Cash-for-work and food-for-work programmes’ role in household resilience to food insecurity in southern Ethiopia

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 asserts that social security is an inalienable human right. Realizing this human right is often considered, simply, as a matter of political will and of administrative aptitude. In these terms, the progressive realization of the human right to social security may be viewed as the outcome of an appropriately‐resourced political and bureaucratic process. Such a perspective, however, is clearly inadequate. Characteristically, bureaucracies are designed to cater to the needs of all, based on common procedures and common deliverables designed for the “typical” case. Yet such approaches often lack the necessary flexibility and resources to make a distinction between individuals, which acknowledge their respective differences and needs. To meet the international commitment to progressively realize universal social security coverage, social security administrations are key actors. However imperative this role may be, if the pursuit of this commitment fails to respect people's differences this will put at risk the meeting in full of what is envisioned by the human right to social security. To this end, this special issue aims to foster an understanding that the goal of universal coverage must necessarily also respect and respond to the individual needs of each and every person.

The December 2010 Tunisian uprising triggered historic revolutions throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) commonly known as the ‘Arab Spring’ or ‘Arab Uprisings’. Focusing on Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, the project on Political and Social Transformation in the Arab World (ArabTrans) explored the root causes of the revolutions, whether and how these countries changed economically, socially and politically following the Uprisings and the outlook for the region. It reviewed the theoretical frameworks for understanding political transitions and examined the economic, social and political drivers of the Uprisings in the two decades prior to 2010 and how governments responded. It also examined the political, social and economic attitudes and values of a nationally representative sample of ordinary citizens in each country, how these had changed leading up to the Uprisings, how they evolved by 2014, and what people thought would happen in the future. In scholarly terms, ArabTrans makes both substantive and methodological advances in knowledge about the region. At a substantive level, project findings advance our understanding of the political, social and economic drivers, outcomes and future of the Uprisings. Specifically, data analysis produced new knowledge on a range of topics, including the perception of democracy in the MENA, the relation between religion and politics, gender, corruption, political mobilisation and the role of the EU. In particular, the survey data reveal the popular concern about economic security – including corruption, jobs, and services – and an equally worrying distrust in the state institutions and leadership which ought to be delivering such security. Against this backdrop, survey analysis reveals that respondents have a much more holistic and substantive conception of democracy than international policy makers: the latter focus on certain core procedural and formal aspects – e.g. elections, civil and political rights – but public opinion in the MENA also understands democracy to entail substantive commitments to social justice and economic rights. In addition, while most people do not demand Western-style liberal democracy, they also reject religious leaders’ involvement in politics: social justice and economic rights are their primary focus. Methodologically, the project contributes the construction of a longitudinal data base, combining macrodata and international indexes with individual-level survey data, which will facilitate the analysis of socio-political transformations both within the region and beyond it. In addition, the project used new techniques for data verification which significantly improved the quality of the survey data – and therefore the accuracy of the findings, and they will contribute to improving the quality public opinion surveys generally.

Constitutional right to social security

The rapid growth of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of human activities such as burning fossil fuels is raising the Earth’s temperature and leading to climate change. This results in variability in precipitation, the prevalence of more extreme weather events, and shifting seasons. The accelerating pace of climate change, combined with population growth, will also threaten food security. Climate change will result in irreparable ecological degradation and possibly the reduction of agricultural productivity in many parts of the World with serious consequences for food security. This paper investigated the impacts of climate variability on food security and coping mechanisms of farmers in Boricha district of Ethiopia by using meteorological, agricultural and socio-economic survey data. The study employed various data analysis methods such as computing the coefficient of rainfall variability, estimating the impact of rainfall and temperature change on agricultural productivity, and analyzing coping strategies of the local communities in response to climate extreme events. The coefficient of rainfall variation results show that rainfall variability has significant and negative impacts on agricultural productivity in the Boricha district. Moreover, linear regression model outputs for the relationship between rainfall and crop yields indicate that rainfall variability has been significantly affecting agricultural productivity in the district. Results from the multinomial logistic model for multi-choice coping/adaptation mechanisms also show that different socio- economic factors such as education level and age of household head, family size, farm income and livestock ownership affect how households cope with extreme climate events. This research suggests that policies should introduce adaptation measures outlined by existing rural communities such as inter-cropping, livelihood diversification and early maturing crops to incorporate indigenous knowledge to ensure food security and sustain the economic growth of the country.

