Sri Lanka Country Profile

Sri Lanka Country Profile

8.3% of the existing population have access and are currently using the internet

22% of the world’s population live below the poverty line and the further 20% live holding two thirds of the countries wealth.

There is a large gap between the richest 10% who account for over one third of the wealth while the poorest 10% share only 3%.

4% of the country’s wealth is spent on health care, and 8% is used for educational resources.

22% of the Sri Lanka’s population live below the poverty line

The literacy rate for women is 89% and male is 92%

82% of the population have current clean water access

91% of the population have adequate sanitation

The life expectancy at birth for a child is currently 75 years.

What policies and activities are working to reduce poverty?

Some policies and activities are that Sri Lanka is articulating a poverty reduction strategy in 2003 which focused on restoring peace and economic growth in the country. Its main pillars are:

1) strengthening the economy;

2) reducing poverty caused by conflict;

3) creating opportunities for the poor to participate in economic growth;

4) investing in people;

5) empowering the poor and strengthening governance; and

6) implementing an effective monitoring and evaluation system. The strategy is currently being refined by the new administration.

There are 381.481 per 1,000 people who own mobile phone in Sri Lanka

The percentage of students that complete a primary school education in the state system has grown constantly, and by the 1980s 99 percent of female students and 93 percent of male students at the primary school level were being trained in government-run schools.

Sri Lanka’s recent achievements and challenges in the recovery from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, for example this has had a definite affect on the economic activity particularly in industries such as fishing, tourism, banking, many small industries, domestic trade and transport. Since mid 1983 Sri Lanka has been afflicted by a serious civil conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the fighting and it is estimated that over 70,000 people have been tragically killed. In May 2009 government forces forcefully took control of the last stronghold of the Tamil Tiger rebels. The Sri Lankan government has traditionally supported a strong health and education system which is reflected in high life expectancy and literacy rates however the years of conflict has worsened poverty and resulted in major inequities between regions

Poverty affects many people in Sri Lanka despite the attempt at a sustained government is to introduce various poverty reduction programs such as income subsidies and food distribution, about 22% of the country's population live below the poverty line. There is a large gap between the richest 10% who account for over one third of the wealth while the poorest 10% share only 3%.

The Sri Lankan government supports health and education by publicly funding primary school education, there are large differences in learning outcomes across regions. The education system requires widespread reform to help the country transform socially and economically in the future. The quality of primary education is variable and some children have poor access. Health, particularly under nutrition in children, is of concern in conflict-affected areas, hill country plantations and remote rural areas. Existing social welfare programs are not always targeted and do not address underlying causes, such as water and sanitation, and maternal health. While access to basic public health services is good, there are gaps, such as mental health services in conflict-affected areas. Budget allocations for health, as a percentage of GDP, have been declining in the past few years.

In 2008 Sri Lanka exported $US8.1 billion worth of goods including textiles and clothing, tea, spices, diamonds, emeralds, rubies, coconut products, fish and petroleum products to US (25.5%), UK (13%), India (7%), Germany (6%) and Italy (5%).

It imported $US14 billion worth of goods including machinery, textiles, mineral products, petroleum, transportation equipment and foodstuffs from India (23%), Singapore (10%), China (8%), Iran (8%) and Hong Kong (6%).

 What average income [GDP per capital (PPP US$)]?

The average income in reference to the GDP per capital (PPP US$)} is $5026 per capital

 

Hiv/Aids

1.       The name of the issue

Hiv/aids

2.       A summary of the background of the issue

The HIV/AIDS pandemic represents one of the greatest challenges facing developing countries. HIV/AIDS threatens to reverse decades of hard-won development gains. It attacks people in their most productive years, destroys families and communities, and places heavy financial burdens on the economy.

What is HIV/AIDS?

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection causes a gradual depletion and weakening of the immune system. This results in an increased susceptibility of the body to infections, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, and can lead to the development of AIDS. Most people infected with HIV do not know that they have become infected, because no symptoms develop immediately after the initial infection but they are highly infectious and can transmit the virus to another person.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the term applied to the most advanced stages of HIV infection. The majority of people infected with HIV, if not treated, develop signs of AIDS within 10-15 years.

