In low-income countries, identifying people who have fallen on hard times due to the pandemic is no easy task. So Togo turned to artificial intelligence: a computer program that dives into satellite imagery and cell phone data to pinpoint pockets of poverty and distribute financial support. Click here to read more.
This year’s theme for Canada's International Development Week (Feb 7th-13th) is #GoFortheGoals, referring to the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Goal 4, Education for All, has been made vulnerable by the pandemic, with the very real possibility that millions of children may not return to school.
The Global Partnership for Education has developed a series of interviews about the power of education, entitled 5 Reasons for $5+ Billion. Read this inspirational interview with Mohamed Sidibay, former child soldier now peace activist, in which he talks about what education has meant in his life, and speaks compellingly of the importance of supporting increased investments in education globally.
While the world has been focused on the pandemic and COVID vaccine development, over the past year real progress has quietly been made in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. A new injectable long-acting HIV/AIDS treatment has been approved for use in Canada, the United States and the European Union. With this breakthrough, a person with HIV can now receive just one injection each month, instead of having to take multiple pills each day to control their disease. While this new treatment regimen is currently priced well beyond the means of developing countries, its development gives hope for future treatment possibilities. Click here to read more.
“It is time to show leadership on protecting the rights of Grandma and other older people. To show appreciation for the enormous contributions that older people make to families, communities and the gross national product. To show intergenerational and international solidarity. To recognize how we love and need our grandparents.” -- GRAN Co-founder Peggy Edwards
Click here to read Peggy Edward’s recent article on the intersection of ageism, COVID-19 and human rights, and the compelling case she makes for a UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada, and in support of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, GRAN’s Education Working Group wishes to highlight the impacts of school-related gender-based violence and the measures education systems around the world are taking to prevent and address it.
Read more in this article from the World Education Blog.
Dear GRAN members,
If you haven’t yet registered for this upcoming event, there is still time to do so. Join us for an inspiring conversation with Mama Lambert, a Rwandan genocide survivor of sexual violence, and the human rights advocates who documented her story and those of other survivors.
To view the poster for this online event with further details and bios of the keynote speaker and panelists, please click here.
To register, just click the link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qSKOTQ9rRrWVlHBgQRibKw
If you need any assistance with registration, please contact Janet at jlsiddall49@gmail.com
We hope you can join us!
Janet and Pat
Girls’ education in Africa is at risk. The disruption to education from COVID-19 has placed girls at higher risk of falling behind in school and of permanently dropping out of school. This is due to the many barriers girls face to accessing a quality education, including exclusion from distance learning opportunities. Serious and specific attention is needed to ensure girls’ continuity of learning and return to school and to protect gains in education made in recent decades.
The African Union International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA) has launched a new campaign, #AfricaEducatesHer, to bring awareness to the issues that hinder girls and women from accessing education and to call for action to ensure that girls return to school.
Read more in this Global Partnership for Education blog post.
This October 1st marks the 30th anniversary of International Day of Older Persons, an occasion to celebrate older persons in our lives as sources of wisdom and inspiration. At the United Nations, International Day of Older Persons 2020 will highlight the role of the health care workforce in contributing to the health of older persons, with special recognition of the nursing profession, and a primary focus on the role of women - who are relatively undervalued and, in most cases, inadequately compensated.
To learn more about the UN theme, focus, and background for this International Day, including interviews with vibrant centenarians, visit https://www.un.org/en/observances/older-persons-day
You may also want to join the celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the UN International Day of Older Persons (UNIDOP) and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN), when UN officials and leaders in the field of ageing and elsewhere will address the call to action for a Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030. The event will be held from 9:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m. Eastern time, Thursday October 1st. You can register here https://bit.ly/2XWwLmH
The federal government announced on Friday that it is joining COVAX - the COVID Vaccine Global Access Facility. COVAX is a collaborative global effort established to deliver fair, equitable and timely access to vaccines to all participating countries. Canada has committed $220 million to COVAX for procurement of vaccines for Canadians and an additional $220 million to COVAX AMC to make possible equitable distribution of vaccines to middle- and lower-income countries that cannot fully afford to pay for COVID-19 vaccines themselves.
As stated in the announcement, "...We cannot beat this virus in Canada unless we end it everywhere."
Click here for the full news release.
“… This is an opportunity for us to reset the world we are living in, and not just return to normal.” -- Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai
Five million Canadian children returned to school this month, adapting to new norms in the classroom and virtual learning. While we try to figure out what the new normal is, there are millions of other children around the world, especially adolescent girls, who may never return to school due to extreme poverty, early child marriage, violence, and other forms of exploitation. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the world’s education systems, threatening a loss of learning that may affect an entire generation of students.
In this opinion article from The Guardian, Malala Yousafzai describes the impact of school closures on the most disadvantaged children, especially girls, and outlines what is needed to ensure that girls’ education is not ignored, urging a commitment to transformative change in education, not simply a return to normal.
To read more, click here.
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