SEBRA (Social, Economic & Business Research Associates)

19/10/2012

Jinnah Institute

24/08/2012

From 18 to 23 August 2012 in the Central African Republic (CAR), UNICEF Advocate for Children Affected by War Ishmael Beah met with children recently released from participation in armed groups, in the northern town of N’Dele. Mr. Beah also witnessed the release of 10 children from the armed group Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), at a nearby military camp.

Mr. Beah was himself forcibly recruited into armed forces during the civil war in his country, Sierra Leone. He was released from these forces in 1996 with assistance from UNICEF – a story he recounts in his 2007 bestselling book, ‘A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier’. Mr. Beah shared some of these experiences with the children in N’Dele and read them portions of his book.

“When you are conditioned to function in war, it takes time to know that something else is possible. I went through that myself,” he told the children. He later remarked, “These children have been through so much, but their release marks just the beginning. Many of the children have little to return to … [and] urgently require special care over the long term.”

The transit centre aims to help the children overcome some of the effects of the abuse, exploitation and violence they have been subjected to and participated in. It provides counselling support, basic education, sport, cultural activities and vocational skills training for 45 children aged 10–18 years. Three of the children presently at the centre are girls.

Amid proliferating conflicts in the Central African Republic – one of the world’s poorest countries – numerous national and foreign armed groups use children to work as guards, combatants, domestic servants and s*x slaves, amongst other roles. In Bangui, the capital, Mr. Beah also met with government and other officials to press for additional support to ensure an end to the forcible recruitment of children into armed groups. Worldwide, thousands of children continue to be deprived of their most basic rights through association with armed forces and groups. UNICEF continues to advocate for their release and supports ongoing rehabilitation and reintegration efforts that, since 1998, have assisted more than 100,000 children to integrate back into their communities.

Find out more: http://uni.cf/TZl8m7

08/07/2012

Millions more boys and girls are now in school and 85% of people now have access to health facilities (compared to 9% in 2002), but Afghanistan is still one of the poorest countries in the world.

22/06/2012

IS RIO+20 ON THE ROAD TO FAILURE?

Expectations are high for the upcoming U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. But with various groups pushing different agendas, pundits fear Rio+20 won’t produce positive results.

20/06/2012

Peter Morgan, ADBI Senior Consultant for Research, offers his outlook on the lessons for Asia as Europe grapples with its sovereign debt problems.

15/06/2012

An ADB-assisted project provides solar lanterns to rural villages in northern India, empowering communities to study, do chores and lead more productive lives at night.

12/06/2012

12/06/2012

Hundreds of farmers from Sindh province in Pakistan recently gathered in Koriani village to celebrate their sunflower harvest, together with members of the local and international community. Following severe flooding in the region two years running, FAO was able to help 58,500 farming families get back on their feet through sunflower cultivation. Read more: http://bit.ly/Mnukhc

12/06/2012

Hope is walking dream.

07/06/2012

Research on Poverty Alleviation, REPOA, undertakes and facilitates research, conducts and coordinates training, and promotes dialogue and development of policy for pro-poor growth and poverty reduction in tanzania

02/06/2012

Unemployment rates of tertiary education graduates in MENA have been higher than in any other region for the past decade.

29/05/2012

The current European crisis has highlighted the policy mistakes that were made in the process of European financial and monetary integration. It has exposed major deficits in the eurozone’s institutional framework, including insufficient macroeconomic policy coordination and the lack of a crisis res...