The £1.7m award will fund an ambitious 5-year programme, led by Dr Saska Petrova, Professor in Human Geography at The University of Manchester. GENERATE aims to offer original insights into the social, spatial, and political inequalities that drive energy-related injustices, and the struggles linked to the growth of new low-carbon energy production in disadvantaged regions and communities. 

Supported by UK Research and Innovation via the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, GENERATE is a European Research Council Consolidator grant, and will involve research across six countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) in Southeast Europe.  

The project will undertake in-depth case studies involving range of rural and urban locations that have experienced rapid investment in renewable energy and housing retrofits. The knowledge gained from this region will be extended and applied globally, through a series of collaborations with practitioner and academic organisations in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. 

From balconies, windows and door fronts around the world, citizens are applauding healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 response for their commitment and care. Despite these visible shows of support, all is not well – because in addition to the risks of exposure to a largely invisible enemy, these medics also face threats of various kinds in the workplace.

We usually think of as something that happens in the context of war or . Such attacks have been reported in , , , the and . In these cases, the attackers are usually aiming to gain a or to deny healthcare to enemy forces and civilian populations.

But what the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates is that attacks against healthcare can – and do – . Since the start of the pandemic, different forms of aggression have combined to interfere with the professional and personal lives of healthcare workers. As well as exposing them, in some cases, to real physical danger it also increases psychological pressure at a time when many are already under a huge amount of stress.

Intimidation

Silencing is a key example. Healthcare workers in , Thailand, and have faced intimidation or arrest for casting doubt on government policies or for suggesting that casualty numbers and infection rates have been minimised or obscured.

In the and staff also report being gagged for criticising the lack of proper made available to them.

This lack of transparency about the response and the difficult working conditions can be partially attributed to the politicisation of the COVID-19 response. In a contentious political environment, observers and authorities are more likely to interpret criticism in a partisan way. Authorities are judged by the success of their actions, often in comparison to other governments.

Xenophobia, nationalism and are byproducts of this politicisation. The need to demonstrate governmental competence is visible in the one-upmanship on victories over the virus and and controversies. For example, Germany accused the US of “”, after much needed face masks were diverted while in transit. The US denied any .

Death threats and assaults

There is public pressure too. Anthony Fauci, a key figure in the US national response and the of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has received death threats accusing him of contradicting the president and politicising the response. He now requires a . The fact that healthcare workers and scientists around the world are discouraged from speaking freely directly hampers the effectiveness of the response on a local, national and international level.

Healthcare and other key workers in , and the have all been subjected to deliberate coughing and spitting. This constitutes a deliberate weaponisation of COVID-19.

People have also been and due to their association with the COVID-19 response and assumed access to medicine and food. In the , spitting and other assaults on emergency workers were already happening regularly and were addressed in the .

With the COVID-19 lockdown, widespread uncertainty and economic repercussions have contributed to a rise in . In one case in Italy, a man is alleged to have , who was a medical student. He falsely accused her of exposing him to COVID-19.

Medics have been experiencing stigma and ostracism and been verbally assaulted or evicted by fearful landlords in the , , , and the .

These incidents contribute to safety issues and economic hardship at a time of profound personal and professional pressure. In general, healthcare workers are subject to severe psychological stress, raising concerns about their mental wellbeing. One Italian nurse tragically – an act that colleagues attributed to the stresses of her work caring for COVID-19 patients.

Recently, fact checkers had to rectify social media reports claiming that an had been charged with killing over 3,000 COVID-19 patients. Disinformation campaigns have resulted in a backlash against suspected patients. In , residents attacked busses with evacuees from China after a hoax email falsely attributed to the Ministry of Health suggested some carried the virus.

The virus highlights preexisting pressures and violence against healthcare workers. In many cases, it has aggravated them. Like the spread of the virus, COVID-19-related violence has proliferated around the globe, so far largely out of sight and unchecked. It is in all our interests that such violence is closely monitored, addressed and – where possible – prevented. Only then will the people responsible for keeping us alive be able to work without fear for their safety.

, Presidential Academic Fellow in Medical Humanitarianism, and , Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Studies, . This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

The University of Manchester has a growing list of scientists and academics who are either working on aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak or can make a valuable contribution to the national discourse. Please checkout our p. 

Our people are also  and with partners from across society to understand coronavirus (COVID-19) and its wide-ranging impacts on our lives.  to support the University’s response to coronavirus or visit the University’s  to lend a helping hand.

For some , this basic service is not provided. In rapidly growing cities in low and middle income countries, expensive serviced residential areas  makeshift settlements, whose poorer residents lack access to sanitation and suffer from preventable diseases and infections. In India, for instance,  resulting from lack of sanitation.

To address this, some governments have announced national drives to clean up their cities. But many cities are resorting to quick fixes that are polluting water sources and leaving countless urban communities by the wayside.

Take India. In 2014, its government announced a highly publicised . Under this mission, the government surveys and ranks cities according to their cleanliness, and hands . The mission’s main aim was to rid the country of open defecation, makeshift toilets and open sewers by October 2019.

This was music to the ears of residents of Siddharth Nagar, an informal settlement in Mumbai. Its 650 migrant families live in self-built shelters without access to functioning toilets.

For many years, they had to resort to  – that is, going to the “toilet” outside in the open environment rather than using dedicated and safely managed facilities. Open defecation is not considered safe because it exposes people to contact with faeces and, in the case of more vulnerable populations, .

Eventually, residents were able to pool their resources and construct six makeshift toilets for the community. The waste from the toilets was directed straight into an adjacent stream, which took it to the sea. In many cases, water from streams and rivers is used for washing, cooking and drinking, so flushing untreated sludge – potentially containing dangerous viruses, bacteria and parasite cysts – can cause serious problems downstream.

Self-constructed toilets in Siddharth Nagar, Mumbai. Purva Dewoolkar, Author provided

In May 2016, Siddharth Nagar residents requested proper toilets for their community. Two years later, following a long bureaucratic battle and committed campaigning, the municipality approved the construction of a managed community toilet block in the settlement.

However, what they actually got was a “moving” toilet – a trailer carrying several toilets and a bio-digester. Shortly after the trailer’s arrival, officials visited the area to assess its sanitary status. Following the visit, the moving toilet disappeared. The municipal government had achieved its aim of being declared open defecation free but the community was no better off.

In an attempt to pacify angry residents, the municipality eventually delivered four portable toilets later in 2018. But these were positioned out of reach of desludging vehicles, which were vital to the toilets’ proper functioning.

Consequently, sludge was not collected in septic tanks as intended but directed straight into the stream-sewer, polluting water and ecosystems that depended on it. Today, three out of the four portable toilets are defunct. Residents are once again resorting to open defecation and their self-built toilets.

Similar stories from  abound. Temporary fixes and cosmetic solutions offered by municipal governments are leaving countless communities empty handed in the long term. The particularly high risk of disease outbreak from  in densely populated urban environments not only threatens lives but also reduces the time people can work, making it harder to escape poverty.

Moving toilets brought to Siddarth Nagar. Purva Dewoolkar, Author provided

China’s ‘Toilet Revolution’

Further east, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced the country’s  in 2015, targeting primarily the countryside and promising access to hygienic toilets for all. But this bold rhetoric is deepening existing stigma surrounding traditional sanitation practices, widening the rift between the urban rich and poor.

Prior to Xi’s announcement, sanitation infrastructure had not been considered a priority for several decades. Despite the country’s rapid economic development, the proportion of people relying on  had actually doubled between 1990 and 2008.

Although the Toilet Revolution has helped to greatly expand public sewer systems in recent years, in , not everyone has access to proper sanitation. While entire swaths of land have been swiftly redeveloped, pockets of older neighbourhoods remain untouched.

Many of these dilapidated neighbourhoods are inhabited by China’s , who rely on traditional night pots and communal waste collection stations. Younger generations feel disdain and disgust for this way of life. For them, this is reason enough to stay away, .

 are another marginalised group. Unable to afford the , most are forced to live in sub-standard conditions without access to sanitation facilities. Already looked down upon by more affluent urban residents, they are often accused of dirtying the urban environment.

Self-installed flush toilets like this one in Shanghai often just empty into rainwater drains. Deljana Iossifova, Author provided

The desire to adopt modern conveniences – or live up to others’ expectations – has led countless urban migrant households to install flush toilets themselves. In most cases, these are not connected to municipal sewers. Rather, human waste is flushed directly into the street.

The municipal government is now slowly taking steps to . But even where toilets are formally connected to the sewer – including in newly built residential compounds – not all waste ends up at a treatment plant. As in India, much of it eventually pollutes surrounding bodies of water and linked ecosystems.

