The SASPp aims to increase access to adaptive social protection systems for poor and vulnerable populations to help them anticipate, absorb, and recover from covariate climate shocks and stresses (such as drought and flooding), and to support national social protection systems to become more adaptive and responsive to shocks and stresses (World Bank, 2019).
With funding from the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) this report sought to assess the gender-sensitivity of the SASPp, including the extent to which the SASPp considers the differential needs and impact of programme activities on women and men, girls and boys, and uses this information to inform programme design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation.
The following steps were followed to conduct this assessment and provide robust evidence-based recommendations for the SASPp programme team to take forward:
- A literature review on gendered vulnerabilities and gender dimensions of adaptive social protection systems and what works to ensure they are gender-responsive and transformative.
- A review of programme documentation to assess the gender-sensitivity in SASP’s design and implementation, including assessing how gender is considered across the programme, and what types of activities are tailored to respond to differential needs of women and men.
- Key Informant Interviews with staff from the World Bank at headquarters and in-country and national stakeholders of the programme.
You can download the report by clicking the green button, and a presentation is also available here.
]]>In particular, there is limited long-term data and evidence around learning achievements and outcomes for learners with disabilities, making it difficult to enact systemic changes to the education system that would improve learning achievements for children with disabilities (Schuelka, 2013). For most studies reviewed, data were lacking on whether outcomes differed according to gender, or whether interventions were cost-effective. The lack of data comparing different approaches that try to improve educational inclusion and outcomes for children with disabilities makes it difficult to judge what approach is most effective (Kuper et al, 2018).
]]>Persons with disabilities include ‘those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others’ (UNCRPD, 2006; MoGCSWHADM, 2013, p. 8). Despite decades of conflict and its impact on poverty and services, leaving many South Sudanese with different types of disabilities, there are no official statistics in relation to disability prevalence.
According to a national census carried out in 2008, before the 2011 independence of South Sudan, persons with disabilities accounted for 5.1% of the population, although the census is controversial and the number of disabled people believed to be an underestimate (Legge, 2016, p. 1; Anyang, 2016, p. 4; Sida, 2014, p. 1). This is due to both issues with how disability was defined and the likelihood that stigma prevented people from identifying themselves as being a person with disabilities (Legge, 2016, p. 1).
]]>A scoping review aimed at looking at the current evidence base on assistive technology in resource limited settings found that over 80% of the available papers focused on types of assistive technologies that address mobility (45.2%) and vision (35.5%) needs, with assistive technology types of spectacles and prosthetics comprising over 50% of all publications (Matter et al, 2016, p. 1).
Evidence on assistive technologies that addresses hearing, communication, and cognition needs were the most underrepresented within the existing evidence base (Matter et al, 2016, p. 1). They concluded that evidence on assistive technologies in resource limited settings was limited in quantity and quality, as well as not being evenly distributed across all types of assistive technologies (Matter et al, 2016, p. 1). Visagie et al (2016, p. 1) also found that there is a paucity of evidence on assistive technology provision in low and middle income countries.
Despite acknowledgement of the importance of assistive technologies that are affordable and accessible, within the existing literature there appears to be little focus on the specific ways in which this can be achieved, including in relation to market shaping. The available literature seemed to be largely gender blind, although some papers differentiated between the experiences of men and women in relation to assistive technologies.
]]>This review links to the need for inclusion of all people, in particular stressing the importance of those who are disabled, people in all age groups, and women. It is guided by the consideration of how the concept of ‘leave no one behind’ can be incorporated into infrastructure planning, development, implementation and evaluation. The report focuses on transport, electricity and water infrastructure.
DFID aims for its policies and programmes to be inclusive of and accessible to people who may be discriminated against and excluded due to disability, gender, geography, income, age or other characteristics (DFID 2014). The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development similarly declares that all of its targets should be met for all segments of society, including vulnerable groups such as children, youth, persons with disabilities, people living with HIV, older persons, indigenous peoples, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants (United Nations 2016, p. 48). The Sustainable Development Goals emphasise the importance of inclusion by mentioning, in Goal 1, vulnerable social groups where ‘no poverty’ initiatives would be most beneficial, including women, children, older people, people with disabilities and the unemployed.
]]>There is a large amount of recently published policy relevant literature on this broad ranging subject. All of the literature remarks on the gender digital divide, and some papers focus entirely on this divide (see section 3). However, other dimensions – such as disability – were not highlighted as important issues or included in the executive summaries.
]]>Introduction
Pollution currently poses one of the greatest public health and human rights challenges, disproportionately affecting the poor and the vulnerable. Pollution is not just an environmental issue, but affects the health and well-being of entire societies. Despite the huge impacts on human health and the global economy, and the opportunity to apply simple and affordable solutions, pollution has been undercounted and insufficiently addressed in national policies and international development agendas. Prioritising and increasing investment in pollution cleanup and control presents an extraordinary opportunity to save lives and grow economies.
The Lancet Commission Pollution and Health report
The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health published its landmark report on 20 October 2017. This is the first global analysis of all forms of pollution and its impact on health, economic costs, and the environmental and social injustice of pollution. The aim of the Commission is to reduce air, soil and water pollution by communicating the extraordinary health and economic costs of pollution globally, providing actionable solutions to policymakers and dispelling the myth of pollution’s inevitability.
The Commission on Pollution and Health is an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The Commission comprises many of the world’s most influential leaders, researchers and practitioners in the fields of pollution management, environmental health and sustainable development.
The findings of The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health will be live streamed from the first two launch events to be held at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City and at Maastrict University, Brussels. Please refer to the bottom of this webpage for further details.
