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    Millet Seeds Power Fight Against Hunger

    OWSA Contributor
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    Millet Seeds Power Fight Against Hunger

    The Odisha Millets Mission aims at strengthening the livelihoods and food security of smallholder farmers by encouraging them to adopt the climate-resilient crop and, at the same time, by creating demand.

    Subasa Mohanta is no stranger to hunger. It has been a constant in the lives of this 50-year-old farmer, her husband, and two children.

    Despite 16-hour days of back-breaking work as a farmhand, carting stone to a construction site, she might still come home without enough to eat.

    But in 2018, a small bag of seeds helped Subasa to transform her life.

    Subasa scattered the finger millet seeds — given to her by the Odisha Government as part of a rural programme — in the fallow 0.6 hectares of land that circles her brick-and-mud house in the village of Goili in Mayurbhanj district.

    In about two months, she harvested her first crop of mandia (the Odia word for ragi or finger millet). Subasa sold a part of the about 500 kilograms she harvested at 40 rupees a kilo, kept some of it to feed the hungry mouths at home, and distributed the rest among friends and family. And then she sowed the seeds of change once again on her farmland.

    Symbol of hope

    Over the last three years, Subasa’s story of hope, confidence and empowerment has become intertwined with the genesis and growth of the Odisha Millets Mission (OMM), a flagship programme of the regional government’s Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment.

    Her days are now divided between farming her own land, plus another 3.2 hectares she has leased, and advising women in Mayurbhanj and other districts of Odisha on the best practices of millet cultivation.

    She also attends to local reporters who queue up for a glimpse of Mandia Maa, a moniker she has earned for her hard work and willingness to try a new crop when few others were open to the idea.

    Launched in 2017, OMM is the first-of-its-kind agricultural initiative that encourages the cultivation of nutrition-rich millets in the eastern Indian state. Going beyond bringing millets, the traditional food of Odisha’s tribes, back on plates, OMM aims at strengthening the livelihoods and food security of smallholder farmers by encouraging them to adopt the climate-resilient crop and, at the same time, by creating demand.

    Climate change

    The finger millet didn’t just change the fortune of the Mohantas, who have now diversified into growing other millets such as suan (little millet) and sorghum. It also made a place for itself in their diet. From mandia kakara pitha (a kind of pancake) to mandia malt (a health drink to start the day with), the family’s bowl of nutrition is also part of the OMM’s journey to success.

    The millet plant’s high tolerance of heat (up to 64 degrees Celsius), drought and flood makes the crop an obvious choice for farmers in an era of climate change and depleting natural resources.

    Millets require less water than rice and wheat, the two staples of the Indian diet. The short-season millets grow easily without fertilisers, making them a healthier and safer option for both the consumer and the soil. The intercropping of millets with other crops is also beneficial for soil quality: It helps keep a check on water run-off and aids soil conservation in erosion-prone areas.

    Women farmers

    What began four years ago with the handing out of leaflets, loudspeaker announcements from vans and seed distribution among villagers by volunteers, community resource persons and officials of the agriculture department has now blossomed into a movement driven by women self-help groups in Odisha.

    Women, who are still seen as mostly post-harvest labour and keepers of seeds, have taken the lead in ragi processing, improving yields of millets with bio-inputs, and also running cafes and centres that serve millet-based dishes.

    The humble jau (a porridge made with unpolished grain) — the most common form of millet consumption in Odisha — now enjoys the company of other traditional dishes such as bara, malpua, khaja and chakuli.

    Poor man’s millet?

    Millets needs the support of the urban consumer to find their rightful place on the shelf.

    While that shift may be a few summers away, the women in Odisha’s villages and small towns are going about their millet work in full earnest. And lives are changing, grain by grain.

    The seeds of change have taken root, but the way ahead is not free of challenges.

    Millets are still perceived as a food of the poor and the underprivileged, an image problem that needs to be tackled through promotions, social media campaigns, and awareness messages from celebrities.

     

    Image: By Anadi Charan Behera of Studio Priya; Courtesy UN India

    So Close, Yet So Far: Three Decades of Injecting Immunity Into Children in Pakistan

    Khushi Malhotra
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    So Close, Yet So Far: Three Decades of Injecting Immunity Into Children in Pakistan

    Pakistan might have come a long way in reducing child morbidity and mortality over the past 30 years, nevertheless, cases of vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) remain high, with the benchmark still a distant sight, the World Bank said in a progress report on Child Immunisation.

    By Khushi Malhotra

    The government of Pakistan has done much to vaccinate infants and children against preventable diseases. But, a lot more remains to be done.

    A World Bank policy note on child immunization in Pakistan, assessing the country’s progress says that over the last three decades, the country saw an increment of 117 per cent in the number of fully immunized children (aged 12 to 23 months). More than 76 per cent infants got vaccinated in 2020.

    This is in contrast to the situation in 1990 when only 35 per cent of Pakistani children were immunized. The burden of life threatening vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) also reduced by promising numbers. For example, diphtheria reduced by 94 per cent and measles by 88 per cent.