It’s great that countries are backing the . But at the heart of these aims must be a desire to protect the environment and improve the health and wellbeing of the people – not recognition and awards. Otherwise, those most in need get left behind.

, , and , . This article is republished from  under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

The paper examines the specific effect of social media on mental health in the developing country.

It found that social media had a detrimental effect on mental health – as has been documented globally. But the authors noted specifics to developing countries such as Indonesia.

Researchers said that the country’s high levels of inequality are highlighted on social media leading to envy and resentment at seeing happy, positive social media images of how others live.

Inequality in Indonesia has been rising fast since 2000 and the country has the third-fastest-growing economy among the G20 economies.

It has a rising consumer class which contrasts starkly against those with less education or unable to get employment.

Indonesia's transition to democracy has also played out on social media with negative results.

A cacophony of news about government failures, corruption, crime, conflicts and poverty is amplified on social media on a daily basis – providing little escape for the country’s citizens.

The study looked specifically at Facebook, Twitter and chat, and analysed 22,423 individuals across nearly 300 districts of the country.

Social media is incredibly popular in Indonesia; Facebook reported a total of 54 million individual users in Indonesia, making it the fourth largest Facebook-using country in the world, while Twitter reported 22 million Indonesian users, putting the country in fifth place worldwide.

Twitter also reported that Indonesian users publish a total of 385 ‘Tweets’ per second on average.

Meanwhile, mental disorders are becoming a major burden in the country.

Based on the latest Indonesia Basic Health Research survey 2018, the prevalence of individuals with mental disorders in the country is an estimated 11.8 million people.

Global Development Institute researcher Gindo Tampubolon said: “It’s a strong reminder that these technologies can have a downside.

"We would like to see public health officials think creatively about how we can encourage citizens to take a break from social media or be aware of the negative consequences it can have on mental health.”

The authors call for public health interventions and policies advocating wise use of online social media to prevent increased mental illness driven by excessive social media use in Indonesia.

Find out more

Today’s consumer society exists because of the multitudes of global value chains linking firms of all sizes across countries, cultures, political and trade boundaries. Global value chains change how multi-national corporations interact with their consumers and suppliers and have impacted the working conditions of workers in factories, farms, and stores across the world.

The growth of contemporary retail has been driven by the commercialised production of many goods previously produced unpaid by women within the home. Sourcing is now largely undertaken through global value chains in low- or middle-income economies, using a 'cheap' feminised labour force to produce low-price goods. As women have been drawn into the labour force, households are increasingly dependent on the purchase of food and consumer goods, blurring the boundaries between paid and unpaid work.

Prof Barrientos’s book focuses on the changing gender patterns of work in a global retail environment associated with the rise of contemporary retail and global sourcing. This has affected the working lives of hundreds of millions of workers in high-, middle- and low-income countries.

Her book examines how gendered patterns of work have changed. Some workers have gained but many endure poor working conditions, and women are concentrated in more precarious work. The book explores the extent to which global retail opens up new channels to leverage more gender-equitable gains in sourcing countries.

The conditions and mechanisms that lead to alternative outcomes are detailed in this volume. It covers workers in the cocoa – chocolate value chains, up-grading and down-grading in African horticulture, the limits of social compliance in Asian apparel, and strategies to promote more gender-equitable outcomes for workers in some companies within flowers and apparel.

Building on years of detailed empirical research across different industries and in several countries, Barrientos examines how global values chains are reshaping the gender profile of work across many middle- and low-income countries. Gendered patterns of work in these global value chains can both relegate women workers to poorly paid and unrecognised labour or lead to economic empowerment and enhanced worker rights.

Find out more

When Narendra Modi became India’s prime minister in spring 2014 the Indian economy was in the doldrums. There was a clear policy paralysis in India’s central government, in large part due to the high profile corruption cases that involved the central government bureaucracy and politicians at the time. Modi  Indians that “acche din” (good days) were coming. And there was expectation that the Indian economy would do well under a , headed by a politician known for .

Modi has had mixed successes in delivering on his promises. Here’s a breakdown of some of Modi’s key policies and how he has performed.

1. Demonetisation

India’s economic growth has not recovered to the high levels that were witnessed in the first decade of the 2000s. One important reason for the slow recovery was to do with the Modi government’s demonetisation policy. On November 8 2016, the government withdrew all 500 and 1000 rupee notes from circulation, announcing the issuance of new 500 and 2,000 rupee banknotes .

The aim of demonetisation was to deal a death blow to the black economy by reducing the perceived use of illicit cash to fund terrorism and illegal activities. Instead, the policy led to a , and economic growth slowed down .

Further, by 2018, around 99% of the bank notes that were made invalid , suggesting that a large proportion of the 500 and 1000 rupee notes in circulation were not counterfeit notes or black money, as the government thought. Thus, demonetisation led to a large economic loss without any clear benefits in terms of reducing the role of the black economy or corruption.

2. Goods and services tax (GST)

The Modi government’s second bold policy step was to launch the goods and services tax (GST) in July 2017. The aim of the GST policy was to create a common market in India, as opposed to the many different sales taxes that existed in different Indian states. The initial effect of the introduction of the GST was negative on the economy. This was especially the case for India’s large informal sector – which employs the vast majority of people .

The initial implementation of the GST was not handled well – small businesses in particular were confused about onerous reporting requirements, which placed a large compliance burden on them. At the same time, the GST policy could be seen as one of the most important policy initiatives since the country’s landmark 1991 economic reforms and as the one of the . While the initial effect of the GST policy on the Indian economy was a negative shock, the long-term impact is likely to be strongly positive.

3. Delivery of public goods

Modi delivered on a large number of important public goods schemes, which built on the initiatives of the previous government. For example, toilet coverage in rural India , in large part due to the Modi government’s sanitation programme.

As part of the Pradhan Mantri Awaz Yojana initiative, the number of rural houses built increased threefold from 2014 to 2016. There was also a large push on rural electrification to ensure all villages had an electricity connection by 2018.

4. Agriculture

Around 50-60% of India’s population have some form of economic reliance on agriculture. This sector has experienced , leading to what may has been termed an agrarian crisis.

While the roots of this crisis are deep seated, it could also be attributed to the Modi government’s reluctance to increase minimum support prices for staple crops such as rice, wheat and pulses – something he promised to do in his 2014 campaign. This would have prevented the return of food price inflation, which was a major source of discontent with the previous government.

5. Jobs

Perhaps the most disappointing feature of the Modi government has been its  for the large proportion of India’s labour force who are unskilled and poor. , according to a leaked report from India’s National Sample Survey Organisation.

The Modi government’s weak record in job creation was particularly surprising, given its original intention to rejuvenate the manufacturing sector as a source of job creation, with the much-heralded . Here, as in the case of agriculture, the roots of India’s manufacturing malaise run deep. They can be linked to India’s inability to foster the kind of labour-intensive industrialisation .

The reasons for why this has been the case is complex, and can be linked to the low levels of skills among India’s workers, poor infrastructure and India’s antiquated labour laws. But, for all its reformist credentials, the Modi government made little headway in providing the jobs that India’s aspirational youth so desperately seek. This could prove crucial in the country’s 2019 national elections.

, Director, UNU-WIDER and Professor of Development Economics, . This article is republished from  under a Creative Commons license. Read the .

Against the backdrop of climate change, resource shortages and , the question of how to ensure adequate food supply for everyone looms rather large. The emphasises intensifying the output of agriculture through the common model of petrochemical, large-scale, one-crop, intensive farming.

But business as usual is no longer an option for food and agriculture. The global agriculture system will have to be radically transformed to avoid further environmental and social problems, as was by a three-year study commissioned by the UN and the World Bank involving more than 400 scientists. This report, as well as subsequent international studies by the and the , have convincingly demonstrated that – farming that imitates natural ecosystems – is the most promising pathway to sustainable food systems on all continents.

Agroecology

Agroecology is based on the idea that farms should mimic the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. In ecosystems, there is no “waste”: nutrients are recycled indefinitely. Agroecology aims to close nutrient loops – returning all nutrients that come out of the soil, back to the soil. In the case of vegetable farming, for example, this could be achieved through composting of vegetable scraps, human and farmyard manure.

Agroecology also harnesses natural processes to control pests and build soil fertility. Agroecological practices include integrating trees with livestock and crops ( farming), producing food from forests (agroforestry), growing several crops together in one plot (polyculture) and using locally adapted and genetically diverse crops and livestock.

Throughout the world, small-scale farmers are uniting under . They do so not only to produce healthy and nutritious food, enhance biodiversity and adapt to climate change, but also to improve their income and working conditions by developing . Local ecologies and economies are being regenerated from below through an insistence on (community control over the way food is produced, traded and consumed) and (as opposed to more watered down versions of agroecology, such as “climate-smart” or “conservation” agriculture).

