Refugees are facing “widespread homelessness” after only being given seven days notice to leave temporary accommodation, a bishop has warned.

Ministers told the Bishop of London that those with an asylum claim are given a 28-day period or longer to leave Home Office housing.

But in the House of Lords, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally said that this was not proving to be the case in practice.

She told peers: “Many of those who support refugees are receiving increasing numbers of concerns that refugees are being given as few as seven days’ notice before being evicted, causing widespread homelessness and greater concern.

“Last week, I, along with 45 faith and belief leaders, wrote to the minister for illegal migration and the faith minister about this. What data is the Home Office collecting that demonstrates that the 28-day notice period is being properly implemented? What action will it take to review it, given reported failures to do so?”

Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom responded: “I will go through the process: all individuals who receive a positive decision on their asylum claim can remain on support and in their accommodation for at least 28 days from when their decision is served.

“However… current practice is that individuals remain on that support and in accommodation for 28 days from the point of the biometric residence permit being issued. That can be five to seven days after the asylum decision.

“This means that individuals have longer than the 28-day notice after receiving their grant of leave to make onward arrangements. Confirmation of the exact date that an individual’s support and accommodation are due to end will be issued in a notice-to-quit or notice-to-vacate letter from the individual’s accommodation provider. This notice will be issued at least seven days before support and accommodation is due to end.

“There are at least three opportunities there where the asylum seeker, or the asylum claimant who has received a decision, will be notified. They have plenty of time.” 

Further questioning about the deadline revealed that the minister was unable to say when refugees were first notified of the need to leave their accommodation.

Crossbencher Baroness Watkins of Tavistock asked: “Is the minister confident that these refugees are made aware when they get their biometric assessment that the 28 days is commencing, or do they not realise that until they get the seven-day notice?”

Lord Sharpe was not able to confirm, telling peers: “I am going to look into that, because I do not know. I assume that they are made aware of it, of course, but I have not been present when one of these notices is issued. I will find out.” 

Labour Home Office spokesman Lord Coaker meanwhile claimed that “the reality for many refugees with newly granted status is that they are required to leave their accommodation, often within seven days from being given a notice to quit”.

He added: “That means they are forced to go to their local authorities and many of them are homeless or on the streets. That is the reality, and it is the result of Government policy. All the minister tells us is that everything is fine, but it is not. It needs sorting out.”

Lord Sharpe continued to insist there was a 28-day notice period, telling the Lords: “He is right that they get seven days from the notice to quit, but they get 28 days from the issue of the biometric residence permit, so it is not quite right.” by David Lynch, Evening Standard

United Nations, NEW YORK – What would the world look like if it was designed by and for women? 

For one thing, it would be safer. Cars would be equipped with crash systems tested to protect all types of bodies, and personal protective equipment would be sized to fit female health-care workers as well as their male counterparts.

It would also be more equitable. There would be more women working across science and technology, and new innovations would combat, rather than reinforce, old gender stereotypes.

Unfortunately, this is not yet the world we live in. But it is one imagined possible by the members united under the Equity 2030 Alliance, a global initiative from UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, to realize gender equity in science, technology and financing before the decade’s end. 

“Women walk through a world that was not built for them,” said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem at the programme’s launch. “Yet we can redesign the world. We can resolve this challenge if we unite and commit to equity by design, whether in tech, science or finance. The impact will last for generations to come.”

Below, read about several actions that the Alliance’s experts and members are taking to close gender gaps in their fields. 

Gendered innovations

“Ten years ago, five years ago, it wasn’t widely understood that women were left out of important safety and medical designs,” Equity 2030 expert Londa Schiebinger told UNFPA. “We’ve made a lot of headway, and we need to make a lot more.” 

Professor Schiebinger directs the EU/US Gendered Innovations in Science, Health & Medicine, Engineering, and Environment Lab at Stanford University. She has introduced a framework for advancing gender equity that hinges on three “fixes”: Fixing the number of women and members of underrepresented groups producing science and technology, fixing the institutions that have historically excluded them, and fixing the knowledge that researchers produce. 