3.       Details about the issue and why the situation occurs

HIV is most often a sexually transmitted virus. It is passed from one person another during sexual contact that involves vaginal, oral, or anal sex. HIV can also be passed to another person through other means, such as through contact with blood or body fluids. This can occur through such processes as blood transfusions or sharing needles contaminated with HIV. HIV can also be passed from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Generally the people who are infected with Hiv/aids are

·          the poor

·         women and girls

·         people with multiple sex partners

·         injecting drug users

·         children of infected mothers

HIV is spread Religious, cultural, political and economic differences mean that different countries have different rates and profiles of infection. However, societies which have high levels of poverty and large populations that engage in risky behaviour - such as unsafe sex and injecting drug use - have higher rates of HIV infection.

Conflict and displacement can lead to increased spread of HIV/AIDS as social networks are disrupted and sexual exploitation is used as a weapon.

The AIDS epidemic is affecting women and girls in increasing numbers. Females are biologically more vulnerable to HIV than males. For physiological reasons, women are twice as likely as men to acquire HIV from a single act of unprotected vaginal sex. In many countries, women and girls are also socially and economically more vulnerable. Social and cultural factors mean they are less likely to be able to control with whom, when and how they have sex, and be educated in how to protect themselves from the virus.

4.       What can be done about the issue

Things that can be done about the issue of Hiv/aids are

·         Education campaigns and counselling to advise the cause of HIV and prevention

·         Providing free and easy access to condoms

·         HIV testing facilities for prostitutes and other high risk parties

5.       What organisations are currently doing to address the issue?

Some of the organisations helping with the issue of aids are:

·         World Health Organization

·         UNAIDS: the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

·         Three Ones Principles (UNAIDS)

·         Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

·         Facing the global challenge, HIV/AIDS in Vietnam

·         The millennium development goals.

The strategy the these organisations are aiming for aims to advance global progress in achieving country set targets for universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and to halt and reverse the spread of HIV and contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development goals by 2015.

6.       What suggestions can you offer to address the issue

To prevent the spread of Hiv/aids, your first priority is to protect yourself from the HIV infection. You can do this by:               

·         Learn the basic facts about how you can and cannot become infected with HIV

·         Use protection when having sexual intercourse

·         Never come in contact with anyone else’s blood or bodily fluids. If you have to use protection e.g. towel, gloves etc

The government can also help the prevention of aids by:

·         Pay for education programs at schools and universities

·         Provide free condoms at chemists and pharmacies

·         Have free Hiv tests available to those who can’t afford it.

The Nobel Peace Prize

What is the Nobel peace prize?

The Nobel Peace Prize,

“The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- - -/ one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”              (From the will of Alfred Nobel)

Alfred Nobel was interested in social issues. He developed a special engagement in the peace movement. An important factor in Nobel’s interest in peace was his acquaintance with Bertha von Suttner. Perhaps his interest in peace was also due to the use of his inventions in warfare and assassination attempts? Peace was the fifth and final prize area that Nobel mentioned in his will.

Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frederic Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time. In addition to humanitarian efforts and peace movements, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded for work in a wide range of fields including advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts, and arms control.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five persons who are chosen by the Norwegian Storting.

Bibliography of Rigoberta menchu tum           

This should include their DOB, any education of work history details and their major achievements (include a picture)

Rigoberta Menchú was born on January 9, 1959 to a poor Indian peasant family and raised in the Quiche branch of the Mayan culture. In her early years she helped with the family farm work, either in the northern highlands where her family lived, or on the Pacific coast, where both adults and children went to pick coffee on the big plantations.

Rigoberta Menchú soon became involved in social reform activities through the Catholic Church, and became prominent in the women's rights movement when still only a teenager. Such reform work aroused considerable opposition in influential circles, especially after a guerilla organization established itself in the area. The Menchú family was accused of taking part in guerrilla activities and Rigoberta's father, Vicente, was imprisoned and tortured for allegedly having participated in the execution of a local plantation owner. After his release, he joined the recently founded Committee of the Peasant Union (CUC).