We need to branch away from the emphasis on monoculture farming.

But changes also need to be made on a larger scale. Some bodies recognise this. Faced with the growing social and environmental costs of industrial farming, the European Union adopted a in June 2017. This the EU to:

Support agro-ecological practices and actions to reduce post-harvest losses and food waste, as well as to protect soils, conserve water resources, halt, prevent and reverse deforestation, and maintain biodiversity and healthy ecosystems.

But opening up agroecological pathways to sustainable food systems in the EU is a major challenge. in funding priorities and research agendas are necessary. Similarly, a total overhaul of overseas aid programmes is urgently needed to support crucial transitions to agroecology in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Coffee bushes grown in the shade on the western slopes of the Andes. Morley Read/Shutterstock.com

Absent aid

However, this is not currently happening. Our recently published shows that very little overseas aid is directed at agroecological research and development. Since January 1 2010, no funds at all have been directed at or been committed to projects with the main focus on development or promotion of agroecological practices.

It is true that minor funds have been directed at projects which promote resource efficiency in farming. But this is a very basic agroecological principle. Based on the most generous interpretation of available figures, our study shows for the first time that aid for agroecological projects is less than 5% of aid given for agricultural purposes and less than 0.5% of the total UK aid budget. By largely supporting industrial agriculture, UK aid priorities contribute very little to the transition towards global socio-ecological sustainability.

Despite the obscure nature of available information, it is reasonable to assume that there is a similar lack of funding for agroecology in the overseas aid priorities of other so-called developed countries. There is, after all, a chronic lack of internal investment in agroecology .

Business as usual may rhetorically no longer be an option in food and agriculture. But it will be, as usual, practically the only option as long as these stark funding asymmetries remain.

In April 2018, government representatives from around the world will travel to Rome to discuss how to scale up agroecology. This UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is a unique opportunity to rethink priorities for agricultural development worldwide. Among the many actions needed, we urgently need to see a substantial increase in public funding for agroecology – both within and between nations.

, Marie Curie Research Fellow, and , Professor and Director, Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

Global inequalities

is one of The University of Manchester’s - examples of pioneering discoveries, interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-sector partnerships that are tackling some of the biggest questions facing the planet. #ResearchBeacons

Back in 2016, the outbreak was urgently discussed around the world (Rio was about to host the Olympics) and Brazil’s own government on Zika.

Yet the epidemic – and possible solutions – were reported on in ways that failed to address their longstanding socio-economic aspects. Societal factors, such as poverty and gender, which ultimately shape the emergence and development of these kinds of infectious diseases, were ignored. The politics of Zika was left out of the discussion.

In January 2016, after 18 of the country’s 27 states had reported cases of Zika infection, Brazil made its declaration of war on the disease. A month later, after it spread to neighbouring countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) a “public health emergency of international concern”.

But by the end of 2016, when WHO had said it would no longer be treating the disease as an international medical emergency, responses to Zika were still being using the language of war.

With our colleagues and the way two major Brazilian newspapers – O Globo and Folha de São Paulo – reported and commented on responses to Zika, that language of war targeted two main “enemies”. The first was a collective war focused on eradicating the mosquito. With that came a second, gender-based war against , a birth defect associated with the Zika virus. In this battle, the burden of responsibility was put on women, who were expected to adopt preventive measures and avoid pregnancy.

Framing the response to the epidemic as a war means discussion of factors related to inequalities and their connection to the disease . And it ignores conditions that need to be addressed if Zika is to be properly explained and potentially eradicated in the future. For in a broader public health context, these elements play a vital role in the development of the disease – and the people it harms.

Gender and poverty count

Brazil is the country most affected by Zika and provides a clear example of the importance of social and gender inequalities in the underlying causes of the outbreak. from the Brazilian Ministry of Health show the great majority of cases of congenital malformations in babies (potentially linked to Zika, but also connected to other infections like syphilis and rubella) are concentrated in the north-east of Brazil – particularly in the states of Pernambuco, Bahia, Paraíba and Maranhão.

The geography of where Zika spread clearly overlaps with the geography of poverty and inequality in Brazil. The in these four states is 180% lower than parts of the wealthier southern regions.

As for the , in Brazil, as elsewhere in South America, women have , abortion is illegal and rates of sexual violence are high.

In the poorer north-eastern states there are also much higher levels of young pregnancy, much lower levels of education and far fewer women with jobs than in the rest of the country. The so-called “war on Zika” to address these social factors.

The way in which Zika is framed in the media shapes public opinion in Brazilian society about who is to blame for the outbreak and who is responsible for fixing it. Unfortunately, this approach continues to focus on the cure rather than prevention – and fails to think critically about the politics of the disease.

The vulnerable groups who suffer Zika’s impact the most have been historically excluded from fair wages and decent living conditions. They are not free to make their own decisions about sexual health. They do not have access to good quality public education or health services. They do not enjoy freedom from violence.

Limiting and controlling the Zika virus is important. But dealing with disease control should not distract from alternative views of Zika which connect it to broader social and political trends. These are currently much more peripheral in the public debate.

As a result, the mainstream view serves to distract from the real politics of Zika. The Brazilian and international community should urgently turn their attention to the fundamental socio-economic and gender issues related to the disease – and seek to answer some uncomfortable questions about responsibility and social justice.

, Postdoctoral research associate, and , Senior Lecturer in Management,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

Kenya is second only to the Netherlands for flower , with a total of 13,013 tons per year. And because of globalisation and global value chains, the Netherlands itself imports most of its flowers from Kenya, with an of USD$1 billion in 2016.

In Kenya, led to it moving from 3.6% to 8.1% of world exports between 2001 and 2016. are to the Netherlands and the UK. An estimated 100,000 tons of flowers leave Kenya every year for these two markets. Over a 132,000 tons are exported worldwide every year. In recent years Kenya has moved away from exporting lower value to higher value stems and bouquets.

One of the groups of people to benefit from the burgeoning industry have been women. They form an estimated 75% of workers at production level in Kenya and have seen some over the years.

But it hasn’t been an easy journey. At the outset women faced systemic inequalities which made them vulnerable workers. These included poor labour conditions, the violation of health and safety rules and sexual harassment. The product upgrading, along with concerted campaigns by human rights activists, NGOs, trade unions and the buy-in of business led to a sea change in the women’s working conditions.

The reforms show that when a broad range of stakeholders come together substantive changes can be made in favour of vulnerable women workers. In line with the UN , big corporations can be transformative in contributing to social justice for women workers. In a collaborative effort, the business community has a great opportunity to step in and lead the change.

A long struggle for rights

In the early 2000s NGOs, human rights, civil society and trade union organisations in Kenya and Europe campaigned over poor labour conditions for women workers. These included women workers on constantly renewed temporary contracts, violations of health and safety rules in greenhouses and endemic sexual harassment by male supervisors.

In addition there were also often demands for unplanned overtime because of last-minute orders placed by buying companies. This caused childcare problems. Women were also subject to additional risks such as sexual harassment and long hours and night time journeys to and from work.

The range of actors involved in the campaign brought a raft of changes across the industry. Sound gender policies on workers’ rights, training, promotion and grievance procedures were introduced. Social auditing involving local NGOs, trade unions and human rights organisations helped identify specific issues facing women workers on particular farms.

Thanks to specific gender policies on workers’ rights and grievance programmes, as well as to a decisive product upgrading, many Kenyan flower growers underwent a crucial . This meant that women workers were now members of the unions, thus giving them access to .

The role players

Kenyan NGOs, trade union and human rights organisations played a critical role in raising issues. A complaint was made about supermarket sourcing to the UK , an alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers’ rights around the globe. This led to investigations and involved visits to Kenya. A number of changes resulted in the leading flower farms, bringing real change for women workers.

Gender committees were established on farms, providing a channel for women workers to voice grievances. Some supermarkets allowed longer lead times for delivery, assisting childcare responsibilities while reducing the risk of sexual harassment at night.

Improvements in Kenya’s employment law in 2007 also helped improve national labour standards. Over time, more women became supervisors and moved into managerial positions; and there was a significant reduction in reporting of labour abuse and sexual harassment. Procedures are now in place for reporting problems and for remedying them.

The business benefits of the changes also became clear. Improving the rights of a largely female workforce has led to lower labour turnover, more committed skilled workers, higher productivity and quality.

But there is still a long way to go: workers are working with trade unions and civil society organisations in their fight for a living wage and other rights.

Global responsibility

Corporations at the top of global value chains have a to stop exacerbating gender discrimination in their operations by factoring gender into the due diligence investigations they do into corporate human rights.

