On Human Rights Day, Situation On Health, Education, And Nutrition Forces Introspection

- By Dr. Aatish Parashar, Dean and Head, Central University of South Bihar

Covid-19 has impacted progress towards the attainment of equality and access to human rights. It has exacerbated poverty and hunger, and profoundly hampered access to education. Given this context, the theme of Human Rights Day 2021 - Equality - Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights could not have been more apt.

The Centre for Monitoring the Indian economy states 1.4 million jobs were added in November which is a good sign, but the loss of urban jobs is worrying, according to the center. The decline in salaried jobs remains a cause for concern and the quality of jobs that have been added is unsatisfactory, the center says.

UNICEF reports suggest one billion children across the world are at risk of falling behind due to school closures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19. In India, around 36% of students drop out of school before completing elementary education and the situation has worsened since the pandemic took hold.

Data on access to nutrition also paints a grim picture. UNICEF reckons young children's diets have shown no improvement over the past decade and could get much worse due to Covid-19. An analysis of 91 countries reveals only half of children aged 6-23 months are being fed the minimum recommended number of meals a day, while just a third consume the minimum number of food groups they require.

The International Monetary Fund estimates COVID-19 has pushed 120 million people into extreme poverty.

The pandemic has brought mankind to a situation where we must act collectively and concretely to address pervasive inequalities.

Also Read: On Human Rights Day, Young Girls Talk About Their Right To Education Through #DigitalChaupal

There is an urgent need for all stakeholders - the government, corporates, and civil society organizations to work together, devise and implement targeted interventions that reduce inequality by enabling equitable access to nutrition, healthcare, and education.

Interestingly, each of these stakeholders – Sarkaar, Samaaj and Baazaar – brings with their unique strengths. The government has scale, corporates have resources while community-based organizations have a deep connection with the society, and experience of delivering change on the ground.

There is no doubt that efforts are underway. Some notable initiatives include the Health Cannot Wait and Shiksha Na Ruke campaigns by Smile Foundation that strive to increase access to quality healthcare and education among marginalized communities. We need many more such initiatives. A lot more needs to be done if we are to effect population-scale change in a relatively short span of time.

Over the past few decades, India has made great strides in alleviating poverty. Yet, 270 million Indians continue to live in extreme poverty. Poverty rates in rural areas (25%) are much higher than in urban areas (14%). In fact, 80% of India's poor live in her villages. We need to catalyze large-scale social transformation to generate economic value for the poor.

The most effective way of addressing the multi-dimensional problem of poverty is by creating livelihoods. State governments are doing their bit. States like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have extensive poverty alleviation programs that provide education and nutrition to the disadvantaged. For example, the Madhya Pradesh administration oversees the implementation of welfare schemes such as the Ladli Laxmi Yojana, the Kanya Saksharta Protsaahan Yojana, the MukhyamantriAwasSahayata Yojana, and the VimuktJati Hostel Yojana to protect the girl child, provide children scholarships, food, shelter and ensure they learn and become independent.

Lately, there has been a realization of the limitations of government outreach, which has led to the emergence of initiatives of the people for the people, by the people, or citizen-driven interventions. One of the initiatives highlighting these efforts is the one driven by People Powered Digital Narratives (PPDN), a collaborative effort helping adolescents learn about Girl Capital (Education and Employability), Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights, Air Quality and express their opinion using storytelling techniques for social media. PPDN is creating online spaces that help adolescents develop into active citizens. The aim is to equip them to talk about and influence issues that affect them, making a positive difference in and beyond their communities.

The initiative is currently active in urban and rural areas of Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Hawa Ke Rakshak, Ankaheen Baatein and Her Aksharare online communities under this initiative, which is supported by Praxis UK and its partners.

While governments, corporates and civil society organizations are implementing initiatives to address inequality, what is needed is greater collaboration between them. There is a trust deficit between the three that must be bridged. Make no mistake, we require focused interventions that utilize technology to effect change at an unprecedented scale, so we can lift our countrymen out of poverty and help them get basic human rights. The solution to most of our problems lies in technological innovation. Continuous technological innovation will be foundational for India’s progress in the social domain.

Enabling equitable access to human rights leads India towards achieving sustainable development goals, like those for no poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, and decent work and economic growth, among others.

There is no doubt that access to human rights for all in India will be a truly momentous achievement, and that by enabling this India will stand as a beacon of hope for the world. The good news is that we as a country are striving to get there. What we need is a serious leg-up which will come when stakeholders work in close coordination, innovate for the greater good and use technology to address inequality.