This week the ALT VVD field team reported back from ten focus groups with Village listening groups. It seems a key issue for many communities right now is the problem of healthcare. There appears to be some discrepancy in the system. Some services which villagers believe should\u00a0be free are being charged for \u2013 this will of course exclude many of the most needy from essential healthcare. Also, they complain of poor communication and treatment, and the cost of medicine. The team are planning a visit to the chief doctor at the main hospital in\u00a0Ambovombe to play the questions to him and record his answers.<\/p>\n 8 members of 7\u00a0 5 of the listening groups had solar\/wind up radios replaced and\/or repaired\u00a0to ensure there are no obstacles to them\u00a0 listening to the VVD radio broadcasts regularly.<\/p>\n Meanwhile I have been developing the Monitoring and\u00a0Evaluation plan, a new questionnaire for decision makers, and liaising with colleagues in Tana to try and track down a UN human rights trainer. This is proving much harder than you would imagine! -and at a time when you think the country would be flooded with human rights trainers attempting to strengthen civil society.<\/p>\n Ordinary people, and especially the poorest, are most vulnerable to the impacts of\u00a0the current political crisis on their rights. Rights\u00a0 to land in particular are under stress\u00a0as Madagascar, like much of Africa, is a target for\u00a0land grabs.<\/strong>\u00a0The majority of rural people who depend on the land to feed their families and for livelihoods\u00a0do not have formal tenure as the process is far too expensive and extremely slow. They rely on traditional means of securing their land ( eg planting trees, farming it) but they have few ways or means to protect it from being taken from them from. It is widely believed that the selling off of vast acres of land to Daewoo was one of the triggers to the coup d\u2019etat in 2009.<\/p>\n Being mineral rich the island is\u00a0under increasing pressures from mining and oil extraction. Unfortunetaly, the country has yet\u00a0again failed to be accepted for membership by the EITI (Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative). Meanwhile,\u00a0local mining laws are scantily applied and government resources and their capacity to manage the demands of monitoring, compensation and arbitration processes\u00a0fall below the necessary requirements.<\/p>\n As part of my work with ALT I have undertaken\u00a0 advocacy work around this You can contribute\u00a0to all ALT\u2019s work by donating\u00a0via CAF<\/strong>https:\/\/www.cafonline.org\/system\/charity-profile.aspx?friendlyUrl=andrewleestrust<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 13:52 on March 16th 2012 Talking needs This week the ALT VVD field team reported back from ten focus groups with Village listening groups. It seems a key issue for many communities right now is the problem of healthcare. There … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/worldofdifference.vodafone.co.uk\/blogs\/yvonne-orengo\/files\/2012\/03\/FG-Ambaro2.jpg\")
<\/a>Talking needs<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>of the listening groups have had their questions recorded\u2013 in particular those that most reflect the themes that have arisen in all the groups. As well as healthcare, these include questions about education infrastructure, access to public water supplies, security issues locally, legal controls of land access and ownership, and women\u2019s need for collaboration with the World Food Programme projects.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0subject \u2013 mostly to promote\u00a0increased voice of the local population in all these processes and to push for\u00a0transparency around compensation processes where local people face loss of lands and livelihoods. This week I met with the multi national mining company Rio Tinto\u00a0 to\u00a0discuss ways\u00a0in which their ilmenite operation in S Madagascar could improve on its community relations \u2013 especially around land appropriation and compensation processes. I am advocating from the villagers\u2019 perspectives and following up on findings that emerged in ALT\u2019s oral testimony project in 2007-2009.http:\/\/www.andrewleestrust.org\/Projects\/hepa\/ALT%20Project%20HEPA%20and%20the%20QMM%20mine.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n