Pollution and poverty
Pollution is strongly linked to poverty. Nearly 92% of pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Children face the highest risks and are the most vulnerable victims of pollution because small exposures to chemicals in utero and early childhood can result in lifelong disease, disability, premature death, as well as reduced learning and earning potential. The health impact of pollution is likely to be much larger than can accurately be quantified today because of insufficient data collection and scientific research from many pollutants.
Pollution is costly. Pollution-related illnesses result in direct medical costs, costs to healthcare systems and opportunity costs resulting from lost productivity and economic growth. Welfare losses due to pollution are estimated at $4.6 trillion per year, 6.2% of global economic output. The claim that pollution control stifles economic growth and that poor countries must pollute in order to grow is false.
Pollution control solutions and strategies
Pollution and health: six problems and six solutions
This global problem can be solved. Solutions to controlling pollution are feasible, cost-effective and replicable. Many of the pollution control strategies that have been widely used and have proven cost-effective in middle- and high-income countries are now ready to be exported and adapted for use by cities and countries at every level of income. The most effective strategies control pollution at its source. Their application in carefully planned and well-resourced campaigns can enable developing countries to avoid many of the harmful consequences of pollution and leapfrog over the worst of human and ecological disasters. Planning processes that prioritise interventions against pollution, that link pollution control to protection of public health, and that integrate pollution control into development strategies are critical first steps in fighting pollution. The Lancet Commission on pollution and health make six recommendations to raise global awareness of pollution, end neglect of pollution-related disease, and mobilise the resources and political influence that will be needed to effectively confront pollution.
A further 12 key strategies to reduce air, soil, water and occupational pollution are highlighted in the report.
Pure Earth is an organisation whose mission is to identify and clean up the poorest communities throughout the developing world where high concentrations of toxins have devastating health effects. Pure Earth devises clean-up strategies, empowers local champions and secures support from national and international partnerships. This clip shows some of the solutions to the pollution crisis in action.
Controlling pollution to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Partnership and coordinated efforts to control pollution are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to the numerous ways that pollution affects communities around the globe. For example, severe pollution causes frequent illness, disability and inability to work (SDG 1: No poverty); the impacts of pollution are sources of instability (SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions); highly toxic wastewater poisons soil and food supplies (SDG 2: Zero hunger) and toxic chemicals contaminate soil, migrate into crops and into our bodies (SDG 15: Life on land). More information on achieving the SDG’s through addressing pollution can be found here.
Research into pollution and pollution control
Research is needed to understand and control pollution and to support change to pollution-related policy. The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health recommends the following research:
- Explore emerging causal links between pollution, disease, and sub-clinical impairment, for example between ambient air pollution and dysfunction of the central nervous system in children and the elderly
- Quantify the global burden of disease associated with chemical pollutants of known toxicity such as lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, asbestos, and benzene
- Identify and characterise the adverse health outcomes caused by new and emerging chemical pollutants, such as developmental neurotoxicants, endocrine disruptors, novel insecticides, chemical herbicides, and pharmaceutical wastes
- Identify and map pollution exposures particularly in low- and middle-income countries
- Improve estimates of the economic costs of pollution and pollution-related disease
- Quantify the health and economic benefits of interventions against pollution and the costs of interventions.
Evidence of pollutants causing disease ranges from the well-established, to emerging effects and the unknown, where the effects of pollutants on human health are only beginning to be recognised and are not yet quantified. The Commission proposes a framework for organising scientific knowledge about pollution and its effects on human health, and to help focus pollution-related research through the concept of a pollutome.
Previous Launch Events
New York City
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
23 October 10:00-12:00 EST
Live stream available: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/785131213
Brussels
Maastrict University
26 October 10:00-12:00
Live stream available: https://www.youtube.com/user/maastrichtuniversity
Ottawa
CSIH Canadian Conference on Global Health
31 October 13:00-14:30
Qatar
7 November 09:00-10:00
Delhi
14 November 09:30-11:30
Philippines
30 November 08:00-17:00
Media coverage of The Lancet Commission Pollution and Health report
Global pollution kills 9m a year and threatens ‘survival of human societies’, The Guardian, Oct 19 2017
Pollution linked to one in six deaths, BBC News, Oct 19 2017
Pollution-related deaths exceed 9m per year, Financial Times, Oct 19 2017
Pollution is killing millions of people a year and the world is reaching ‘crisis point’, experts warn, The Independent, Oct 19 2017
Inclusion within organisations involves fostering an environment that allows people with different backgrounds, characteristics, and ways of thinking, to work effectively together and fulfil their potential. To achieve an inclusive culture, people must feel valued, listened to and respected (Wallace and Pillans 2016). Inclusiveness is an environment that maximises the diversity of all employees (Janakiraman 2011). Inclusion involves organisational practices that ensure that the backgrounds of different groups or individuals are culturally and socially accepted, welcomed and equally treated.
For individuals within an organisation, inclusion is a sense of belonging based on respect and being valued (GDP 2017). Inclusion for organisations is driven from grass roots, but steered from the top (ENEI 2017). Inclusive leaders must challenge biases, whilst being aware of their own unconscious biases. They must take responsibility for inclusion and hold all employees accountable for inclusion in the workplace (ENEI 2017). For inclusion to work, organisations must create an atmosphere that espouses supportive energy and commitment. Individuals must be engaged and valued (GDP 2017).
Organisational inclusion can fluctuate due to changes in priorities and focuses. Inclusive organisations must continue to push for continuous improvement (ENEI 2017). Inclusion involves the continuous search for value and full, effective utilisation of the richness of diversity among stakeholders (Diversity Best Practices 2009). Inclusion involves getting diversity to work for positive outcomes (GDP 2017). Inclusion is the lever that leads to change (Janakiraman 2011). In this context, diversity is the mix of individuals (Janakiraman 2011, GDP 2017).
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