    Jugglery of numbers?

    The mammoth task of immunizing little babies was made a priority by the government of Pakistan in 2016. The government initiated the National Immunization Support Project (NISP) with a five-year deadline, closing in 2022 to ensure universal coverage in immunization. The plan incentivized the government’s EPI (Expanded Program of Immunization) that was designed to reduce the worrisome rate of child morbidity and child mortality.

    There was a tremendous amount of growth in the rate of immunization coverage within three years of implementing NISP. But the disparities between the provinces did not improve despite this acceleration.

    Evidently, most of the government’s attention went into the provinces of Punjab, where about 90 per cent of the children (aged 12 to 23 months) were fully immunised in 2020. The absolute numbers were good enough to heighten the impression of the country’s overall performance, but individual provinces proved to be laggards.

    For instance, during the same year, the figures for the north western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was 68.4 per cent. Sindh had vaccinated just above 60 per cent of its children in the same age group and only 37.6 per cent of the children were vaccinated against preventable diseases in Balochistan.

    Polio vaccination drops Peshawar Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

    Low immunization coverage

    When compared to other eastern and SouthAsia regions with similar income levels, immunization coverage in Pakistan was found to be considerably low. With a GDP of over 4.9 per cent, the rate of immunization for DTP3 was only 75 per cent in the country. The only SouthAsian country with a gap lower than Pakistan is Afghanistan which has a much lower GDP.

    Perhaps, due to the holes in the coverage strategy, Pakistan was also found to be one of the two SouthAsian countries where poliomyelitis is still an epidemic. Even in 2020, Pakistan had the second highest cases of Diptheria after India and Polio after Afghanistan and fourth highest cases of Measles amongst the SouthAsian countries, the World Bank study observed. Sri Lanka had the least number of all the VPDs amongst all.

    While wrapping up the report, World Bank has advised Pakistan’s government to proactively invest in EPI and enhance their healthcare system by increasing the number of vaccination sites, providing the required assistance to the areas with high instances of VPDs and ensuring sustainable means for financing for EPI to improve conditions of underperforming provinces. The country needs to adopt new and innovative designs and strategies to get the benchmark immunity coverage, the study says.

    Democratic Nepal’s Backroom Politics Resemble Palace Intrigues of Yesteryears

    OWSA Contributor
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    Democratic Nepal’s Backroom Politics Resemble Palace Intrigues of Yesteryears

    Life has been tough for the finance minister, especially with his political opponents gunning for him in the midst of an economic crisis the Himalayan nation faces post the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in inflows of foreign exchange.

    Nepal’s economic governance has been in an upheaval since early-April. The backroom politics behind the rising price of fuel, along with a rise in the number of cases of COVID-19 resembles the palace intrigues during the monarchy.

    Late in the evening of 8 April, a cabinet meeting called to decide nominees for ambassadorial positions ended with the government announcing the suspension of Maha Prasad Adhikari, the governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, the country’s central bank.

    Questions of accountability of transparency soon cropped up. The grapevine says that Adhikari had disagreements with Finance Minister Janardan Sharma – but that the main reason for the soured relationships was Adhikari’s refusal to approve the release of Nepali Rs 40 crore to a businessman, a crony of the ruling party.

    Life has been tough for the finance minister, especially with his political opponents gunning for him in the midst of an economic crisis the Himalayan nation faces post the COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in inflows of foreign exchange. The opposition parties chanced on the opportunity to claim that the country’s economy is set to deteriorate further in the coming days as fuel prices hit the roof and cooking gas became unaffordable for many people.

    Nepal is preparing for a string of elections in the coming months.

    Like Sri Lanka?

    To add fuel to the fire, three former finance ministers Bishnu Paudel, Surendra Pandey and Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada made public a 12-point joint statement on the latest economic scenario of the country on Monday 11 April. The threesome belong to the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) that is set to challenge the present government at the hustings.

    There was talk of the economic situation in Sri Lanka and similarities were drawn as the former finance ministers said that Nepal was set to face an economic crisis.

    Feeling the heat, Finance Minister Sharma countered that the economic crisis his opponents were speaking of was just a mirage they were creating for political objectives.

    “The country has not gone through any big economic crisis based on the evaluation of available details so far,” he claimed while briefing reporters on the country’s economic situation.

    But Sharma did not foresee the spring in the feet of his opponents, nor the media. Pat came questions on the decision to suspend Adhikari, the central bank governor.

    All an unprepared Sharma could say was that the action was lawful since the Governor had failed to perform his duties. Later in the day, word was put out that the governor was being charged for leaking sensitive information.

    Interestingly, governors of Nepal’s central bank have had a chequered fate ever since the country chose the path of democratic reforms. Governor Tilak Rawal was sacked in 2000. Later, central bank governor Bijay Nath Bhattarai was sacked in 2007.

    Diverting attention?

    The controversies since the start of the month, however, do not seem to have come to a stop. Finance Minister Sharma, on Saturday said that the Nepali economy needed immediate transformation in agriculture and government mechanism to implement development programs.