The article substantiates the need for professional training of social workers for social protection in the context of modern international requirements. The international documents defining the basic human right to social protection - the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as the Declaration of Human Rights are noted. Reflects the activities of international organizations that deal with the problems of social protection of the population (UN, ILO, UNICEF, IFSP). The strategic directions of improving the work of social services in the world in the system of social protection of the population are disclosed. The most important documents that determine the characteristics and specifics of social protection of the population for all countries of the world, including « Social Protection Floors Recommendation » (2012), « World Social Protection Report 2014/15. Building economic recovery, inclusive development and social justice » (2014), « Statement on the role of social work in social protection of the population » (2014), « A shared mission for universal social protection » (2015), « The role of social work in social protection systems: general social rights Protection Report » (2016), « World Social Protection Report 2017-19. Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals » (2017), « Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights » (2019).

Aggregate estimates of food expenditure are consistent with such a possibility, implying income/expenditure elasticities close to one. However, the high degree of aggregation at which such estimates are made means that the considerable increase in price per nutrient as income increases is ignored, and the nutrient elasticities are therefore overstated. Estimates for a rural south Indian sample indicate that this bias is considerable and that the true nutrient elasticities with respect to income may be close to zero.

This paper reviews various studies which have provided a description and possible explanation to patterns of innovation adoption in the agricultural sector. The survey points out that the tendency of many studies to consider innovation adoption in dichotomous terms (adoption/nonadoption) may not be appropriate in many cases where the actual decisions are defined over a more continuous range. More attention needs to be given to the socio-cultural and institutional environment in area studies so that their interrelation with economic factors affecting adoption can be inferred. The presence of several interrelated innovations is another aspect that needs to be considered more carefully in future research, since a number of simultaneous decisions may be involved. Furthermore, the possibility of regular sequential patterns in adopting components of a new technological package should be specifically addressed in future studies. Finally, the impact of differential adoption rates on land holding distribution merits attention in future research.

Social Economic and Cultural Rights and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities CRPD Perspective The Qatar Case Study

Досліджено процеси формування та набуття соціальними правами правового спрямування на основі законодавчого досвіду країн європейської спільноти. Проаналізовано еволюцію функцій держави в умовах набуття соціальними правами юридичного спрямування. Зауважено, що важливим аспектом у роботі цього напряму є аналіз міжнародних стандартів, стандартів Ради Європи та Європейського Союзу щодо реалізації та забезпечення соціальних прав людини.

The article is devoted to the current state of social protection of citizens of Ukraine. The issue of social human rights and standards of regulation, provision and protection of social human rights in Ukraine. The study of existing international standards for the regulation, provision and protection of social human rights, which in connection with the development of society are gaining more and more importance, as they are designed to guarantee people a decent standard of living. The development of human social rights is analyzed, as well as the analysis of international mechanisms and standards for their observance and protection. It is justified that the state should have a wide range of measures aimed at ensuring maximum coverage by the social protection system. The main focus is on the existing gaps in the field of social security, which may hinder the economic recovery of the country. It is proposed to pay more detailed attention in further research to the comprehensive development of mechanisms for ensuring and protecting social human rights and their improvement in connection with the constant challenges of modernity. Key words: social protection, international standards of social rights, human rights activities, human and citizen rights and freedoms, constitutional reform.

Introduction: Nutrition security is an emerging concept that expands upon the definition of food security – consistent access to sufficient quantity and quality of food – to include prevention, management, and treatment of disease. There is limited evidence on how nutrition security is related to heart health, specifically in populations disproportionately impacted by cardiovascular disease risk, such as Latina women. Hypothesis: Latina women experiencing food and/or nutrition insecurity will have poorer indicators of Life’s Essential 8 compared to those with food and/or nutrition security. Methods: Vida Sana y Completa is randomized controlled trial of a multi-component Food is Medicine (FIM) intervention for Latina women with obesity (BMI>30kg/m 2 ). This analysis uses survey data from baseline assessment (n=165). Food security status was assessed using the USDA 6-item screener and nutrition security status was assessed using the 4-item Nutrition Security Scale. Outcomes included vegetable and fruit intake, BMI, blood pressure (BP), and mental health. Within group differences by food and nutrition security status were performed using ANOVA with Fischer’s least significant difference and independent two-sample t-tests. Results: The majority (82%) reported food insecurity and approximately half (47%) reported nutrition insecurity. Women with very low or low food security consumed fewer vegetables compared to those with food security (1.7 vs. 2.1 vs. 3.0, respectively; p=0.02). Women with nutrition insecurity also consumed fewer servings of vegetables compared to participants with nutrition security (1.7 vs. 2.5; p=0.01). Systolic BP was higher among women with low food security, compared to participants with very low food security or participants with food security (p=0.01). Diastolic BP was higher for participants with low and very low food security compared to participants with food security (p=0.03). There was no difference in BP by nutrition security status. Participants with food and nutrition insecurity had more symptoms of depression and anxiety compared to participants with food and nutrition security(p<0.05). There were no differences in daily servings of fruit or BMI by food and/or nutrition security status. Conclusion: Latina women with food and/or nutrition insecurity are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. FIM interventions may effectively address food and/or nutrition insecurity, as well as Life’s Essential 8, to improve heart health.