In 1979, Rigoberta, too, joined the CUC. That year her brother was arrested, tortured and killed by the army. The following year, her father was killed when security forces in the capital stormed the Spanish Embassy where he and some other peasants were staying. Shortly afterwards, her mother also died after having been arrested, tortured and raped. Rigoberta became increasingly active in the CUC, and taught herself Spanish as well as other Mayan languages than her native Quiche. In 1980, she figured prominently in a strike the CUC organized for better conditions for farm workers on the Pacific coast, and on May 1, 1981, she was active in large demonstrations in the capital. She joined the radical 31st of January Popular Front, in which her contribution chiefly consisted of educating the Indian peasant population in resistance to massive military oppression.

In 1981, Rigoberta Menchú had to go into hiding in Guatemala, and then flee to Mexico. That marked the beginning of a new phase in her life: as the organizer abroad of resistance to oppression in Guatemala and the struggle for Indian peasant peoples' rights. In 1982, she took part in the founding of the joint opposition body, The United Representation of the Guatemalan Opposition (RUOG). In 1983, she told her life story to Elisabeth Burgos Debray. The resulting book, called in English, I, Rigoberta Menchú, is a gripping human document which attracted considerable international attention. In 1986, Rigoberta Menchú became a member of the National Coordinating Committee of the CUC, and the following year she performed as the narrator in a powerful film called When the Mountains Tremble, about the struggles and sufferings of the Maya people. On at least three occasions, Rigoberta Menchú has returned to Guatemala to plead the cause of the Indian peasants, but death threats have forced her to return into exile.

Over the years, Rigoberta Menchú has become widely known as a leading advocate of Indian rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation, not only in Guatemala but in the Western Hemisphere generally, and her work has earned her several international awards.

Menchú received a primary-school education as a student at several Catholic boarding schools. After leaving school, she worked as an activist campaigning against human rights violations committed by the Guatemalan armed forces during the country's Civil war that lasted from 1960 to 1996. In 1991, Menchú participated in the ongoing preparation by the United Nations of its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people. Since the Civil War ended, Menchú has also campaigned to have members of the Guatemalan political and military establishment tried in Spanish courts. In 1999 she filed a complaint before a court in Spain because prosecutions of crimes committed during the civil war are practically impossible in Guatemala.(SANTI)

‍These attempts stalled as the Spanish courts determined that the plaintiffs had not yet exhausted all possibility of seeking justice through the legal system of Guatemala. On December 23, 2006 Spain called for the extradition from Guatemala of seven former members of Guatemala's government on charges of genocide and torture. These include former military rulers Efraín Ríos Montt and Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores. Spain's highest court ruled that cases of genocide committed abroad could be judged in Spain, even if no Spanish citizens have been involved. In addition to the deaths of Spanish citizens, the most serious charges include genocide against the Mayan people of Guatemala.

When and why was Rigoberta menchu tum awarded the prize

Rigoberta Menchú Tum was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation work based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples in her native Guatemala. She is the first indigenous person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Explain why the person bacame involved in the work

The Norwegian Nobel Committee had decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 1992 to Rigoberta Menchú from Guatemala, in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples.

Human Rights - Declaration of Human Rights

What are human rights?
Human rights are the rights and freedoms that we all have

•  Some human rights are based on our physical needs; the right to life, to food, to shelter.
•  Other human rights protect us; the right to be free from torture, cruel treatment and abuse.
• Human rights are also there to ensure we develop to our fullest potential; the right to education, to work, to participate in your community.
•  Everybody has human rights, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what language you speak or what religion you belong to. You have a duty to respect the rights of others, just as they have a duty to respect yours. Nobody can take your rights away

 

Where do human rights come from?

Human rights are based on the values of:

•         Dignity
•        Justice
•         Respect
•         Equality

Human rights were officially recognised as values by the world when the united nation was set up.

What is the United Nations?

• The United Nations is an international organisation that was established in 1945, the year the Second World War ended.
• Its founder hoped it would be able to prevent catastrophes like the holocaust from happening in the future.
•  So promoting human rights became an aim of the UN, along with maintaining international peace and reducing poverty.