    Speaking to business reporters on the agriculture sector, the minister said, “The country is lagging in terms of development and growth and currently facing economic challenges because it has failed to manage available resources. There are challenges in utilization of the resources.”

    FM Sharma had initiated his budget-related discussions from agriculture, an annual affair – but his detractors said that he was diverting attention from burning issues like the sacking of the central bank governor and the issues around the country’s tanking economy.

    The annual bill for “revolutionary changes” to transform the agriculture sector could be up to Nepali Rs 300 billion. Such an investment would help bail the country out of the pressures on its foreign currency reserves. He said that the country is importing foodstuff that could be grown at home.

    He went on to add that the economy needed agricultural development to go together with a reduction in the imports of fuel and an increase in the generation and consumption of hydroelectricity. And, for effect, he added that the country’s tourism industry needed revival to rake in more dollars.

    Nepal’s GDP was valued at Nepali Rs 4.26 trillion in the last financial year.

    Then, the finance minister turned his attention to the bureaucracy, saying that it had trained itself to centralise power, challenging implementation of the rights devolved to the subnational governments. “Reforms are needed to change this scenario,” he said. “The country won’t gain much from the current structure.”

    The political slugfest is reaching a crescendo with elections round the corner.

    War in Ukraine and Rise in Arms Spending Undermine Development Aid to the World’s Poor

    Inter Press Service
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    War in Ukraine and Rise in Arms Spending Undermine Development Aid to the World’s Poor

    A UN report fears that the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine, with increased spending on refugees in Europe, may mean cuts to the aid provided to the poorest countries.

    By Thalif Deen

    The unprecedented flow of arms to Ukraine, and the rising miliary spending by European nations to strengthen their defenses, are threatening to undermine development aid to the world’s poorer nations.

    Yoke Ling, Executive Director of Third World Network told IPS the escalating military spending will definitely have a direct impact on a range of spending that the North has committed to developing countries — from official development assistance (ODA) to climate finance, “that is a legal obligation under the climate treaties”.

    Even before the Russian-Ukraine war, she pointed out, the North has been reducing development financing. “So, we expect the regression to worsen,” she added.

    A UN report, titled 2022 Financing for Sustainable Development Report: Bridging the Finance Divide released April 12, says record growth of Official Development Assistance, increased to its highest level ever in 2020, rising to $161.2 billion.

    “Yet, 13 countries cut ODA, and the sum remains insufficient for the vast needs of developing countries”.

    The UN also fears “the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine, with increased spending on refugees in Europe, may mean cuts to the aid provided to the poorest countries”.

    In the face of a global crisis, near-time actions and additional international support are needed to prevent debt crises and address the high cost of borrowing, the report warns.

    “However, the vast majority of developing countries will need active and urgent support to get back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs).

    The report estimates that in the poorest countries a 20 per cent increase in spending will be required for key sectors.

    Reshuffling Budgets

    A New York Times report on March 29, said across Europe and Britain, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reshaping spending priorities and forcing governments to prepare for threats thought to have been long buried — from a flood of European refugees to the possible use of chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons by a Russian leader who may feel backed into a corner.

    “The result is a sudden reshuffling of budgets as military spending, essentials like agriculture and energy, and humanitarian assistance are shoved to the front of the line, with other pressing needs like education and social services likely to be downgraded,” said the Times.

    Frederic Mousseau, Policy Director at the Oakland Institute, told IPS “whereas combination of droughts and conflicts result in massive human suffering and hunger in a number of countries, UN humanitarian appeals for these acute crises are chronically underfunded.”

    Last year, he pointed out, only 45 per cent of the UN appeal for Yemen and the Horn of Africa was funded, only 29 per cent for Syria. With such shortfalls amidst the war on Ukraine, it is critical that all donor countries ensure their solidarity and support is focused on all victims.

    Military budgets

    Increase in military budgets in Europe will automatically result in more sales for the major Western arm exporters, i.e. USA, France and Germany.

    The industrial military complex yields increased economic returns for these countries, and fuels conflicts across the world. In 2021, the second largest humanitarian aid requirement was for Yemen, whereas Saudi Arabia, waging war on this country, is the first importer of weapons from Western countries.

    It is to be seen, he said, how actual aid budgets will be affected by the war in Ukraine.

    “But regardless of what happens in Europe, a major issue that undermines our ability to promote peace and stability in the world – and reduce the need for international assistance, is the US military budget that continues to increase under the Biden administration to reach an all-time record of US$813 billion this year”.

    This is more spending than the next eleven countries combined, Mousseau pointed out.

    “The USA is not just the highest military budget in the world, it is also the largest arm exporter and coincidently the largest aid donor. US international aid, however, represents just 4 per cent of the US military spending. Priorities have to change drastically to meet the humanitarian and environmental challenges of the world’, he declared.

    Militarising aid

    Vitalice Meja, Executive Director, Reality of Aid Africa, told IPS: “We support the humanitarian efforts going towards the Ukrainian people and remain in solidarity with them. We, however, believe that donors must still meet their other obligations on other global wars of poverty, and climate crisis on humanity.”