According to Professor Schiebinger, one answer is to integrate sex, gender and intersectional analysis into the research process. Applying a gendered lens to investigating topics ranging from chronic pain and COVID-19 to assistive robots and virtual assistants has proved to yield better results.

“We educate the workforce of the future,” she said. “If we do our job right, we can have a huge impact on equity and inclusion.”

Better research, better health care in Argentina

Becoming a health-care professional requires building habits that eventually become second nature. Think about how often health-care workers wash their hands.

Dr. Alejandro Kohn, the medical director at Hospital Británico, a leading health-care institution in Buenos Aires, Argentina, wants to add another habit to health workers’ repertoire: Thinking about the social determinants of health. “Whatever we do, we understand fully that the social determinants of health have a huge impact,” he told UNFPA. 

Social determinants of health are non-medical factors  – such as age, race, ethnicity  and gender – that influence people’s well-being. And though these characteristics do so much to shape humans’ lived experiences, they’re often overlooked in scientific and medical research. 

Hospital Británico has taken several initiatives to expose and correct these blind spots. Inspired in part by Equity 2030 Alliance, the institution took a retrospective look at its studies and found that too few examined sex and gender as variables. In response, according to Scientific Review Committee coordinator Dr. Glenda Ernst, it was decided that residents should integrate Stanford’s Health and Medicine checklist on Gendered Innovations into their research work.

“I think we have a very good opportunity to improve,” Dr. Ernst said. “Residents are the future.” 

Checklists on Gendered Innovations such as the one developed by Professor Schiebinger’s project represent helpful tools for practitioners. But perhaps even more important, according to Dr. Kohn, is ensuring that social determinants of health are part of everyday consideration and conversation. 

“You cannot have excellence of care if you don’t have proper education and proper research,” he said. “We see, here, the opportunity to grow into equity.” 

From systemic inequities to inclusion 

Around the globe, patriarchal systems often drive women and girls out of schools, into caretaking roles, and away from pursuing certain careers.

”The main obstacle faced by girls and women in Cameroon lies in social norms and stereotypes prevailing in a patriarchal society,” sociologist, researcher and University of Yaoundé 1 Associate lecturer Irène Kuetche Djembissi told UNFPA.

“Women are often assigned to take care of their homes, husbands, and raise children,” she said. “Inequalities manifest in the education system and the job market.” 

To combat these disparities, the University of Yaoundé 1 is partnering with civil society organization the Association des Acteurs de Développement (ADEV) to promote the development of gender-inclusive solutions and innovations in STEM. The organizations are also working to ensure grant-making bodies across Sub-Saharan Africa pursue gender equity in their activities and the research they support. 

Dr. Kuetche Djembissi is ADEV’s technical director, and has committed through her work there and at the University of Yaoundé 1 to exposing gender inequity through her research and to combating sexism across society.

“More and more women are willing to challenge traditional beliefs despite the patriarchal society in which we live,” she said. “One area that particularly excites me is the continuous increase in young girls' access to mathematical, technology and scientific studies.” 

“Change is underway.” 

Mentors and mothers in Uganda 

“Women are expected to be the ones to cook, serve the food, wash the dishes, clean the house – while the husband is in the library or the laboratory,” Pauline Byakika-Kibwika, head of the Medicine Department at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, told UNFPA.

For many Ugandan women, the road to – or back into – higher education is not an easy one. As in many countries, gender norms in Uganda exert pressure on women to get married and have children; many will take significant time off from studies to deliver and raise kids.

“Societal norms have a great influence on people's career progression,” Professor Byakika-Kibwika said. 

To combat this challenge, Makerere University established a Gender Mainstreaming Programme in 2000 to integrate gender-equitable approaches into its research and innovation practices. The programme also promotes women’s empowerment and sexual and reproductive health and rights while working against sexual harassment and violence against women and girls.

Gender equity in design also hinges on finding and retaining female talent. Early on, according to Professor Byakika-Kibwika, the university realized fewer women were pursuing higher education and working in leadership roles at the institution. 

