CID Weekly: Afghanistan controversy, Universal Vulnerability Index

+ Vaccine roll out dashboard - last 7 days

+ Leaving Afghanistan - right or wrong?

Experts are 50:50 on the pros and cons of withdrawing United States troops from Afghanistan now.

Foreign Affairs captures the views of humanitarians, locals, academics, military leaders and politicians here. 

Those in favour of withdrawal now, tend to agree its the 'best of two bad options', and after twenty years, staying a few more won't make any difference to the outcome - good or bad. "Withdrawal will not lead to peace in the short term, but the only alternative to withdrawal is permanent war, says Anand Gopal from Arizona State University.

Those who think the United States should have stayed or at least kept some security presence in-country sound the alarm that this is abandoning Afghanis  - and particularly women - to the Taliban, and that human rights abuses will increase. "Withdrawing U.S. forces risks a Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and since the Taliban have never broken from al Qaeda, the move is a boon for the transnational terrorist group", says Colin Clarke from the Soufan Centre.

Even those who support the withdrawal, like Vanda Felbab-Brown at the Brookings Institute, also agree that "the political prospects in Afghanistan are not pretty."

"At best, the existing civil war, killing tens of thousands of Afghans annually, will eventually ease. But the Taliban is heading to power and the new political dispensation will mean a significant weakening of political and human rights, civil liberties, and pluralistic processes."

+ Is the Universal Vulnerability Index a Good Alternative to GDP? 

A French thinktank has developed the universal vulnerability index (UVI) as an alternative to gross domestic product (GDP), which they claim, fails to reflect the realities nations face, particularly small island nations on the climate crisis frontlines. Measuring vulnerabilities outside government control, 21 of 34 Small Island Developing States (Sids) assessed were found to have “high economic vulnerability and very high vulnerability to climate change”, the report said. Five out of the six most structurally vulnerable countries are all Small Island Developing States: the Maldives, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Bahamas and Jamaica.

Jitoko Tikolevu, Fiji’s high commissioner in the UK, said income-based measures rarely reflected reality. “The gross national income of Sids is inflated by exogenous sources of income, such as tourism and remittances, which have all been wiped out by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

+ The use of evidence by Humanitarian Sector

In the past decade, huge progress has been made in the availability of academic research and evidence to inform humanitarian policy and practice.

Despite global commitments, and initiatives to share evidence between humanitarian organisations, the use of research and evidence to inform humanitarian action has not kept pace, and yet using evidence and research would improve outcomes for people affected by crisis.

This paper by ELRHA - From Knowing to doing: Evidence use in the Humanitarian Sector - explores this challenge and potential solutions, based on a literature review and a consultation of key informants from a range of humanitarian organisations. The paper concludes that collective effort – by all stakeholders – is required in six key action areas:

1. Partnerships
2. Global South leadership
3. Evidence brokering
4. Research translation and application
5. Humanitarian data
6. Humanitarian leadership

+ Supermarkets win in pandemic  - Oxfam UK report

COVID has increased inequality, and there is evidence that exploitation of women in particular has risen as economies in developing countries struggle.

A new briefing from Oxfam UK reveals how supermarkets have won big during the pandemic, often at the expense of women.

COVID-19 has cost global workers $3.7 trillion in lost income, and women and young workers have been hardest hit, as they are often found in the most insecure and lowest-paid jobs. Few places reveal this trend more clearly than supermarket supply chains, writes author Anouk Franck.

+ Vaccines are urgent - so is access to water

"It is shortsighted to think that ending this pandemic will fix our global economy. We need to take this moment also to fix the structural deficiencies that have far-reaching impacts on us all. Not least of all is access to water," writes Michael Wilson and Rosie Wheen from WaterAid.

Water has been vital to the success of preventing the spread of and treating COVID.

"In Papua New Guinea, for example, only 28% of rural households have a handwashing facility with soap and water. Only 43% of the population have access to safe drinking water less than a 30-minute return trip from the household. Too many Papua New Guineans could not wash away germs, could not safely hydrate the ill, and could not sterilize medical equipment."

+ Modern Slavery: Petition accepted by Minister Woods

Politicians from across Parliament turned out on Tuesday for the presentation of a petition calling for modern slavery legislation. The petition was accepted outside Parliament on Tuesday by Michael Wood, the Labour MP for Mt Roskill and Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety. A number of other politicians from Labour, National and the Greens were also present. 

Signed by more than 37,000 Kiwis and organised by Trade Aid and World Vision, the petition asked MPs to introduce legislation requiring public and private entities to report on risks of modern slavery in their supply chains, as well as what they are doing to address such risks.

Up to 40 million people worldwide are caught up in modern slavery, which can include forced labour, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and debt bondage. While other countries - like the United Kingdom and Australia - have recently passed legislation requiring businesses to check their supply chains, New Zealand has not. 

+ International SOS: Ensuring Business Success – Panel discussion  

International SOS would like to invite CID members to participate in an upcoming panel discussion focused on the policy considerations around adapting to the new health and security risk environment. 

Join senior workplace health and safety management stakeholders from MBIE, BECA, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, KPMG and International SOS as they discuss the key health, security, legislative and insurance considerations involved in developing employee workplace health, safety and wellbeing policy/s, navigating the current risk and compliance environment and return to travel planning and policy considerations. 

Wellington: Tuesday 13th July from 8.30am – 10am (breakfast included)
Register now to confirm your spot

Auckland: Wednesday 14th July from 11am – 12:30pm (lunch included)
Register now to confirm your spot

+ Complete the Annual Member Survey

Dont forget to complete the survey! Due this Friday!

Whether you are a Full or Affiliate member, it’s really important your organisation’s data is represented in the Survey. Any questions contact Philippa.

+ New CID Full Member - Welcome to Tutapona!

CID are thrilled to announce that the CID Membership and Board have approved Tutapona's full membership application. 

Tutapona is a Christ-centered organisation that facilitates emotional healing through mental health services for people impacted by war or conflict. Interventions include group mental health programming for adults and children, individual therapeutic support, MHPSS mainstreaming and capacity building for partner organisations. Current areas of operation are in Central Africa and the Middle East. 

We look forward to further engagement with Tutapona within the CID community!
 

+ Do you want to facilitate a session at the 2021 CID Conference?
 

The 2021 CID Conference will bring together New Zealand and Pacific international development sectors after a tumultuous year to reflect, and to regroup on a new blueprint for aid and development. 

Through this conference we wish to: 

• role-model localisation and partnership
• explore how we can improve resilience within the region and internally within our organisations.

If your organisation is interested in facilitating a session at the CID Annual Conference on 26th October 2021, we would love to hear from you! This opportunity is a chance to present and share collective challenges with representatives from across the sector. Please fill in this form with an outline of your proposed session idea.

Fill in the Expressions of Interest form here.