The reports coming out from the work of CSOs in Zimbabwe and Tanzania on the use of participatory reflection and action (PRA) approaches to strengthening primary health care and addressing issues of accountability.
As these latest reports show:
In the Tanzanian report, HDT and IHI review the context of their work in Bukiriro Village in the north west of the country and reflect on their successes and challenges, and their vision of what they want to achieve in the coming few months. They also measure progress against a set of Progress Markers developed by participants to the programme earlier in the year. In relation to the focus on social accountability, the report states “ Relations between community representatives, Community Based Distributers and health workers have improved considerably, resulting in greater trust in the health system at community level, greater accountability on the part of the health workers, and improved access to and quality of health services.”
The future of family farming: Empowerment & equal rights for women & youth
FAO - 7/7/2014 - To cultivate the next generation of family farmers, we must invest in women and youth.
The stereotype of the young male farmer has given way to the reality of an aging, female-fronted farming force. In the developing world, women make up 43 percent of the agricultural labor—and, in some countries, they make up 80 percent of agricultural labor. However, in some South American and European countries, rural young women are leaving the countryside in search of employment in urban centers leading to the masculinization of farming in these regions.
Women face many obstacles to productive farming. Compared to men, they have limited access to credit and lack control of family funds. In fact, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that only 10 percent of credit in sub-Saharan Africa is available to women. Female farmers also face scant educational opportunities and gender discrimination at markets. Without available funds and proper training, women are unable to make improvements to their farming methods and continue to suffer from low food yields. Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, FAO, emphasizes, “In many developing countries, women are the backbone of the economy. Yet women farmers do not have equal access to resources and this significantly limits their potential in enhancing productivity.” But encouraging experiences can be found, such in Brazil, where women have joint title to land, as part of innovative land reform policies, giving them equal ownership of land with their male partners, whether they are married or not. According to FAO, providing female farmers access to the same resources as men could reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 100-150 million people. And when women earn more and have better rights, they tend to invest more in the health and nutrition of their families.
In recent decades, there have been enormous global strides in getting girls to school and matching boy/girl educational achievement. However, the disparities are still marked and particularly so, in the more disadvantaged regions of the world. UNICEF estimates that in 2011 of the 57 million children of primary school age out of school, more than half of them were girls. The majority of these children are from sub-Saharan Africa and about one fifth from South Asia.
UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay, speaking at a gathering on girls’ right to education, in Geneva, noted the improvements but also drew attention to the “shocking inequalities in a number of States and regions.”
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), organised the discussion as the first step in drafting a General Recommendation aimed at supporting efforts by governments to bridge the remaining gaps, which continue to prevent girls from going to school and achieving the same career outcomes as their male counterparts.
Strasbourg, 31.07.2014 - Europe is taking a leading role to protect women’s rights around the world, as the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence enters into force tomorrow.
Known also as the “Istanbul Convention” because it was opened for signature there three years ago, the convention obliges governments that have ratified it to take specific steps to counter all forms of violence against women: from stalking and sexual harassment to domestic violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
“All need to act now to improve the lives of the many women and girls who are subjected to violence, simply because of their gender,” says Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland in a video message, urging remaining member states to sign and to ratify the convention.
“One of the great strengths of the convention – open to all countries - is that it creates an independent group of experts who will report on how governments comply with its standards”, says the Secretary General.
Strasbourg/Rome, 31.07.2014 – A high-level conference on social rights: in the context of the Italian Presidency of the European Union, and with the co-operation of the City of Turin, the Council of Europe is holding an event at the city’s Teatro Regio on 17 and 18 October focusing on the European Social Charter, an instrument which provides Europe with a true social constitution.
The Charter establishes a system of legal standards which help to reduce economic and social tensions while facilitating sustainable and mutually beneficial development in the States Parties.
The main aim of the conference is to bring together European policy-makers and reaffirm the importance of social rights in times of crisis.
