At AlterNativa3, in the current health crisis, we are closely monitoring the impact of this pandemic on the fair trade cooperatives with which we collaborate in countries of the global south.
AlterNativa3's Mascobado cane sugar comes from the fair trade cooperative PFTC in the Philippines. This organisation was founded with the aim of improving the position of women in Philippine society, and works to defend the interests of farming families and women living in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of the cities. Sugar cane is the main source of income for many Filipino families.
Like most of the world's population, the Philippines has also been extensively affected by the Covid-19 crisis. For this reason, President Rodrigo Duterte has implemented nationwide measures relevant to this pandemic situation, such as mandatory confinement, social distancing and hygiene, as well as declaring a State of Calamity for 6 months.
The country, flanked by the army and the police, has a very insecure situation due to the difficult access to basic necessities such as food, water and medicine for its more than 100 million inhabitants. This is compounded by the fact that the vast majority of the inhabitants cannot telecommute and have no access to emergency services or hospitals.
One of the country's greatest concerns is the economic impact this pandemic is having on millions of people. We must not lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of the population lives on an income that only gets them through the day, so with the current situation they are in a deplorable economic condition. There are an estimated 14.4 million unregulated workers on the island of Luzon, i.e. 3 out of 5 people have been left without any income whatsoever because of the pandemic. Another 11 million people are employed, but because they are doing work that is considered non-essential, they are currently without work and therefore without income. For these people, the government assistance is the equivalent of about €91. This assistance is provided on a one-off basis. It should also be noted that, on average, a Filipino family consists of 6 members.
Taking fish sellers as an example, their average gross daily income before the confinement was about 2000 pesos (about 36€), now it is 1000 pesos (about 18€), i.e. half that. This is a reflection of the huge drop in demand for fish in the country and, on the other hand, an oversupply, so prices have plummeted.
In short, Covid-19 has hit the country hard, leaving it in a state of health crisis with an adverse economic impact. The population criticises the government's measures, which do not take into account the situation of millions of people without access to health care or economic or social assistance. It has been society itself that has organised itself to combat the situation, with the creation, for example, of the Fight Codiv-19 People's Alliance (FCPA), which aims to raise awareness among the population on how to avoid contagion, and also tries to raise funds to help people affected economically by the situation, as well as distributing basic foodstuffs and is developing a child feeding programme.
KARAPATAN Panay, an alliance of groups, individuals and organisations working for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines, issued the following statement (24 March 2020):
Currently, the burden of treating infected patients weighs heavily on doctors, five of whom have already lost their lives by contracting Covid-19. The responsibility for feeding the masses of housebound citizens deprived of any means of subsistence is shifted to local government units. With each passing day, the lack of medical personnel, equipment, test kits and supplies becomes more evident as the number of Covid-infected patients increases. LGUs need more funds to maintain daily food aid to their constituents as the crisis persists and worsens.
