Medicina tradicional indígena, inclusión cultural y salud ante la pobreza

Las variables de pobreza y etnicidad son un binomio que va de la mano e incide directamente en la salud de la población; los indicadores de salud como la mortalidad materna, los partos hospitalarios y la cobertura de vacunas son más negativos en este grupo de la población, que se ha considerado históricamente como un grupo minoritario, por lo que es altamente vulnerable. En este sentido, es necesario incorporar los elementos de las costumbres locales en un esquema de intervención de las estrategias de salud, de manera que la población tenga acceso a la salud con inclusión cultural y social. Leer más.

Cambio climático incrementa pobreza urbana: impactos y estrategias de mitigación

De acuerdo al estudio realizado por el Banco Mundial, el Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera de la UNAM y el Centro de Especialistas en Gestión Ambiental (CEGAM), "Pobreza urbana y cambio climático para la Ciudad de México", las consecuencias del cambio climático obligan a las ciudades a recurrir a estrategias de adaptación ya que de lo contrario la pobreza aumentaría en las urbes. En el caso del Distrito Federal (DF), de no adoptar medidas que hagan frente a los desastres naturales, los costos del impacto climático serían equivalentes al 20 por ciento del Producto Bruto Nacional actual, así como el incremento de un millón de pobres en la ciudad. Leer más.

La tenencia de la tierra en la Ciudad de México

En los últimos años en México ha habido reformas importantes en las leyes que regulan la tenencia sobre la tierra. Ello obedece, entre otras razones, a la alternancia política que tuvo lugar en el año 2000 y también a una corriente progresista en gran parte de América latina que, teniendo como sustento el reconocimiento generalizado del derecho a la vivienda, ha llevado a reformas legislativas sin precedentes. En este sentido, pasar enteramente de las leyes a la praxis aún no ha sido del todo posible y todavía son muchos los problemas que enfrenta el país para dar acceso equitativo a la tierra, sobre todo a quienes habitan en predios o asentamientos irregulares. Leer más.

Inclusión financiera de zonas marginadas: crédito con valor social

América Latina presenta una marcada tendencia a ofrecer micro-préstamos, créditos y hasta planes de seguros a través de dispositivos móviles entre la población con más alto índice de marginación. Con el objetivo de facilitar el acceso a servicios financieros y mitigar el bajo nivel de bancarización, en la región se ha desarrollado un novedoso sistema de pago móvil que busca propiciar la inclusión financiera y hacer más eficiente el flujo de dinero. Leer más.

La trata de personas en entornos de pobreza: diagnóstico, prevención y rehabilitación

Si bien cualquier persona puede ser víctima de trata de personas, ciertamente quienes viven en condiciones de pobreza y marginación tienden a ser más vulnerables a ella. En México, la trata alcanza dimensiones descomunales en comparación con otros países, y si bien las razones son variadas, la condición del país como uno de origen, traslado y destino de migrantes, especialmente centroamericanos, aunada a la porosidad de la frontera sur que permite el ingreso clandestino de miles de personas, hacen de México tierra fértil para el desarrollo de esta actividad. Leer más.

Cambian basura por productos frescos: Mercado de Trueque en Chapultepec

Desde el comienzo de la actual administración, el gobierno de la Ciudad de México en 2006 lanzó un plan de trabajo con una proyección de quince años denominado Plan Verde. Su objetivo es hacer del Distrito Federal una ciudad sustentable y así brindarle a sus habitantes una óptima calidad de vida. Para el manejo integral de los residuos sólidos, un modelo innovador es el Mercado de Trueque que se lleva a cabo en Chapultepec, un sistema de intercambio a través del cuál se busca dar mejor manejo a las más de 12,000 toneladas de basura diaria que se generan en la ciudad. Leer más.

