Global South Development Magazine October 2014

8/10/2019 Global South Development Magazine October 2014

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S O U T H

GLOBAL

D e v e l o p m e n t M a g a z i n e

O u r W o r l d . O u r S t o r i e s .

1 4 , O c t . 2 0 1 4 I S S N : 1 7 9 9 - 0 7 6 9

South-South

h e i d e a o f S o u t h -

o u t h c o o p e r a t i o n h a s

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h i e v e d a n y t h i n g

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g s d m a g a z i n e . o r g


2/39

G l o b a l S o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t M a g a z i n e i s a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l

d e v e l o p m e n t m a g a z i n e p u b l i s h e d b y S i l v e r L i n i n g C r e a t i o n ,

F i n l a n d . T h e m a g a z i n e c o v e r s a w i d e r a n g e o f d e v e l o p m e n t a l

i s s u e s p r i m a r i l y o f t h e d e v e l o p i n g w o r l d a n d i s a n i n i t i a t i v e o f

f r e e l a n c e w r i t e r s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a c t i v i s t s f r o m d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f

t h e w o r l d .

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M a n o j K r B h u s a l

m a n o j . b h u s a l @ g s d m a g a z i n e . o r g

R e g i o n a l E d i t o r s

L i n g s o n A d a m ( E a s t A f r i c a )

K h a l i d H u s s a i n ( S o u t h A s i a )

D i e g o C u p o l o ( L a t i n A m e r i c a )

S p e c i a l C o r r e s p o n d e n t s

M a r y N a m u s o k e ( W o m e n s i s s u e s i n A f r i c a )

R o x a n n e I r a n i ( G l o b a l e n v i r o n m e n t a l i s s u e s )

S a n d e e p S r i v a s t a v a ( C l i m a t e c h a n g e )

A l i z a A m l a n i ( G l o b a l H e a l t h )

D e a n n a M o r r i s ( L i v e l i h o o d & G l o b a l E c o n o m i c A f f a i r s )

A p a r n a S P a t a n k a r ( G l o b a l E d u c a t i o n )

K a t e K a r d o l ( D e v e l o p m e n t A i d & C o n f l i c t S t a t e s )

H r i d a y S a r m a ( S o u t h - t o - S o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t C o o p e r a t i o n )

I r e n e N y a m b u r a M w a n g i ( D e v e l o p m e n t & D e m o c r a c y i n A f r i c a )

D e b o r a D i D i o ( G l o b a l H u m a n i t a r i a n A f f a i r s )

C o u n t r y C o r r e s p o n d e n t s

V i c t o r i a L u c y P e e l Y a t e s ( A r g e n t i n a )

T i t h e F a r h a n a ( B a n g l a d e s h )

M a r i t a H a u g ( B r a z i l )

J a m e s B e l g r a v e ( B u r u n d i )

G a r e t h M a c e ( C a m b o d i a )

M e e r i m S h a k i r o v a ( C e n t r a l A s i a )

E m i l y C a v a n L y n c h ( D R C o n g o )

K i m b o w a R i c h a r d ( U g a n d a )

J a s e n M p h e p o ( Z i m b a b w e )

D e v e l o p m e n t R e p o r t e r s

A n t h o n y L u b e r t o

I b r a s h P a s h a

L u a n a M o r a e s A m o r i n

M d . S a r i f u l I s l a m

O l u f u n m i l a y o A k a n d e

S i m o n R i l e y g

P r o m o t e r s

D i n e s h P o u d e l

S u r a j C h a n d

S e n d a r t i c l e s a n d e n q u i r i e s

s u b m i s s i o n s @ g s d m a g a z i n e . o r g

g s d m a g a z i n e @ g m a i l . c o m

P u b l i s h e d B y

S i l v e r L i n i n g C r e a t i o n r y - F i n l a n d

E m a i l : i n f o @ g s d m a g a z i n e . o r g

g l o b a l s o u t h @ s i l c r e a t i o n . o r g

h t t p : / / w w w . s i l c r e a t i o n . o r g

I S S N 1 7 9 9 - 0 7 6 9

S u b s c r i b e t h e m a g a z i n e f o r f r e e a t

w w w . g s d m a g a z i n e . o r g

w w w . s i l c r e a t i o n . o r g

L e t t e r t o t h e e d i t o r

S t o p R e f u g e e Q u e u e s

t o E u r o p e !

I t w a s v e r y s a d t o s e e t h e

h o r r i f y i n g p i c t u r e s o f t h e

S y r i a n c h i l d r e n . A s t h e

c o n f l i c t i s s t i l l o n g o i n g , t h e r e

i s n o d o u b t t h a t m a n y s u c h

p i c t u r e s w i l l b e c o m i n g i n

t h e d a y s t o c o m e . T h o u s a n d s

o f r e f u g e e s a r e f l e e i n g S y r i a

e v e r y d a y a n d t h e i r f u t u r e i s

u n c e r t a i n .

D i e g o C u p o l o ' s S y r i a d i a r y

w a s p o w e r f u l . I t f a b u l o u s l y

d e p i c t s t h e h o p e s a n d

d e s p a i r s o f a w a r t r o d d e n

c o u n t r y .

T h e n e w s a n a l y s i s p i e c e

t i t l e d N o w e l c o m e m a t f o r

S y r i a n s i n E u r o p e s h o w s

h o w i n d i f f e r e n t t h e w o r l d i s

g r o w i n g w h e n i t c o m e s t o

p r o t e c t i n g r e f u g e e s a n d

a s y l u m s e e k e r s . W h e n i t

c o m e s t o r e f u g e e s t h e t r u t h i s

t h a t t a k i n g a f e w h u n d r e d

a b l e d r e f u g e e s t o E u r o p e

w o n t s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m i n

t h e l o n g r u n . T h e p r o b l e m i s

m u c h m o r e e x t e n s i v e a n d

i n s t e a d o f d i v i d i n g q u o t a s

f o r t a k i n g r e f u g e e s , c o u n t r i e s

s h o u l d t h i n k a b o u t c r e a t i n g

a j o i n t f u n d s o t h a t r e f u g e e s

w e l f a r e c o u l d b e a s c e r t a i n e d ,

i n s t e a d , i n a n e i g h b o r i n g

c o u n t r y . I n S y r i a s c a s e ,

r e f u g e e s i n T u r k e y , L e b a n o n

a n d J o r d a n c o u l d b e

s u p p o r t e d o n t h e s p o t

i n s t e a d o f q u e u i n g t h e m t o

n e v e r e n d i n g l i n e t h a t

s u p p o s e d l y e n d s s o m e w h e r e

i n E u r o p e .

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G e n d e r N e x u s

I n G S D M s D e c e m b e r

i s s u e , T i t h e F a r h a n a

i n t e r e s t i n g l y e s t a b l i s h e s a l i n k

b e t w e e n r e p r o d u c t i v e h e a l t h

a n d c l i m a t e c h a n g e i n t h e

B a n g l a d e s h i c o n t e x t , b u t

b a s e d o n m y e x p e r i e n c e o f

w o r k i n g w i t h d i f f e r e n t

N G O s a n d i n d i f f e r e n t

c o u n t r i e s o f t h e d e v e l o p i n g

w o r l d , i t s b e e n a g l o b a l

p h e n o m e n o n . I h a v e

o b s e r v e d i n s o m a n y

c o u n t r i e s t h a t w o m e n s u f f e r

m o s t w h e n h a r s h e f f e c t s o f

c l i m a t e c h a n g e h i t h a r d . W e

a r e o f t e n b l a m e d f o r l o o k i n g

f o r g e n d e r c o n t e x t i n e v e r y

d e v e l o p m e n t i s s u e , b u t I

f i r m l y b e l i e v e d t h a t g e n d e r

p e r s p e c t i v e m u s t b e t a k e n

i n t o a c c o u n t w h i l e

c o m b a t i n g c l i m a t e c h a n g e

a n d g l o b a l w a r m i n g .

S a r a h

L o n d o n , U n i t e d K i n g d o m

G l o b a l E d i t o r i a l T e a m


3/39

G l o b a l S o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t M a g a z i n e , F o u n d e d i n 2 0 1 0

O c t 2 0 1 4 I S S U E 1 4 W W W . G S D M A G A Z I N E . O R G

4 I n t r o d u c t i o n : R e m a r k s f r o m t h e E d i t o r

5 S o u t h i n t h e F r a m e : P h o t o s f r o m A f g h a n i s t a n & S i e r r a L e o n e

6 N e w s A n a l y s i s : G l o b a l S o u t h

9 C o v e r S t o r y : S o u t h - S o u t h C o o p e r a t i o n f o r D e v e l o p m e n t & P e a c e

1 7 T r a v e l D i a r y : A M u d R o a d t o P e r u

1 9 A n a l y s i s : T h e H u m a n i t a r i a n C r i s i s i n t h e C A R

2 2 P o l i c y D e b a t e : L i n k i n g D i s a b i l i t y & P o v e r t y i n N e w D e v e l o p m e n t

A g e n d a

2 4 A c t i v i s m : T e n G r a s s r o o t s E n v i r o n m e n t a l J u s t i c e C a m p a i g n f r o m

A r o u n d t h e W o r l d

2 7 O p - E d : T h e D i l e m m a o f D e v e l o p m e n t & t h e T r i b a l P e o p l e o f I n d i a

2 9 I n - d e p t h R e p o r t : P l a n n i n g & C o n d u c t i n g a L o c a l P r o c u r e m e n t

S t r a t e g y i n D e v e l o p i n g C o u n t r i e s

3 2 A n a l y s i s : D r o n e U s e S o a r s i n L a t i n A m e r i c a

3 6 D e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e N e w s

S o u t h - S o u t h

C o o p e r a t i o n f o r

D e v e l o p m e n t &

P e a c e

p . 9 9

South-South
http://www.gsdmagazine.org/


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T h e i d e a o f S o u t h - S o u t h c o o p e r a t i o n i s

n o t a n e w c o n c e p t i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l

d e v e l o p m e n t d i s c o u r s e . P a r t i c u l a r l y ,

b e f o r e G 7 7 s c r e a t i o n i n 1 9 6 4 ,

d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s i n t h e S o u t h

e n g a g e d i n c o o p e r a t i o n a c t i v i t i e s t h a t

w e r e s o m e h o w l i m i t e d t o t h e i r

n e i g h b o r h o o d s . N o w a d a y s , t h e p r a c t i c e

h a s b e e n m u c h m o r e e x t e n s i v e a n d

w i d e - r a n g i n g . F o r i n s t a n c e , w h e n t h e

E b o l a o u t b r e a k h i t W e s t A f r i c a t h i s

y e a r , C u b a s e n t 1 6 5 m e d i c a l

p r o f e s s i o n a l s t o S i e r r a L e o n e a n d

b e c a m e t h e f i r s t c o u n t r y t o r e s p o n d . I n

E t h i o p i a , a g r o u p o f I G A D d e l e g a t e s

s t r u g g l e d t o f o r g e a p e a c e d e a l b e t w e e n

w a r r i n g f a c t i o n s i n S o u t h S u d a n .