    It is important especially for Africa that ODA remains focused on catalyzing development and tackle the ravaging climate change crisis and the rising inequalities, she said.

    “Donors must allocate additional resources towards Ukraine and not simply by militarising aid or shifting budget items and priorities from other global development challenges in response the War in Ukraine”.

    It is key that donors, at the same time without shifting resources, should focus on building and strengthening Africa’s resilience in these times of harsh climate change and mass crop failure.

    “They must secure sustainable climate finance and development resources to address the rising cases of inequality, extreme hunger and poverty in this part of the work.”

    This is our war and it remains important and relevant. It must be aggressively be fought and won as well, Meja declared.

    Jennifer del Rosario-Malonzo, Executive Director, IBON International, told IPS: “We stand in solidarity with the peoples of Ukraine who are bearing the losses from the war. People’s rights and needs—in Ukraine, in Asia, and the rest of the global South—should be a priority over military spending”.

    If some developed countries are lavish with their arms spending and military budgets today, while their “humanitarian” response involves cutting from other aid programs, are they saying that security interests come before long-term, public needs? She asked.

    Conflicts Crime Agriculture Development Aid SDGs Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Migration Refugees Peace Poverty
    Climate finance

    Outside the Ukraine war, developed countries have already broken their promise of providing US$100 billion of climate finance by 2020.

    Sacrificing development aid budgets and climate finance will deepen poverty, inequalities, adverse climate impacts, and exclusion felt in the global South. Lack of ambition here risks reinforcing the economic and political grievances at the root of armed conflicts in Asia and elsewhere.

    Solidarity and justice today call for ambition. We challenge developed countries to fulfill their existing aid commitments (minimum of 0.7% of GNI as ODA), together with providing new funding for people’s needs in Ukraine. We call for new and additional grants-based climate finance to indemnify the most affected peoples and communities suffering from losses and damages due to climate change.

    Meanwhile, the UN report on Financing for Sustainable Development also points out that while rich countries were able to support their pandemic recovery with record sums borrowed at ultra-low interest rates, the poorest countries spent billions servicing debt, preventing them from investing in sustainable development.

    “The pandemic shock plunged 77 million more people into extreme poverty in 2021, and by the end of the year many economies remained below pre-2019 levels”.

    The report estimates that in 1 in 5 developing countries’ GDP per capita would not return to 2019 levels by the end of 2023, even before absorbing the impacts of the Ukraine war.

    “As we are coming up to the halfway point of financing the world’s Sustainable Development Goals, the findings are alarming,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said.

    “There is no excuse for inaction at this defining moment of collective responsibility, to ensure hundreds of millions of people are lifted out of hunger and poverty. We must invest in access for decent and green jobs, social protection, healthcare and education leaving no one behind,“ she warned.

     

    This piece has been sourced from Inter Press Service

    Image: UNICEF

    Post Pandemic Asia Pacific Lags on Climate SDGs – UN ESCAP Report

    SciDevNet
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    Post Pandemic Asia Pacific Lags on Climate SDGs – UN ESCAP Report

    At the present rate of progress, the Asia Pacific region may meet 2030 SDGs only in 2065, the report says, calling for stepping up measures to tackle inequity and social protection for the vulnerable. Notably, the report points out, the region is now producing 35 per cent more greenhouses gases than in 2000.

    By Neena Bhandari

    The Asia Pacific region has significantly regressed on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets related to climate action and responsible consumption and production, the 2022 Asia-Pacific SDG Progress Report launched by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (ESCAP) says.

    The report notes that inequality in the region has widened due to impacts of COVID-19, climate change and human-made crises.

    It says vulnerable groups, including women, rural populations, poorer households and people with severe disabilities, have been disadvantaged the most as a result.

    “The sole focus on economic recovery post-pandemic is likely to hinder progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, which was already lagging to begin with,” Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP’s executive secretary, tells SciDev.Net. “As the region strives to build back better and recover, the 2030 Agenda can serve as a guiding mechanism for both economic and social development.”

    At the current pace of progress, the Asia Pacific region is not on track to achieve any of the 17 SDGs, says the report. It is only expected to achieve the goals by 2065 — more than three and a half decades behind the original goalpost.

    The data shows a significant regression against the 2015 baseline on climate action — Goal 13, which comprises indicators related to the causes and consequences of climate change. The region is producing at least 35 per cent more greenhouse gas emissions than it did in 2000.

    Unsustainable practices

    “The regression is driven by increasing greenhouse gas emissions and rising numbers of death and missing people due to disasters. At the same time, our analysis has shown progress in adopting and implementing disaster risk reduction strategies at national levels. However, these strategies still need to be fully implemented at the local level,” Rachael Beaven, director of ESCAP’s statistics division, tells SciDev.Net.

    The data reveals a mixed picture on responsible production and consumption (Goal 12). “There is a reduction in hazardous waste generation (based on pre-pandemic data) and a slight increase in renewable energy capacity in the region,” says Beaven.