The first step is to recognise that protecting women workers’ rights is their responsibility. And that workplaces can be used as an engine for changing social norms and reducing gender inequalities.

At the same time, companies can lead the charge in finding viable solutions for protecting women workers’ rights. Tackling the root causes of gender inequalities, securing access to effective remedial processes and boosting regulations on sexual harassment can lead to fundamental and systemic change.

Human rights abuses and sexual harassment can be tackled in global value chains. But for this to happen large corporations must take responsibility. In addition, a broad range of actors must be involved in securing real change for women workers, as Kenya has shown.

, Research Associate in Business and Human Rights,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

, and ,

Unusually for a large UN climate conference, the didn’t finish with any late-night haggling. Progress, in the form of various commitments and pledges, is best described as .

Ahead of the conference, we made five suggestions of . They were: ditch fossil fuels entirely, pledge more aggressive emissions cuts, a big increase in climate funds for developing countries, rapid agreement on rules for implementing the Paris Agreement and that “fantasy technologies” that take carbon out of the atmosphere would be exposed as wishful thinking.

We’ll look at how the conference did against our five proposed metrics, discuss “what next” for the UN’s climate process ahead of next year’s meeting, and then suggest five other things to keep a climate-related eye on.

1. Enough with the oil, coal and gas already

Well, there was fun news when the sole US event saw an executive from coal giant Peabody argue for “clean coal”. The audience and many then walked out.

The major headline was the launch of the “, led by the UK and Canada, with pledges by Mexico, New Zealand, Denmark and Angola, among others – 20 countries in all. This alliance pledged to phase out all coal-fired electricity (except that with Carbon Capture and Storage), although without a clear target date. Sceptics rightly point out that and will continue to burn other fossil fuels.

This last point stuck in the craw of Friends of the Earth UK, who pointed out that the UK is simultaneously giving the green light to fracking, a whole new fossil fuel industry which, despite the gas industry’s claims, is .

2. Sharpen the teeth of the pledges

Didn’t happen (that sound is the authors sighing smugly but wearily). The issue “flared up”, and was defused with a promise of a .

3. Show us the money

Also didn’t happen. Indeed, climate finance caused such conflict that things and cause the talks to collapse entirely. The poorer countries wanted to know what they will get and when (to help with planning). According to a Guardian report, the richer countries professed that they were .

4. Clarify the rules

This also didn’t happen (there’s a pattern emerging, no?). There is now what characterises as a

skeleton: a set of headings relating to how action on emissions is reported and monitored. Nations have also fleshed this out with suggested detailed texts, but these are often contradictory and will need to be resolved next year.

There will now be to make sure the Paris rule book gets finished on time.

5. Fantasy technologies are exposed as delusions

Nope. While the Powering Past Coal people pledged, were held over a three-day period. Meanwhile other issues, such as oceans, adaptation, and loss and damage have “.

Can the world really power past coal? Rudmer Zwerver / shutterstock

What next?

Everyone has their own opinions on , in the lead up to COP24 in Poland.

There will be the “Talanoa dialogue” – named after a traditional word used in Fiji and the Pacific to reflect a – around how everyone is doing on their long-term commitments. Meanwhile, next September will see the launch of an on what would need to be done to limit global warming to 1.5℃ (hint: change some laws – primarily laws of physics).

Five things to watch for in the coming year

But there is life beyond the official UNFCCC process. Here are five things to watch for:

a) Will US states and cities put their money where their mouths are? As part of “”, 20 US states, more than 50 of its largest cities and more than 60 of its biggest businesses . If this materialises, it could negate Trump’s “fossil fuels forever” strategy.

b) What happens with the EU? The German chancellor, Angela Merkel – criticised by George Monbiot as “” due to a series of industry-friendly interventions – has to reform the much-criticised EU Emissions Trading Scheme. At the same time, European strategy may be compromised – not only by Brexit, but by the vacuum of a of German leadership. Meanwhile, will the score big wins?

c) China (of course) The Chinese didn’t make on their own emissions trading scheme at Bonn, but . Meanwhile, an is pushing for no new coal plants to be approved, alongside a . China, it seems, is .

d) Coal’s death spiral With encouragement from , more from coal, , with renewables increasing their market share (from a very low baseline). The announcements from the Powering Past Coal Alliance might help nudge this further.

e) Physical impacts Emissions , after a reported plateau. The Arctic faster than , and the .

So we can no doubt expect to see more articles which ask how we can make the most of things if indeed “” to save the world from climate change.

, PhD Candidate, Sustainable Consumption Institute, and , Professor of International Politics,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

Another day, another disaster. The vulnerability of makes any reference to “natural” disasters at best ironic, and at worst insulting. Poverty is not “natural”, and the overcrowding into poor housing that it causes is not “natural”. Even the extreme climatic and environmental conditions that precipitated the on the outskirts of the capital, Freetown, are a function of man’s unnatural relationship with nature. But what to do about it?

As in all emergencies, it was those closest to the disaster that provided the immediate help. Those trapped in the mud would have died waiting for a search and rescue team from the “West” to get them out. It will have been their fellow survivors and neighbours, followed by local and then national teams, who will have determined whether they lived or died.

But as Sierra Leone buries the known to have been killed by the mudslide, international help may well still be needed. Outbreaks of disease, such as cholera, often follow such tragedies – and then there are the country’s ongoing, long-term problems.

To be truly effective, international assistance will now have to address the needs that Sierra Leone itself cannot. And the vital needs in far off, low income countries are often those things many in the West take for granted. Things such as adequate access to appropriate (or even basic) medical care, rehabilitation, care in the community, psychological support and the rest of the wraparound assistance provided by richer countries’ well-financed health economies.

Cause no harm

So the wider world should give Sierra Leone its aid, but must make sure it is effective. We know that , be . But we also know that the absence of aid can harm, particularly the most vulnerable. The international community must meet the country’s immediate needs while at the same time building the capacity of Sierra Leone to deal with its own emergencies. In time, this will also support a coordinated response between other countries in the region, by the UN and its partner organisations.

So what might Sierra Leone need from overseas? A legacy of the is the move by the World Health Organisation (WHO) towards a , supported by its emergency medical teams (EMT) programme and public health rapid response teams (RRTs).

Integral to this new approach is a set of minimum standards established in the wake of international concern about the unqualified responders to the and other major disasters. If Sierra Leone feels it requires outside clinical and public health help, it can look to of verified teams and choose those with the skill sets that best match their needs.

Sending people uninvited more often than not to the . But what is usually always needed by overstretched economies in times of crisis is money. Giving cash to be spent locally allows a country with limited financial resources to support its own people who are there on the ground and available immediately to help. Rather than importing goods from overseas, the means of reconstruction are purchased locally. Money can be misdirected but so can goods and services. All aid must be monitored and evaluated.

The aftermath

Then there’s the risk of epidemics, the fear of which is common after disasters. This is clearly a particular worry in Sierra Leone given its recent history. Flooding increases the spread of waterborne diseases in low income (but not developed) countries, and many waterborne diseases, including , are still present in Sierra Leone.

The absence of a strong public health infrastructure was critical to the spread of Ebola in the region and its implementation crucial to its containment. The same vigilance and readiness to support is needed now.

It was a failure to understand the handling of the dead by neighbours, friends and relatives that amplified the spread of Ebola (showing the importance of knowing the anthropological and social norms of an affected population) – and cholera, like Ebola, is one of the few infectious diseases that remains alive long enough after death to infect those who handle the bodies.

Sudden onset disasters that kill the healthy do not themselves cause epidemics. Dead bodies, even when decomposing, are not a serious risk to public health unless the cause of death was an Ebola-like illness or another infection that survives to an extent in bodily fluids after death such as cholera.

The much commented-on we have seen already in Sierra Leone may not have been strictly necessary on health grounds, but may be an important preparation for what may have to happen if strong public health systems are not implemented quickly and maintained. There have been in the recent past in Sierra Leone – and another is always a very real possibility.

Supporting the public health system should be a priority for the international aid effort in Sierra Leone. After all, relatively little can go a long way – as long as efforts target the right things.

, Professor of International Emergency Medicine,

This article was originally published on . Read the .

The University of Manchester, The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders/ MSF) will come together to discuss attacks on medical facilities in conflict zones.

The humanitarian summit follows attacks on hospitals in Syria and Yemen and the USA admission, last month, over the bombing of a facility in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

A debate, entitled Aid Under Fire, will take place on Wednesday, November 11, from 5.30pm to 7.30pm at The University of Manchester.

The University’s Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) works with the ICRC and MSF, NGOs and government to rigorously research and influence humanitarian response and policy on a global scale. HCRI staff also work on the frontline of disaster response.

