scholarly journals Understanding and Responding to Substance Use and Abuse in the Palestinian Refugee Camps in Lebanon Prior to and During COVID-19 Times

Author(s):  
Elie Aaraj ◽  
Patricia Haddad ◽  
Sara Khalife ◽  
Mirna Fawaz ◽  
Marie Claire Van Hout

Abstract Due to its geographical proximity to the Syrian conflict and the occupied territories, Lebanon has experienced an influx of refugees in recent times. Palestinian refugees are an identified key vulnerable population, with displaced communities increasingly experiencing camp insecurity, vulnerability to drug use and related health harms. A qualitative study consisting of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) was undertaken as part of a regional exercise investigating Palestinian community experiences of substance and drug use in refugee camps. Thematic analysis triangulated the perspectives of 11 professional stakeholders representing United Nations, human rights and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and eight Palestinian community members. Emerging themes centered on the interplay between socio-economic instability, lack of law enforcement and camp governance contributing to concerning levels of familial, drug and camp violence, trafficking and availability of drugs. Transactional sex and the exploitation of women and children in drug dealing, diversification toward drug manufacture and dealing of drugs with the outside community were described. There is a lack of harm reduction and rehabilitation supports for those in need. This study highlights the complexities in tackling drug dealing and related criminal activity within refugee camps and humanitarian settings, and the vulnerabilities of those living within to harmful drug use.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3309
Author(s):  
Bonjun Koo ◽  
Jong-Il Na ◽  
Throstur Thorsteinsson ◽  
Ana Maria Cruz

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, suffers from severe air pollution during the long winter months, and its air pollution levels are among the highest in the world. Residents in the ger areas of Ulaanbaatar are unable to take advantage of the laws and policy regulations to reduce air pollution despite years of efforts to address this issue by international and local organizations including the government of Mongolia (GoM). Important challenges and barriers that have limited the success of various governmental policies that tackle air pollution problems were identified through participatory approaches. In order to do this, personal interviews were conducted with various stakeholders such as officials from central and local governments, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, and academia. Moreover, a workshop was conducted to elucidate the views of ger area community members in Ulaanbaatar. Based on the results of these interviews and workshop, the gaps between the policy approaches of the government, the actual conditions, and the desired situations of the residents to improve air quality in Ulaanbaatar were analyzed. The large gaps that were identified between the national and local perspectives on air pollution issues demonstrated that the reduction of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar requires solving fundamental and complex problems based on a better understanding of the specific conditions and needs of the residents of the ger areas. Moreover, active participation and discussion of the residents at the workshop indicated that community-based approaches could be applied in the cultural context of Mongolia with promising results in finding solutions.


Author(s):  
V. Kantsir ◽  
N. Kozmuk ◽  
S. Soroka ◽  
S. Marko ◽  
O. Riashko ◽  
...  

Abstract. The concept of financial monitoring as a set of measures carried out by the entities of primary and state financial monitoring in the field of prevention and counteraction to separatist funding (article 110-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), legalization (laundering) of criminally obtained property (article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and terrorism funding (article 258-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) is developed and proved. The relationship between the categories of «terrorism» and «finance» is determined in the following areas: money paid to terrorists for refusing to commit violence acts; covert funding of terrorist organizations by certain states, non-governmental organizations, and criminal groups; «money laundering» and its introduction into legal circulation; creation of own groups in commercial, credit and financial institutions by terrorist organizations; ‘launderingof money’ obtained as a result of criminal activity. The risks in the system of prevention of terrorism and counteraction to legalization of criminally obtained proceedsare outlined. They were defined as the following: non-transparent funding of political parties; the share of cash resources addressed to the mentioned criminal activity; «outflow» of capital; absence of a clearly defined sectoral risk assessment of the entities of primary financial monitoring in the field of prevention and counteraction to legalization (laundering) of criminally obtained proceeds. It is offered to include the risk of terrorism and separatism funding through deposit-taking corporations tobanking risks. An attempt has been made to accumulate the majority of the latest achievements (as legislative, theoretical and research aswell as applied ones) on the issues of legal regulation of the studied procedural, financial and legal relations, on the basis of which scientific views are proved and proposals for improving regulations in this area are worked out. Keywords: monitoring, banks, covert investigative actions, bank accounts monitoring, terrorism funding, banking risks, financial and legal relations. JEL Classification E42, E52, G28, K13, K14 Formulas: 0; fig.: 1; tabl.: 0; bibl.: 16.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Chad McCordic ◽  
Renee Pardello ◽  
Jennifer Artibello ◽  
Jill LaLonde