    “Nevertheless, these positive trends are countered by expanding fossil fuel subsidies and relentless growing material consumption and use in production processes,” she adds. “These unsustainable practices have increased in the region, leading to over-extraction, waste and pollution.”

    The analysis in the report shows that to redress widening inequality in the region more must be done to expand social protection for vulnerable populations, including persons with severe disabilities, and to improve the labour market prospects of people with disabilities.

    “[However], the groups left furthest behind are not the same across different development areas or countries, so the policies needed to address these inequalities will vary,” says Beaven.

    Equity and justice

    The number of indicators with sufficient data has almost doubled since 2017 for the region, but some gaps remain and 57 out of the 169 SDG targets still cannot be measured.

    “More than half of the indicators without data are under two goals (SDG 11 — sustainable cities and communities and SDG 16 — peace, justice and strong institutions)”, Beaven says, adding that UN agencies in the region are “working with governments to strengthen the national statistical systems so that high-quality and timely data becomes available for all indicators to support evidence-based policymaking”.

    To accelerate progress, the report notes, the region must invest in the most urgent needs — including enhancing quality and equity in education, closing all types of gender gaps, ending violence against women and girls, effectively managing scarce water resources and ensuring everyone has access to safely managed drinking water services.

    Among Asia Pacific’s five subregions, only East and North-East Asia is on track towards achieving Goal 1 — no poverty and Goal 9 — industry, innovation and infrastructure.

    “It’s very concerning that the impacts of climate change, COVID-19 and other challenges have hampered the advances in SDG targets that we must see in order to transform our societies into ones that are equitable and climate-resilient,” says Kathryn Bowen, professor of environment, climate and global health at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

    “There’s a clear and urgent need for rapid transformation to move towards responses that integrate climate adaptation and mitigation and sustainable development with equity and justice at its core. This will require close inclusive participation of all important actors — governments, civil society and industry,” Bowen told SciDev.Net.

     

    This piece has been sourced from SciDev.Net

    Image: Oxfam India

    COVID-19 Crisis: CSR Must Supplement Government’s Grassroots Transformation Efforts

    Policy Circle
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    COVID-19 Crisis: CSR Must Supplement Government’s Grassroots Transformation Efforts

    When the COVID-19 pandemic hit India, the fault lines in the social, economic and political spheres widened and deepened. The losses in terms of lives and livelihoods transformed the relationship between the state, market and the people. It was the time when the state deliberated on ways to increase public spending to improve the economic situation of the people. But how did the market respond to this unprecedented crisis?

    By Shubham Kumar

    Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is considered as a management concept that helps the market to integrate social and ecological outcomes, and address all stakeholders including the local communities. India is the first country that experimented with mandatory CSR for businesses registered under Companies Act, 2013. After 2015, with universal call for sustainable development goals, CSR projects and public-private partnerships received greater motivation.

    Since the rollout of the mandatory provision, total amount spent under CSR was on a steady increase. For perspective, total amount spent in 2014-15 was more than Rs 10,000 crore which rose to Rs 24,600 crore in 2019-20. During this time, total number of CSR projects rose from around 9,300 to over 34,800. The share of total spending by non-government companies increased from 72 per cent in 2014-15 to 79 per cent in 2019-20. The number of companies which spent more than Rs 100 crore in CSR also increased from 17 to 41 during the period.

    COVID-19 triggers economic crisis

    The pandemic-induced economic crisis saw a large number of job losses. However, the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for 2020-21 showed some interesting divergence. Despite a significant contraction in India’s GDP, the profitability of Indian corporates rose by 7 per cent year-on-year. This increase in operational profits reflected on the stock market which recorded all-time high levels for the benchmark indices. The Sensex outperformed major world indices during the year.

    How did Indian corporates fare on CSR spending in 2020-21? The latest data available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs indicate a major decline in the total CSR spending by Indian corporates. To begin with, there was a 64 per cent fall in the total spending of less than Rs 9,000 crore. In fact, it hit the bottom last fiscal at 12 per cent less than in 2014-15. Total number of CSR projects came down to just above 8,000 which is less than a quarter of projects in the preceding year. The number of companies that spent more than Rs 100 crore in CSR also come down to 19.

    An interesting change came in the share of spending by non-government companies that increased from 79 per cent to 94 per cent implying that government companies had a major pull back in the CSR spending. In 2020-21, CSR spending by non-government companies shrunk by 57 per cent while it shrunk by almost 90 per cent for government-run companies.

    CSR in the times of COVID-19

    Assessing CSR spending profile for the last two financial years could give us a sense of changing priorities in the 29 development sectors. In terms of proportion, healthcare received maximum upward change, with 29 per cent of total spending in 2020-21, compared with 20 per cent in the previous year. In absolute terms, the total spending in healthcare decreased from Rs 4,825 crore to Rs 2,559 crore during these years. On the other side, the sector which had the maximum downward change is education — from 29 per cent to 25 per cent during the period. Art and Culture, and rural development projects are the two other sectors that received relatively lesser share of spending in the pandemic year.

