Programming Challenges
The Covid Pandemic exposed the fragility and the vulnerability of community-based public health and social development systems. Services were disrupted, disinformation and rumors through social media challenged the credibility and outreach of formal communication channels. In some cases, innovations and adaptation of existing infrastructure, technology and delivery mechanisms provided a few breakthroughs which can now be explored further. Some of these breakthroughs and the lessons learned offer us a unique opportunity to rethink development in a post Covid era and in future decades which are shared below.
1. Managing Information: We can expect that with the rapidly increasing access to social media and peer networks globally, rumours, misinformation and even dangerous lies will be loud and pervasive. The challenge will be to create and maintain trusted social media networks and peer network outlets that are in continuous dialogue with adolescents and youth and be the "go to source " for correct and socially useful information. This will be crucial on how we respond to and manage emergencies in the future.
2. Investing in last mile access to information networks and platforms: In the next two decades universal and last mile access to information and engagement platforms will be critical in eliminating inequity and disparity. The location of an individual's house, her/his economic status, religion, ethnicity and gender can no longer be the determinants for the achievement of her/his/ full development potential. Access to learning (skills development, regular education, higher education) and engagement (social activism, social monitoring, volunteerism, mentoring etc) need to become key priorities for all programmes and interventions. With universal connectivity a distinct possibility, one could also look at remote learning and mentoring even in very small groups. In the short term, most countries could mobilize and engage the millions of interested retired doctors, teachers, development workers etc who wish to contribute, not necessarily for money and/or willing to volunteer with low stipends.
3. Democratizing development: Democracy is often defined as OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people. In the field of development however, most of the programming is FOR the people and very little OF the people and BY the people. So the beneficiaries end up being passive recipients of services and benefits instead of being active participants in design, planning and delivery of these services. For sustainable development, the beneficiaries will have to be engaged actively at every step and in fact even be responsible for the benefits they seek and obtain.
Imagine a scenario where young people and families through engagement in social activism and action allows them to earn credit which they can exchange against a basket of services, commodities, support structures etc. In this scenario, the more a person participates, the more credit accrued, and more things you can access from the basket of benefits. The beneficiary becomes responsible for the benefits she/he can obtain rather than being a passive recipient. This also breaks the patron-client relationship that is often seen in programming and is often the root cause of corruption, exploitation and abuse. This active engagement of beneficiaries is already happening in parts of Africa as a part of Generation Unlimited. Can this be scaled up and move from a proof of concept to being the basis for a real programme?
Further, such engagement could also break the nexus between poverty and access to services, especially those of quality education and essential commodities.
4. Preparing the next generation for jobs that don't yet exist: Access to platforms for continuous upgrading of skills or learning new skills will be essential in the next two decades. Therefore, it will be critical for programmes to develop alliances that allow adolescents and youth to continuously learn new skills and upgrade their existing skills in a formal and informal environment and structure. This links to the points discussed above.
5. The beneficiary as the first responder in emergencies: Covid pandemic has shown how movement and service delivery can be handicapped and interrupted when and where its needed most. An important initiative, therefore, could be to consider how to make the beneficiary as the first responder and reporter during emergencies. Would it be possible to facilitate and streamline access to systems and tools that will allow communities to have access to Information, support for opportunities to act on the correct information and make informed choices? . In most situations, this would allow for most of the response (except highly skilled tasks) to be delivered by the people on their own with some material support allowing specialized teams to prepare and provide mostly specialized services.
6. Climate change and its myriad consequences: Global warming and climate change will have a major impact on people's lives:
a. Natural Disasters: Hurricanes, Flash floods, landslides are increasing in frequency and ferocity causing large number of deaths, displacements and push back of families into poverty
b. Hunger: changing rain patterns, locust infestations intense heat are damaging crops leading to hunger and malnutrition, especially in marginalized families
c. Rising sea levels, natural disasters and hunger will lead to increase in displaced people and to some degree even migration.
7. War and Conflict: We expect that war and conflict will continue to produce refugees and migrants on top of existing 82 odd million refugees and migrants. Some refugees have lived in tented communities and refugee centres for over two generations. Their living environments and uncertainty about their future leads to significant trauma, mental stress and mental health conditions, abuse and exploitation to children and their parents.
Often, every time refugees are displaced, they re-start their lives from scratch having lost or left behind not just their belongings but all credentials of their skills and experience. Their children are disadvantages having lost their vital educational and health records. With the advent of block chain technology and Artificial Intelligence is it possible to develop a system of Sovereign Self Identity (SSD), which is owned and managed by the beneficiaries themselves. All their vital information, experience and credentials can be stored in a digital vault that would be always available to them and accessible for use wherever they are.
8. Adolescent Health: With under 5 year mortality mostly under control, and most children are already in school, adolescent health issues become increasingly important. Stress, substance abuse, online bullying, exploitation and violence will feature increasingly alongside issues of urbanization, connectivity, unitary families and emerging aspriations.
a. Natural Disasters: Hurricanes, Flash floods, landslides are increasing in frequency and ferocity causing large number of deaths, displacements and push back of families into poverty
b. Hunger: changing rain patterns, locust infestations intense heat are damaging crops leading to hunger and malnutrition, especially in marginalized families
c. Rising sea levels, natural disasters and hunger will lead to increase in displaced people and to some degree even migration.
7. War and Conflict: We expect that war and conflict will continue to produce refugees and migrants on top of existing 82 odd million refugees and migrants. Some refugees have lived in tented communities and refugee centres for over two generations. Their living environments and uncertainty about their future leads to significant trauma, mental stress and mental health conditions, abuse and exploitation to children and their parents.
Often, every time refugees are displaced, they re-start their lives from scratch having lost or left behind not just their belongings but all credentials of their skills and experience. Their children are disadvantages having lost their vital educational and health records. With the advent of block chain technology and Artificial Intelligence is it possible to develop a system of Sovereign Self Identity (SSD), which is owned and managed by the beneficiaries themselves. All their vital information, experience and credentials can be stored in a digital vault that would be always available to them and accessible for use wherever they are.
8. Adolescent Health: With under 5 year mortality mostly under control, and most children are already in school, adolescent health issues become increasingly important. Stress, substance abuse, online bullying, exploitation and violence will feature increasingly alongside issues of urbanization, connectivity, unitary families and emerging aspriations.
9. Artificial Intelligence and its impact on existing jobs : Almost all jobs, as we currently know them that are repetitive, routine, based on logic will most probably be replaced by machines using Artificial Intelligence. Driving, delivery of goods, tour guides are examples of some of the jobs that would cease to exist. On the other hand, a new group of jobs and entrepreneurship areas will open up including those in areas of Alternate energy, Geriatric Care and Social Influencers - people with credible image and network where people interact and access information - to name a few
To be successful and effective in the next two decades, it will not be about expansion, that is programming more of the same or a build back better which is based on more money and larger coverage of existing programmes. It will have to be based on Build Back Different.
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