Effects of Poverty & Conflict on theChildren of Nepal

Noelle TankardSituational Report

for Current Debates in Bio Anth

• Rural poverty

• Urbanization

• Caste system

• Population growth

• Malnutrition

• Inadequate Education & Medical Care

• Civil War

• Migration

• Growth stunting

• Early Mortality

• Disease

• Mental health & substance abuse

• Least developed country (142 of 177 on UN’s HDI)

• High degree of inequality (most stratified in Asia by Gini coefficient: lowest quintile with 6%, highest with 55%)

(Kohler 2009)

• Population: 25 mil

• 90% of population lives in rural areas

• 31% of population under poverty line (some rural regions above 60%)

• 40% of population lives on less than $1 per day

• Life expectancy = 63 yrs

• Caste system, patriarchal

• Social exclusion of Dalit (low caste), ethnic minorities, and women

• 80% Hindu

• Significant Buddhist presence

• Muslim minority

• Large amount of ethnic diversity

• Open border with India

• Skilled workers from India,

• Unskilled laborers to India

• Migration & cultural flow with Burma, Tibet

Culture & background

• Ownership of land important for status and income

– Previously, necessary for citizenship and many still believe it to be so

– Over 80% of households depend on agricultural income

– Land rarely sold, transferred intra-family (generally, inheritance)

– Women rarely inherit land but increasing feminization of farming

• 12.5 mil children

• 3.5 mil under 5yrs

• 50% of population under 18 yrs

• 1.7 mil child laborers

• 69% of children experience more than 1 form of severe deprivation from basic needs

• 50% of children “stunted”

• 13% of children “wasted”

• 66% of children have parasitic infections (half infected with more than one type)

• Infant mortality: 6.4%

• Maternal mortality: 5.4%

• Under-5 yrs mortality: 6.8%

• 70,000 children die p/yr from preventable disease

Children’s Health2001

Excluded groups, Govt list 2008

• Women

• Dalits (low caste)

• Janjatis (foreigners)

• Muslims

• Inhabitants of remote regions

• Street children & orphans

• Displaced

The growing gap…

• Poorest regions: poverty 20% higher than capital

• Infant mortality for Dalits 1.5x national avg

• Dalit children 1.6x less likely to attend school

• Significant progress: incident of absolute poverty, girls’ education, disease, child mortality and disease

– In 2008, One of only 5 countries to reduce child mortality since 1990

– Separate values by social and regional groups, find the excluded groups worse than before

Political conflict• 1959: “democratic” constitution adopted

but not realized

• Maoists call for democratic republic, abolition of monarchy

• Govt response violent and severe

• Ongoing conflict between Maoists and Government 1996 – 2006

• Maoists target schools, abducting & conscripting children

• Royal Army also uses child soldiers

• Frequent blockades, transport disrupted

• 2008: Nepal becomes a republic

Infrastructure: Schools & Hospitals

• Constant blockades

• Schools targeted: attacked, used as barracks, mass abductions of children

• More than 100,000 children deprived of education as more than 300 schillsshut down

• Both sides targeted hospitals

• Govt declared all health workers performing outside of hospital “terrorists”

• Foreign doctors deported

Child soldiers• Both Maoists and Royal

Army conscripted

– Soldiers, sentries, porters, cooks, messengers

• Rehabilitation programs (NGO) for those affiliated with Maoists – Royal Army afraid to come forward

• Study by Kohrt 2001

• More than 50% recruited before 14

• More than 50% in combat

• Depression, anxiety, PTSD

• Compared to non-conscripted children, more above cut-off points: except anxiety

• Studies investigating found girls much higher rates of issues

• Did not ask about rape

• Many identified as “still associated” – had better mental health scores

Homelessness & Drugs

• Homeless vs Urban Squatters

• 5,000 homeless in Kathmandu

• Homeless boys show better health than rural village boys

• Lower rates of infection

• Better nutrition

• BUT more anxiety, depression

• Boys remain in contact with families, return often

• 25-95% of street children use drugs

• 10% addicted

• Heroin and cheap substitutes

Rai 2002

• Glue sniffing very common & very dangerous: long term health effects, violent mood swings

• Spread to wealthy school girls

Child Labour

• Very common

• National law prohibiting under-15, openly flaunted

– 1995, 41.7% of children 5-15 working regularly

– 55% of working children girls

• New govt signed intltreaty for under-18

Girls

• Women have an “inclusion” score of 39% (compared to men at 60%)

• Young marriage

• 79.4 % of Dalit women married before 18 (52% of high caste women)

• Dowry system

• Rarely educated – daughters kept home or sent to work outside of the home

• Suggestion that increase in wages and opportunities for girls to work would improve their quality of life at home

Child Trafficking

Rarely accepted back by family: even suspicion brings great shame to

community, ineligible for marriage. (Some success

with NGO programs –vocational training, slow

reintroductions)

Health issues:

India 2nd largest AIDS

epidemic

Those who manage to

return: PTSD, Depression,

anxiety

• Taken to India, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong

• lured by marriage offer or decent work

• Sold by family member

• 5-7,000 girls taken to Indian brothels each year

• “Sex work”

• Domestic work

• Circuses

Displaced Persons

• Majority emigrated internationally (India)

• Many IDP (internally displaced persons)

• 80 - 100,000 moved to Kathmandu

• Accurate figures unavailable

• 2009, Nepali govt estimated 70,425 had been displaced and majority returned home

• Various NGOs estimate 50-70,000 IDP still unable to return home

• Many IDP cut off from govt assistance

• Human Rights Watch estimates 40,000 additional, uncounted, displaced children

Development strategies

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