    In terms of spatial distribution, around 43 per cent of the total spending in 2019-20 was on pan-India projects that remained unchanged in the pandemic year. Maharashtra had maximum share of 13.8 per cent in 2019-20 which came down to 12.5 per cent in 2020-21. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were the next two leading states in 2019-20 with 10.5 per cent share together, while Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh were two leading states for 2020-21 with 11.7 per cent together. Although, total CSR spending remained below 2 per cent for the eight north-eastern states.

    Reporting and rewards

    With the latest reports on income and unemployment estimating that at least seven million jobs and 12 per cent income were lost, and deficits in the nutrition indicators show some serious concern. The micro, small, and medium enterprises and the informal sector have been hit hard by the pandemic. The government spending on subsidies and income support schemes was raised to cushion the impact of the crisis, but these initiatives are short-term measures. There is an immediate need to place a more robust long-term view in the present development discourse.

    One of the important steps in that direction is a review on the nature of CSR spending in terms of compliance, quality and its alignment with the sustainable development goals. For example, if a company spends a certain amount in any rural development project, then how much improvement is recorded in the quality of life and incomes of rural people should be reported. This should be accompanied by evaluation studies of such major projects, so that real progress could be measured.

    CSR spending should also be integrated with other modes of grassroots transformation such as social enterprises and collectives. Moving ahead, with internationally benchmarked business responsibility and sustainability reporting that measures the ESG impact of investments, a network could be created that is result-oriented, accountable and efficient. The government’s CSR policy should be based on the understanding that market functions better when there is reporting and rewards for efforts.

     

    Shubham Kumar is Assistant Professor at School of Business at the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun.

    This piece has been sourced from Policy Circle – policycircle.org

    Image: Hippopx — licensed to use Creative Commons Zero – CC0

    Environmental Factors Behind Depression In Sri Lanka

    SciDevNet
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    Environmental Factors Behind Depression In Sri Lanka

    Rather than genetic causes, environmental factors, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the civil war until 2009, were identified as causes that affected the socio-economic and emotional well-being of people in Sri Lanka. 

    By Sanjeet Bagcchi

    Depression is influenced more by environmental factors than genetic ones, said a study conducted in Sri Lanka — a country devastated by a long-running civil war (1983–2009) and the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths and massive economic losses.

    More than half of the differences in depression symptoms among 3,948 individuals studied could be explained by environmental influences rather than genetic ones, said Helena Zavos, an author of the study and lecturer at the department of psychology, King’s College London, UK.

    “These environmental influences were not shared amongst family members — for example, stressful life events,” Zavos said.

    Published 30 March in PLoS One, the study noted that parts of the Sri Lankan population were disproportionally affected either socioeconomically or emotionally by the civil war and the tsunami. Such pervasive experiences could lead to environmental variability and may explain why the heritability of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) traits were found insignificant, the study said.

    Shared environment

    The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention defines HRQOL as the perceived physical and mental health over time of an individual or a group. An individual’s HRQOL is intimately connected to the number of depressive symptoms that a person reports and measuring it can help calculate the load of preventable diseases and disabilities.

    “We found that individuals who reported more depression symptoms reported a lower level of health-related quality of life,” said Zavos. “This highlights the importance of considering mental health and well-being in individuals who have chronic physical health conditions.”

    “Shared environment (e.g., tradition, extended family members, the elders) may be a protective factor against depression in Sri Lanka,” said Ramdas Ransing, faculty of psychiatry at BKL Walawalkar Rural Medical College in Maharashtra, India.

    Ransing also suggested that such shared environment “may be a protective factor against depression [among women] in Sri Lanka”.

    Depression is linked to adverse environmental factors such as onset of illness or the death of the significant other, said Soumitra Shankar Datta, senior consultant psychiatrist at the Tata Medical Centre, Kolkata.

    “The study shows that depression is associated with the quality of life in several domains such as general health, fatigue, social functioning, and others,” Datta explained.

    Poverty, opportunities, adversities

    More than 75 per cent of people in low- and middle-income countries do not receive any treatment for mental disorders although these disorders — which include depression — have recognised and beneficial treatments, said the World Health Organization (WHO). Depression affects nearly 280 million people across the world and may, in the worst cases, lead to suicide.

    Depressive symptoms listed by the WHO include poor concentration, feelings of guilt, low self-worth, hopelessness about the future, thoughts about dying, disrupted sleep, loss of pleasure or interest in activities lasting for at least two weeks.

    The study findings suggest modest associations between depressive symptoms’ severity and lower physical and psychological functioning, mainly due to overlapping gene-related and environment-related impacts.

    “Poverty, lack of opportunities, social adversities are common in people with depression and are very important for most low- and middle-income countries including Sri Lanka where the study was conducted,” said Datta. “The findings will support clinicians to individualise the treatment approach to each person’s reality.”

    The authors said that because mental health problems carry social stigma in Sri Lanka they cannot exclude the possibility of response bias to the questionnaires given to the subjects.