  Community Led Development (CLD) and Community Driven Development (CDD) have become mainstream development practices, thanks to policy recommendations from the World Bank and bold projects from many innovative non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in the global south. These programs seek to improve and leverage social capital to improve wellbeing. However, without collaborative and inclusive decision making with community members during designing, planning, and implementing, these projects become less effective and sustainable, and risk perpetuating past injustices that traditional aid models became known for. OneVillage Partners’ approach to CLD focuses on capacity building by inviting community members to actively lead all aspects of a project’s lifecycle. The project is owned by community members, resulting in engaged collaboration across the community, building on local strengths.    


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramazan Azim Okyay ◽  
Ayşegül Erdoğan

BackgroundSelf-medication refers to the use of medicines to treat self-diagnosed diseases without consulting any healthcare professionals. Irrational drug use and self-medication have serious negative consequences both on health and economy. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the habits related to rational use of drugs (RUD) and to estimate the prevalence of self-medication practices among university students.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted on university students in Kahramanmaraş. From May 2017 to June 2017 a total of 960 students filled a “Rational Use of Drugs Questionnaire”.ResultsThe prevalence of practicing self-medication in students was 63.4%. The most common medicines that the students had consumed without prescription were analgesics by 39.5%, antibiotics by 36.9% and cold remedies by 24.0%. The rate of students who declared that they were familiar with RUD and “rational use of antibiotics” (RUA) was 45.9%. Reading/checking the instructions in the prospectus (OR = 1.529, 95% CI [1.176–1.990]), understanding the context of the prospectus (OR = 1.893, 95% CI [1.387–2.584]), compliance with the duration of antibiotic treatment (OR = 1.597, 95% CI [1.231–2.071]) and consulting a physician in case of a side effect (OR = 1.350, 95% CI [1.037–1.757]) were significantly higher among students who were familiar with RUD as compared to who were not.DiscussionSince the awareness of RUD among university students was found to be inadequate, it has critical importance to hold educational activities with the cooperation of physicians, health organizations, universities, non-governmental organizations and media to avoid negative consequences of irrational drug use and self-medication.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 1246-1265
Author(s):  
Syed Owais

This paper critiques the poverty scorecard (PSC), a monetary-based tool for measuring poverty that has been adopted by community development programmes and participatory non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 66 countries including Pakistan. Drawing on 15 interviews and five focus group discussions conducted with the staff members and community members of Frontier Organization for Rural Development, a participatory NGO in Pakistan, I argue that it uses clouds intra-household power and resources distribution thereby furthering gender, class, and ethnic inequalities. Instead of solely relying on the PSC, the paper suggests supplementing it with participatory methods.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-251
Author(s):  
Stefano Fogliata

AbstractPalestinian camps in Lebanon have turned once more into “transitional zones of emplacement” for thousands of people recently fleeing the Syrian conflict. In this context, the plural subjectivities emerging within the camps highlight a further connection between spatial marginalization and precarious legal statuses. My research hinges on the interconnectivities evolving around the Palestinian Bourj el Barajneh camp and Hezbollah-controlled Beirut southern suburbs moving from an ethnographic insight of the Palestinian football society. Inside the “Refugee Football Leagues,” Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese players find a space in leagues whose matches are mostly disputed within the numerous refugee camps scattered throughout the national territory. Moving from newcomers’ strategies for protection, the essay investigates how refugees living in camps experience different scales of mobility and develop a wide range of practices that extend beyond the camp's boundaries, exploring how imperceptible and hyper-mobile tactics of existence re-elaborate Palestinian refugee camps into meaningful places of elusive contestation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Schmitt ◽  
Olivia R. Wood ◽  
David Clatworthy ◽  
Sabina Faiz Rashid ◽  
Marni Sommer

