global under-five mortality rate, UNICEF discovered that until recently little to no progress was achieved to lower preventable childhood deaths, specifically among the world’s poorest communities.
  7. The report analyzed data from 51 countries and found that gaps in health coverage between poor and non-poor populations narrowed in 37 of the 51 countries by the end of the study. Coverage did not decrease for non-poor populations, coverage increased for both.
  8. In the final year of the study, UNICEF estimated that 1.1 million lives were saved due to increases in coverage, including 940,000 lives from impoverished populations.
  9. However, UNICEF’s prediction is that by 2030, 70 million children under the age of five will still die from preventable diseases unless action is taken.
  10. To prevent this from happening, the report suggests governments and organizations identify the poorest children and communities. Governments should then invest in proven, low-cost high-impact interventions, strengthen health systems, work with the private sector to spur innovation and monitor results to ensure equity between poor and non-poor populations.

While previous thought may have suggested that investing in the extreme poor is a hopeless cause, UNICEF’s report “Narrowing the Gaps: The Power of Investing in the Poorest Children” clearly shows that doing so saves more lives and is more cost-effective. Pursuing equity in health coverage between and investment in poor and non-poor communities is right not just in principle but also in practice.

– Sean Newhouse

Photo: Flickr

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10 Facts About H5N1, A Less-Common Strain of The Flu

10 Facts About H5N1
While there has never been an H5N1 pandemic, there have been several cases across the globe since this flu strain first appeared in humans three decades ago. Here are 10 facts about H5N1 that you should know:

  1. The full name of the disease is Asian Avian Influenza A. It originated in bird populations in Southeast Asia, and has mainly affected that region. The countries that have reported the highest numbers of human cases are Indonesia, Egypt and Vietnam.
  2. H5N1 does not infect people easily. The disease only spreads person-to-person in cases of family members in close quarters with other sick family members. Otherwise, H5N1 is most commonly transmitted through contact with dead or diseased birds.
  3. Outbreaks in humans are sporadic and only 700 cases have been reported in total. At the same time, H5N1 has a high mortality rate of 60 percent.
  4. Transmission of the disease is not prevented by the standard flu vaccine. Several vaccines intended for H5N1 were developed, but none are completely effective.
  5. The first human H5N1 infection occurred in 1997, and the first infection in the Americas occurred in 2014 in Canada. The United States has yet to see a human case. However, the U.S. does stockpile H5N1 vaccines.
  6. If the disease mutates slightly, it could become much more easily communicable and cause a pandemic.
  7. H5N1 has the ability to progress and cause neurological problems such as seizures. The disease is rare but serious and goes beyond common flu symptoms such as fever and muscle aches.
  8. David Nabarro, former longtime chief avian flu coordinator for the United Nations, famously claimed on his first day on the job that he thought H5N1 could kill 150 million people. Although he has admitted to being an “alarmist,” Nabarro pointed out that nations with poor disease surveillance may fail to diagnose H5N1 in a timely fashion and that this could lead to widespread outbreaks.
  9. In March of this year, Malaysia experienced its first H5N1 outbreak in a decade. However, it only affected birds.
  10. A widespread misunderstanding of the disease has damaged poultry sales in the past. In 2006, Lebanon’s poultry sector lost millions of U.S. dollars despite the fact that no H5N1 cases were reported in the country and the disease cannot be transmitted as long as poultry is cooked properly.

Keeping these 10 facts about H5N1 in mind, educating people around the globe about H5N1 is an important pursuit. A misunderstanding of the disease could cause widespread panic as well as have economic and political repercussions.

– Caroline Meyers

Photo: Flickr

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A Foreseeable Future: The Asylum for Andorra Refugees

Andorra Refugees
Home to roughly 79,300 people, Andorra is a tiny principality located in the mountainous region between France and Spain. Although the principality joined the Council of Europe and the United Nations, it is not an official member of the European Union. Despite this, Andorra maintains a special relationship with the European Union, and, today, supports the common policy for refugees that the European Union has established. Here are 10 facts about Andorra refugees:

  1. The principality works directly with the European Union in matters of solidarity.
  2. Andorran Foreign Minister Gilbert Saboya has stated that the principality works with representatives from the European Union to create a screening and security process which will accommodate only 40 refugees.
  3. Andorra agreed to assist refugees for strictly humanitarian reasons. However, the municipality stated that it guarantees no official protections.
  4. A political asylum plan is not a priority of the local government, and is by no mean, an “action plan.” Instead, Andorra plans to support the common policy of the European Union.
  5. Currently, an individual must reside in Andorra for 15 years before they may apply for citizenship.
  6. Current opposition parties are working on legislation which would allow an individual to apply for citizenship before a period of 15 years.
  7. In order for anyone to obtain Andorran citizenship, an exam must be taken in the national language of Catalan. Geography and history questions are included on the exam.
  8. According to the most recent World Data information, the Andorran government received zero asylum applications.
  9. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recommended that Andorra “accede to the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1976 Protocol,” and “establish a refugee status determination procedure which is fully gender and age sensitive.”
  10. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees also recommends that Andorra “accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.”

Although Andorra is quite small, the reality for Andorra refugees reveals that the principality is representative of a number of countries who have yet to commit to providing asylum. Should the Andorran government continue to work directly with the European Union on this matter, refugee asylum may be in the foreseeable future.

– Shannon Golden

Photo: Pixabay