     

    Image: Wikimedia Commons – MediaJet (CC BY-SA 4.0)

    Humanitarian Catastrophe Awaits Ukraine’s People Living With HIV, Says UNAIDS

    OWSA Contributor
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    Humanitarian Catastrophe Awaits Ukraine’s People Living With HIV, Says UNAIDS

    NGOs have been working to provide emergency support during the conflict, using minibuses to meet pressing humanitarian needs, including evacuating vulnerable populations and delivering food and medicines, especially to vulnerable groups, like people living with HIV.

    Over a quarter of a million Ukrainians are living with HIV. 152,000 people have been on daily medication for HIV.

    In the middle of the ongoing war and displacement, there is growing concern about these people living with HIV/AIDS. One of the immediate concerns is about their need for accessing antiretroviral therapy and prevention services.

    The lack of access to therapy and prevention services would mean a wave of deaths and risks a resurgence of Ukraine’s AIDS pandemic, UNAIDS says.

    The war in Ukraine has resulted in the destruction and disruption of health services and logistical supply chains that hundreds of thousands of people living with and affected by HIV depend on for survival.

    “The community-led networks which are vital to maintaining life-saving services need an urgent upscaling of international support,” as statement released by UNAIDS says.

    More than 40 health facilities that offered HIV treatment, prevention and care services before the war are now closed and there are various levels of service disruption at other sites. By 11 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) had verified more than 100 attacks on health facilities in Ukraine, while supply routes within the country have been thrown into disarray.

    Besides, thousands of Ukrainians living with HIV who fled the country are in need of support in host countries.

    Therapy aid will last year

    An initial delivery of more than 18 million doses of life-saving antiretroviral medicine procured by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) that arrived in Lviv last week is now being distributed in partnership with the Ukraine’s public health centre and a network of people living with HIV/AIDS, 100% Life. But, these medicines are just sufficient to cover a six-month supply for all people living with HIV on first-line treatment.

    A second tranche is expected for another six months.

    Simultaneously, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) is also providing emergency funding to ensure the continuity of life-saving HIV and tuberculosis services.

    Attention is now on ensuring that the life-saving HIV medicines reach all people in need in time. Civil society organizations working with people living with HIV are, however, challenged, as they need further support to continue their work.

    “The situation for people living with HIV in Ukraine is desperate. We are trying to deliver medicines, food and other emergency assistance to people in need, but the work is dangerous and volunteers are putting their lives at risk,” said Dmytro Sherembey, Head of the 100% Life Coordination Council.

    “If we don’t get more help, I am not sure how much longer we can continue, especially reaching people in the front-line zones.”

    NGOs at the frontlines

    UNAIDS has released an initial US$ 200,000 in emergency funds to address urgent humanitarian demands. It has also issued an urgent call for an additional US$ 2.42 million for civil society organizations providing HIV services in Ukraine and for those receiving refugees affected by HIV in other countries, as part of the wider upscaling needed.

    NGOs have been working to provide emergency support during the conflict, using minibuses to meet pressing humanitarian needs, including evacuating vulnerable populations and delivering food and medicines, especially to vulnerable groups, like people living with HIV.

    For example, mobile clinics have been deployed to take opioid substitution therapy to people who use drugs in areas where facilities have been forced to close. There is a need for additional supplies of opioid substitution therapy.

    “Civil society organizations and communities of people living with and affected by HIV are the bedrock of the HIV response in Ukraine,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

    “They urgently require additional financial and logistical support to ensure the continuity of HIV treatment, care and prevention programmes. We urge all donors to be part of enabling this vital service to save lives and prevent a resurgence of the AIDS pandemic in Ukraine.”

     

    Image: Courtesy of 100% LIFE, Ukraine

    From Exit to Return: 30,000 Ukrainians Returning Home Daily

    OWSA Contributor
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    From Exit to Return: 30,000 Ukrainians Returning Home Daily

    In the 50 days since the Russian army invaded Ukraine, 870,000 people had fled the country, most of them women and children, besides elderly people. Now, aid agencies are observing a reverse – people are coming back to where their homes were.

    More than 870,000 people who fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion of their country on 24 February have now returned to their country.

    The figures are embedded in the latest emergency update brought out by UN humanitarian agencies. The UN humanitarian aid coordination office, OCHA, said, citing the State Border Guard Service, that 30,000 people are crossing back into Ukraine every day, after about 50 days since the war began.

    The recent returnees reportedly include women with children and older persons, compared to mostly men at the beginning of the escalation.

    Latest data from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, indicates that more than 4.7 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began. Another seven million are internally displaced.

    Russia too has reported that more than 783,000 people – including nearly 150,000 children – have crossed into Russia from Ukraine since the war began on 24 February.

    A different challenge

    Fighting is concentrated in the eastern and southern oblasts – or regions – of Ukraine, causing damage and civilian casualties and driving humanitarian needs. OCHA also reported rockets strikes in central and northern Ukraine, before citing Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SESU), which said that 300,000 square kms – or almost half of Ukraine – requires demining.

    Humanitarians have reached 2.1 million of some 12 million people in need in the country, The UN’s US$1.1 billion flash appeal for Ukraine is now 64 per cent funded.