I G A D - I n t e r - g o v e r n m e n t a l A u t h o r i t y

f o r D e v e l o p m e n t - i s a c o n s o r t i u m o f 8

d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s f r o m E a s t A f r i c a -

D j i b o u t i , E r i t r e a , E t h i o p i a , K e n y a ,

S o m a l i a , U g a n d a , S u d a n a n d S o u t h

S u d a n .

S o u t h - S o u t h c o o p e r a t i o n t o d a y

e x p a n d s b e y o n d m e r e h u m a n i t a r i a n

a s s i s t a n c e a n d g o o d w i l l e n d e a v o r s .

T r a d e a n d i n v e s t m e n t b e t w e e n c o u n t r i e s

i n t h e S o u t h i s h u g e . S o i s k n o w l e d g e

s h a r i n g a n d c a p a c i t y b u i l d i n g . W h e t h e r

i t s B r a z i l i a n B o l s h a p r o g r a m , L i g h t i n g

A f r i c a c a m p a i g n o r N e p a l s n o n -

c o n t r i b u t o r y p e n s i o n s y s t e m , t h e r e i s a

l e s s o n t o l e a r n f o r o t h e r d e v e l o p i n g

c o u n t r i e s . I n t h i s e d i t i o n o f G l o b a l

S o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t M a g a z i n e , w e

c r i t i c a l l y r e v i e w t h e p r a c t i c e o f S o u t h -

S o u t h c o o p e r a t i o n a n d p r e s e n t a c o u p l e

o f r e m a r k a b l e c a s e s t u d i e s f r o m t h e

S o u t h .

I n a d d i t i o n , t h i s e d i t i o n b r i n g s y o u

o t h e r t h o u g h t - p r o v o k i n g s t o r i e s f r o m

a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . O u r L a t i n A m e r i c a

E d i t o r D i e g o C u p o l o s t r a v e l d i a r y A

M u d R o a d t o P e r u c a r r i e s y o u t o a

f a s c i n a t i n g t r i p t o E c u a d o r , a n d o u r

S p e c i a l C o r r e s p o n d e n t f o r G l o b a l

H u m a n i t a r i a n A f f a i r s D e b o r a D i D i o s

p i e c e T h e H u m a n i t a r i a n C r i s i s i n t h e

C e n t r a l A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c g i v e s y o u a n

o v e r v i e w o f t h e f r a g i l e s i t u a t i o n i n t h e

S a h e l r e g i o n .

O u r n e w l y a p p o i n t e d D e v e l o p m e n t

R e p o r t e r s O l u f u n m i l a y o A k a n d e a n d

A n t o n y L u b e r t o h a v e m a d e t h e i r f i r s t

c o n t r i b u t i o n b y w r i t i n g a b o u t d i s a b i l i t y

i n d e v e l o p m e n t a g e n d a , a n d d i s c u s s i n g

a l t e r n a t i v e w a y s o f p l a n n i n g a n d

c o n d u c t i n g l o c a l p r o c u r e m e n t s t r a t e g y

i n d e v e l o p i n g c o u n t r i e s .

G S D M s g u e s t c o n t r i b u t o r H e l e n

L o n g s c o m p i l a t i o n T e n G r a s s r o o t s

E n v i r o n m e n t a l J u s t i c e C a m p a i g n s f r o m

A r o u n d t h e W o r l d a n d P r a s i d d h a

K h a n a l s p h o t o s t o r y o n c h i l d l a b o r i n

N e p a l a r e c e r t a i n l y g o i n g t o m a k e y o u

t h i n k . F i n a l l y , P r o f . A n u p a m a S a x e n a s

t a k e o n d e v e l o p m e n t a n d t h e t r i b a l

p e o p l e o f I n d i a c a l l s f o r a r i g h t s - b a s e d

a p p r o a c h t o d e v e l o p m e n t a n d D i e g o

C u p o l o s r e p o r t i n g o n d r o n e s u s e i n

L a t i n A m e r i c a w a r n s a b o u t t h e s e c u r i t y

t h r e a t i m p o s e d b y t h e i n c r e a s e d u s e o f

d r o n e s i n L a t i n A m e r i c a .

H a p p y r e a d i n g !

( T h e e d i t o r c a n b e r e a c h e d a t

m a n o j . b h u s a l @ g s d m a g a z i n e . o r g )

" W h e n t h e E b o l a

o u t b r e a k h i t W e s t

A f r i c a t h i s y e a r , C u b a

s e n t 1 6 5 m e d i c a l

p r o f e s s i o n a l s t o S i e r r a

L e o n e a n d b e c a m e t h e

f i r s t c o u n t r y t o

r e s p o n d . I n E t h i o p i a , a

g r o u p o f I G A D

d e l e g a t e s s t r u g g l e d t o

f o r g e a p e a c e d e a l

b e t w e e n w a r r i n g

f a c t i o n s i n S o u t h

S u d a n "

" S o u t h - S o u t h

c o o p e r a t i o n t o d a y

e x p a n d s b e y o n d m e r e

h u m a n i t a r i a n

a s s i s t a n c e a n d

g o o d w i l l e n d e a v o r s .

T r a d e a n d i n v e s t m e n t

b e t w e e n c o u n t r i e s i n

t h e S o u t h i s h u g e . S o

i s k n o w l e d g e s h a r i n g

a n d c a p a c i t y b u i l d i n g .

W h e t h e r i t s B r a z i l i a n

B o l s h a p r o g r a m ,

L i g h t i n g A f r i c a

c a m p a i g n o r N e p a l s

n o n - c o n t r i b u t o r y

p e n s i o n s y s t e m , t h e r e

i s a l e s s o n t o l e a r n f o r

o t h e r d e v e l o p i n g

c o u n t r i e s "

B y M A N O J B H U S A L

R e m a r k s F r o m t h e E d i t o r

G l o b a l S o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t M a g a z i n e O c t 2 0 1 4 4


5/39

G l o b a l S o u t h I n t h e F r a m e

A f g h a n F o r m e r R e f u g e e a t U N H C R R e t u r n e e C a m p

A c l o s e - u p o f a w o m a n f o r m e r r e f u g e e a t t h e U N H i g h C o m m i s s i o n f o r R e f u g e e s ( U N H C R ) ' s r e t u r n e e c a m p i n S a r i P u l , A f g h a n i s t a n .

U N P h o t o / E r i c K a n a l s t e i n .

S i e r r a L e o n e : i n t o t h e E b o l a e p i c e n t r e

A n E b o l a t r e a t m e n t a n d i s o l a t i o n c e n t r e c r e a t e d i n t h e d i s t r i c t o f K a i l a h u n , e a s t e r n S i e r r a L e o n e . 4 i n 1 0 E b o l a s u f f e r e r s r e c o v e r

f r o m t h e l e t h a l d i s e a s e a n d t r y t o p i c k w h a t ' s l e f t o f t h e i r l i v e s i n a r e g i o n n o w c o r d o n e d o f f f r o m t h e w o r l d . P h o t o c r e d i t s :

E C / E C H O / C y p r i e n F a b r e



6/39

F i g h t i n g E b o l a b y t h e G r a c e o f G o d

s A n a l y s i s G l o b a l S o u t h

P a n i c k e d a n d s h o c k e d L i b e r i a n h e a l t h

w o r k e r s w h o h a v e s e e n t h e i r

c o l l e a g u e s d i e o f E b o l a , w h i c h h a s

k i l l e d t h o u s a n d s i n W e s t A f r i c a s i n c e

J a n u a r y , a r e a b a n d o n i n g t h e i r w o r k

s t a t i o n s , h o p i n g t o r e s u m e o n l y w h e n

t h e d i s e a s e s u b s i d e s .

T h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n s h a v e b e e n

c o m p o u n d e d b y t h e l a c k o f a d e q u a t e

m e d i c a l e q u i p m e n t . T h o s e w h o

r e m a i n a t w o r k f a c e a h e a v i e r

w o r k l o a d . T h e a u t h o r i t i e s s a y t h e y

a r e c o n d u c t i n g t r a i n i n g a n d s u p p l y i n g

e q u i p m e n t t o b o l s t e r E b o l a c o n t r o l .

W e h a v e m a n y c h a l l e n g e s a t t h i s

l o c a l h e a l t h c e n t r e , s a i d M c F a r l a n d

K e r k u l a h , a d o c t o r a t D o l o h e a l t h

c e n t r e i n M a r g i b i C o u n t y , s o m e

5 0 k m n o r t h w e s t o f t h e c a p i t a l

M o n r o v i a . W e l a c k g l o v e s , g o g g l e s ,

c h l o r i n e a n d o t h e r d i s i n f e c t a n t

m a t e r i a l s . T h e r e i s n o t h i n g t h a t h a s

b e e n p u t i n p l a c e b y t h e g o v e r n m e n t .

W e a r e j u s t m a n a g i n g b y t h e g r a c e

o f G o d . W e a r e v e r y s c a r e d b e c a u s e i f

y o u t e l l u s t o f i g h t E b o l a o r p r e v e n t

i t , w h a t m a t e r i a l s d o w e u s e ? N o n e

o f u s h a s b e e n t r a i n e d t o f i g h t t h e

d i s e a s e , K e r k u l a h t o l d I R I N .

E b o l a h a d k i l l e d 4 , 8 6 7 p e o p l e a n d

i n f e c t e d m o r e t h a n 1 0 , 0 0 0 i n L i b e r i a

a n d i n n e i g h b o u r i n g G u i n e a a n d

S i e r r a L e o n e b y 2 3 O c t o b e r ,

a c c o r d i n g t o W o r l d H e a l t h

O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W H O ) . E b o l a s s p r e a d

i s m a i n l y b e i n g d r i v e n b y s o m e

c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s a m o n g r u r a l

c o m m u n i t i e s s u c h a s b u r i a l r i t u a l s ,

h i g h p o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t y a r o u n d t h e

c a p i t a l s o f t h e t h r e e W e s t A f r i c a n

c o u n t r i e s , a s w e l l a s c r o s s - b o r d e r

m o v e m e n t , W H O s a i d .

A t l e a s t f i v e m a j o r h o s p i t a l s a n d

h e a l t h c e n t r e s i n M o n r o v i a h a v e

r e p o r t e d a d e c l i n e i n m a n p o w e r , b u t

T o l b e r t N y e n s w a h , t h e a s s i s t a n t

h e a l t h m i n i s t e r f o r p r e v e n t i v e s e r v i c e s ,

s a i d t h e y w e r e w o r k i n g t o r e t u r n t o

f u l l s e r v i c e .

T h e s t a y - a w a y i s a f f e c t i n g o t h e r i l l

p e o p l e . T h e y n e e d t o r e t u r n t o w o r k .

