AEA Quarterly Newsletter 2021 Issue 1 by Aide et Action Hong Kong

Newsletter | March 2021

COVID-19

A huge leap backwards for women's rights

Aide et Action International Updates

France Promote the education of children that live in precarious circumstances In Seine Saint-Denis (93), Aide et Action supports the Aset 93/Askola association which facilitates access for children living in precarious housing to quality education and this thanks to a bridge between mediation and a support system for families and schools. School mediation is to take into account all stakeholders, and analyze the various factors leading to school rupture. Mediators support families and the educational institution to ensure eﬀective schooling and success for children. Good to know Today, in France, more than 100,000 children are not in school. We must allow them to enrol in school and uphold the right to education! (Source: School for All Collective)

Benin Relieve families from school fees

Last October, Aide et Action launched its initiative to school shops in the Atlantic department, in Benin. This consists of making supplies to schools for more than 37,000 students in need, in 80 primary schools. The goal is to relieve the families of school fees that can sometimes be the cause of dropping out of school. These shops are managed by school community structures and a minimum kit is oﬀered at a price ranging from 29% to 36% of the actual cost on the market. Good to know In Benin, despite stable and robust economic growth over the past 20 years, poverty remains widespread and is explained by a low level of per capita growth rate (Source: World Bank).

Women (who represent 70% of health workers)¹ were immediately more exposed to the virus and to excess workload, leading, in fact, to excess physical and mental fatigue for them. In contexts of lockdown, they have predominantly, and in accordance with prevailing social, cultural, and ideological norms, assumed the burden of all domestic tasks, and in particular those related to the care and education of children.²

COVID-19: A huge leap backwards for women's rights

With the shutdown of basic services, their access to care and family planning has been severely hampered, which has resulted in an increase in unwanted pregnancies³ and unsafe abortions, as well as a deprivation of any possibility of dedicated assistance and support. The COVID-19 pandemic has also undermined eﬀorts to tackle early marriage. Due to the increase in poverty linked to the crisis, 11 million girls, from pre-primary to tertiary education, are at risk of not returning to school⁴ and more than 13 million girls⁵, under the age of 18 years, could be forcibly married between 2020 and 2030. In almost all countries of the world, ⁶lockdowns have, moreover, favoured an increase in violence committed against women. The current crisis in women's rights is no diﬀerent from other crises, both social and economic. It demonstrates, unfortunately and once again, that nothing is ever taken for granted for girls and women and that they remain, despite everything, victims of gender stereotypes and male domination that bring them back within the four walls of their homes and make them vulnerable to violence and injustice while keeping them away from emancipatory education. Associations and NGOs must be extremely vigilant and encourage states to rapidly promote proactive policies in favour of the rights of girls and women. 8 March 2021 will therefore be an opportunity to seize for the construction of the “Next World”: we must give back to half of humanity the active and civic place which has been taken from within society for many centuries!

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¹Inter-Agency Standing Committee, ASC Reference Group for gender in humanitarian action, GENDER ALERT IN COVID-19 PANDEMIC , March 2020 ²Unpaid Care Work: The missing link in the analysis of gender gaps in labour outcomes OECD Development Centre, December 2014 ³The number of unwanted pregnancies because of lack of family planning and birth control could go up to 15 million, UNFPA, State of the World Population 2020, 2020 ⁴UNESCO 2020 ⁵UNFPA, State of the World Population 2020, 2020 ⁶For 3 months of lockdown it is estimated that the number of cases of domestic violence has increased by 15 million, UNFPA, Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Family Planning and Ending Gender-based Violence, Female Genital Mutilation and Child Marriage, 2020, https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/ﬁles/resource-pdf/COVID-19_impact_brief_for_UNFPA_24_April_2020_1.pdf

India Accompany underprivileged and discriminated girls

In Chennai, Aide et Action supports the youngest girls that are discriminated against: with disabilities, from Muslim communities, daughters of sex workers ... They are welcomed to our after school centres, where two teachers oﬀer personalised support to each student, in particular with the aim of making them do their homework and give them lessons. The educational activity centre also organizes a medical follow-up of the girls and facilitates regular visits from health professionals. Good to know The parents of these young girls do not have stable jobs. They get state aid, barely € 2.70 per day and per adult, which does not allow them to live with dignity.

Madagascar Favour the development of nursery education

In the region of Analamanga, faced with the low rate of nursery education, Aide et Action has set up an integrated early childhood development project. Our association strengthens the Preschool Activity Centres (PAC) and the development of community initiatives; proposes to experiment with diversification of the offer; supports the creation of nursery spaces and stimulation of the development of children aged 0 to 4 years; and mobilizes and raises awareness of education issues from early childhood. Good to know Despite an improvement in recent years, the public provision of preschool education is almost absent in rural areas and parents’ involvement in preschool nursery activities is insufficient.

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About Aide et Action For 40 years, Aide et Action, an international association for development through education, has been ensuring access to quality education for the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, in particular children, girls, and women, so that each and everyone can manage their own development and contribute to a more peaceful and sustainable world. Because access to quality education makes it possible to ﬁght poverty and disease, limit climate change and build peace in a sustainable world, we promote lifelong learning. Thus, we pay particular attention to early childhood education and protection, access, and quality of education at primary and secondary levels, as well as vocational training and social integration. By basing our intervention on the values of dignity, inclusion, and integrity, as well as on the principles of action of transparency, accountability and solidarity, and thanks to the support of our 51,000 donors, we are currently carrying out.

Aide et Action: 40 years of action This year marks the 40th anniversary of Aide et Action. Despite the challenging environment, Aide et Action dedicated to increasing access to quality of education for all, worldwide. Aide et Action are pleased to announce that we are listed on Alipay HK merchant list to accept donation. Alipay HK support multiple payment methods by registration: - VAIS / MASTERCARD - Bank Account (within HK only) - Convenience stores or Supermarkets (Top-up Alipay e-wallet)

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