Acceso y calidad de la educación para niños vulnerables

Diversas organizaciones de la sociedad civil, entendiendo que la educación en México no es responsabilidad exclusiva del Estado, han puesto en marcha diversa estrategias para contrarrestar los efectos del bajo rendimiento académico, el nulo acceso a servicios educativos en las comunidades marginadas y la alta deserción escolar, especialmente de las niñas en edad escolar básica. Adopta una Escuela A.C. busca dignificar los espacios educativos para mejorar el desempeño escolar de alumnos en edad de cursar cualquier grado de educación básica. Por su parte, Acude A.C. busca construir un marco institucional para incidir en las políticas públicas educativas. Leer más.

Agua pura sin embotellar y accesible en la ZMVM

El agua es un elemento indispensable para la salud, de acuerdo a la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) el requerimiento de consumo óptimo de agua diario es de 100 litros por habitante al día, el cual permite satisfacer las necesidades de consumo y llevar una vida saludable. En la Cd. de México, prevalecen zonas que no cuentan con agua limpia para consumo, preparación de alimentos, higiene personal, limpieza del hogar y saneamiento, por lo que una de las alternativas ha sido un alto uso de agua embotellada. De acuerdo a la Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO), los niveles de ingresos medios y bajos son las personas que más consumen agua embotellada.  Leer más.

Gobierno, academia y habitantes de asentamientos irregulares

Los asentamientos irregulares en Milpa Alta son expresiones de políticas públicas endebles que debieran dar cabida a soluciones para garantizar el acceso a un techo a todos los habitantes, a la vez que deben de responder a un crecimiento urbano ordenado protegiendo los suelos de conservación. Esta complejidad invoca la coordinación de una estrategia común a largo plazo que apremie ambas partes; por lo que autoridades locales de Milpa Alta, la Universidad Autónoma de México (UNAM) y la Procuraduría Ambiental y de Ordenamiento Territorial del D.F. (PAOT) desarrollan en conjunto un modelo de gestión innovador que promueve la sustentabilidad ambiental junto con la protección a los derechos sociales.  Leer más.

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Favela Orgânica: Bringing healthy food habits to low-income communities

Favela Orgânica ("Organic Favela") is an initiative launched in late 2011 by Regina Tchelly, who decided to share her love of cooking while improving nutrition and sustainable food practices among favela residents in Rio de Janeiro. Tchelly's specialty: the use of natural ingredients that people generally discard, such as banana, watermelon, and passion fruit peels, carrot leaves, and cauliflower and broccoli stalks. Weekly workshops held in Morro da Babilônia, the favela in southern Rio de Janeiro where Tchelly lives, combine instruction in cooking, sustainable urban agriculture, and composting practices with meals featuring tasty, healthy dishes like watermelon peel risotto and banana and passion fruit peel cake. Learn more.

Climate change and sustainable development in Rio

Among Latin American countries, Brazil has led the way in addressing climate change in the region, notably by creating a national public policy framework to guide priorities and interventions in the field. Some of the most relevant advances include the approval of the National Policy on Climate Change in 2009. In the same year, a National Fund for Climate Change was established allowing the allocation of resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives. Brazil has also moved forward in reducing the deforestation process of the Amazon forest and has been successful in developing and expanding the use biofuels, areas that have placed the country in the global sustainability spotlight. Learn more.

Museu de Favela: Um território de arte e memórias

O Museu de Favela – MUF é uma associação privada sem fins lucrativos, de interesse cultural e comunitário que atua no museu territorial integral formado pelas favelas Pavão, Pavãozinho e Cantagalo. Desde sua criação em 2008 o MUF desenvolve processos museais experimentais de modos de trabalho inusitados, plantando novos paradigmas no campo da museologia social brasileira. A visão de futuro é transformar aquelas favelas em monumento turístico carioca. A missão do MUF é realizar tal visão de futuro, transformadora de condições de vida local, através da cultura, e demonstrar que a solução de inclusão funcional urbana e socioeconômica sustentável de favelas deve partir de dentro delas.