T h i n g s a r e g e t t i n g b e t t e r w i t h t h e

e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g w e a r e

p r o v i d i n g . T h i s w i l l m a k e t h e m

r e t u r n . W e u n d e r s t a n d t h e i r f e a r s , b u t

t h e y n e e d t o c o m e b a c k t o w o r k .

A n u r s e a t R e d e m p t i o n H o s p i t a l , a

r e f e r r a l h o s p i t a l i n M o n r o v i a , s a i d : I

a m a f r a i d t o d i e . O u r f r i e n d s d i e d a n d

t h e i r f a m i l i e s d i d n o t r e c e i v e a n y

c o m p e n s a t i o n f r o m t h e g o v e r n m e n t .

I t m e a n s t h a t i f I d i e t o o t h a t w i l l b e

t h e e n d . I a m v e r y s c a r e d a n d h a v e

d e c i d e d t o s t a y h o m e . T h e h o s p i t a l

r e c e n t l y l o s t a n u r s e a n d a d o c t o r t o

E b o l a .

T o b e f r a n k , I a m a c t u a l l y s c a r e d . I

a m a f a t h e r o f s i x a n d I d o n t w a n t t o

d i e a n d l e a v e m y c h i l d r e n b e h i n d

n o w . A n d s o I h a v e d e c i d e d t o s t a y a t

h o m e w i t h t h e f a m i l y f o r n o w . W h e n

t h i n g s i m p r o v e , I w i l l g e t b a c k t o m y

j o b , s a i d a l a b o r a t o r y t e c h n i c i a n

w h o a l s o s p o k e t o I R I N o n c o n d i t i o n

o f a n o n y m i t y . L a r r y K i n g , h e a d o f

M a m b a K a r b a H e a l t h C e n t r e o n t h e

o u t s k i r t s o f t h e c a p i t a l , s a i d n i n e o f

t h e c e n t r e s 2 5 s t a f f h a v e s t a y e d

a w a y .

T h e w o r k l o a d h e r e i s h e a v y . M y

w o r k e r s h a v e r e f u s e d t o c o m e t o

w o r k s i n c e t h e y h e a r d t h e n e w s o f t h e

d e a t h o f s o m e o f t h e i r f e l l o w n u r s e s .

T h i s i s c a u s i n g a s e r i o u s h i n d r a n c e t o

t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e c e n t r e . T h e r e a r e

E b o l a h a s k i l l e d 4 , 8 6 7 p e o p l e a n d i n f e c t e d m o r e t h a n 1 0 , 0 0 0 i n L i b e r i a a n d i n n e i g h b o u r i n g G u i n e a a n d S i e r r a

L e o n e b y 2 3 O c t o b e r , a c c o r d i n g t o W o r l d H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W H O ) . E b o l a s s p r e a d i s m a i n l y b e i n g d r i v e n b y

s o m e c u l t u r a l p r a c t i c e s a m o n g r u r a l c o m m u n i t i e s s u c h a s b u r i a l r i t u a l s , h i g h p o p u l a t i o n d e n s i t y a r o u n d t h e

c a p i t a l s o f t h e t h r e e W e s t A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s , a s w e l l a s c r o s s - b o r d e r m o v e m e n t , W H O s a i d .



7/39

m o r e p a t i e n t s c o m i n g i n w i t h o t h e r

i l l n e s s e s b u t t h e m a n p o w e r i s l o w . I

h o p e t h e n u r s e s c a n s e e t h e r e a s o n t o

c o m e b a c k t o w o r k , h e s a i d .

A l l a y i n g f e a r s

T h e H e a l t h M i n i s t r y s a y s i t i s

c a r r y i n g o u t t r a i n i n g a n d p r o v i d i n g

s u p p l i e s t o h e a l t h c e n t r e s i n a b i d t o

c a l m f e a r s a n d b o o s t c o n t r o l o f t h e

i n c u r a b l e d i s e a s e . I n L i b e r i a , 2 , 7 0 4

p e o p l e h a v e d i e d o f E b o l a a n d t h e r e

a r e 4 , 6 9 3 c o n f i r m e d , p r o b a b l e o r

s u s p e c t e d c a s e s , a c c o r d i n g t o W H O .

S o m e 2 0 0 h e a l t h c e n t r e s h a v e

r e c e i v e d t r a i n i n g o u t o f a t o t a l t a r g e t

o f 5 0 0 , s a i d N y e n s w a h .

T h e p r o b l e m t h e h e a l t h w o r k e r s

w e r e f a c e d w i t h w a s t h e l a c k o f

t r a i n i n g a n d l a c k o f k n o w l e d g e o f t h e

E b o l a v i r u s , h e e x p l a i n e d . A s y o u

k n o w i t i s a s t r a n g e v i r u s i n o u r

r e g i o n . S o r i g h t n o w t h e r e i s a r o b u s t

t r a i n i n g t e a m t h a t i s m o v i n g t o h e a l t h

f a c i l i t i e s i n b o t h u r b a n a n d r u r a l

L i b e r i a t o p r o v i d e t h e s e t r a i n i n g s a n d

p r o t e c t i v e m a t e r i a l s . S o o n c e t h e y

h a v e t h e t r a i n i n g a n d i n f o r m a t i o n w e

a r e a s s u r e d t h a t t h e f e a r w i l l b e p u t

a s i d e a n d t h a t t h e y c a n t a k e c a r e o f

t h e p a t i e n t s .

T h e U N C h i l d r e n s F u n d ( U N I C E F )

s a i d i t i s w o r k i n g w i t h t h e L i b e r i a n

h e a l t h a u t h o r i t i e s t o p r o p a g a t e h e a l t h

e d u c a t i o n a i m e d a t c o u n t e r i n g d e n i a l

a n d i m p r o v i n g t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d

p r e v e n t i o n o f E b o l a .

W e w a n t t o m a k e s u r e t h a t t h e

p e o p l e k n o w w h a t t h e s i c k n e s s i s

a b o u t , s a i d S h e l t o n Y e t t , U N I C E F s

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e i n L i b e r i a . W e

u n d e r s t a n d t h e h e a l t h w o r k e r s f e a r s ,

b u t t h o s e h e a l t h w o r k e r s h a v e a n

i m p o r t a n t r o l e t o p l a y i n t h e f i g h t

a g a i n s t E b o l a .

I n J u l y , l e a d e r s o f t h e E c o n o m i c

C o m m u n i t y o f W e s t A f r i c a n S t a t e s

( E C O W A S ) a g r e e d a t a m e e t i n g i n

G h a n a t o s e t u p a f u n d t o d e a l w i t h

t h e s p r e a d o f t h e E b o l a i n t h e s u b -

r e g i o n . ( S o u r c e : I R I N )



' W e a r e j u s t m a n a g i n g

b y t h e g r a c e o f G o d .

W e a r e v e r y s c a r e d

b e c a u s e i f y o u t e l l u s

t o f i g h t E b o l a o r

p r e v e n t i t , w h a t

m a t e r i a l s d o w e u s e ?

N o n e o f u s h a s b e e n

t r a i n e d t o f i g h t t h e

d i s e a s e , ' K e r k u l a h

t o l d

I c e l a n d T o p s

G l o b a l P e a c e I n d e x

2 0 1 4

I c e l a n d h a s b e e n n a m e d t h e m o s t

p e a c e f u l c o u n t r y i n t h e w o r l d f o r t h e

s e v e n t h c o n s e c u t i v e y e a r b y T h e

I n s t i t u t e f o r E c o n o m i c s & P e a c e .

I c e l a n d i s c l o s e l y f o l l o w e d b y

D e n m a r k , A u s t r i a a n d N e w Z e a l a n d .

M e a n w h i l e E u r o p e c o n t i n u e s t o r a n k

a s t h e m o s t p e a c e f u l r e g i o n , w i t h

e i g h t o f t h e t o p t e n c o u n t r i e s l o c a t e d

t h e r e .

F a c t o r s t h e i n d e x t a k e s i n t o a c c o u n t

a r e , a m o n g o t h e r s : t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f

t h e p o p u l a t i o n i n j a i l , f r e e d o m o f t h e

p r e s s , p e r c e i v e d w i l l i n g n e s s t o f i g h t i n

w a r s , a c c e s s t o w e a p o n s , v i o l e n t

c r i m e , g e n d e r

i n e q u a l i t y a n d

p o l i t i c a l

c o r r u p t i o n .

D e s p i t e i t s h i g h

s t a n d i n g ,

I c e l a n d s p e a c e

G P I h a s

d e t e r i o r a t e d

s l i g h t l y s i n c e

l a s t y e a r ,

m o s t l y d u e t o

i n c r e a s e d

d e f e n s e

s p e n d i n g .

S y r i a r e p l a c e d

A f g h a n i s t a n a s t h e l e a s t p e a c e f u l

c o u n t r y i n t h e w o r l d , f o l l o w i n g t h e

e s c a l a t i n g v i o l e n c e o f t h e c i v i l w a r

t h a t b e g a n t h e r e i n 2 0 1 1 . O v e r a l l

w o r l d p e a c e h a s b e e n t r e n d i n g

d o w n w a r d s f o r t h e p a s t s e v e n y e a r s

w i t h e l e v e n n a t i o n s , w i t h a c o m b i n e d

p o p u l a t i o n o f 5 0 0 m i l l i o n p e o p l e ,

d e f i n e d a s b e i n g i n a b s o l u t e c o n f l i c t .

W h i l e e x t e r n a l c o n f l i c t b e t w e e n

d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s h a s m o s t l y

d e c r e a s e d , i n t e r n a l c o n f l i c t h a s

i n c r e a s e d g r e a t l y .


8/39

G i r l P o w e r : N i g e r i a n T e e n s

I n v e n t U r i n e - P o w e r e d G e n e r a t o r

F o u r A f r i c a n g i r l s h a v e c r e a t e d a

g e n e r a t o r t h a t p r o d u c e s e l e c t r i c i t y f o r

s i x h o u r s u s i n g a s i n g l e l i t e r o f u r i n e

a s f u e l .

T h e g e n e r a t o r w a s u n v e i l e d a t l a s t

w e e k ' s M a k e r F a i r e i n L a g o s , N i g e r i a ,

b y t h e f o u r t e e n s D u r o - A i n a A d e b o l a ,

A k i n d e l e A b i o l a , a n d F a l e k e

O l u w a t o y i n , a l l a g e 1 4 , a n d B e l l o

E n i o l a , 1 5 .

S o h o w e x a c t l y d o e s t h e u r i n e -

p o w e r e d g e n e r a t o r w o r k ?

U r i n e i s p u t i n t o a n e l e c t r o l y t i c c e l l ,

w h i c h s e p a r a t e s o u t t h e h y d r o g e n .

T h e h y d r o g e n g o e s i n t o a w a t e r f i l t e r

f o r p u r i f i c a t i o n , w h i c h t h e n g e t s

p u s h e d i n t o t h e g a s c y l i n d e r .