    Does this mean that the UN appeal needs to be revised or revisited? 30,000 people returning daily could mean many people returning to nothing after homes were obliterated by Russian bombing.

    “This significant figure suggests that migration back to Ukraine might continue increasing, potentially creating new challenges for the humanitarian response as people will need support to reintegrate into their communities or find suitable host communities if returning to their homes is no longer viable,” OCHA said in a statement.

    Relief workers killed

    In its latest emergency update, OCHA also reported that two humanitarian workers and five of their relatives have been killed in eastern Dontesk oblast.

    They were sheltering at the Caritas Mariupol office when the building was reportedly hit by rounds fired from a tank, probably on 15 March, although the information only became available recently, as the city had been cut off for weeks.

    Farming and rehabilitation

    Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that there are “immediate food insecurity issues” in nearly three in 10 oblasts – with a further 11 per cent of oblasts (that are partially exposed to fighting) expecting shortages within two months.

    This concerns about deteriorating food security inside the country are not new, though. Rural and isolated communities have been worst-hit by food insecurity, FAO said, as it announced support for farmers to plant their fields, save their livestock and produce food.

    Urgent cash support is also planned for the most vulnerable families, including those headed by women, the elderly and those with disabilities.

     

    Image: Julia Kochetova / UNICEF

    Young Story-Tellers Extend An Olive Branch Across India, Pakistan Borders

    Khushi Malhotra
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    Young Story-Tellers Extend An Olive Branch Across India, Pakistan Borders

    Lighthouse, a non-profit media organisation, has launched a global campaign called ‘Beyond the Borders’ with an aim to amend the long-standing rift between India and Pakistan. 

    By Khushi Malhotra

    A meeting place is buzzing in cyberspace where strangers from India and Pakistan write letters and tell stories. They even share jokes (and who knows, recipes) and speak cricket and Bollywood.

    ‘Beyond the Border’ is a campaign to forge friendships, unite people and prod peace across regions embroiled in a history of conflicts. It is led by Lighthouse, a Bangalore-based organisation.

    With over 50 stories so far, it is turning into a destination for young Indians and Pakistanis to showcase their unique narratives of true love and tolerance.

    The tales come from the heart. As Ashitha Nayak, the founder of Lighthouse says, “By uniting strangers across the border though storytelling, we are proving that at the heart of it all, humans prefer peace to war.”

    “This project is our attempt at showcasing the innate human ability to form connections eve in environments rife with conflict and hate.”

    Diversity. Inclusion.

    This cross-border civil society led digital ‘Beyond the Border’ collaboration is jointly helmed by Shravani Vangur from Bangalore, India, and Sara Hassan who lives in Lahore, Pakistan. Shravani studied engineering; Sara, a literature major.

    India Pakistan Lighthouse Beyond borders peace friendship inclusion diversity
    Ashitha Nayak

    The project in SouthAsia hinges on exchanging stories written in letters (the pun!) and is fully operational in three major world regions — South Asia, South America (Chile and surrounding regions), and parts of the African sub-continent.

    “We’re trying to make diversity, equity, and inclusion a lived reality, one story at a time,” Ashitha says.

    As a new-age storytelling organization connecting people across boundaries and bridging intercultural gaps, Ashitha says, Lighthouse works to connect the dots across cultures through diverse, inclusive, and powerful narratives.

    “Humans have the integral capacity to transcend all of the negativity surrounding us. We aim to help be a stepping stone for at least a few souls on either side of a diverse border to only understand we are more similar than different,” shares Shravai Vangur, Campaign head of Beyond the Borders.

    “Beyond the Borders is our hope for a future; one built upon the foundation of opening discussions and forging genuine connections both old and new. As a cause close to my heart and home, I am gratified we get to explore Indo-Pak stories in such creative outlets. We bring together our audiences, collaborators, contributors and more to witness narratives based on friendships, love and understanding to prove storytelling and positive perspectives truly do have an impact on the journey to peace,” shares Sara Hassan, Campaign head of Beyond the Borders.

    For the sake of peace

    The effort is to form a global, intercultural community of authors, artists, and film-makers makes stories from distant cultures accessible to the world at large.

    Envisioning peace by forming friendships in environments rife with conflict Currently, in collaboration with Aaghaz-E-Dosti, South Asian Peace Project, and other organizations, Lighthouse has launched ‘Beyond the Borders’, a campaign that connects strangers across the India-Pak border to exchange letters, share stories, and bridge the conflicted cultural divide.

    As a non-profit media enterprise, Lighthouse aims to connect the dots across cultures through diverse, inclusive, and powerful narratives. Lighthouse, with funds and support from the Melton Foundation, an international non-profit promoting global citizenship, works in three major world regions – SouthAsia, South America (Chile and surrounding regions), and parts of the African sub-continent.

    Time will tell if there is a future in forming a global, intercultural community of authors, artists, and film-makers or peace.

    Till then, we leave it to a bunch of young women, giggling their way through a romantic experimentation in accessing and telling stories from distant cultures.

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