The need to uphold the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ (CBD) between developed and developing countries in global actions to address biodiversity and climate change was a major bone of contention at COP 15. The deadlock at COP 15 on whether or not to retain the CBD principle, which was placed in square brackets (indicating lack of consensus) throughout the evolution of the negotiating texts, stemmed from extremely divergent views between developed and developing countries, with the former refusing to accept it as a principle. The latter pointed out that it is an overarching principle enshrined in Principle 7 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
Values, Policies and Rights
Developing countries defend principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’
Bozman P: Third World Resurgence 354: 19-22, 2023
How gender is socially constructed in policy making processes: a case study of the Adolescent and Youth Health Policy in South Africa
Jacobs T, George AS: International Journal for Equity in Health 22:36;1-15, 2023
This paper explores the range of policy actors, narratives and different framings of gender, through Adolescent Youth Health Policy (AYHP), using a case study design and analysis of reporting of government, academia, youth and other members of the Adolescent Youth Health Policy Advisory Panel, and civil society. Gender power relations and more gender-transformative approaches discussed during the policy making process were not reflected in the final policy. Diverse gender narratives were juxtaposed, some becoming dominant in the policy-making process and consequently included in the final policy document. The constellation of actors’ gender narratives reveals overlapping and contested framings of gender and what is required to advance gender equality. The authors note that understanding actor narratives in policy processes contributes to bridging the disconnect between policy commitments and reality in advancing the gender equality agenda.
Stricter rules: Why better food regulations will help us fight obesity
Moloi M, Pretorius L: Bhekisisa, 16 May 2023
About one in four South Africans are reported to be obese, and almost as many are overweight. Obesity is a massive public health problem — affecting more than 650-million people worldwide — because it also leads to other health problems, such as diabetes, high blood pressure (also called hypertension) and heart disease. Often eating highly processed foods with lots of sugar, salt or fat, and fast food generally being cheaper than healthier options add to the country’s obesity problem. In the latest episode of Health Beat, Bhekisisa’s monthly TV show, Mia Malan speaks to public health researcher Susan Goldstein about what policymakers can do to help make South Africans healthier. Goldstein discusses the burden on the healthcare system, the need to ban advertising of ultra-processed foods to children, dismantling a food system that’s dominated by big, multinational companies and rethinking food systems towards healthier, more local and equitable alternatives. She explains why regulating the sale and advertising of highly processed foods (which can make us fat) and making it easier for people to buy healthy food at low prices are as crucial as finding medicines to fight obesity.
WHO: Zero Draft of the pandemic instrument creates an “illusion” of equity
Ramakrishnan N, Gopakumar K: Third World Network, February 2023
The zero draft of the proposed pandemic instrument being negotiated at the World Health Organization is argued by the authors to create an illusion of equity. Most of the inputs given by developing countries are observed to have been ignored. The authors are that proposed structure neglects two demands from developing countries. First, a different chapter scheme should be used which would reflect the logical order of the pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery processes on the ground. Secondly, the broader phrase of “pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery” should be used instead of “pandemic and recovery of health systems”. The zero draft continues to be silent on the determination of the pandemic status of a public health event and WHO’s role in determining the same. In effect, the text is viewed as simply seeking to generate “political will and commitment” on equity.
Amendments to the IHR Come to the Fore. Will the Pandemic Accord Lose Traction?
Patnaik P: Geneva Health Files, Online, November 2022
In 2021, when the negotiations towards a Pandemic Accord was not yet a reality, a number of member states were advocating for restoring the centrality of the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), and for amending these rules that already exist. This article covers the dynamics between the two parallel, somewhat competing processes: on the one hand, efforts to amend the International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005), and on the other, the process to arrive at a new Pandemic Accord. The authors argue that the IHR are back to the fore. The update outlines the changing contours of how countries are lining up along these two processes. Much of what countries aspire for, is noted to already exist. But the “targeted” amendments is where the politics lie. Who articulates what needs to be amended and why? Over the next 17 months when both these processes are expected to conclude, calling for attention to the evolution of these historic negotiations.