Professor Bertrand Taithe, Executive Director of the HCRI at The University of Manchester, said: “Whether tactical or strategic the destruction of a hospital is undoubtedly in violation of the Geneva Convention and can be classified as a war crime. It is the oldest war crime in the book.

“Humanitarian aid is under fire. The recent bombings of hospitals in Syria and Yemen and the US admission over Kunduz, in Afghanistan, bring a renewed urgency to the need to address this problem on a global scale. The University of Manchester will host the only meeting in the UK of these vitally important organisations to discuss this pressing topic in the hope of shaping a response.”  

The following people will take part in the debate:

• Prof Bertrand Taithe, HCRI Executive Director
• Bruno Jochum, Médecins Sans Frontières
• Markus Geisser, International Committee of the Red Cross
• Dr Rony Brauman, MSF President 1982-1994, HCRI Director
• Martin Browne, Associate Researcher 91ֱ�� International Law Centre

To arrange an interview with one of the speakers, journalists should contact the Media Relations Team. Members of the public can attend to register via .

Working with medical colleagues across the world, Professor David Denning has entered the history books by publishing 15 scientific papers on the same day – providing 15 countries with evidence to combat the burden of fungal disease.

The University of Manchester is strengthening its commitment to addressing global poverty and inequality by creating a dedicated research and teaching institute – the largest of its kind in Europe.

In early 2016 will unite the strengths of the current Institute for Development and Policy Management and the Brooks World Poverty Institute, building on more than 60 years of expertise in the field of development studies within the University.

The new Institute will play a major role in supporting the University’s and aims to create and share knowledge to inform and influence policy makers, organisations and corporations, so that they can make positive changes for people living in poverty. More than 45 academics and up to 100 PhD students will become part of the new Institute, driving progress towards addressing global inequalities, one of The University of Manchester’s five flagship research beacons. It will be jointly led by Professors Uma Kothari and David Hulme.

The Global Development Institute will focus on promoting social justice through its world-class, interdisciplinary research building on the University’s reputation for development studies, having been ranked 1st for impact and 2nd for quality in the , and 3rd overall in the QS World University Rankings.

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, the University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, said: “Tackling global poverty and inequality remains one of the most urgent challenges of our age. The Global Development Institute will spearhead our efforts to make a positive difference to many lives though our research and teaching.”  

“With just days to go before the UN meets in New York for the launch of the Sustainable Development Goals, our academics within this new Institute will be using their vast knowledge and experience to ensure they’re as effective as possible for people living in poverty.”

The University’s strong credentials in the international development arena can be traced back to the 1950s when it introduced courses in public administration for overseas students. Most of these were civil servants undertaking an eight month course, which encompassed development planning and administrative practice.

From the 1980s, there was a shift towards formal diplomas and master’s degrees and staff became active as consultants for a number of government and non-government agencies. In 1987, the department was re-established as the Institute for Development Policy and Management.

The Brooks World Poverty Institute was founded in 2006 with generous support from the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation. It was established as an international centre of excellence to create and share knowledge to combat poverty throughout the world.

This year Dr Brooks was awarded to the Brooks World Poverty Institute at The University of Manchester. The University is grateful for the Foundation’s on-going support for the Global Development Institute.

Midwives generally find the chart difficult to complete. Moreover, they struggle to use it as a decision-making aid. This prevents it being used properly to prevent maternal death and illness due to obstructed and prolonged labour – a major issue in many developing countries.

The game is designed to provide an additional and low cost resource which midwives can use to refresh their knowledge in groups and to spark discussion with each other – ultimately delivering better knowledge of the partograph.

A pilot scheme carried out with 165 midwives in east Africa which has just concluded, reported overwhelmingly that participants found the game useful, entertaining and educational.

, from the University’s , led the project. “The crucial benefit of using this game is that it allows midwives to make mistakes without endangering lives,” she said.  “The game is designed to provide new knowledge, revise what they already know and discuss with other players the best ways to support women. The feedback from midwives working in these countries during the pilot was overwhelmingly positive.”

Progression involves charting a series of findings from a woman in labour.  As players move around the board they land on spaces which trigger a randomly selected card question which they have to answer to keep moving.

It was developed from an idea by Dr Gaynor MacLean with funding from and the pilot was carried out in partnership with - a network of midwives involving The University of Manchester and academics and health workers from Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. 

The network is dedicated to improving maternal health outcomes in Africa through increasing evidence-based practice in midwifery and the game was one of the outcomes of this collaboration.

The next step is to develop the game for larger scale production and distribution in the LAMRN partner countries.

Professor Lavender added: “This game has been shown in our pilot to enhance midwives’ skills and give them greater confidence in the use of the partograph.  Ultimately this effect will have a significant impact on the outcomes of childbirth for the most vulnerable women and their children in low-income settings.”

91ֱ�� will present to the United Nations this week on its ground-breaking work to improve the lives of older people.

Dr Tine Buffel, of The University of Manchester, will join a panel at the UN in New York to present research around ageing in cities.

The University’s 91ֱ�� Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing (MICRA) has spearheaded a unique project in which older residents, aged between 58 and 74-years-old, were trained as co-researchers to work alongside sociologists exploring the ‘age-friendliness’ of cities.

Today Dr Buffel will present their work, delivered with partners across the city, as part of a three-day UN summit on protecting the human rights and dignity of older people.

Dr Buffel, a research fellow at MICRA at The University of Manchester, said: ‘The age-friendly approach is increasingly recognised as a model which promotes the right to a good old age. This is a fantastic opportunity to present 91ֱ��’s innovative research and practice across the city council, the University and local communities to a global audience. Our experience is that training older people as co-researchers is effective in gaining a deeper understanding of the issues that older people themselves view as important. We want older people to feel that the city belongs to them as much as anyone else – and we believe the age-friendly approach is effective in doing this and can be replicated across neighbourhoods.

91ֱ�� became the first UK city to be recognised as ‘age-friendly’ by the World Health Organisation in 2010. University of Manchester researchers predict that in 15 years time, a quarter of the world’s population living in cities will be over-60.

Notes for editors

Dr Buffel will present at 3pm local time in New York.

Find more details about MICRA’s work on age friendly cities and a link to a short (1.24min) video here:

Media enquiries to:

Deborah Linton
Media Relations Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
Email: deborah.linton@manchester.ac.uk
Tel: 0161 275 8257, 07789 948 783

Since 1998, 26 June has become an occasion to commemorate the historic treaty, in which nations agreed to eradicate torture, investigate and punish perpetrators, and provide redress to victims.

Dr Emilie Combaz is an expert on the issue of torture and on the international fight against torture through activism, law and diplomacy. She is a political scientist with the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at The University of Manchester.

Dr Combaz said: “Notable positive developments have taken place over the past 40 years, although torture and ill-treatment remain widely practised around the world today. We now have good evidence on what works against torture at national and international levels. Good laws are important but not enough. It is also essential to have real accountability, independent control over places where people are deprived of freedom, and policies that ensure respect for human integrity.”

During her work Dr Combaz has shown how international bodies, for example at the UN, have condemned cases of torture, stopped some ongoing abuse, and contributed to preventing torture altogether in a range of countries on all continents.

She said: “Victims can rebuild themselves after torture. Under international human rights law, States have an obligation to provide redress and reparation to victims. Listening to victims’ experiences is also important to understand why torture is so widely practiced.”

Dr Katia Chornik, from the University’s Music Department, is the first music scholar to investigate the relationships between music and torture in Chile under Pinochet (1973-1990). She has conducted ethnographic work with both victims and perpetrators of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (CID) in some of the 1,132 centres for political detention established by the Pinochet regime.

Her research has revealed harrowing details of how Pinochet’s torturers used music to torment their victims. Dr Chornik said: “Pinochet’s system used music as a form and soundtrack to torture, to indoctrinate detainees and as a form of punishment.

“Tortured prisoners used music to cope with the reality of not knowing if they were going to live or die. Music brought prisoners together because it was a way to deal with their terrible suffering, to remember others who were executed or made disappear, and to record day-to-day living.”

Chile is one of several countries that have signed the UN Convention against Torture yet have still not updated their internal legislation in this respect. This, for Dr Chornik, is a major obstacle against the eradication of torture in Chile, including the use of music to inflict physical and psychological damage.

Dr Chornik has conceptualised, created and directed the online archive Cantos Cautivos [Captive Songs], of songs composed, performed and listened to in torture contexts in Chile. The project is a collaboration between Dr Chornik and the Chilean Museum of Memory and Human Rights, and can be accessed at www.cantoscautivos.cl (in Spanish only).

Notes for editors

Interviews are available upon request via the Media Relations Office.
 