T h e g a s c y l i n d e r p u s h e s h y d r o g e n i n t o

a c y l i n d e r o f l i q u i d b o r a x , w h i c h i s

u s e d t o r e m o v e t h e m o i s t u r e f r o m t h e

h y d r o g e n g a s .

T h i s p u r i f i e d h y d r o g e n g a s i s p u s h e d

i n t o t h e g e n e r a t o r .

A n d a s f o r d e l i v e r i n g t h e f u e l i t s e l f ?

W e l l , w e ' l l l e a v e t h a t u p t o t h e

c o n s u m e r .

T h e M a k e r F a i r e i s a p o p u l a r e v e n t

a c r o s s t h e A f r i c a n c o n t i n e n t , d r a w i n g

t h o u s a n d s o f p a r t i c i p a n t s w h o t r a v e l

t o L a g o s t o s h o w t h e i r i n v e n t i o n s a n d

o t h e r p r a c t i c a l c r e a t i o n s .

A s t h e N e x t W e b d e s c r i b e s i t , t h e

M a k e r F a i r e i s i n t e n d e d t o h i g h l i g h t

c r e a t i o n s " t h a t s o l v e i m m e d i a t e

c h a l l e n g e s a n d p r o b l e m s , a n d t h e n

w o r k s t o s u p p o r t a n d p r o p a g a t e

t h e m . P u t a n o t h e r w a y , t h i s i s n ' t j u s t a

b u n c h o f r i c h p e o p l e t a l k i n g a b o u t

h o w t h e i r a p p s a r e g o i n g t o c h a n g e

t h e w o r l d . "

T h e U N s a y s a c t i o n w i l l b e n e e d e d t o

p r o t e c t v u l n e r a b l e c o m m u n i t i e s a n d t h e i r

d e v e l o p m e n t a c h i e v e m e n t s f r o m t h e

p o t e n t i a l l o n g - t e r m e f f e c t s o f E b o l a i n

W e s t A f r i c a .

D e c l a r e d a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l e m e r g e n c y b y

t h e W o r l d H e a l t h O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W H O ) ,

t h e l a r g e s t e v e r o u t b r e a k o f t h e d i s e a s e

h a s n o w c l a i m e d t h o u s a n d s o f l i v e s i n

G u i n e a , L i b e r i a a n d S i e r r a L e o n e , w i t h a

f e w c a s e s o c c u r r i n g i n N i g e r i a , M a l i a n d

a f e w W e s t e r n c o u n t r i e s .

B e y o n d t h e n u m b e r o f c a s u a l t i e s , t h e

p r e s e n t h e a l t h c r i s i s w i l l h a v e l a s t i n g

e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l c o n s e q u e n c e s i n

c o u n t r i e s r e c o v e r i n g f r o m y e a r s o f

c o n f l i c t a n d i n s t a b i l i t y . S o m e o f t h e s e

c o u n t r i e s w e r e s h o w i n g e n c o u r a g i n g

e c o n o m i c g r o w t h r a t e s a n d d e v e l o p m e n t

p r o g r e s s a f t e r l o n g p e r i o d s o f t u r m o i l ,

s a y s A b d o u l a y e M a r D i e y e , t h e D i r e c t o r

o f t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s D e v e l o p m e n t

P r o g r a m m e ' s R e g i o n a l B u r e a u f o r A f r i c a .

T h i s c o u l d s e t t h e m o n a b a c k w a r d

p a t h . E m e r g i n g s e c t o r s s u c h a s t o u r i s m ,

a g r i c u l t u r e a n d p r i v a t e s e c t o r i n v e s t m e n t

c o u l d t a k e a h i t , a n d d e v e l o p m e n t

p r o g r a m m e s m a y h a v e t o b e i n t e r r u p t e d

i n t h e a f f e c t e d a r e a s , w h i c h n e e d t h e m

t h e m o s t .

I n a d d i t i o n , m e a s u r e s s u c h a s b o r d e r

c o n t a i n m e n t , q u a r a n t i n e , a i r p o r t

s c r e e n i n g , a n d a p p r o p r i a t e p r o t e c t i o n f o r

m e d i c a l p e r s o n n e l c o u l d c o s t t h e

h e a l t h c a r e s e c t o r s i n t h e r e g i o n h u n d r e d s

o f m i l l i o n s o f m u c h n e e d e d d o l l a r s .

U N D P a n d U N c o u n t r y t e a m s a r e

w o r k i n g c l o s e l y w i t h W H O w h i c h i s

t a k i n g c h a r g e o f t h e m e d i c a l r e s p o n s e ,

w h i l e U N I C E F a n d U N F P A a r e l e a d i n g

o n c o m m u n i t y o u t r e a c h , m o b i l i z a t i o n

a n d e d u c a t i o n . ( s o u r c e : U N D P N e w s )



B e y o n d t h e n u m b e r o f

c a s u a l t i e s , t h e p r e s e n t h e a l t h

c r i s i s w i l l h a v e l a s t i n g

e c o n o m i c a n d s o c i a l

c o n s e q u e n c e s i n c o u n t r i e s

r e c o v e r i n g f r o m y e a r s o f

c o n f l i c t a n d i n s t a b i l i t y .

A g r o u p o f 1 4 - y e a r - o l d s c h o o l g i r l s s h o w o f f a u r i n e - p o w e r e d g e n e r a t o r a t a n

i n n o v a t i o n f a i r i n L a g o s , N i g e r i a

I s t h e U N p e a c e k e e p e r

s e l e c t i o n p r o c e s s f l a w e d ?

R e p o r t s o n B a n g l a d e s h , I n d i a , N e p a l , a n d

N i g e r i a r e l e a s e d i n J u l y 2 0 1 4 a t t h e O p e n

S o c i e t y I n s t i t u t e i n N e w Y o r k r e v e a l

f a i l u r e s i n h u m a n r i g h t s v e t t i n g f o r

s o l d i e r s i n c o u n t r i e s t h a t c o n t r i b u t e t o U N

p e a c e k e e p i n g o p e r a t i o n s .

T h e s e a r e f o u r o f t h e t o p s e v e n

t r o o p - c o n t r i b u t i n g c o u n t r i e s i n t h e

w o r l d , s o t h e i r p o l i c i e s a n d p r a c t i c e s o n

t h e g r o u n d a r e i m p o r t a n t t o w h a t

h a p p e n s w h e n p e o p l e a r e d e p l o y e d i n t h e

f i e l d , s a i d J e r r y F o w l e r , s e n i o r p o l i c y

a n a l y s t a t O p e n S o c i e t y P o l i c y C e n t e r .

T h e r e a r e c u r r e n t l y m o r e t h a n 8 2 , 0 0 0

t r o o p s d e p l o y e d o n U N p e a c e k e e p i n g

m i s s i o n s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . V e t t i n g h a s

b e e n f o r m a l i z e d r e c e n t l y . I n 2 0 1 2 t h e U N

p a s s e d a h u m a n r i g h t s s c r e e n i n g p o l i c y

r e q u i r i n g t h a t b o t h t r o o p - c o n t r i b u t i n g

g o v e r n m e n t s a n d i n d i v i d u a l r e c r u i t s a t t e s t

t o c l e a n r e c o r d s a s p a r t o f t h e o n b o a r d i n g

p r o c e s s . F u l l r e p o r t
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/100415/Is-the-UN-peacekeeper-selection-process-flawed


9/39


South-South

C o v e r S t o r y S o u t h - S o u t h C o o p e r a t i o n

When Ebola epidemic hit WestAfrica this year, Cuba, the tinyCaribbean island nation, outpacedglobal heavyweights by dispatching165 medical workers to combat thedisease in Sierra Leone. Today,

Cuban doctors stand at theforefront of Ebola battle and arefighting it vehemently. This is notthe first time Cuba has done so. Ithas sent tens of thousands ofhealth professionals to otherdeveloping nations in the past. Thecountry sent 2,500 health workersto Pakistan after its 2005earthquake, and another 1,500 toHaiti after its 2010 earthquake. In

addition, every year Cuba trainshundreds of foreign medicalstudents for free so that they canserve their country when they

return.While Cuban doctors are fighting

Ebola in West African hinterlands,there is another remarkable scenein the Ethiopian capital Addis

Ababa. A group of

IGAD envoys struggle tostrike a deal between two

warring factions fromSouth Sudan so that atransitional governmentof national unity could beformed and peacerestored in the wartrodden, newlyindependent East African nation.IGAD- Inter-governmental

Authority for Development- is aconsortium of 8 developingcountries from East Africa-Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,

Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, SouthSudan- and works for trade,development and peace in theregion.

These are just two examples out

of many such activities that arepracticed in the global South today.

From G77 to BRICS BankWhile the term South-Southcooperation is relatively a recentinvention, practice itself is not very


10/39

G l o b a l S o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t M a g a z i n e O c t 2 0 1 4 1 0


new. Countries in the South havebeen cooperating for centuries inone form or the other. For instance,China-Africa trade is believed to bestarted as before as 200 BC.

Cooperation among neighboringcountries in the South is historicallynot uncommon, but it was thecreation of the G77 group in 1964that brought developing countriestogether in a more organized wayand paved the way for cooperationthat expanded beyond theirimmediate neighborhoods. The2002 Johannesburg summit onSustainable Developmentemphasized on South-SouthCooperation and adopted aDeclaration and an ImplementationPlan.

Rapid change in the global orderhas also resulted in an increasedintensity of South-Southcooperation. We have seen that the

world has undergone a majorpolitical and economictransformation in recent decades.

The dynamics of traditional North-South relations have tremendouslychanged, and many issues such asglobal poverty, environment, energyand climate change are global issuesinstead of merely Southern orNorthern.

More recent developments havebeen rather rapid. South-Southtrade and investment have beenmassive and to fund megainfrastructure projects in developingcountries, the emerging economiesof BRICS have established a newbank which has been named theNew Development Bank.

Some commentators argue thatthe changed relations are notreplacing the already existingNorth-South relations, butsupplementing them. Whatever thecase, the dynamics of global orderhas come to a different mode andtraditional dependency theoriesmight need a thorough update inthe near future.

In this edition of Global SouthDevelopment Magazine, we look atdifferent dimensions of South-

South cooperation that range fromtrade, investment, development aid,infrastructure to humanitarianassistance. We also analyze a fewproblems underlying the practiceand present a few exceptionalexamples of South-Southcooperation picked fromthroughout the world.

Trade & Investment: NoStrings Attached

Thanks to the Chinese we alsorediscovered that Africa is not acontinent of crises and misery butone of 800 million consumers,once a French diplomat jokingly

said.A recent report by the United

Nations estimates that South-Southtrade is now nearly equal to North-North trade as a proportion of

world trade.India's trade with Africa alone hasjumped to $40bn in the past fewyears.

