As supply chains are integrated, families are fractured. Governments herald the economic integration while dismissing as irrelevant the human impact. One industry – poultry production – demonstrates the social costs of “free trade”.
As El Salvador heads into the March 9 run-off election to decide who will be the next president, its youth suffer the brunt of problems facing the nation. Lack of job opportunities, a declining economy, and continued gang violence have spurred young people to get more involved this election.
As a resource-rich country, Suriname bills itself to international investors as a modern-day “El Dorado”. Yet many fear the small nation on South America’s Atlantic Coast is selling its wealth at the expense of its people’s health.
Last December, the government of El Salvador announced its plan to implement a new youth violence prevention project that will combine work training, institutional strengthening, gang member rehabilitation and reinsertion programs.
Juan stopped in Tapachula, Chiapas to rest for a few days and to receive a routine medical check-up before heading out on the treacherous 1,700-mile long journey to Mexico’s northern border. Since he was already sitting in the Doctor’s office, he figured he might as well get one of the free quick tests offered by the Belen migrant shelter on Monday and Thursday afternoons. In under a minute, the test confirmed his worst fears: he was HIV-positive.