COVID- 19 and human right to food: lived experiences of the urban poor in Kenya with the impacts of government’s response measures, a participatory qualitative study
Kimani-Murage E W; Osogo D; Nyamasege C K; et al: BMC Public Health 22(1399), 1-15, 2022
This paper explored the lived experiences of the urban poor people in Kenya in the context of government’s COVID-19 response measures and its impact on the right to food, using focus group discussions, interviews, photovoice and digital storytelling in two informal settlements in Nairobi between January and March 2021. The human right to food was affected in various ways. Many people lost their livelihoods, affecting affordability of food, due to response measures such as social distancing, curfew, and lockdown. The food supply chain was disrupted causing limited availability and access to affordable, safe, adequate, and nutritious food. Consequently, hunger and an increased consumption of low-quality food was reported. Social protection measures were instituted. However, these were inadequate and marred by irregularities. Some households resorted to scavenging food from dumpsites, skipping meals, sex-work, urban-rural migration and depending on food donations to survive. On the positive side, some households resorted to progressive measures such as urban farming and food sharing in the community. Generally, the response measures could have been more sensitive to the human rights of urban poor people. The authors conclude that COVID-19 restrictive measures exacerbated the already existing urban vulnerability to food insecurity and violated food rights and that future response measures be executed in ways that respect the right to food and protect marginalized people from resultant vulnerabilities.
Motion to setup Parliamentary Caucus on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted
Mwale I: Deaf Zimbabwe Trust, Harare, 2022
Since 2020, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust has been advocating with the Parliament of Zimbabwe for the establishment of a Parliamentary Disability Caucus. In April this year Parliament approved a motion to establish a Parliamentary Disability Caucus that will ensure that Persons with Disabilities have a voice during the formulation of laws and policies. Currently, disability issues fall under the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Social Welfare. The caucus will enhance the visibility of persons with disabilities and their access to socio-economic rights. Deaf Zimbabwe Trust working with the Victim friendly Unit and the Judiciary Service Commission is working on the development of Disability Identity Stickers on dockets to foster readiness of the Justice System in dealing with persons with disabilities and better accommodate persons with disabilities in court proceedings.
Why enforcing more strict tobacco control measures will go a long way in protecting the future of Uganda
Dhafa E: CEHURD newsletter, August 2022
Tobacco use has remained a significant public health challenge in Uganda and a leading cause of non-communicable diseases including heart diseases and premature deaths. The author argues that tobacco is also the only legally available consumer product that kills people when it is used entirely as intended. Even when the law is in place, tobacco is still used in various forms including smoked and smokeless tobacco. The author proposes that government strengthen existing schemes to make tobacco producers more responsible for the environmental and economic costs of dealing with tobacco waste products.
Africa’s reaction to the AU’s ‘African common position to the UN Food Systems Summit’: A blueprint for corporate capture and industrial agriculture
Africa Common Position by Civil Society (ACPCS): At the UN Food Systems Summit.July, 2021
Sixty civil society organisations in Africa under the banner of an Africa Common Position by Civil Society (ACPCS) presented a statement in reaction to the AU’s ‘African common position to the UN Food Systems Summit.’ In a well-attended and inclusive social movement process in July 2021, small-scale African producers of all kinds – fisherfolk, pastoralists, women, young people, agricultural workers, indigenous peoples and the urban food insecure – articulated their concerns that the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) had been captured by multinational corporations, and called for Africa’s food sovereignty and transformation of the industrial food system. The statement condemns the corporate hegemony of food systems, with food systems being depicted as being in need of saviour western technology, productivity and competitive enhancement and the gross power imbalances that corporations hold over food systems. The statement calls for the UN system to address the legitimate concerns raised by civil society and open spaces and meet responsibilities for this in the public sphere at both national and global level.
Launching ‘Lessons to Africa from Africa: Reclaiming Early Post-independence Progressive Policies’
CODESRIA: Post-Colonialisms Today, Online, 2022
This recording covers Day 1 of the launch of’ Lessons to Africa from Africa: Reclaiming Early Post-independence Progressive Policies’—a special issue of CODESRIA’s Africa Development journal from Post-Colonialisms Today. The authors share rich archival research on early post-independence Africa policies around industrialization, international solidarity, delinking from colonial currency, and more; and their relevance for today’s development challenges. A Special Issue journal: https://journals.codesria.org/index.php/ad/issue/view/245 provides more detailed information on these policies, and why they hold lessons for today's efforts to disengage from neocolonial realities.