Expanding food production to commensurate with population growth has often come at a cost resulting from environmental problems. Industries generate pollutants that destroy the environment and negatively affect the level of food security. These trends threaten the sustainability of food systems and undermine the capacity to meet food security needs. Against this backdrop, this study examines how the green environment influences food security in Africa. To further articulate the novelty and contributions of the research to the extant literature, the study also examines the interaction effect of the green environment and social protection on food security. The study engaged panel data consisting of 37 African countries listed in the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. The data was sourced from Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) and the World Development Indicators (WDI) for the period 2005 to 2019 and applied the system Generalised Method of Moments (SGMM). The result shows that a green environment and social protection are statistically significant and positively determine the level of food security in Africa. In addition, the result shows that a green environment and social protection interaction positively and significantly influence food security. The implication is that a 1% increase in the drive for a green environment may improve the level of food security by 0.8%. Also, increases in the level of social protection intervention may increase food security by 1.2%. The interaction between social protection and food security can increase food security by 0.96%. In summary, it is found that African countries under study have moderate social protection coverage and policy for environmental management and sustainability required to drive food security. The discussions of the findings and policy implications of the study are underscored in the paper.

Social protection measures are policy instruments that are widely used across a broad range of developing countries in pursuit of many different development objectives. In many cases social protection measures such as food or cash transfers were first introduced to ensure minimum levels of food security for vulnerable households. However, as the policy objectives became more numerous and varied, the relationship between food security and social protection have become less prominent. This paper refocuses attention on the linkages between social protection and food and nutrition security and aims to contribute to better integrated policies on food and nutrition (in-)security and social protection, particularly among Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and their partners. The paper explores the conceptual linkages between social protection measures and food and nutrition security, examines the evidence of practical benefits that different social protection instruments can deliver and assesses the linkages between the two subjects in the international development policy agenda and concludes by proposing ways to better integrate the two issues within development policies and by identifying the main challenges and trade-offs that DAC members and their partners are likely to face.

Chapter 5 - The linkage between agricultural input subsidies, productivity, food security, and nutrition

In recent years, several Asian countries have begun moving away from patchwork welfare programs toward providing more comprehensive social protection. This is a significant shift in a region where social welfare has not been politically popular, and the family has traditionally absorbed the burden of supporting the young, the old, and the ailing. Two of these states—India and Indonesia—have put new social protection initiatives into law rather than simply formulating executive policy. In this article, I examine recent social protection laws in both countries. I look in particular at India’s National Food Security Law, passed in 2013, and Indonesia’s laws on the National Social Security System, passed in 2004 and 2011. These laws deserve attention because they aim not just to extend benefits, but also to advance economic and social rights, which are recognized in both India and Indonesia at the constitutional level. Thus, these recent social protection laws potentially deepen what Brinks and Gauri describe as the “legalization” of welfare policy, whereby legal rights assume importance in policy, and legal professionals, judges in particular, become significant in implementing them. As such, these laws are likely to, and arguably should, impose quite hard-edged obligations on the government and enable individuals to hold the government to its obligations. At the same time, recent social protection laws have the potential to allay concerns that legal enforcement of economic social rights distorts policy and dilutes the separation of powers. Through my analysis, I show that social protection laws in both India and Indonesia have primarily expanded the policies that preceded them, rather than fundamentally restructured how particular forms of social protection are delivered. Further, none of these laws define the socioeconomic rights underlying them in a detailed, substantive manner, creating rights that are minimal and definite, or broad but weak. I go on to argue that despite gaps, flaws, and missed opportunities, these laws—with the sum of rights, remedies, and accountability mechanisms they contain—have made the rights to food and social security more stable, and are likely to make them more accessible to individuals.