Catalytic Communities: Working to protect Rio's favelas

In little more than a decade, Catalytic Communities has become an active voice in promoting a more educated understanding of Rio de Janeiro's favelas. CatComm (as it is usually called), a nonprofit organization established in Rio in 2000, aims to integrate the favelas into the wider society and generate greater knowledge about their rich cultural and social value. To accomplish these goals, it actively promotes capacity-building initiatives among low-income community leaders and youth, as well as conducting neighborhood visits and research. Read and discuss.

Fighting HIV/AIDS in Rio de Janeiro

Brazil's fight against HIV/AIDS has been widely recognized as a success story. In the course of the worldwide, thirty-year battle against the epidemic, this country has managed to control the spread of HIV/AIDS with highly active and open preventive campaigns while providing universal access to treatment to all HIV/AIDS patients. The most important aspects of Brazil's success in fighting the epidemic have been, first, the government's strong leadership and support to HIV/AIDS programs, at both the national and the municipal levels; second, the active mobilization of civil society and non-governmental organizations, which have helped to promote support at the local level. Read and discuss.

Rede Jovem: mapping neighborhoods with mobile phones

Until very recently, only the better-off neighborhoods in Rio were able to explore local cultural life and entertainment options online. Today, however, it's possible to get updated and geo-referenced information about the region's history and cultural life, as well as where to shop and eat in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods — such Complexo da Mare, Complexo do Alemão, Santa Marta, Pavão Pavozinho, and Cidade de Deus. All this is possible thanks to an initiative called Wikimapa, created in 2009 by Rede Jovem, an organization that has been working for more than 12 years to promote social inclusion among low-income adolescents though the use of technology. Read and discuss.

Transforming trash into treasure in Vidigal

Vidigal, a low-income neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's Zona Sul, is enjoying an important economic and cultural transformation. One of the most inspiring projects contributing to that change is Sitiê, an initiative started by three neighborhood residents who decided to recover 300 square meters of a former garbage dump and transform it into a park. Sitiê has expanded, with a small orchid vivarium and a room for recycling trash; the most impressive thing about this initiative, however, is that it is based entirely on neighborhood support and collaboration. Read and discuss.

Developing Minds Foundation and vocational education in Rio

Seeking to address a growing need for vocational education in the favelas and to reduce the digital divide between the formal and informal city, the Developing Minds Foundation (DMF) has been working in Cidade de Deus, Rocinha, and Mangueira since 2006, partnering closely with local community-based organizations to apply their extensive knowledge of each neighborhood's conditions and needs. Learn more.

'Pacification' and a changing public security status quo?

It has been hard to miss Rio de Janeiro's changing approach to public security — the "pacification" of urban territories previously governed by drug-trafficking organizations. In just under four years, Rio's policia de pacificação ("pacification police") have installed 26 pacification police units, affecting more than 300,000 people, in the low-income favelas where state presence has always been tenuous. The permanent presence of the police denotes a new kind of governance that provides public services to what were once deemed 'illegal' communities — which not only has enhanced feelings of security, but also has fostered greater connectivity between the oft-excluded poor and the state, reducing urban disparity in the process. Learn more.

Morar Carioca: Reducing infrastructure gaps in the favelas

Rio de Janeiro's informal settlements, or favelas, have enormous infrastructure gaps that range from the need for better roads and sewage systems to lack of access to water and electricity. In 2010, Rio's Municipal Housing Secretariat launched a new municipal upgrading program, known as Morar Carioca, at an estimated total cost of US$4 billion, aiming to urbanize some 250 of Rio's favelas through 2020 as part of the legacy of the 2016 Olympics. Such a goal seems idealistic, but given the city's operational experience in the implementation of Favela Bairro, it may actually be achieved. Learn more.