The United Nations Conferenceon Trade and Development

estimated that, between 1996 and2006, developing economies

provided more than $17bn offoreign investment in Africa and

$27bn of investment in Asia.According to the InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF), South-Southtrade today accounts for almost half

A map indicating trading routesused around the 1st centuryCE centred on the Silk Road.

Some commentatorsargue that the changed

relations are notreplacing the alreadyexisting North-South

relations, butsupplementing them.

Whatever the case, thedynamics of globalorder has come to adifferent mode and

traditional dependencytheories might need athorough update in the

near future.


11/39



of the total trade of China, andalmost 60% of the total trade ofIndia and Brazil. In addition, thesouth-south trade of each of thesecountries will continue to outstriptheir trade with the rest of the

world all the way through to 2050,according to IMF forecasts.

Emerging economies, primarily

China, India and Brazil havesubstantially increased theirinvestment in developing countriesin Africa, Asia and Latin America.China alone provides 20% ofprivate foreign direct investment indeveloping countries. As of 2013,Chinas foreign direct investment to

Africa was more than USD 12billion.

As a result of increased trade,

investment and technologytransfers, it has been estimated thatSouth-South cooperation amountsmore than USD 20 billion. Foreigndirect investment among countriesin the South grew by 20 per centeach year 19962009. India, forexample, invested about 65 per centof its outward foreign directinvestment in developing countries.

When living standards are

improving and income levels arerising, many developing countriesare seeking to build massiveinfrastructure projects. While theymight lack capacity and the

expertise to do the job themselves,they turn into other developingcountries who have come throughsimilar experiences and are capableof building big infrastructureprojects or making a multi-billiondollar investment. For instance,China has been investing to buildseveral new roads, railways and

telecommunication networks inother developing countries. Arecent example includes a massiveEast African railway line that wouldconnect Kenya with Uganda,Rwanda and South Sudan. In 2007China initiated the China-AfricaDevelopment Fund that stimulatesand facilitates Chinese investmentsin Africa.

For many developing countries,

rising economies across theirborders are sources of inspiration.We view Chinas success as asource of hope and inspiration,said Jacob Zuma, South AfricasPresident, while welcoming ChinesePresident Xi Jinping to South Africalast year.

China will continue to offer, asalways, necessary assistance to

Africa with no political strings

attached, declared the ChinesePresident.Chinese loans and investments are

so popular in Africa probablybecause, like the Chinese president

China has beeninvesting to buildseveral new roads,

railways andtelecommunication

networks in otherdeveloping countries.

A recent exampleincludes a massive

East African railwayline that would

connect Kenya withUganda, Rwanda and

South Sudan. In 2007China initiated the

China-AfricaDevelopment Fundthat stimulates andfacilitates Chinese

investments in Africa


12/39


On 15 July 2014, the first day ofthe 6th BRICS summit held inFortaleza, Brazil, the group ofemerging economies signed thelong-anticipated document tocreate the $100 billion BRICSDevelopment Bank, named the

New Development Bank, and areserve currency pool worth over

another $100 billion. Unlike theWorld Bank, which assigns votesbased on capital share, in the NewDevelopment Bank eachparticipant country is assigned one

vote, and no countries will haveveto power.

Headquartered in Shanghai,China, the bank's primary focus oflending will be infrastructure

projects with authorized lendingof up to $34 billion annually.Brazil, Russia, India, China andSouth Africa will initiallycontribute $10 billion each to bringthe total to $50 billion. The bank

will allow new members to join but

the BRICS capital share cannot fallbelow 55%.

A New Development Bank Opened

"Headquartered

in Shanghai,China, the New

DevelopmentBank seeks to

finance biginfrastructureprojects in theglobal South"

said, they do not have any politicalstrings attached. China doesntseem to care whether the receivingcountry has transparency,democracy or good governancepractices in place. Though free ofpolitical strings, Chinese offers insome cases seem to be lurking witha plenty of economic strings.

Development Aid &Humanitarian Assistance

Developing countries such asChina, India and Brazil thatprovide development assistance toother developing countries todayused to be recipients of

development assistance fromOECD countries.

According to a new report by anon-governmental organisation

called Global HumanitarianAssistance, aid (conservativelydefined) from non-DAC countriesrose by 143% in 2005-08, to $11.2billion, before falling during thefinancial crisis. Aid from the BRICs(Brazil, Russia, India and China)more than doubled.Between 1951 and 1992 Indiareceived about $55 billion inforeign aid, making it the largestrecipient in history. Since 2013,India has introduced its owninternational development agency-the Development Partnership

Administration (DPA)- thatprovides grants to developmentprojects in other developingcountries.

Indias strategic cooperation withits neighboring countries is nothingnew. It has provided massivesupport to countries such as

Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan,Sri Lanka and Nepal for years.

"We do not like to call ourselvesa donor," says Syed Akbaruddin,joint secretary with Indias Ministryof External Affairs. "We call itdevelopment partnership because itis in the framework of sharingdevelopment experiences. Itfollows a model different from thatfollowed in the conventionalNorth-South economiccooperation patterns, hence thedesignation of DevelopmentPartnership Administration, it isadministering our developmentpartnership projects."

According to a report published bythe Economist, Brazils foreign aidbudget has increased fivefold since2005. Turkey gives more of itsnational income in aid than theaverage Organisation for



13/39


Economic Co-operation andDevelopment (OECD) country,

while the United Arab Emirates isthe most generous of todaysdonors, handing over 1.25% of itsnational income for developmentassistance. Brazil, which is alsothinking about setting up its ownaid agency, gives up to $4 billion a

year of assistance, broadly defined.

China is equally influential when itcomes to south-south developmentaid. The country itself receivedforeign assistance for years, butsince 2005 the continuum has takena different turn.

A database updated by AidDatareveals that China has committed$75bn in aid to Africa between

2000 and 2011, financing at least1,700 development projects in theregion

.

Capacity Building &Knowledge Sharing

Its not all about trade, investmentand infrastructures. South-Southcooperation in capacity building


Foreign students in a Chineseuniversity.


14/39

and knowledge sharing is equallyexpanding.

The emerging powers can offeralternative models of conflictmanagement and development,shaped by their recent transitionexperiences that could be more easilyreplicated and adapted to the local

contexts of other developingcountries, says Dr Anita Mathur ofthe UN Department of Political

Affairs.One remarkable example is of

BRAC Bangladesh. The organizationhas branched out from Bangladesh toother parts of Asia and Africa. Itsseed testing and multiplication farmhas produced high quality rice seedsin Liberia. In Uganda, BRAC trains

women farmers as communityagriculture promoters that help growseeds for nutrient-rich food crops.

The Brazilian Bolsha FamiliaProgramme, a cash transfer model,has helped improve childhoodnutrition and education in Brazil, andthe system has been successfullyreplicated to different parts of Africa.

In the mid-1990s Nepal initiated a

domestically financed non-contributory pension system andsince then cash transfers have beenprovided to the elderly, disabled and

widowed, and were delivered evenduring the Maoist conflict. Thepractice was adopted by otherdeveloping countries such as Lesotho,Kenya and Ethiopia.

Knowledge and experience sharingis promoted through different

scholarships and scholar exchangeprograms operated betweendeveloping countries. Countries likeChina, India and Cuba providenumerous scholarships annually tostudents from other developingcountries so that they can learn andcontribute to their own society oncethey return.

Still a Long Way to GoRecent statistics do show that south-south cooperation has reeved up, butthere is still a long way to go.Statistics also show that the 29

member countries of the OECDsdevelopment assistance committeeaccount for 90% of globaldevelopment aid and have decades ofexperience behind them; and south-south cooperation is certainly notgoing to replace these figures soon.For many, south-south cooperation is

an ideological boost rather thansomething concrete in practice.

Despite ample willingness,ambitious mandates and anunprecedented passion, some south-south cooperation projects sufferfrom insufficient funding and aredependent on Northern donors fortheir action.

There have been concerns thatpowerful countries in the South like

China and India might use the termsouth-south cooperation just to fulfilltheir vested interests. Some criticshave labeled some of Chinas actionsin Africa as neo-colonialist.

These accusations do not seem tobe totally baseless either. Just see theEbola case. Countries like China,India and Brazil have done plenty ofbusiness in Africa, but when West

Africa is suffering with the worst

public health crisis in decades, thesegiants have shown little or no interest.

In addition, there appears to be adanger that south-south cooperationmight become an exclusive club ofrich and middle-income countries inthe South, while least developedcountries (LDCs) might be forgotten,isolated and in worst cases indebtedto their powerful Southern

counterparts. Some argue that south-south cooperation is a success storyof Asia and doesnt have much tooffer for Africa. Criticisms regardingtransparency, human rights issues andlabor conditions are also common.

South-South cooperation certainlyoffers a promising chance tocountries in the South to cooperate,assist each other, share, learn andgrow together; but if countries focus

merely on trade, investment, profitand their own exclusive benefits, thepractice no longer becomes acooperation.



There have been

concerns thatpowerful countriesin the South likeChina and India

might use the termsouth-south

cooperation just tofulfill their vested

interests. Somecritics have labeled

some of Chinasactions in Africa as

neo-colonialist

"Some argue thatsouth-south

cooperation is asuccess story of

Asia and doesnthave much to offer

for Africa.Criticisms regarding

transparency, humanrights issues and

labor conditions arealso common"


15/39


1. Learning from the Thai

ODAThe Thai International CooperationProgramme (TICP) began in the 1960s

when Thailand was still a largerecipient of ODA. In 1992, after manyyears of providing technical assistance,training, and scholarships to otherdeveloping countries, Thailand becamea donor of ODA with support from

Japan and other OECD donors. By1996, Thai ODA totaled 4,250 millionBaht or 170 million dollars. This

amount has increased up to 5,927million Baht in 2001-2008. With awealth of experiences gained as arecipient of ODA, and its impressivesocio-economic development over thepast four decades, Thailand is activelysharing with other developingcountries its own knowledge of whatit takes to rapidly reduce poverty,improve health and education, andface the challenges of environmentallysustainable development. Much of its

ODA goes to its neighbours:Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar.In recent years, Thailand has also

participated actively in other South-South cooperation arrangementsbeyond its neighbours and region.Currently, more than 50 countries inthe Southern Hemisphere arebeneficiaries of Thailands technicalcooperation under a variety ofschemes.

2. Turkey: From aRecipient to a Donot

Turkey began providing ODA in 1985as food aid. Since then, Turkeys ODAhas continued and expanded intomany fields. At the beginning of

Turkeys South-South Cooperationprogramme in the 1980s, Turkey wasan aid recipient and did not have atechnical cooperation agency to deliverdevelopment assistance to other

developing countries.Therefore, the programme wasimplemented by the State PlanningOrganization (SPO) as thegovernment agency. During the

implementation period of South-South cooperation programme,

Turkey increased its capacity to deliverdevelopment aid. In 1992, the

Turkish International CooperationAgency (TIKA) was established. By2004, Turkey was providing moreo$cial development assistance than itreceived.

