Women, Work, and Family: Lessons from Latin America

It’s normal thing in the United States for husbands help their wives with cleaning the house, cooking, or doing the laundry. This is especially true in cases when wives, along with their husbands, work and make their own contribution to the family budget. However, in Latin America, the situation is completely different – such behavior on the part of men would be ridiculed and considered challenging the traditional “machist” perception of manhood.

Today, when more than 100 million (!) women throughout Latin America and the Caribbean work, a traditional Latin American perception of gender roles is still impeding improvements in the quality of women’s life: the household work is undervalued and there is an overall belief that caring for the home and family is a woman’s responsibility. The tensions between their family life and work also have a negative impact on women’s performance and commitment in the workplace, which, in turn, decreases their own productivity and that of the national economy.

Yet, a few Latin American countries have achieved quite a notable progress in addressing these issues. For example, Costa Rica offers day care plans for almost all workers; Brazil has a pension plan for workers in the informal economy, which often includes more women than men; and Chile has paternity leave as well as maternity leave. To read the full version of the joint UN and ILO report “Work and Family: A New Call for Public Policies of Reconciliation with Social Co-responsibility” that describes some of these strategies in detail, please click here.

Hot Enough to Fry an Egg!

Have you ever felt weather so hot that you could fry an egg on the sidewalk? There is so much energy from the Sun hitting Earth everyday that it could cook every last egg on the planet! Harnessing that energy is a vital part of creating a more sustainable future, from massive solar power plant complexes, like the planned "solar tower" of Australia, to smaller scale projects like solar powered vehicles. Today, the United Nations Development Program has partnered with the Global Environment Facility, the European Union, and the Chilean government to harness the power of the sun, prevent deforestation and bring renewable energy to local communities in northern Chile.

The people who live in these communities traditionally relied on wood to fuel their stoves, but thanks to UNDP are now embracing solar ovens as a way to rehabilitate their damaged environment. The overcutting of firewood in northern Chile has accelerated deforestation, drying up already-arid lands. Solar ovens bring an eco-friendly alternative to cooking needs, and lay the foundations for greater renewable energy use in the future. But UNDP is not just providing solar ovens, it is training locals to construct their own ovens so that they may pass the knowledge on to others in the community. Alejandra Alarcon, National Coordinator of the UNDP Small Grants Programme’s Global Environment Facility, stressed the importance of providing not just the materials but the know-how, "The only way to see long-lasting results is if people can build their own ovens and share the knowledge with other communities.”

To learn more about solar ovens in Chile, and how they are sparking green-change and green-entrepreneurship click here

A Little Privacy Please?!?

A beautiful sunset across the horizon of an exotic beach, a small paper umbrella laying off to the side of a cold glass beaded with droplets of water. Seeing this, you probably would be enjoying your vacation in one of the many islands in the Caribbean. It is true that peaceful and relaxing resorts are a staple of the area but behind the scenes of those tropical landscapes, the poor inhabitants of the islands are not enjoying their homes as the tourist do.

The UNDP is working in Trinidad and Tobago in their Community Outreach and Response Initiative (CORe) setting up a Social Development Small Grants Program. One of the aspects of this program is to work on building and diversifying the private sector by supporting small business development, training that develops skills to be used to earn an income, enhancement of literacy & numeric skills, and healthy family functioning (parenting, gender relations, care of the elderly, dysfunctional families, life skills development, early childhood care). Through this program, Trinidad and Tobago should get a little more privacy, a private sector that is!

For more information on the SDSG Program, click here.

Seeing Red!!!

If you were in an airplane flying over the nation of Peru and happened to gaze out of your window, you may have gotten a bird's eye-view of 100 of Peru's most famous actors, musicians, and other notable citizens, splashing the landscape in red t-shirts, forming a giant ribbon. You Prevent, the strategic plan to rid Peru's community of the stigma given to HIV/AIDS, continued its advocacy with its advertising campaign. With the help of UNDP and UNAIDS, their message is: Tolerance, Information, Respect.