Abstract Background There is growing attention to addressing the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) needs of the over 21 million displaced adolescent girls and women globally. Current approaches to MHM-related humanitarian programming often prioritize the provision of menstrual materials and information. However, a critical component of an MHM response includes the construction and maintenance of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, including more female-friendly toilets. This enables spaces for menstruating girls and women to change, dispose, wash and dry menstrual materials; all of which are integral tasks required for MHM. A global assessment identified a number of innovations focused on designing and implementing menstruation-supportive WASH facilities in the Rohingya refugee camps located in Cox’s Bazar (CXB), Bangladesh. These pilot efforts strove to include the use of more participatory methodologies in the process of developing the new MHM-supportive WASH approaches. This study aimed to capture new approaches and practical insights on innovating menstrual disposal, waste management and laundering in emergency contexts through the conduct of a qualitative assessment in CXB. Methods The qualitative assessment was conducted in the Rohingya refugee camps in CXB in September of 2019 to capture new approaches and practical insights on innovating for menstrual disposal, waste management and laundering. This included Key Informant Interviews with 19 humanitarian response staff from the WASH and Protection sectors of a range of non-governmental organizations and UN agencies; Focus Group Discussions with 47 Rohingya adolescent girls and women; and direct observations of 8 WASH facilities (toilets, bathing, and laundering spaces). Results Key findings included: one, the identification of new female-driven consultation methods aimed at improving female beneficiary involvement and buy-in during the design and construction phases; two, the design of new multi-purpose WASH facilities to increase female beneficiary usage; three, new menstrual waste disposal innovations being piloted in communal and institutional settings, with female users indicating at least initial acceptability; and four, novel strategies for engaging male beneficiaries in the design of female WASH facilities, including promoting dialogue to generate buy-in regarding the importance of these facilities and debate about their placement. Conclusions Although the identified innovative participatory methodologies and design approaches are promising, the long term viability of the facilities, including plans to expand them, may be dependent on the continued engagement of girls and women, and the availability of resources.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L Schmitt ◽  
Olivia R. Wood ◽  
David Clatworthy ◽  
Sabina Faiz Rashid ◽  
Marni Sommer

Abstract Background: There is growing attention to addressing the menstrual hygiene management (MHM) needs of the over 21 million displaced adolescent girls and women globally. Current approaches to MHM-related humanitarian programming often prioritize the provision of menstrual materials and information. However, a critical component of an MHM response includes the construction and maintenance of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, including more female-friendly toilets. This enables spaces for menstruating girls and women to change, dispose, wash and dry menstrual materials; all of which are integral tasks required for MHM. A global assessment identified a number of innovations focused on designing and implementing menstruation-supportive WASH facilities in the refugee camps located in Cox’s Bazar (CXB), Bangladesh. These pilot efforts strove to include the use of more participatory methodologies in the process of developing the new MHM-supportive WASH approaches.Methods: A qualitative assessment was conducted in the Rohingya refugee camps in CXB in September of 2019 to capture new approaches and practical insights on innovating for menstrual disposal, waste management and laundering. This included Key Informant Interviews with 19 humanitarian response staff from the WASH and Protection sectors of a range of non-governmental organizations and UN agencies; Focus Group Discussions with 47 Rohingya adolescent girls and women; and direct observations of 8 WASH facilities (toilets, bathing, and laundering spaces).Results: Key findings included one, the identification of new female-driven consultation methods aimed at improving female beneficiary involvement and buy-in during the design and construction phases; two, the design of new multi-purpose WASH facilities to increase female beneficiary usage; three, new menstrual waste disposal innovations being piloted in communal and institutional settings, with female users indicating at least initial acceptability; and four, novel strategies for engaging male beneficiaries in the design of female WASH facilities, including promoting dialogue to generate buy-in regarding the importance of these facilities and debate about their placement.Conclusions: Although the identified innovative participatory methodologies and design approaches are promising, the long term viability of the facilities, including plans to expand them, may be dependent on the continued engagement of girls and women, and the availability of resources.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-255
Author(s):  
E. I. Smeshko

The article is devoted to the study of the conditions of life of the Sahrawi people who live in refugee camps in Algeria since 1970s due to the Western Sahara conflict. The process of political settlement of the Western Sahara conflict has been de facto suspended, however the situation in the Sahrawi refugee camps remains unstable and requires new solutions and international cooperation. The article provides a historical overview of the emergence of the refugee camps in Tindouf and examines existing mechanisms for international supporting the Sahrawi people. The author tends to analyze activities of the UN system organizations and agencies. Annual events within the framework of the FiSahara Film Festival to support Sahrawi are reported. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of Islam in Sahrawi society and the possibilities to benefit from the Islamic identity of the Sahrawi people to the Islamic cooperation and helping for refugees from Muslimmajority states. It is shown that the authorities of the unrecognized Sahara Arab Democratic Republic (the front POLISARIO) create the image of the secular Sahrawi community to overcome Islamophobia and receive humanitarian aid from a wide range of non-governmental organizations, including Christian and secular ones. At the same time, the true religious component of refugees’ life is hidden from the international community.


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