3. Mexico-ChileHorizontal South-SouthCooperation: Creation of

a Joint Cooperation FundMexicos Constitution hasinternational development cooperationas one of the principles of its foreignpolicy. Therefore, Mexico sees itsinternational cooperation as a basictool to promote its foreign relations.Mexico is increasingly evolving into adual player in internationalcooperation for development, as bothdonor and recipient. The MexicanGovernment has recognized that

o!ering cooperation to otherdeveloping countries is a powerfulinstrument to promote developmentthrough the creation andstrengthening of technical capacities.

Mexico is a true promoter of South-South cooperation (SSC). It recognizesthat SSC can complement cooperationfrom traditional donors, enablingboth the donor and the recipientcountry to better accomplish theirown development goals. Mexico has

also encouraged SSC as a means ofshowing its solidarity, especially withcountries in Latin America and theCaribbean, and maintaining a highprofile in its bilateral relations with thecountries in the area.

In 2006, Mexico and Chileestablished a Strategic Association

Agreement (SAA) that includednot only political and commercialcomponents, but also promotedinternational cooperation. The SAA

was conceived by both countries as amechanism for deepening the bilateralrelationship through the exchange oftechnical assistance, enhanced

dialogue, and projects that foster thedevelopment of technical capacities

taking advantage of each onescomparative advantages.For Mexico, a path-breaking feature

of the SAA was the creation of aCooperation Commission and a JointCooperation Fund, through whicheach country provides US$ 1 milliondollars during a 3-year period tofinance bilateral cooperation projects.Since Mexicos Congress approved theSAA with Chile, the funds areearmarked each year to cover

cooperation programmes under thisscheme.

4. Pro-Huerta Project(Argentina-Haiti)

Argentina provides technicalcooperation through the ArgentineFund for Horizontal Cooperation(FO-AR) since 1992. At the beginning,the Fund worked in the neighbouringcountries; its cooperation has nowspread throughout Central and Latin

America and to countries in otherregions, such as Africa. Within theregion, priority countries includeBolivia, Paraguay, and Haiti.

The Pro-Huerta project in Haitistarted in 2005. It aimed at increasingproduction of fresh food for theHaitian people. Under the FO-AR, theproject was implemented by the

Argentina National AgriculturalTechnology Institute (INTA).

5. Pan African E-NetworkProject (India-53 AfricanUnion Countries)

10 Powerful Examples of South-SouthCooperation in Practice



16/39


The Pan African E-Network is a jointproject of India and the AfricanUnion. Its basic objective is to help

Africa in capacity building by way ofimparting quality education tostudents, through the best Indianuniversities and educationalinstitutions, as well as to provide tele-

medicine services by way of onlinemedical consultations betweenAfrican medical practitioners andIndian medical specialists in variousdisciplines. The project also coversContinuing Medical Education (VME)for practicing doctors andparamedical sta!, with a view toupdating and enhancing theirknowledge and skills. The current totalcost is about US$ 130 million, which

will be a grant from the Government

of India. The project budget covers allthe expenses, software and hardware,for establishment of a satellite hub.Learning centres, tele-medicinecentres, VVIP linkage, training andcapacity building, technical supportand operation and maintenace(O&M) for 5- year period.

6. The PROMESAProject (Argentina-Peru-

Japan)The PROMESA project (Project forthe improvement of animal health,

whose name in Spanish meanspromise) was conducted fromNovember 2003 to April 2007. It wasconducted under the PartnershipProgramme between Argentina and

Japan for South- South Cooperation,called PPJA. This project enabled thetransformation of structures andprocesses within the Animal Health

Service of Peru, which permitted theintroduction of changes in traditionalmethods of operation. The projectidea originated in the approach toproblems and opportunities for animalhealth adopted by the government ofPeru in 2003, leading to explorationof possible benefits from Argentinasexperience with management tools,analysis, and development beingcarried under its Animal Health Policy.

7. Centre Songhai(BeninZambiaUNDP)Named after a famous Catholic

Archbishop of Kasama, whose dream

was to establish an agricultural skillstraining programme for youths, theElias Mutale Songhai Model TrainingCentre for Sustainable Developmenthas been established through South-South Coperation, to promote ruraldevelopment and agriculturalentrepreneurship among the youth.

This was inspiredby a tour involvingZambianstakeholders to theSonghaiCentre forSustainableDevelopment inCotonou, Benin, West Africa. TheSonghai Centre has over the yearsresearched, trained and promoted theconcept of zero entropy; the

agricultural production process wherenothing is wasted and everything getstransformed. For example, intocompost, which is used as manure incrop production are fed to livestock,perpetuating the cycle.

8. Blindness ReductionCampaign in Niger(Tunisia Niger - IsDB)

This programme was carried through

five short period campaigns between2003 and 2008. It aims at trainingophthalmologists and technicians as

well as examining, operating andrehabilitating patients from deprivedsocial environment. It wasimplemented by Nadi El Bassar,

Tunisian NGO. The programme hasachieved results beyond expectation.

Within six days the team of TunisianOphthalmologists and technicians hasexamined/operated/rehabilitated 1200

patients, transferred know-how andtrained local doctors.

9. Dengue FeverOutbreak Medical

Assistance to Cambodia(Thailand Cambodia)In 2007 Cambodia experienced asudden increase in dengue fever cases

especially in children. Unable tosuccessfully battle the near epidemic,Cambodia made an emergencyappeal for international assistance.

Thailand approved a fund of $580,000

to provide medical supplies, relevantequipment, and Thai medical staff

.

This programme was operated underthe framework of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong EconomicCooperation Strategy (ACMECS).

This programme representsCambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar,

Thailand and Vietnam.At the Second Summitof ACMECS inBangkok in November2005, $2,900,000 waspledged as seed moneyto support activitiesunder the Declaration

on Partnership in Combating AvianIn"uenza and Other InfectiousDiseases.

10. Lao Sul-Sul (orSouthern Ties NetworkInitiative)

The Lao Sul-Sul (or Southern TiesNetwork Initiative) was launched in2004 and is related to Brazilscommitment to universalize the use offirst-line AIDS treatment. Theinitiative targets seven Portuguese-speaking nations and Latin Americanneighbours (countries within Brazil

natural sphere of influence)committed to fighting the disease.In this way, the Brazilian Governmentseeks to contribute to thestrengthening of other nationsdomestic public and national efforts tosupport the universal access toantiretrovirals (ARVs) and theirincreased utilization, with a focus onpregnant women, adolescents,and children.

Countries such as Cape Verde,

Guinea-Bissau, Paraguay, So Tom &Prncipe, and Timor- Leste haveadhered to Brazils leadership, andparticipated in the first meeting hostedin Brasilia. Agencies and funds such asUNICEF and UNAIDS have alsojoined the endeavor.(Case studiesmentioned here were cited from aUNDP commissioned report

Enhancing South-South andTriangular Cooperation Study of the

Current Situation and ExistingGood Practices in Policy, Institutions,and Operation of South-South andTriangular Cooperation)



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A M u d R o a d t o P e r u

B y D I E G O C U P O L O

T e x t & P h o t o s

G S D M L a t i n A m e r i c a E d i t o r

F r o m L a B a l s a t o t h e P e r u v i a n b o r d e r

i t s a s l o w , t w o - h o u r d r i v e t h r o u g h

t h e e d g e o f t h e A m a z o n . T h e r o a d s

u n p a v e d , p r o n e t o l a n d s l i d e s , a n d

f l o o d s o f t e n d u r i n g r a i n s e a s o n t h e

t i m e o f o u r c r o s s i n g .

A n i a a n d I f l a g g e d d o w n a

s o u t h b o u n d t r u c k n e a r t h e b u s s t a t i o n ,

t h r e w o u r b a g s i n t h e b a c k , a n d

j u m p e d i n f r o n t w i t h t h e o l d m a n a t

t h e w h e e l . T h e r e w a s h e a v y r a i n i n g

a n d y e l l o w w a t e r f i l l e d t h e p o t h o l e s

a l o n g t h e r e d c l a y r o a d .

S o , w h e r e a r e y o u f r o m ? A n i a a s k e d

t h e d r i v e r .

M e ? I m f r o m h e r e . I m f r o m L a

B a l s a .

H o w s l i f e i n L a B a l s a ?

H a r d .

W h y s t h a t ?

E v e r y t h i n g c o s t s m o r e n o w , t h e o l d

m a n s a i d . L e t m e t e l l y o u , a l i t e r o f

c o o k i n g o i l u s e d t o c o s t e i g h t y c e n t s .

N o w i t s t w o d o l l a r s . D o y o u k n o w

w h a t k i n d o f i m p a c t t h a t h a s o n a

f a m i l y ? I t s a l l C o r r e a s f a u l t .

C o r r e a ? T h e p r e s i d e n t c h a n g e d t h e

p r i c e o f c o o k i n g o i l ?

E v e r s i n c e h e g o t e l e c t e d , t h e p r i c e o f

e v e r y t h i n g s g o n e u p .

B u t f o o d c o s t s m o r e a l l o v e r t h e

w o r l d , I s a i d . G a s p r i c e s a r e u p s o

t h a t m e a n s t r a n s p o r t a t i o n c o s t s a r e u p

a n d w e , t h e c o n s u m e r s , p a y t h e

d i f f e r e n c e .

B u l l s h i t ! E s t o e s u n a m i e r d a ! t h e

o l d m a n y e l l e d . H i s f a c e r e d a s t h e

c r o o k e d r o a d t h a t t o s s e d o u r b o d i e s

a r o u n d t h e t r u c k c a b i n . W e p r o d u c e

f i v e m i l l i o n b a r r e l s o f o i l a d a y i n t h i s

c o u n t r y . A b a r r e l o f o i l c o s t s $ 1 0 0 .

T e l l m e , h o w m u c h i s f i v e m i l l i o n

m u l t i p l i e d b y a h u n d r e d ?

F i v e h u n d r e d m i l l i o n , A n i a s a i d .

C o r r e c t o ! F i v e h u n d r e d m i l l i o n

d o l l a r s a d a y i s w h a t w e r e m a k i n g i n

E c u a d o r j u s t f r o m o i l . A n d w h e r e t h e

h e l l i s a l l t h a t m o n e y ? W h e n w i l l i t b e

s p e n t f o r t h e p e o p l e e n l o s p u e b l o s ?

W e r e t h e o n e s t h a t n e e d h e l p .

D i d n t C o r r e a p u t a l o t o f m o n e y i n

e d u c a t i o n a n d h e a l t h c a r e , t h o u g h ?

" W e p r o d u c e f i v e

m i l l i o n b a r r e l s o f o i l a

d a y i n t h i s c o u n t r y . A

b a r r e l o f o i l c o s t s

$ 1 0 0 . T e l l m e , h o w

m u c h i s f i v e m i l l i o n

m u l t i p l i e d b y a

h u n d r e d ?