The universal declaration of human rights

The United Nations universal declaration of human rights is the most famous human rights agreement in the world. It contains 30 human rights.

This is according to the UDHR.

 

Who wrote the UDHR?

The people who wrote the UDHR came from: Australia, Chile, China, France, Lebanon, the former soviet union, the UK and the US

Refugees

Refugee: definition

Refugees are people who have left their homeland because they fear that they will lose their lives or their freedom if they stay. People become refugees because one or more of their basic human rights has been violated or threatened.

International law defines a “refugee” as a person who has fled from and/ or cannot return to his/her country due to a well- founded fear of persecution, including war or civil conflict.

A person is a refugee if

·         Refugees have to be outside their country or origin

·         The reason for their flight has to be fear of persecution

·         The fear of persecution has to be well founded, i.e. they have to experienced persecution or be likely to experience it if they return;

·         The persecution has to result from one or more of the five grounds listed in the definition.

·         They have to be unwilling or unable to seek the protection of their country.

Who protects refugees?

·         UNHCR

·         Protecting refugees is the core mandate of the UNHCR ( united nations high commissioner for refugees)

Who do they help?

By helping refugees go back home or to settle in another country, UNHCR also seeks lasting solutions to their plight.

Where are they involved?

UNHCR staff operate in some 120 countries around the world, from major capitals to remote. The largest portion of staff are based in countries in Asia and Africa, the continents that both host and generate the most refugees and internally displaced people. Among our biggest operations are Afghanistan, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Iraq and surrounding countries, and the Sudan. But we also have substantial operations in many other countries around the world.

Identify the top 10 countries & continents or concern, record their population?

1.  Asia – 18,567,061

2.  Africa- 10,475,567

3. Pakistan – 4,744,098

4. Thailand – 3,615,552

5. Dem republic Congo – 2,362,295

6. Iraq- 2,026,789

7. Somalia- 1,576,544

8. Sudan- 1,426,412

9. Syrian Arab republic – 1,357,546

10. Iran- 1,072,346

Use a world map image from google and mark these countries to the map and apply to your

8 Millennium Development Goals

Aus Aid – Millennium Goals

Goal	Target	Australia is doing...
1.       Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger	Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1.25	Halve extreme poverty by 2015. They are providing affordable housing.  In Bangladesh Australia is providing 1.6 million disadvantaged children with access to pre-primary and primary education.
2.       Achieve universal primary education The number of primary school- aged children who are out of school has declined from 115 million in 2002 to 75 million today.	Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary school education.	Australia has funned new schools in Laos. They have introduced teacher training.  They are providing nutritious food.
3.       Promote gender equality and empower women	Increase proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education.	Increasing Australian development scholarships for east Timorese women. Encouraging women in east Timor to register for jobs. Supporting leadership and governance training for women across the Asia pacific region.
4.       Reduce child mortality	Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.	Training more skilled birth attendants in rural and remote PNG to help reduce infant deaths. Including births supervised by skilled staff is an important focus of the PNG- Australia Partnership for development. Working with governments and other donors to improve the supply of vaccines and immunisation globally.
5.       Improve maternal health	Reduce by three – quarters the maternal mortality rate. Achieve universal access to reproductive health	Helping to train the next generation of midmives and providing specialist surgical services and training in east timor. Supporting outreach clinics, which target remote and rural villages with information on health, nutrition, and family planning.
6.       Combat HIV/Aids	Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment to HIV/AIDS for all those who need it.	Committed up to $100 million to work in partnership with Indonesia to combat the spread of HIV and improve the quality of life for those living with the virus. Supporting needle syringe programs, voluntary counselling, testing and preventing services and programs.
7.       Ensure environmental sustainability	Halve the number of people without sustainable access of safe drinking water and basic sanitation.	Providing $150 million, through the international climate change, to help vulnerable countries in our region increase resilience to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
8.       Development for a global partnership for development	N.A.P	Australia is working closely with developing countries and development partners to build global partnership with address poverty.