POVERTY ERADICATION CLUSTER
Poverty is a state that should not only be defined by a lack of income but also as a set of multiple and cumulative deprivations in the access of fundamental human rights and dignity such as the right to food and nutrition, access to education, health, housing, decent work as well as lack of political voice and power. Multidimensionality of poverty and interconnectedness of dimensions need to be recognized to design policies and programs that tackle poverty in a comprehensive and holistic way.
Poverty has strong structural causes and governments, in this regard, have a crucial role to play in addressing these root causes and creating an enabling environment for each segment of the population to be able to enjoy their rights and have their dignity respected. Member States ought to start with the political reforms to make the ‘Right to live in dignity’ a fundamental right in their constitution — without which ending poverty will remain as a slogan. Addressing poverty has to be essentially linked to reducing inequalities.
Clear identification of the vulnerable and marginalized groups is needed such as women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, victims of sexual orientation discriminations, Indigenous communities, members of castes and outcasts (Dalits), (un)documented migrants, refugees etc. For many of these groups or individuals, constant stigmatization and discriminations push them into a vicious circle of poverty, powerlessness and exclusion. For children, poverty has devastating effects due to their particular life stage that lead to lifelong consequences.
To be able to break this negative circle, approaches to end poverty should be based on the values of human and environmental rights, democracy and justice (goal 16). People living in poverty should be seen as rights-holders and recognized as active agents in the fight against poverty. Institutionalizing participatory decision-making and implementation processes in a decentralized and inclusive manner are fundamental in order to leave no one behind.
Fostering a new model of development that is inclusive and sustainable for all is vital for poverty reduction. In accordance with ILO Recommendation n°202, the multi-pronged approach to address poverty should start with creating or strengthening national mechanisms of Social Protection which includes — in unambiguous terms — ending hunger by adequate provisions of food and nutrition for all (goal 2), provisions of free basic health facilities for the poor and affordable other health facilities (goal 3), safe and affordable housing (goal 11), free and compulsory universal elementary education (Goal 4) and water and sanitation (goal 6), access to full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value (goal 8).
In connection with goal 2 on sustainable production and consumption, agriculture plays a major role for the poorest communities in LDCs and middle-income countries and as such, needs promotion, product storage facilities, processing and marketing, insurance against loss etc. The informal sector gives employment to the poorest. Here, legal protection needs to be developed to promote decent work and cover not only informal workers but also give protection to migrant labors. In addition, sustainable models of agriculture that promote alternative systems that respect local indigenous practices should be encouraged as well as the establishment of cooperative means of ownership and production.
Gradual switching over to green development model, extensive measures for resilience against climate change and disaster are key. Profound measures towards technology transfer and increase the quantum of development cooperation associated with adequate financing need urgent attention, if we want to fully achieve the Goals by 2030.
Case studies — concrete examples of SDG implementation on the ground (this can be turned into social media content to be used during HLPF to spread the word about good practices)
SDG 2 #sustainableproduction #cooperative
The work of Hecho por Nosotros (Argentina) includes promoting sustainability in the fashion and textile industry through promoting the use of natural fibres, connecting cooperatives, and craftsmen from marginalized areas, like the Andean region and Patagonia, to social enterprises and international markets. This involves artisans who are preserving artistic traditions, creating positive social impact, and improving the quality of life for themselves and their families, tackling poverty, hunger, and eventually linking to decent work and economic development. Sustainable growth and development require minimizing the toxic materials used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire production and consumption process. As natural fibres are 100% organic, they are beneficial for the environment, especially when cultivated in sustainable way.
SDG 1 #socialprotection #enhancingresilience
Between 2009 and 2011, ATD Fourth World and UNICEF conducted an experiment in Madagascar to determine how people used money they received through a social protection floor program. For two years, 300 adults (and their 450 children) who worked on a rubbish dump, received a family allowance credited each month to an account at the local post office. The results showed the importance of this cash transfer: school attendance and medical consultations to the local health center went up from 30 to 60 per cent. People also invested in improving their homes and in additional income-generating activities, such as the raising of pigs, ducks and chicken. As a result, their resilience was enhanced.
SDG 1 #socialprotection — Case study of Ghana’s LEAP program to fight poverty
The Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) Programme was established as the flagship social Protection programme of Ghana’s Social Protection Strategy. It aimed at providing social cash grants to the extremely poor and vulnerable households, with the objective of reducing poverty by increasing consumption and promoting access to services and opportunities.
The pilot project started with 1,654 households in 21 districts in 2008 and increases to 213,048 households in all the 216 districts in Ghana as at September 2016.
The criteria to be registered as a beneficiary of the LEAP was for the household to have at least one member who was either an orphan or a vulnerable child, an elderly person above 65 years without productive capacity, a disabled person with severe disabilities or an extremely poor and vulnerable pregnant woman.