F i v e h u n d r e d

m i l l i o n , A n i a s a i d .

C o r r e c t o ! F i v e

h u n d r e d m i l l i o n

d o l l a r s a d a y i s w h a t

w e r e m a k i n g i n

E c u a d o r j u s t f r o m o i l .

A n d w h e r e t h e h e l l i s

a l l t h a t m o n e y ? "

T r a v e l D i a r y L a t i n A m e r i c a



18/39

" H e r e i n E c u a d o r , h e

c o n t i n u e d . W e h a v e

m o r e c o r r u p t i o n t h a n

w e h a v e m o n e y . "

" I m t i r e d o f a l l t h e s e

p o l i t i c i a n s t a l k i n g

a b o u t h o p e a n d

c h a n g e . T h e y a l w a y s

s a y t h a t c r a p a n d t h e n

t h e y s c r e w u s . "

" A f t e r s o m a n y y e a r s

o f i n j u s t i c e , f a i t h c a n

s o m e t i m e s f e e l l i k e a

f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e i n

L a t i n A m e r i c a . "

A n i a a s k e d .

S o m e , b u t w h o k n o w s i f i t e v e r g e t s

t h e r e . P o r e j e m p l o , l e t m e g i v e y o u a n

e x a m p l e , l o o k a t t h i s r o a d w e r e

d r i v i n g o n , t h i s m u d d y m e s s o f

p o t h o l e s , e s p u r a m i e r d a ! W e h a v e

l a n d s l i d e s a n d a c c i d e n t s a l l t h e t i m e

h e r e . L o o k a t t h o s e c r o s s e s o v e r t h e r e .

H e p o i n t e d a t a c l u s t e r o f w h i t e ,

p a i n t e d w o o d c r o s s e s o n t h e e d g e o f

t h e r o a d .

T h a t w a s a b u s . S i x t e e n p e o p l e d i e d

w h e n i t w e n t r o l l i n g d o w n t h e

m o u n t a i n .

A y e ! W h e n w a s t h a t ?

T w o m o n t h s a g o , t h e o l d m a n s a i d .

B u t h e r e s t h e b e s t p a r t , w h e n C o r r e a

g o t e l e c t e d h e s a i d h e d p u t a s i d e o n e

m i l l i o n d o l l a r s a y e a r t o f i x t h i s t e r r i b l e

r o a d . B u t l o o k a t i t ! Y o u s e e i t , r i g h t ?

I t s s t i l l m u d . I t s b e e n y e a r s n o w a n d

i t s s t i l l m u d ! W h e r e a r e t h e o n e m i l l i o n

d o l l a r s a y e a r g o i n g ? N o t h e r e ,

o b v i o u s l y . T h e g r e e d y p o l i t i c i a n s i n

Q u i t o a r e k e e p i n g i t a l l .

H e r e i n E c u a d o r , h e c o n t i n u e d .

W e h a v e m o r e c o r r u p t i o n t h a n w e

h a v e m o n e y . T h a t s t h e t r u t h a n d t h a t s

w h y l i f e i s s o e x p e n s i v e f o r t h e r e s t o f

u s , t h o s e o f u s w i t h o u t b r o t h e r s i n t h e

g o v e r n m e n t .

T h e t r u c k t o o k a q u i c k t u r n a r o u n d a

r o c k y b e n d . A n i a p r e s s e d m y b o d y

a g a i n s t t h e p a s s e n g e r d o o r a n d I c o u l d

s e e i n t o t h e g r e e n c a n y o n b e l o w w h e r e

a v i o l e n t r i v e r r i p p e d t r e e s f r o m i t s

b a n k s a n d s w a l l o w e d t h e m w h o l e i n i t s

t h i c k , c h o c o l a t e m i l k r a p i d s .

B u t C o r r e a i s b e t t e r t h a n y o u r r e c e n t

p r e s i d e n t s , r i g h t ? A n i a a s k e d . M a y b e

t h i s r o a d i s n t g o o d , b u t a l l t h e o t h e r

r o a d s w e s a w i n E c u a d o r w e r e b r a n d

n e w . C o r r e a i s c r e a t i n g s o m e p r o g r e s s

i n t h i s c o u n t r y i s n t h e ?

N o , s o n t o d o s c h a n c h o s , t h e y r e a l l

p i g s a n d t h e y r e a l l c o r r u p t . I t s a l w a y s

t h e s a m e . I m t i r e d o f a l l t h e s e

p o l i t i c i a n s t a l k i n g a b o u t h o p e a n d

c h a n g e . T h e y a l w a y s s a y t h a t c r a p a n d

t h e n t h e y s c r e w u s . C o r r e a s j u s t l i k e

e v e r y o n e e l s e .

H a v e y o u l i k e d a n y o f t h e p r e s i d e n t s

y o u v e h a d i n E c u a d o r , I a s k e d .

Y e s , A g u i l e r a . H e w a s t h e o n l y g o o d

o n e .

A g u i l e r a ? W h e n w a s h e i n o f f i c e ?

I n t h e e a r l y e i g h t i e s . H e s a i d t h e f u t u r e

o f E c u a d o r w a s i n t h e A m a z o n a n d w e

w o u l d u s e o u r r e s o u r c e s h e r e t o p a y o f f

o u r n a t i o n a l d e b t s . H e w a n t e d t o

i n d u s t r i a l i z e t h e c o u n t r y . H e w a s g o i n g

t o m a k e u s i n t o a p r o f i t a b l e n a t i o n a n d

r a i s e t h e s t a n d a r d o f l i v i n g . I n t h e

t w e n t y m o n t h s t h a t h e w a s p r e s i d e n t h e

w a s a b l e t o p a v e t h e r o a d f r o m L a

B a l s a t o Z u m b a s o E c u a d o r i a n s i n t h e

a m a z o n c o u l d h a v e e a s y a c c e s s t o t h e

r e s t o f t h e c o u n t r y .

W h y w a s h e p r e s i d e n t f o r o n l y t w e n t y

m o n t h s ? I a s k e d .

L o M a t a r o n . T h e y k i l l e d h i m a n d h i s

e n t i r e f a m i l y . T h a t s w h a t h a p p e n s

w h e n y o u r e a l l y w a n t t o c h a n g e t h i n g s

i n E c u a d o r .

W e r e a c h e d t h e P e r u v i a n b o r d e r , g o t

o u t o f t h e t r u c k a n d g o t o u r p a s s p o r t s

s t a m p e d . T h e c u s t o m s o f f i c e r p l a y e d

w i t h A n i a s g o l d e n h a t a n d a s k e d i f h e

c o u l d k e e p i t . S h e s a i d n o .

W h e n w e g o t b a c k t o t h e t r u c k , t h e

o l d m a n t o l d u s h e d s t a y i n t o w n f o r a

w h i l e s o w e s a i d o u r g o o d b y e s a n d

c r o s s e d a b r i d g e o v e r a n o t h e r b r o w n ,

v i o l e n t , j u n g l e r i v e r a n d e n t e r e d P e r u .

A f t e r s o m a n y y e a r s o f i n j u s t i c e , f a i t h

c a n s o m e t i m e s f e e l l i k e a f o r e i g n

l a n g u a g e i n L a t i n A m e r i c a .


T r a v e l D i a r y L a t i n A m e r i c a


19/39

T h e S a h e l R e g i o n i n A f r i c a c o n t i n u e s

t o s w i n g b e t w e e n i n c r e a s i n g i n s t a b i l i t y

a n d s l o w , t i m i d r e c o v e r y . I n 2 0 1 3 , t h e

h u m a n i t a r i a n s i t u a t i o n r e m a i n e d

e x t r e m e l y f r a g i l e . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e

R e g i o n a l R e s p o n s e P l a n o f t h e U n i t e d

N a t i o n s a n d t h e h u m a n i t a r i a n

c o m m u n i t y , m i l l i o n s o f h o u s e h o l d s

a c r o s s t h e S a h e l s t r u g g l e d t o r e g a i n

t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d s a n d r e b u i l d t h e i r a s s e t s

i n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e 2 0 1 2 f o o d

c r i s i s . A n e s t i m a t e d 1 1 . 3 m i l l i o n p e o p l e

r e m a i n e d a t r i s k o f f o o d i n s e c u r i t y , a n d

e v e n w o r s e s o m e 4 . 8 m i l l i o n c h i l d r e n

w e r e e s t i m a t e d t o h a v e b e e n a c u t e l y

m a l n o u r i s h e d a c r o s s t h e r e g i o n . I n

a d d i t i o n t o a l o o m i n g f o o d c r i s i s , w i t h

a n e s t i m a t e d 2 0 . 2 m i l l i o n p e o p l e , o r

o n e i n s e v e n i n h a b i t a n t s o f t h e r e g i o n ,

a t r i s k o f f o o d i n s e c u r i t y i n 2 0 1 4 ,

c o n f l i c t a n d i n s e c u r i t y c o n t i n u e t o

a f f e c t t h e S a h e l , c a u s i n g d e a t h ,

d i s p l a c e m e n t a n d d e s t r u c t i o n o f

p r o p e r t y , h e a l t h f a c i l i t i e s a n d s c h o o l s ,

a n d e x a c e r b a t i n g s t r u c t u r a l a n d

s y s t e m i c p o v e r t y .

T h e r e g i o n i s h o s t t o a n e s t i m a t e d

7 3 0 , 0 0 0 r e f u g e e s a n d 4 9 5 , 0 0 0

i n t e r n a l l y d i s p l a c e d p e o p l e . R e c e n t

e v e n t s i n t h e C e n t r a l A f r i c a R e p u b l i c

a n d N o r t h e r n N i g e r i a h a v e p l a c e d

c o u n t r i e s s u c h a s C h a d , C a m e r o o n a n d

M a l i u n d e r a d d i t i o n a l p r e s s u r e t o

a b s o r b t h o u s a n d s o f r e t u r n i n g t h i r d

c o u n t r y n a t i o n a l s . D i s p l a c e d

p o p u l a t i o n s a l o n g s i d e t h e i r h o s t

c o m m u n i t i e s a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y a t r i s k o f

f o o d i n s e c u r i t y , m a l n u t r i t i o n a n d

e p i d e m i c s , a n d e x p e r i e n c e r e c u r r i n g

s h o c k s s u c h a s f l o o d s , d r o u g h t o r

c o n f l i c t .

C e n t r a l A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c : a R a p i d l y

D e t e r i o r a t i n g H u m a n i t a r i a n C r i s i s

T h e U S - b a s e d o r g a n i z a t i o n F r e e d o m

H o u s e h a s d e f i n e d C A R a s a f a i l e d

s t a t e i n n e e d o f l o n g - t e r m , t h o r o u g h

i n t e r v e n t i o n t o a d d r e s s a p o l i t i c a l ,

s o c i e t a l , a n d e c o n o m i c m o r a s s t h a t w a s

y e a r s i n t h e m a k i n g .