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Self-construction: a bottom-up answer to low income housing

From such megacities as Delhi and Mumbai to smaller cities such as Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Dehradun, self-construction is visible throughout India, a country where over 60 percent of the urban poor live in settlements where units have been self-constructed. Contrary to popular belief, these settlements are not all "slums" as seen near railway stations or large drains, but a range of neighborhoods — including urban villages, unauthorized and planned colonies that vary both in terms of their legal status (right to sell, build, mortgage) and access to urban infrastructure and services. In the absence of scalable private and government housing initiatives, these low-income neighborhoods are the largest source of affordable housing for the country's poor. Read and discuss.

Can mobile phones save the lives of mothers and their children?

High maternal and infant mortality rates continue to burden the developing world. Despite calls by international organizations for an increased focus on maternal health, more than 500,000 women in developing nations die during pregnancy or childbirth each year. But a new three-year initiative, Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA), is showing mobile phones' potential to improve the state of women in India — giving expectant and new mothers access to vital, often life-saving information. Read and discuss.

Are Mumbai's recyclers leading the city's green movement?

In Mumbai, the ragpickers' daily collections most likely end up in the city's largest — though officially unrecognized — recycling center: Dharavi's 13th compound. In this small area of Mumbai's sprawling slum, 15,000 single-room factories recycle an estimated 80 percent of Mumbai's plastic waste. Could it be that these shanty room enterprises — whose supply chain is maintained by one of India's poorest and most marginalized groups — are actually leading the city's green movement? Read and discuss.

Room for girls in India's 'integrated' classroom?

In Mumbai, the land of extremes, different socio-economic classes live in close proximity, yet their worlds almost never intersect. Nowhere is this separation more apparent than in the education system — but a recent landmark decision by India's Supreme Court attempts to change the make-up of India's classrooms forever, providing daily opportunities for these two worlds to meet. However, the educational dreams of girls are often cut short due to a range of cultural and social dynamics — and if girls are admitted under the new quota, schools will need programs to ensure the success of these children. Read and discuss.

Making Mumbai's streets safe for women

Despite rhetoric of equality and empowerment in a country "on the rise," Indian women continue to experience systemic violence in many forms, and poor women are especially vulnerable. Recent reports show that women in Mumbai feel increasingly unsafe and that instances of violence against them — including rape, kidnapping, and molestation — are up from the previous year. And given the unwillingness of women in this highly patriarchal society to admit abuse for fear of retribution, the current data may mask a much, much larger issue. Read and discuss.

Solar-powered water ATMs in India's slums

Clean water does not come easily to Mumbai slum dwellers. Women must orient their entire day around collecting and hauling water of questionable quality obtained at exorbitant cost; meanwhile, water-borne diseases like hepatitis and typhoid kill and incapacitate thousands every year. The need for new solutions to India's urban water crisis has led to distributed models — off the main municipal water grid — that offer the opportunity to work with communities and address their specific needs. One such solution is Sarvajal: solar-powered ATMs that dispense not money, but safe, treated water with the swipe of a pre-paid card.  Read and discuss.

Alchemix discussion in Mumbai: How to innovate for the urban poor?

Given the state of Mumbai, Innovation Alchemy recently hosted an Alchemix discussion on urban issues at Bombay Connect, an incubator and co-working space for social entrepreneurs in Mumbai. The session focused on the need and opportunity for breakthrough innovation designed for, and implemented with, the urban poor — a rapidly growing challenge in urban centers such as Mumbai, where 54 percent of the population (more than 10 million people) lives in slums. The discussion featured two social enterprises: Swasth India and WaterWalla. Learn more.

Designing for livelihoods in government slum-rehabilitation projects: Sundernagari, Delhi

A key principle of the central government's "Slum Free India" policy is to redevelop slums in situ (upgrading their current situation rather than dislocating slum dwellers) and offering them basic tenure security. Still in its pilot phase, the policy, Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), emphasizes a process for community engagement and has laid down detailed guidelines for the interaction process. Mahila Housing SEWA Trust (MHT) was one of four NGOs tasked by the local municipality in Delhi to work on the pilot to be sponsored by the Ministry of Housing. MHT was to engage the community and propose an alternative design for redevelopment in an eastern Delhi neighborhood of Sundernagari; mHS engaged on data analysis, community facilitations, and architectural and urban design for the site. The results have the potential to influence redevelopment in the capital city as well as other major urban centers such as Mumbai. Learn more.