This program has set out to inform the people of Peru of an issue that has greatly impacted their population and to rid the stigma attached to getting tested. With friendly images and slogans, the media, who dodged stories of HIV/AIDS, are now informing their viewers and readers wisely and helpfully.

For more information, go here!

Hurricane Disaster Averted with Help from UNDP

When Hurricane Gustav passed through Haiti late last month, damage and destruction were much less than in previous years thanks to efforts to avert flooding in and around the capital city by removing trash and other excess waste, eventually recycling the materials into highly useful cooking materials. In a country that already suffers from tremendous developmental challenges, it is important to ensure that setbacks and destruction as a result of the Atlantic hurricane season are as minimal as possible. Working alongside various agencies within Haiti, the UNDP is making tremendous strides in improving the lives of Haitian citizens in a multitude of vital areas.

UN brings relief to the Caribbean

Tropical Storm Noel has become the deadliest Caribbean storm this year, killing over 100 and displacing hundreds of thousands in the region. Then United Nations has been quick to respond to these people in need. The World Food Programme (WFP) is rushing aid to 70,000 people affected by massive floods in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco, and has also deployed a team specializing in logistics and emergency assessment. The agency will be working closely with other UN agencies to support the Government following the flooding, which has affected up to 1 million people.

Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, urgent distribution of WFP high-energy biscuits made its way to more than 130 isolated communities affected by the heavy rains and floods. The helicopters were provided by the United States Coast Guard and the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance.

In Haiti, where Tropical Storm Noel also caused extensive damage, WFP is providing food to shelters and continuing its assessment of needs and food distributions where access is possible. So far, WFP emergency teams have been able to assist 19,000 of the worst affected.

UN affiliates are making available funds for the rebuilding process. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has launched a joint appeal for $14 million to help those affected by the floods in the Dominican Republic over the next six months. The World Bank is making available up to $60 million for the Dominican Republic and Haiti by redirecting funds from existing projects. It is also preparing an emergency loan of up to $100 million for the Dominican Republic.

We get by with a little help from our friends.

Hope in Haiti

The UN Security Council is extending its stabilization Mission in Haiti through mid-October 2008. The extension includes a reduction in military forces with an increase in police in order to adjust to changing circumstances in the country, where civil unrest is still a pressing issue, but gang violence has diminished greatly.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended that the peacekeeping force’s military should enhance its capabilities in border control and engineering and mobility, while decreasing its infantry capabilities. The mission will be reducing its military force by 140 troops, while adding approximately 140 police officers. These efforts are aimed at gradually turning over the responsibility of law and order from the United Nations to the Haitian authorities themselves.

However, Mr. Ban warned that the possibility of civil unrest remains high in a society of such deep socio-economic divide. In addition Ban cautioned that, “the potential for renewed armed violence within the country remains considerable,” while the illicit drug trade continues to have a destabilizing effect on Haiti.

The success of security measures in Haiti, including the fight against gang violence has been successful, as 850 suspects have been apprehended since July. However, these captures have been costly, with six peacekeepers injured in counterattacks. The Council resolution “condemns any attack against personnel from MINUSTAH and demands that no acts of intimidation or violence be directed against United Nations and associated personnel or other international and humanitarian organizations engaged in humanitarian, development or peacekeeping work.”

Still, hope is high in Haiti. Hooray!

You Reap what you Sew

Violent crime, drug cultivation, and fighting between rival armed groups continue to plague Colombia. As a result, more than 2.2 million Colombians have been internally displaced, with many others seeking refuge in neighboring Venezuela. Rosa*, who comes from the particularly violent northern region of Colombia, Norte de Santander, was forced to flee with her family to Venezuela when her father was murdered in 2002. Afraid and unhappy, they quickly returned to Colombia and began living in a swettlement in Cucuta, which lacked proper health and sanitation facilities.