T h e C A R w a s o n c e k n o w n f o r q u i t e

p e a c e f u l C h r i s t i a n - M u s l i m r e l a t i o n s ,

b u t t h e c u r r e n t c r i s i s h a s p i t t e d

c o m m u n i t i e s a g a i n s t o n e a n o t h e r . S i n c e

t h e S l k a r e b e l g r o u p s e i z e d t h e c a p i t a l

t h r o u g h a c o u p d e t a t i n M a r c h 2 0 1 3 ,

f o l l o w i n g t h e 1 0 J a n u a r y r e s i g n a t i o n o f

p r e s i d e n t M i c h e l D j o t o d i a i n C e n t r a l

A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c , t h e s i t u a t i o n i n t h e

c o u n t r y h a s g r e a t l y d e t e r i o r a t e d a n d

t h e r u l e o f l a w c o m p l e t e l y e r o d e d .

P r e s i d e n t M i c h e l D j o t o d i a , a M u s l i m i n

a p r e d o m i n a n t l y C h r i s t i a n c o u n t r y ,

c a m e t o p o w e r t h r o u g h a b l o o d y

i n s u r r e c t i o n a s t h e l e a d e r o f t h e S l k a .

H e t h e n a p p o i n t e d h i m s e l f a s t h e h e a d

o f a t h r e e - y e a r t r a n s i t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t

i n a d d i t i o n t o d e f e n s e m i n i s t e r ,

s u s p e n d e d t h e c o u n t r y s c o n s t i t u t i o n ,

a n d d i s s o l v e d t h e p a r l i a m e n t . W h i l e

v e r b a l l y c o m m i t t i n g h i m s e l f t o

r e c o n c i l i a t i o n a n d p e a c e i n t h e C A R ,

D j o t o d i a h a s o n l y a g g r a v a t e d t h e

s i t u a t i o n b y n a m i n g f e l l o w r e b e l s t o

t o p g o v e r n m e n t p o s t s a n d d i s b a n d i n g

t h e r e b e l a l l i a n c e t h a t e n a b l e d h i s r i s e

t o p o w e r , t h o u g h t h e o r d e r h a d l i t t l e

p r a c t i c a l e f f e c t .

T h e r e s u l t o f t h e s e e v e n t s h a s b e e n a

s e c u r i t y v a c u u m . S l k a r e b e l s a n d

s u b s i d i a r y g r o u p s h a v e t a k e n o v e r

s m a l l p o c k e t s o f t h e c o u n t r y a n d u s i n g

v i o l e n c e i n c l u d i n g l o o t i n g ,

"A n e s t i m a t e d 1 1 . 3

m i l l i o n p e o p l e

r e m a i n e d a t r i s k o f

f o o d i n s e c u r i t y , a n d

e v e n w o r s e s o m e 4 . 8

m i l l i o n c h i l d r e n w e r e

e s t i m a t e d t o h a v e b e e n

a c u t e l y m a l n o u r i s h e d

a c r o s s t h e r e g i o n . I n

a d d i t i o n t o a l o o m i n g

f o o d c r i s i s , w i t h a n

e s t i m a t e d 2 0 . 2 m i l l i o n

p e o p l e , o r o n e i n s e v e n

i n h a b i t a n t s o f t h e

r e g i o n , a t r i s k o f f o o d

i n s e c u r i t y i n 2 0 1 4 ,

c o n f l i c t a n d i n s e c u r i t y

c o n t i n u e t o a f f e c t t h e

S a h e l , c a u s i n g d e a t h ,

d i s p l a c e m e n t a n d

d e s t r u c t i o n "

A n a l y s i sC A R H u m a n i t a r i a n C r i s i s


T h e H u m a n i t a r i a n C r i s i s i n t h e

C e n t r a l A f r i c a n R e p u b l i c

A N e w F r a g i l e S i t u a t i o n A f f e c t i n g P e a c e a n d

S t a b i l i t y i n t h e S a h e l R e g i o n

D E B O R A D I D I O

S p e c i a l C o r r e s p o n d e n t

G l o b a l H u m a n i t a r i a n A f f a i r s


20/39

a b d u c t i o n s , r a p e , a n d t h e b u r n i n g o f

c h u r c h e s a n d g o v e r n m e n t

b u i l d i n g s t o a s s e r t t h e i r s u p r e m a c y .

M e a n w h i l e , t h e n a t i o n a l a r m e d f o r c e s

a n d p o l i c e h a v e c o l l a p s e d , a l l o w i n g

c r i m i n a l e n t e r p r i s e s t o p r e y o n l o c a l

p o p u l a t i o n s a l l o v e r t h e c o u n t r y . A n d

C h r i s t i a n , a n t i - S l k a m i l i t i a s a r e

e m e r g i n g t o r e c l a i m t h e i r a r e a s .

C o m p o u n d i n g t h e i n t e r n a l s t r i f e ,

o t h e r g r o u p s a r e t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f

t h e C A R s p o r o u s b o r d e r s . T h e r e a r e

r e p o r t s t h a t t h e L o r d s R e s i s t a n c e

A r m y , t h e p r e d a t o r y g u e r r i l l a b a n d

l e d b y U g a n d a n n a t i o n a l J o s e p h

K o n y , h a s s e t u p i t s p r e s e n c e i n t h e

c o u n t r y w i t h o u t m u c h o p p o s i t i o n .

P o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y h a s l e d t o a n

o u t b r e a k o f i n t e r - c o m m u n a l f i g h t i n g

a n d r e l i g i o u s c l a s h e s w i t h o v e r a

t h o u s a n d p e o p l e k i l l e d i n t h e C A R

c a p i t a l a l o n e , a n d r e s i d e n t s o f

r e l i g i o u s l y m i x e d a r e a s a r e n o w

f l e e i n g w i t h i n t h e c o u n t r y o r a b r o a d .

W o m e n a n d c h i l d r e n h a d b e e n

e x p o s e d t o a l l f o r m s o f v i o l e n c e ,

d i s e a s e a n d f a m i n e , w h i l e t h e r i s k o f

c h o l e r a a n d o t h e r i n f e c t i o u s d i s e a s e s

i s s p r e a d i n g i n a n t i c i p a t i o n o f t h e

r a i n y s e a s o n . O n 0 6 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4

t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l

h i g h l i g h t e d t h e v e r y r e a l r i s k t h a t t h e

c r i s i s c o u l d s p r e a d b e y o n d t h e

c o u n t r y s b o r d e r s a n d f u r t h e r

d e s t a b i l i z e t h e r e g i o n . K i l l i n g s

c o n t i n u e d a i l y a n d p e o p l e r e m a i n

d i v i d e d a l o n g r e l i g i o u s l i n e s , w i t h

a c c e s s t o B a n g u i n e i g h b o u r h o o d s

c o n t r o l l e d e i t h e r b y a n t i - C h r i s t i a n

o r a n t i - M u s l i m c h e c k p o i n t s

m a n n e d b y a r m e d c i v i l i a n s . I n

D e c e m b e r , t h e a n t i - b a l a k a c a r r i e d

o u t a m a j o r a t t a c k o n B a n g u i , t h e

c a p i t a l , f o r c i n g t h e S e l e k a t o r e t r e a t

a n d r e g r o u p . T h e S e l e k a f o r m a l l y

c e d e d p o w e r i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 . A n e w

p r e s i d e n t , C a t h e r i n e S a m b a - P a n z a ,

t h e f o r m e r m a y o r o f B a n g u i , w a s

e l e c t e d t o h e a d t h e g o v e r n m e n t s

i n t e r i m a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n t h e s a m e

m o n t h .

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e r e a r e i n c r e a s i n g

s e c u r i t y c o n c e r n s f o r b o t h d i s p l a c e d

a n d h u m a n i t a r i a n a i d p e r s o n n e l . I n

B a n g u i a b o u t h a l f t h e p o p u l a t i o n s t i l l

p r e f e r s t o s l e e p a w a y f r o m t h e i r

h o m e s a t n i g h t , e i t h e r a t t h e m a s s i v e l y

o v e r c r o w d e d a i r p o r t c a m p ( h o s t i n g

n e a r l y 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e ) o r a r o u n d

c h u r c h e s , w h i l e t h e M u s l i m m i n o r i t y

h a s c o n c e n t r a t e d i n a f e w d i s t r i c t s .

T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s O f f i c e f o r t h e

C o o r d i n a t i o n o f H u m a n i t a r i a n

A f f a i r s ( O C H A ) e s t i m a t e s t h a t

8 8 6 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e a r e d i s p l a c e d i n C A R ,

i n c l u d i n g 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 i n B a n g u i a l o n e .

O v e r 2 . 6 m i l l i o n ( h a l f t h e p o p u l a t i o n )

n o w n e e d h u m a n i t a r i a n a s s i s t a n c e ,

o w i n g t o a c u t e p o v e r t y a s w e l l a s

w i d e s p r e a d d i s p l a c e m e n t . T h i s

d i s p l a c e m e n t o f f a r m i n g a c t i v i t y a s

w e l l a s d e s t r u c t i o n a n d p i l l a g i n g h a s

m e a n t t h a t s e e d s a n d f o o d s t o c k s a r e

i n s h o r t s u p p l y : m o s t p e o p l e s u r v e y e d

s a i d t h e i r m e a l c o n s u m p t i o n h a s

d r o p p e d f r o m t h r e e t i m e s t o o n c e a

d a y .

F r a n c e i s f o c u s e d o n d i s a r m i n g


A n a l y s i sC A R H u m a n i t a r i a n C r i s i s

" T h e C A R w a s o n c e

k n o w n f o r q u i t e

p e a c e f u l C h r i s t i a n -

M u s l i m r e l a t i o n s , b u t

t h e c u r r e n t c r i s i s h a s

p i t t e d c o m m u n i t i e s

a g a i n s t o n e a n o t h e r "

" P o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y

h a s l e d t o a n o u t b r e a k

o f i n t e r - c o m m u n a l

f i g h t i n g a n d r e l i g i o u s

c l a s h e s "

" K i l l i n g s c o n t i n u e

d a i l y a n d p e o p l e

r e m a i n d i v i d e d a l o n g

r e l i g i o u s l i n e s "


21/39


22/39

P o l i c y D e b a t e D i s a b i l i t y

" d i s a b i l i t y r e m a i n s

l a r g e l y i n v i s i b l e i n

m o s t m a i n s t r e a m

d e v e l o p m e n t

a g e n d a a n d

p r o c e s s e s , b o t h a t

g l o b a l a n d l o c a l

l e v e l s "

. . .

" C o n v e n t i o n o n t h e

R i g h t s o f P e r s o n s

w i t h D i s a b i l i t i e s

( C R P D ) d e m a n d s

t a k i n g i n t o a c c o u n t

i n d e v e l o p m e n t

p o l i c i e s t h e n e e d s

Global South Development Magazine October 2014

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Transcript of Global South Development Magazine October 2014