To reach the main objective of eradicating poverty, specific objectives were:
• To improve basic household consumption and nutrition among children below 5 years of age, the aged (65 years and above without productive capacity) and people with severe disability;
• To increase access to health care services among children below 5 years of age, the aged (65 years and above without productive capacity) and people with severe disability;
• To increase basic school enrolment, attendance and retention of beneficiary children between 5 and 15 years of age;
• To facilitate access to complementary services (such as welfare, livelihoods and improvement of productive capacity) among beneficiary households.
The research led by Sanitization Center in Ghana found out that the program was achieving positive result on the lives of the beneficiary households and the education of their children in terms of enrolment. LEAP beneficiaries where also registered onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) free of charge. This is to ensure access to health care services for the LEAP beneficiaries.
World Vision suggestion for case study
Millions of children and families in East Africa facing worst famine ever — faith based organisations response.
World Vision joined the World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches in May 2017 for a Global Day of Prayer to End Famine. This called was aiming at raising awareness about the dire situation in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria where more than 20 million people are facing starvation. Some 1.4 million children are severely malnourished and at immediate risk of death. The UN has declared this the largest humanitarian crisis since its inception in 1945.
The call to action to pray and engage with churches, governments and society and ensure delivery of life-saving food, water and health interventions.
120 organisations representing 1 billion people of faith joined the Global Day of Prayer to End Famine. Millions of people of faith from around the world joined hearts and minds for an end to famine. 70 million social impressions on twitter alone contributed to bringing a spotlight to this dire situation.
Akamasoa MADAGASCAR:
The humanitarian organization founded by Pedro Opeka (Congregation of the Mission) with the name of Akamasoa (“good friends” in Malagasy), has converted a garbage dump on the outskirts of the capital of Madagascar into a village where men and women live with dignity from their own work. This has brought about both the admiration and the disbelief of friends and strangers.
Here are some significant figures on the number of people who have benefited in an on-going way: 2,923 families or family groups (nearly 60% are single women with their children; in total more than 200,000 people); 15,560 residents (to which we must add those at the headquarters of Arribos, reaching 16,000); 8,409 students distributed as follows: 7,324 in kindergartens and primary schools, 765 secondary schools and 120 in the university, which clearly shows the process of school reintegration that has taken place since AKAMASOA began with the support of many people that decided to walk elbow to elbow with the people of Madagascar. This humanitarian association has been remarkably successful, it has situated about thirty thousand people in 18 villages,including 10 thousand children who all go to the 37 schools founded by Akamasoa.
SDG 1 Leaving no one behind: no more invisible kids
Ivory Coast 2016 AJAD Aide à la Jeunesse Africaine
How can we help people face extreme poverty if they are stateless ?
The right to live with dignity begins with a proof of identity. Without a nationality, poor children have no access to health care, education and later to decent and legal work; they are easy targets for abuse and trafficking. In the event of natural disasters or conflicts they risk being separated from their families for lack of official papers.
In the Ivory Coast, following the civil war conflict from 2004 to 2007, many children were not declared, yielding an alarming situation. In this context, the Government had given undocumented kids access to primary school, but middle school remained unattainable without a birth certificate. UNICEF was planning to finance these birth certificates for 300 children, thus enabling them to enroll in middle school in the sub-prefecture of Songon (suburb of Abidjan) to continue their studies.
Many mothers in Songon raise their children alone. Because most mothers live without a legal marriage, they and their children are left with nothing when the father leaves or dies. They can be repudiated overnight and become isolated without any resources to raise their many children. To enroll their children on the civil status lists, they must pay the judge, the doctor and their travel expenses in order to determine the child’s bone age and elaborate the identity documentation. Needless to say, most mothers in Songon cannot afford this and financial help was crucial for their children’s future.
However, some parents in Songon cannot even send their children to primary school because they cannot afford to buy supplies and participate in the renovation of the classrooms. Because they were not enrolled, these children could not be counted in UNICEF’s program to continue studying. Aide à la Jeunesse Africaine (AJAD), a Make Mothers Matter member organization, identified 100 such “Ghost children” in Songon. In October 2016, MMM raised fund to help AJAD finance and negociate the process for these children to receive a birth certificate.
In continuation of this work, AJAD plans to challenge the authorities and urge them to support their project in order to make parents aware of the right to enroll children from birth on the civil status lists. AJAD wants to set up a system, in conjunction with the midwives of the hospital and the chiefdoms, to raise parents’ awareness and ensure they act as soon as they leave the maternity ward.
This partnership between Make Mothers Matter and AJAD provided these 100 children with a legal status and have the opportunity to access school education, health care and their nationality. These “invisible children” have been brought out of oblivion and given an identity essential to their development, protection and integration into society.
To exist with a name is already to be recognized and to be able to be rescued, the first step to escaping poverty.
Many others worldwide need to exist and to get a nationality. For more information, see: The World’s Stateless Children (2017) by the Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion
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List of organizations part of the Poverty Eradication Cluster
ATD Fourth World
Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace (CAMYOSFOP)
GCAP
Hecho por Nosotros
Sanitization Center
WorldVision
Congregation of the Mission
Make Mothers Matter ….
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