“This led to intensification of mentorship activities for women,” she said. “Over the years, we’ve had more women coming back for postgraduate, master’s and PhD programmes and for technical careers – and women getting into leadership positions.” 

The university has also introduced a zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy, and Professor Byakika-Kibwika said she’s noticed an increased awareness of the issue around campus.  

“Things change over time, but there's still a lot more work to be done,” she said. Source: UNFPA

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) acting Managing Director Samuel Maina's contract has been terminated with immediate effect.

ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo, in a letter dated Tuesday, December 19,  said Maina had been dismissed for committing the government to pay USD 5 billion (Sh765 billion) in LCIA Arbitration without approval from the ICT Ministry, the Attorney General and Treasury.

Maina will now be replaced by Paul Macharia who will serve for six months in acting capacity. 

"I duly appoint Paul Macharia, currently the Communication Economic Expert at the National Communications Secretariat which falls under the mandate of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy, as the Acting Managing Director...upon the appointment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer pursuant to section 34 of the Public Service Commission Act, No.10 of 2017," Owalo said in the letter addressed to the Chairman of the Board at KBC, Benjamin Maingi.

Further, Owalo has instructed the Board to expedite the process of recruitment of a substantive Managing Director for the media house. Maina was appointed the Acting Managing Director (MD) at KBC following Naim Bilal's contract expiry in March 2022.

Maina is a former Vice-President of the Kenya Editors’ Guild, who also served as KBC’s Editor-in-Chief. By Stephanie Wangari , The Standard

MPs are considering the termination of a multi-million-dollar contract between MultiChoice Africa and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, citing it as an unfavourable agreement.

According to documents presented before Parliament, the two parties entered into a contract in 1994, allowing the national broadcaster to air international channels, while MultiChoice was responsible for providing content.

The detailed terms revealed that KBC held a 40 per cent stake in the agreement, while MultiChoice held the remaining 60 per cent. This initial agreement underwent a review in 1996.

As part of the contract, the national broadcaster was obligated to furnish equipment and infrastructure to facilitate Kenya's transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

However, last week, members of the Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration, and Agriculture expressed concerns about the contract, saying the national broadcaster was receiving an unfair deal.

The House team, led by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, pressed the management of MultiChoice Kenya to explain why millions owed to KBC in dividends had not been fully remitted and questioned why the national broadcaster was excluded from the day-to-day operations of the organisation.

The committee also scrutinised the company's senior executives and requested an explanation for a dividend funds variance of Sh20 million.

"As of 2011, the dividends owed to KBC amount to Sh116 million, but according to audited books, the national broadcaster received only Sh96 million. 

"Explain to this committee the glaring anomaly and clarify the purpose for diverting the funds intended for dividends," said committee vice chair Caleb Amisi.

"…based on our engagement with MultiChoice, we believe KBC is not receiving adequate value for money, and that is the reason for our presence here. We believe this agreement should be terminated unless MultiChoice considers a review to restore confidence on the part of KBC," added the vice chair.

However, MultiChoice finance director Ruth Omondi said all funds were indeed paid to KBC.

"I was not present at the time the deal was negotiated, and my responses are based on the records I have. Documents in our possession indicate that all the dividends were paid to KBC," she said.

The MPs, however, swiftly engaged in another confrontation with the firm's management, questioning why despite KBC holding a 40 per cent stake in the deal, it only had two out of five board members and lacked representation at the management level, hindering its ability to monitor day-to-day operations.

They also heard that during the actualisation of analogue to digital TV transition, KBC was to provide on-ground equipment and frequency whereas Multi-Choice was to provide content.

Multi-choice legal representative Clare Ruto defended the firm, saying the change in content had been done in agreement with KBC after certain channels proved not commercially viable.

“We were a content provider and it was KBC’s work to provide equipment. We have not moved out of the contract,” said Ruto.

The management of Multi-choice is set to appear before the committee again with key contract documents. By Josphat Thiong'o, The Standard