Media enquiries to:

Kath Paddison
Media Relations Officer
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 275 0790
Mob: 07990 550050
Email: kath.paddison@manchester.ac.uk

MigRom - the University of Manchester project to promote understanding of the city’s Roma community - is entering its next phase.

The project aims to help the Roma use council services by providing a strategy for the city’s engagement with the emerging Roma community. This week (24 June) project coordinator Professor Yaron Matras will speak to the City Council’s communities scrutiny committee to coincide with the release of a new council report that flags up The University’s contribution to its Roma engagement strategy.

The report entitled ‘Roma Engagement and Reporting Opportunities’ outlines The University’s contribution to developing an understanding of the local Romani community and its needs as well as drafting and piloting an engagement strategy.

Professor Matras said: “Several thousand Roma of Eastern European background live in 91ֱ��. In the past, 91ֱ�� City Council has struggled to engage directly with this community because the community lacked leadership and representation structures. It has also had to confront negative perception and prejudices against Romani culture among some groups of residents and sometimes even among practitioners.

“We hope this project will contribute towards raising public awareness of Roma migrants and providing more accurate information about their culture.”

The University’s MigRom project, in partnership with the City Council, has set up structures to provide advice to members of the Romani community and to assess needs. Through training and networking events, the project is supporting the building of leadership capacity within the Romani community. The MigRom project has also advised the City Council to provide more accurate information that they receive about the Romani community.

Professor Matras continued: “The City Council has now acknowledged our contribution and stated that only substantiated information on Roma will be included in its reports.

“The Council also recognises the new Roma Community Group - Roma Voices of Manchester - which the MigRom project helped set up as one of the principal channels of communication with the Roma community.”

Notes for editors

For further information contact:
Deborah Linton
Media Relations Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 275 8257, 07789 948783
Email: deborah.linton@manchester.ac.uk

Leading minds in UK constitutional law will gather to debate key issues in the aftermath of the 2015 General Election.

A series of short, blog-style papers will be delivered by academics from around a dozen leading institutions at the day long UK Constitutional Law Association Conference to be hosted by The University of Manchester on Wednesday.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Adam Wagner, of One Crown Office Row and the well-read UK Human Rights Blog who will ask whether it is just a matter of time before the UK can learn to love human rights.

The event takes place 11am – 5pm in the Whitworth Building.

To attend:

The award-winning project which supports artists and communities living in sites of conflict around the globe, celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special evening in London hosted by Sandie Shaw, Martyn Ware (Heaven 17) and Professor James Thompson.

On the night there were performances from the Mercury Music Prize winners: Young Fathers + Jon McClure (Reverend and The Makers) and the UK godfather of hip-hop Rodney P and MC Fallacy.

In Place of War Co-director Ruth Daniel, said: “The event was an incredible success which really helped raise the profile of In Place of War across the UK, with a room full of musicians, supporters and cultural producers.

“The endorsement of so many high profile musicians is testament to how strong and important the work is on the ground across the world. Having Mercury Music Prize Winners, Young Fathers, headlining the event was just a fantastic finale.”

In Place of War mobilises, empowers and connects artists and creative communities in sites of war, revolution and conflict, through the arts. The project supports artists and creative communities living in sites of conflict to build powerful networks, create social change through creativity and demonstrate the value of the arts to public space, public life and public debate.

It has developed a ground-breaking creative entrepreneurial programme which is certified by the University and is being delivered for free to local young people in communities in some of the most under-resourced parts of the world.

Ruth Daniel said: “In these communities, with little access to education, offering a free creative entrepreneurial programme with the certification of The University can provide transformative opportunities for up to 5,000 young people in each community every year.”

Alongside this programme, the project is currently working to develop four cultural spaces in challenging environments with little access to the creative arts: in Makokoba, the oldest township in Zimbabwe; in both Kisangani and Bukavu, in the middle of war-affected DR Congo; and Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro. The development of these spaces is directly influenced by successful international examples of cultural spaces that have transformed communities in Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia.

In Place of War is recruiting support that will enable the project to develop and secure the required spaces (including building works, security, and decoration), support local staff costs for the coordination of the spaces, and to ship equipment to the locations. The project has already collected over £200,000 of music, studio and film equipment from musicians, TV studios and The University of Manchester.

Notes for editors

A short film about In Place or War can be viewed .  

The exhibition entitled ‘Syria: Reaching Out to Children and Parents of War’ has been put together by University psychologists and Watan humanitarian workers who are working with families in Turkey and Syria and in 91ֱ�� to help them cope with their traumatic experiences.

The event, at , Hulme, 4-6 June, will feature drawings, and activities for children and adults such as Arabic calligraphy as well as traditional music and a film made with parents who have fled Syria about their parenting journey from before the conflict, during the conflict to now in the UK.  

The event is all put together with the help of Manchester’s Syrian community. Children attending the event with their families will have the chance to draw and paint pictures and write letters and send them to children displaced by the Syrian conflict.

It coincides with the UN’s (4 June).

from the University’s is helping to put the event together.  She said: “The children we work with in Turkey and across the border in Syria are often deeply traumatised. Their parents and caregivers play a key role in protecting them from psychological distress, but parenting in such extraordinarily challenging circumstances is extremely difficult and stressful.”

“This exhibition is about helping others to understand the ways in which children and parents are experiencing the Syrian conflict and highlighting the urgent need for interventions that support parents in looking after themselves and their children to improve their mental wellbeing and chances for a better future.”

The exhibition, which is funded by a ISSF Public Engagement Grant, is part of a wider project being carried out by the team to help build parenting strategies to enhance mental health among families affected by the war.

The event will feature the launch of a film and a crowd-funding campaign, money from which will be used to continue to reach families living through the Syrian conflict with parenting support and evaluate the benefit it provides families.

, who leads at The University of Manchester said: "We need to work on different ways of making families aware of the best ways of helping their children through the enormous changes they experience."

, from The University of Manchester who is based in the UK and working on the research project with aid workers on the ground near the Turkish-Syria border, said: “The exhibition highlights the enormous challenges faced by those caring for children in the Syrian conflict, but also ways that we can help support parents to protect themselves and their children from further psychological distress.”

“One mother told us, ‘They cry at night, they scream a lot while they are sleeping. They are very angry. They have so many unanswered questions that I do not know how to answer.’

“With more money and greater awareness that this event will bring, we can start to help more families with children in this terrible situation.”

'Syria: Reaching Out to Children and Parents of War’ is open Thursday 4 and Friday 5 June, 12 - 8 pm and Saturday 6 June 10 am - 4 pm and includes children’s activities on all three days. A drinks reception will be held on 4 of June between 5-8 pm including traditional Syrian sweets and pastries and live traditional Middle Eastern music.

Notes for editors

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Media enquiries to:
Jamie Brown
Media Relations Officer
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 2758383
Email: jamie.brown@manchester.ac.uk

91ֱ��’s Roma– who have so far suffered a lack of spokesmanship – are now being given a voice.

Academics from The University of Manchester are leading a European Commission funded project in partnership with 91ֱ�� City Council to help the city’s Roma population to gain access to services, education and employment, and to combat the public’s negative perceptions of them.

The team worked alongside 91ֱ��’s Roma to set up a community group aimed at providing advice and support and help them to take the lead on initiatives to give the community a public voice.

Project Coordinator Professor Yaron Matras said: “Unlike other immigrant and ethnic minority communities the Roma have so far lacked community representation. The main aim of our outreach work is to release Roma from being dependent on others and to encourage self-reliance.

“The presence of Roma migrants from Romania on the streets of major western European cities has triggered fierce public debates. We have worked to investigate the experiences, motivations, and ambitions of Roma migrants from Romania who have recently moved to Italy, France, Spain, and the UK, and the effect of migration on their own lives and on the lives of relations left behind in the home communities in Romania.”

The community group is being launched in partnership with 91ֱ�� City Council, the Big Life Group, and the University of Manchester’s Romani Project.

It will receive support from the European Roma and Travellers Forum, an organisation that represents the Roma at the Council of Europe.

MACC – 91ֱ��’s local voluntary and community sector support organisation – and TS4SE Cooperative have also provided advice for the formation of the group.

Ramona Constantin, one of the group’s founders, said:

“We have many young people in our community who are talented and motivated. One of our goals is to help them identify opportunities to develop their skills. “

Afzal Khan MEP said:

“The Roma are Europe’s largest minority. They continue to suffer exclusion and discrimination. The community group is an excellent initiative. It will help make 91ֱ�� a model for the integration and participation of Roma in the European Union”.

Fay Selvan, Chief Executive of the Big Life Group, said:

“Our organisation has been supporting training and capacity building in the Roma community for several years now, and are looking forward to working together with Roma Voices of Manchester to continue this work.”