As part of a project to empower the displaced refugees of Colombia, the UNHCR helped Rosa restart her life by providing her with a sweing machine and knitting equipment. Rosa exclaims,

I make purses, belts, earrings, blouses and even bathing costumes.
People buy my clothes and my mother helps me by selling them in Cucuta...I
cannot complain.

The UNHCR project is linked to the Mexico Plan of Action, which aims to protect refugees and displaced people in Latin America, and has been adopted by nearly two dozen governments in the region. The UNHCR hopes that this program will encourage self-sufficiency and local integration, while also improving social and economic development of internally displaced Colombians. Rosa is quite hopeful that this program will do just that.

*Name changed for protection

St. Lucia launches mechanism to track MDG progress

St. Lucia has recently launched its own adaptation of DevInfo 5.0, a mechanism to monitor statistics and indicators relating to progress achieved on the Millennium Development Goals. The interagency cooperation necessary to develop HelenInfo has already had a positive impact on efficiency in the country. See here for press release.

A Formula for Sucess: The Dominican Republic's plan for 2015

"To achieve one MDG we have to achieve all MDGs."

This assessment by a Dominican Government official could not be more accurate. President Leonel Fernandez's Presidential Commission on the Millenium Development Goals (COPDES) has crafted a national, integrated plan to achieve the MDGs by their set date in 2015.

The Dominican Republic is an extremely poor nation suffering from a number of problems, such as disease (mostly malaria and dengue carried by mosquitoes), lack of education, energy crises, migration from Haiti and one of the highest maternal fatality rates in the world, to name only a few.

The President created working groups to partner with various municipalities and achieve local results, providing an example of how countries, with the assistance of the UNDP, can really make the MDGs their own. So far, progress has been noticeable, particularly in the impoverished village of Miches.

The excellent videos below detail the successes of COPDES, as well as the remaining challenges.

UNDP brings On-line training to Grenada

In an increasingly technologically savvy world, those with no Internet experience are inevitably left behind. In light of this, 100 citizens of the small Caribbean island of Grenada are scheduled to participate in an eight-week UNDP program of on-line training on June 6th, facilitated by the Virtual Development Academy world campus initiative with the launch of the Harvard/CBI.

The on-line training is geared to equip public and private officials who engage in negotiations with the skills and knowledge to achieve their professional objectives. These include development and implementation of projects and programs in partnership with international and governmental stakeholders and participation in regional and global processes and forums dealing with relevant issues.

Yet another example of how small initiatives can create large impact.

US and UNDP - Working Together to Spread Democracy

After over 200 years of democracy in the United States, we can sometimes take for granted the important role our system plays in ensuring continued peace and prosperity at home. In Central America, many countries are only recently experiencing elections and democracy.

UNDP is the world's largest provider of support for elections and building democratic institutions in developing countries. Recently UNDP’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Ms. Rebeca Grynspan visited the Carter Center met with former president Jimmy Carter to discuss possibilities of partnering to promote democratic governance and prevent violent conflicts. The two discussed the possible benefits of the a combined effort and what advantages the two would have working together. By working together, they hope to be able to have an even greater impact in helping the world's emerging democracy's.

UNDP Investment in Haiti

With much hard effort and work by both the UNDP and the Haitian government the country has become a land of opportunity and success. Haiti just recently had its democratically elected government that has the trust of the people. This is a great start to building a successful nation, but the world must also build from this. The UNDP urged the UN to continue support for the ongoing project with the UNDP. The Canadian government has responded with $10 million in aid. This aid will go to UNDP's 2 primary goals in supporting the reforms of the police and the judicial system as well as curbing criminal activity in the urban and suburban areas of. This will also go the the rehabilitation of areas that have been heavily affected by gang violence. UNDP claims that unless the people and the government of Haiti receive renewed support from the international community then the affects of has been accomplished might be dampered

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