Street vendors in Mumbai, Part III: National Policy as solution

Of all the state attempts to provide some protection to street vendors, Maharashtra — home to Mumbai — is the worst. In 2010, the state's legislature modified the Bombay Municipal Corporation Act and all other similar laws governing local bodies. The amendment states that any person engaged in street vending in a non-hawking zone will be fined INR5,000 ($96) and imprisoned for six months. Even pickpockets and other petty criminals are given lighter sentences. Does the government think a street vendor is a bigger criminal? Learn more.

Street vendors in Mumbai, Part II: Laws and regulations

In Part I of our series on street vendors in Mumbai, Professor Sharit Bhowmik, an expert on labor issues, introduced us to the hawkers and their lives. Many of Mumbai's street hawkers, who number about 250,000, were formerly wage earners in the formal sector who took to vending after the shutdown of textile mills in the 1980s. The vendors color Mumbai's streets with their wares, but the municipality has been less than welcoming. In Part II of our series, we look at laws governing street vending and related landmark court cases. Learn more.

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Posisi menentukan prestasi: menuju tata ruang yang adil di Jakarta

Posisi menentukan prestasi: kiasan sekaligus lelucon yang sering digunakan oleh anak sekolah ketika menghadapi ujian tersebut agaknya tepat untuk menggambarkan situasi kota Jakarta. Dengan tata ruang yang semakin berantakan, siapa yang berada di posisi paling dekat dengan sumber daya akan mengeruk keuntungan lebih. Sementara itu, urusan tata ruang kota Jakarta selama ini mutlak dikuasai oleh pemerintah. Lalu bagaimana agar masyarakat bisa lebih terlibat dalam masalah tata ruang kota dan mendapatkan kesempatan yang sama? Rujak Center for Urban Studies merasa bahwa langkah pertama adalah mengedukasi warga mengenai tata kota. Baca lebih lanjut di sini.

Atasi malnutrisi di Jakarta dengan kelompok pendukung ibu

Angka malnutrisi anak di ibukota Jakarta sungguh memprihatinkan. Di sejumlah perkampungan kumuh, akibat kondisi hidup yang tak layak, hampir sekitar 50% anak mengalami malnutrisi yang ditandai dengan berat badan jauh dari ideal. Jika tak diatasi segera, akibatnya bisa fatal. Kerusakan fisik dan kognitif yang permanen mengancam anak-anak ini. Padahal solusinya ternyata tak sulit dan tak mahal, modalnya hanya budaya lokal. Masih banyak harapan untuk warga miskin Jakarta. Baca lebih lanjut di sini.

Membangun ketahanan terhadap perubahan iklim dari tingkat kampung

Dampak dari perubahan iklim yang tadinya terasa begitu jauh makin terasa dekat. Musim kemarau dan musim penghujan tak lagi punya batasan yang jelas. Curah hujan yang tinggi dan tak dapat diprediksi, ditambah naiknya permukaan air laut, ternyata berdampak sungguh buruk bagi Jakarta. Yang paling rentan tentunya adalah warga miskin di perkampungan kumuh yang tak punya sumber daya cukup untuk bertahan. Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery berusaha mengikutsertakan kelompok miskin untuk merancang solusinya. Baca lebih lanjut di sini.

Mengubah Jakarta: Desain demi desain, seni demi seni

Banyak yang menganggap warga kelas menengah Jakarta hidup dalam gelembung besar, tidak pernah melihat "ke bawah" dan sibuk mendominasi Twitter dengan keluh kesah tentang macet. Kelompok desainer dan seniman di Jakarta tak setuju. Berikut cuplikan cerita tentang Enrico Halim dengan gerakan aikon-nya serta Ade Darmawan dengan Ruang Rupa dan Indonesian Street Art Database-nya, yang berusaha mengubah Jakarta lewat desain dan seni. Silahkan teruskan membaca.