Dr Julian Skyrme, Director of Social Responsibility at The University of Manchester, said:

“The MigRom project is an excellent example of how our world-leading research is making a difference in our most local communities. Our expertise on languages and culture has been used to successfully engage local Roma communities, build their capacity and help to enhance cohesion and integration in specific parts of our city”

Notes for editors

Kath Paddison
Media Relations Officer
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 275 0790
Mob: 07990 550050
Email: kath.paddison@manchester.ac.uk

She said: “When boats are left to drown because of a lack resources at sea, this is not mere negligence.

“In the forthcoming British election, anti-immigration themes feature among most major parties. British political engagement to the deaths in the Mediterranean is almost absent. This makes ‘us’ silent accomplices of what might one day be called the greatest crime in the post-second-world-war-world by future historians.

“The humanitarian catastrophe and mass murder of refugees at sea is ultimately a direct consequence of EU politics – even if actual deaths are also caused by smugglers who in the past have locked refugees in below deck or thrown them overboard.

“The European Charter for Human Rights promises protection to those who flee war and persecution. But this promise has become hollow.”

Read Dr Müller’s full Policy@Mcr blog .

Dr Tanja Müller .

Notes for editors

Media enquiries to:

Deborah Linton
Media Relations Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 275 8257, 07789 948 783
Email: deborah.linton@manchester.ac.uk

“If it weren’t for hip hop I would be dead. Hip hop gave me another option in life and I will always be grateful for that.”  - Lupa, Cultural Manager and MC with Sociedad FB7, Medellin, Colombia

The University of Manchester’s award-winning In Place of War project, which supports artists and communities living in sites of conflict around the globe, is bringing music back to the city.

The remarkable project is celebrating ten years of mobilising, empowering and connecting people living in some of the world’s toughest and most troubled environments, through the arts, with the delivery of two groundbreaking new programmes.

They will be raising support for the project with an evening of complementary world music, food and drink on Wednesday 22 April, 7-11pm, at the HQ Building, Atherton Street, 91ֱ��, delivered in association with TIE Network.

In Place of War has developed a groundbreaking creative entrepreneurial programme to be certified by The University of Manchester and delivered for free to local young people in communities in some of the most under-resourced parts of the world. In these communities, with little access to education, offering a free creative entrepreneurial programme with the certification of The University can provide transformative opportunities for up to 5,000 young people in each community every year.

Alongside this programme, the project is currently working to develop four cultural spaces in challenging environments with little access to the creative arts: in Makokoba, the oldest township in Zimbabwe; in both Kisangani and Bukavu, in the middle of war-affected DR Congo; and Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro. The development of these spaces is directly influenced by successful international examples of cultural spaces that have transformed communities in Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia.

In Place of War is recruiting support that will enable the project to develop and secure the required spaces (including building works, security, and decoration), support local staff costs for the coordination of the spaces, and to ship equipment to the locations. The project has already collected over £200,000 of music, studio and film equipment from musicians, TV studios and The University of Manchester.

Notes for editors

For more information on In Place of War, visit . A short film about their work can be viewed .

To donate, visit .

Media enquiries to:

Deborah Linton
Media Relations Officer
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 275 8257, 07789 948 783
Email: deborah.linton@manchester.ac.uk

University of Manchester researchers have piloted a parenting trial which aims to improve child behaviour in Panama City – the place with the eighth highest murder rate in the world.

University of Manchester researchers have piloted a parenting trial which aims to improve child behaviour in Panama City – the place with the eighth highest murder rate in the world.

Gang crime and child maltreatment are pressing concerns in Panama and the UN described the capital Panama City as having the world’s eighth highest murder rate in 2014. To mitigate this, the UN and the Panamanian government have prioritised investing in children to keep them away from gangs and drugs.

As part of this process, the researchers from The University of Manchester’s tested a parenting intervention in six primary schools in low income neighbourhoods in the city.

Anilena Mejia led the pilot study: “We felt that a lack of resources shouldn’t mean that children and parents in poorer areas receive less help than those in wealthier countries,” she said. “The idea behind this pilot was to establish if a simple level of support could make a difference.”

The researchers recruited 108 parents of children aged 3-12 who had been selected by the schools and divided them into two groups.  One group was a control which received no intervention and the other attended a session called ‘dealing with disobedience’. 

In the two-hour session, this group watched videos and took part in planned activities which addressed issues such as encouraging good behaviour and reasons for disobedience. The method, known as Triple P, had been developed in Australia and was accompanied by workbooks and resources which the parents could take home with them.

After six months, the parents were interviewed about their child’s behaviour and, compared to the control group there was a marked improvement.

One parent, the mother of boy aged 10, said: “Now if something happens, I take action.  I find a solution.  Before I will turn away and leave, because I thought there was no solution.  But not anymore.”

Another, the mother of boy aged 9, said: “After the program I understood how my yelling was affecting my kids, and that I was making them be inhibited.”

Anilena added: “This was a small project but it showed some encouraging signs of success.  With more time, we’d like to develop resources which are specific for the culture and issues in particular countries and use them to break the cycle of poor parental skills which leads to crime and ill health.”

The paper, ‘,’ was published in the journal Prevention Science.

See below for a video which shows the life and resilience of the women in the high-risk Panamanian neighbourhood of San Joaquin, Central America.

Notes for editors

Media enquiries to:
Jamie Brown
Media Relations Officer
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 2758383
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Christabel Pankhurst was a first-class Law graduate of The University of Manchester, but was barred from the legal profession on account of her gender. Instead, she was forced to use her learning for her own defence, and that of her suffragette sisters, in their many legendary struggles against a law that denied women the vote in the early 20th century.

In establishing an annual lecture in Pankhurst's name - three years before the centenary of the Representation of the People Act and the votes for women so-hard-won - the University's  plans to remember, and rekindle, the radical and feminist heritage of the Pankhust sisters, at a time when Baroness Brenda Hale, who spent many years teaching at 91ֱ��, still remains the first and only woman in Britain's highest court. 
 
"Much has been achieved in women’s struggles for their basic human rights the world over," says Chakrabarti, "yet there is so much more still to be done."

In this inaugural lecture, Chakrabarti will reflect on what Pankhurst's generation of law students and freedom-fighters might think‎ of the mixed performance in gaining equal rights for women of her own generation.

Ahead of the lecture, Shami Chakrabarti shares her thoughts on the future of human rights on the , and on feminism, which she dubbs 'the F-word', on  (1h 11m in / link expires 27/03/15).

The impacts of climate change will not be equal or fair and, without action, could increase existing disadvantage. This message was reinforced in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment report . And now for the first time in England, on a publicly available website, we are able to see this effect mapped across the country at a neighbourhood level. Climate Just, a powerful new website with mapping tool, has been launched today by Climate UK and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in partnership with the Environment Agency and the University of Manchester.

The website aims to help practitioners in England to address issues of social disadvantage and climate change. It provides detailed mapping of ‘hot spots’ across the country, and a huge amount of supporting information, tools and resources to support fairer decision-making and policy creation.

Climate Just has been developed to support people working with vulnerable groups in a range of public services and other agencies. In particular, it will provide assistance to people working in spatial planning, housing, public health, social care, and environment roles as well as local resilience fora.

Katharine Knox, Programme Manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: “Climate change risks compounding existing disadvantage and inequality in the UK. We want to support those with a role in responses to better understand how to take account of these issues. The Climate Just website highlights both what makes people vulnerable and which places may be most climate disadvantaged. We hope this will help organisations to better understand the issues and the actions they can take to respond, whether through community engagement and awareness raising to increase resilience, or direct measures for example to improve flood protection or tackle fuel poverty”.

Mike Peverill, Director of Climate UK, said: “This is an important new resource for tackling climate change in the UK and we have been privileged to manage its development. Climate Just enables us to develop local responses that are fair for everyone, as well as reducing our emissions and increasing resilience. As was highlighted in the Marmot Review, ‘tackling social inequalities in health and tackling climate change must go together’.”

“Climate UK’s network of public service providers are already dedicated to tackling the issue of climate change. Climate Just gives them the evidence and tools to refine those responses and ensure that they are socially just.”

Kit England, Chair of the Core Cities Working Group on Climate Resilience and Adaptation, and who works for climate resilience at Newcastle City Council, said: “The Core Cities are delighted that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have undertaken this work. Climate Just is a fantastic resource that will enable councils to understand the climate disadvantage in their area and respond accordingly, planning for a changing climate whilst also creating a more equal society.”

“Tackling inequalities is a big priority for Newcastle and the City Council has been fortunate to help advise on the tool’s development and pilot the evidence in a range of uses; its accessibility and clarity makes it very straightforward to apply to a range of scenarios such as flood risk management and local planning.”

Notes for editors

Notes for editors:

1. Climate Just is a free, publicly available resource and can be accessed at

2. A launch event will be held at Bristol Aquarium on 4 February 2015, 12.30-16.00, Chaired by Daniel Johns, Head of Adaptation at the Committee on Climate Change. Please contact kristen.guida@climatesoutheast.org.uk to register interest in attending.

3. The information and mapping provided in Climate Just is based on research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), supported by the Environment Agency, and carried out by the University of Manchester, with additional input from the Centre for Sustainable Energy. Further information on the original research programme can be found on the JRF website.

4. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is a funder of research for social change in the UK. We aim to reduce poverty and strengthen communities for all generations. For more information visit .

5. Climate UK (registered as Climate Partnership UK) has created the Climate Just website, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in association with Creative Concern and the University of Manchester’s Geographic Information Systems specialists. Climate UK will also host the new website, where it will join a growing family of tools for local climate action.

6. Climate UK is the national face of local climate action. We facilitate a bottom-up, nationwide response to climate change and extreme weather by bringing together knowledge and technical expertise from every part of the UK to tackle the challenges and opportunities we face. We are the network of nine climate change partnerships in England and the three devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Climate UK is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (registered as Climate Partnership UK in 2011, no. 07706735).

7. The Marmot Review, undertaken by Professor Sir Michael Marmot ‘ Fair Society, Healthy Lives’ was published in 2010. It can be accessed on the Institute of Health Equality website.

8. Core Cities is a unique and united local authority voice to promote the role of our cities in driving economic growth and the case for city devolution. We represent the councils of England’s eight largest city economies outside London along with Glasgow and Cardiff. The Core Cities Group has a track record of 15 years as a cross party group, led by the City Leaders.  It is a self selected and self funded group.
 

Media enquiries to:

Deborah Lintom
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Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
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Tom Peters
Senior Public Affairs Officer
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Tel: 020 7520 2080, 07972 773 963
 

“There is much progress, but a lot is still to be done," he said after meeting with the President of Sierra Leone, and senior leaders of the international presence there including the UK Department for International Development, Ministry of Defence, World Health Organisation, United Nations, and Red Cross.

He was travelling with the  (IMC), a leading humanitarian health organisation, and one of the earliest responders to the crisis. Touring the IMC Ebola Treatment Centres deep in the countryside of Sierra Leone and Liberia, he said, “Panic, ignorance, and prejudice is what this virus survives on. To control it, we must be scientifically informed, and coolly calculating.”

He paid tribute to local communities and health workers who have borne the brunt. He applauded the doctors, nurses, and laboratory scientists from the UK National Health Service, and from hospitals in the United States and other countries working there, saying: “Their professionalism and meticulous daily work at the frontline of the epidemic is indeed helping to turn the tide.”

“Although we are now chasing Ebola instead of Ebola chasing us, there can be no faltering," says Professor Kapila.

“This epidemic is yet another wake-up call to do better to reduce poverty, improve heath and education and, above all else, bring decent governance in such countries.”

Professor Kapila was a UK Government adviser deeply engaged in Sierra Leone and Liberia more than 20 years ago during the civil wars there. Returning for the first time since then, he reflected: “What happened to all the international post-conflict aid that was poured in? Can we learn the right lessons now?

“What direction we take now – as Ebola recedes – is vitally important not just for West Africa but also for the rest of the world. As we have learnt from AIDS, SARS, Avian flu, and now Ebola, such conditions know no boundaries,” he said.

Professor Kapila is a leading humanitarian and health expert who has held leadership positions in the UN, World Health Organization, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and UK Department for International Development.

He teaches on the postgraduate course in  and undergraduate degree courses in . He is also part of the 91ֱ�� Academic Health Sciences Centre () Global Health Theme, a partnership between the University and six NHS Trusts in Greater 91ֱ��, where he advises on global health development and how health workers can support medics coping with natural and humanitarian disasters overseas.

Another University academic, Dr Amy Hughes, has been leading NHS volunteers in Sierra Leone. Read about her recent award from the Prime Minister .

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially partnered with a research centre at The University of Manchester which promotes improvements in women’s health in low and middle income countries.

will work with WHO for four years, sharing expertise to help develop international guidelines for policy and practice, and training materials for midwives and skilled birth attendants working to improve labour and childbirth outcomes.  

The Director of the Centre, r said: “This accreditation is great news for us as it cements our relationship. Working with this major organisation can only assist in reducing childbirth associated mortalities and morbidities and improving care of mothers and babies.

“The work we do with our partners in Africa makes a huge difference to midwives and of course women, so, ultimately, the support of the WHO will allow us to do that more effectively.”

The designation builds on the Centre’s strong track record of working with the WHO, and allows the team in 91ֱ�� to maximise the impact of its growing portfolio of research, training and clinical practice activities aimed at reducing maternal mortality and morbidity.

Researchers from the Centre work very closely with midwives in East Africa, playing a leading role in the Lugina Africa Midwives Network () which offers mentoring and research training for health workers in six African countries. Midwives in the Network have identified research priorities, and have designed and carried out research on clinically important topics such as postnatal infection, neonatal emergencies, fistula care, prolonged labour and HIV.

Professor Lavender said: “We work with inspirational midwives who are working with limited resources and few developmental opportunities. The Centre for Global Women’s Health is helping to support them in their work.” 

The 91ֱ�� Centre joins more than 700 designated Collaborating Centres worldwide, working to support WHO’s international programmes. Professor Lavender said: “It is an honour to be associated with the WHO. Being a formal partner in this global network is a way of sharing good practice, finding solutions to childbirth problems and giving women the care that they deserve.”

Notes for editors

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Dr Nicola Banks from The University of Manchester is an ESRC Future Research Leader (The Economic and Social Research Council) who is leading on research into young people's experiences of urban poverty in Tanzania.

She said: “As the world celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week  we should be wary of solutions that focus on entrepreneurship as a silver bullet for fighting poverty . Entrepreneurship can be a way to help young people out of poverty, but a sole focus on entrepreneurship can put all the responsibility on the young person and removes responsibility from governments. As the popular TV show The Apprentice illustrates, we're not all born with entrepreneurial skill.

Multilateral agencies and national governments need to address the full range of obstacles facing young people to adequately support the world’s growing population of young people.” 

Notes for editors

Dr Nicola Banks is available for interview.

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Kath Paddison
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Rowena Harding
Communications Manager
Brooks World Poverty Institute
The University of Manchester

Tel: 0161 275 6914
Email: rowena.harding@manchester.ac.uk

spoke about her organisation’s ongoing effort to treat Ebola victims and the broader context of stigma of health workers, and the international response to the crisis, in front of a crowded audience of students and members of the public.

“Ebola is a disease which preys upon compassion,” she said, quoting the words of a Sierra Leonian colleague who had talked about the way it is transmitted between family members who try to comfort each other. “That’s just about the most devastating thing I’ve heard during this crisis.”

Alongside her on the panel of experts was Professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs , Mukesh Kapila CBE, who was concerned about the legacy the outbreak will leave.  “This outbreak will be controlled,” he said. “But the effects on the politics, societies and economies will last much longer.”

Debate on the night also ranged around the wider health issues in West Africa, Vickie pointed out that there was nowhere in the country a woman could go to have a caesarean section and that all of the countries affected had fragile health systems which weren’t able to cope with the sudden outbreak of Ebola.

The event was co-organised by the University’s . Its Deputy Director, was also on the panel on the night and has worked in some of the world’s worst disaster areas. His charity is currently helping to train UK volunteers to head to Africa to tackle the ongoing crisis. 

His experience was that: “In disasters it is easy to feel overwhelmed, but that breeds a feeling of hopelessness.  With early and fairly simple treatments, we can bring down the mortality rate to 50 percent – a great improvement from where we are now.”

One of the final points of the debate was raised by a West African member of the audience who spoke about stigma of Africans in the West as a result of the outbreak.

Vickie added reports she’d received about the way in which MSF staff have been abused on the internet and how people refuse to touch them once they’ve returned from treating victims. 

Anthropologist of the University of Exeter talked about the difficulty of changing burial customs among communities which traditionally wash their dead.  She talked of the need for: “balance between bio security and the very important desire to mourn the dead in the right way.”

Throughout the event all of the panellists raised the issue of what to do after the outbreak is contained to restore and improve healthcare infrastructure and society as a whole.

In these countries, it’s going to take years just to get back to where we were before the outbreak, which was far from ideal,” said Vickie.

Notes for editors

The event was organised between the University’s , Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute and .

For media enquiries:

Jamie Brown
Media Relations Officer
The University of Manchester
Tel: 0161 2758383
Email: jamie.brown@manchester.ac.uk