Mengatasi tawuran menahun di perkampungan Jakarta

Kekerasan di jalanan kerap mewarnai kota-kota besar dengan kepadatan penduduk yang tinggi dan perkampungan kumuh yang mewarnai landskapnya. Jakarta tak terkecuali. Lucunya, meski kantung-kantung kemiskinan di Jakarta tersebar di seluruh pelosok kota, namun kasus tawuran tampak terpusat di satu tempat saja, kecamatan Johar Baru, Jakarta Pusat. Daerah ini identik dengan "perang kampung". Berbagai usaha telah diambil untuk menghapus tawuran dari daerah ini. Berhasilkah? Lanjutkan baca di sini.

Ekohidrologi untuk atasi krisis air di Jakarta

Krisis air di Jakarta makin mengkhawatirkan. Dengan jumlah penduduk mencapai 10 juta orang, suplai air bersih kian tak mampu memenuhi kebutuhan warganya. Air tanah tak layak didulang. Tigabelas sungai yang mengaliri kota tercemar parah. Perusahaan air minum tak menjangkau seluruh area. Setengah penduduk Jakarta yang tercatat miskin malah harus membayar berkali lipat untuk mendapatkan air bersih. Adakah solusi yang masuk akal? "Mendaur ulang" air melalui ekohidrologi cukup menjanjikan. Baca ulasannya di sini.

Asuransi mikro untuk layanan kesehatan bagi warga miskin Jakarta

Sakit bukan pilihan bagi warga miskin Jakarta yang tinggal di perkampungan karena mahalnya biaya pengobatan yang harus ditanggung jika mereka jatuh sakit. Di sisi lain, menjaga kesehatan pun tak mudah, dengan seringnya terjadi epidemi akibat kondisi pemukiman yang buruk seperti demam berdarah, diare, dan tifus. Apakah asuransi mikro bisa menjadi jawabannya?

Membuka peluang usaha mikro berbasis warung di Jakarta

Warung dan pedagang kaki lima membentuk wajah Jakarta. Namun, rata-rata dari mereka tak menguasai dasar-dasar pengelolaan keuangan dan tak punya keterampilan vokasional untuk mensejahterakan hidupnya. Untuk mengatasi masalah di dasar piramid ini, dibutuhkan inovasi yang mudah direplikasi dan diperbesar dari segi skala. Ketimbang terus meminggirkan mereka, mungkinkah membuat mereka lebih berdaya? RUMA punya solusi: "Business in a box."

Crowdsourcing (kumpul daya) untuk atasi masalah Jakarta

Jakarta bukan tak punya ahli perkotaan. Banyak arsitek, perencana kota, maupun peneliti sosial yang peduli tentang kota ini. Sejumlah penelitian dan usulan perencanaan banyak bermunculan dari kalangan akademis. Masalahnya, bagaimana menjembatani mereka yang berada di "menara gading", istilah untuk para penghuni universitas, dan mereka yang berada di akar rumput? Bagaimana mengkomunikasikan ide-ide yang muncul dari benak para ahli dan mempraktekkannya agar bisa membuat Jakarta menjadi lebih inklusif bagi semua warganya? Rujak Center for Urban Studies (RCUS) mengusulkan crowdsourcing.

Sulitnya mendulang air bersih di Jakarta

Sedianya warga Jakarta tak perlu kekurangan air bersih. Secara tata letak, iklim dan sumber daya, kota ini mestinya memiliki suplai air bersih yang mencukupi dan sanggup memenuhi kebutuhan seluruh warganya. Tapi kombinasi dari pencemaran air, privatisasi dan komersialisasi air serta kondisi pemukiman yang padat dan informal membuat masalah air bersih menjadi bulan-bulanan masyarakat yang tak kunjung ada solusinya.

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