Benin

As much as 33% of the population live below in the international poverty line making Benin one of the poorest countries. Rural peoples are much less likely to be literate and educated, greatly decreasing their occupational opportunities. Though poverty is more prevalent in the rural areas, the conditions of poverty are worse in urban areas.

Benin experienced relatively high economic growth rates of 4.9% up until 2003. External shocks to the cotton sector, the country’s main export, led to a decline in macroeconomic performance in 2003, followed by a small recovery to 4% in 2005.

Though the country has experienced growth for the better part of a decade, poverty reduction strategy results are varied. Benin continues to fall short of reaching the UN Millennium Developmental Goals- with poverty levels static at around 29% between 200 and 2004.

Currently, the main impediment to Benin’s economic growth is new trade restrictions between main trading partner Nigeria, which caused the economic slowdown of 2003. Only when Benin sees sustained economic growth will policies designed to improve the quality of basic services to the people begin to expand.

The Beninese government generally respected human rights though problems still exist in the areas of police force ineffectiveness, gender discrimination, child labor and abuse, judicial corruption, and prison conditions. Because of the failures of the courts, the occurrence of mob justice continues to be a problem. The most common way to deal with petty crime such as thieves is through mob justice, which results in killings and injured persons. The constitution is often not respected by the government authorities. Common police criticisms include corruption, poor training, and ineffectiveness. The government has attempted to reduce judicial corruption by implementing training programs for incoming civil servants.

Academic, speech, and press freedoms are ensured by the constitution and generally respected. Privately owned broadcast stations are allowed to be critical of the government without interference. Though government owned media are the most influential in reaching the public.

Gender discrimination remains frequent in Benin. Women remain reluctant to report cases of domestic abuse. Authorities continue to abstain from intervening in domestic disputes. A controversial human rights matter is female genital mutilation (FGM), or female circumcision, which remains widely practiced with approximately 50% of women having undergone FGM.

Another particular human rights violation is child prostitution and child trafficking. Some street children turn to prostitution to support themselves. Families in rural areas often encourage their daughters to prostitute themselves. About 8% of rural children between the ages of 6 and 16 work abroad either in the mines of Nigeria, in plantations in Cote d’Ivoire, or in homes as domestic servants in Gabon.

There are around 70,000 people in Benin living with HIV/AIDS. The communities most vulnerable are small-scale fisheries because of unstable conditions created by migration and poverty. Small-scale fisheries are a critical part of Benin society - providing jobs for 15% of the work force. Migration in these communities increases the incidence of HIV/AIDS.

Current projects aim to increase education and awareness of HIV/AIDS, as well as the integration of these marginalized communities into HIV/AIDS control campaigns.

Sex workers and tuberculosis patients have the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS infection at 27.9% and 16.7% respectively. The disease is most commonly transmitted sexually, 92%, while 6% is transmitted from mother to child.

Prevention service is low in part due to slow government response and cultural sensitivity issues. Recently, married women were granted access to contraception without their husband’s permission. The rate continues to grow.

Along with HIV/AIDS malaria is a major health concern with a prevalence of 37%.

Like its North African neighbors Benin faces a shortage in its potable water supply. It is estimated that 74% of city residents and 55% of rural have access to safe drinking water. Major problems facing Benin’s environment include deforestation, desertification, and poaching of endangered wildlife. The desert continues to spread into agricultural lands, severely limiting productivity in the north. In addition, agricultural land depletion has been accelerated by frequent droughts. Unregulated agricultural practices and fires enhance the destruction of agricultural lands.

Location is a great determinant of literacy rates in Benin. It is estimated that 80% of rural women are illiterate. Most recent reports show the national literacy rate to be low at 37.7%.

There is a great disparity between the sexes with the male literacy rate at 48.2% and the female is at 28.1%. About 90% of boys and 60% of girls are enrolled in primary school. However, only about 26% of boys and 12% of girls are enrolled in secondary school.

Generally girls do not have as many educational opportunities as boys. In some parts of the country girls are denied access to education. School fees are non-existent yet this has not made a dramatic impact on enrollment rates. In some areas, parents are required to pay tuition where schools are insufficiently funded.

Sexual harassment is a large deterrent for enrollment of girls. There are too few female teachers to prevent this exploitation. Teacher supply is too low and they are too poorly trained.

SYTO Benin - SYTO is dedicated to the promotion of in-depth intercultural interaction among youth and students to assist them in developing skills for living in today’s interdependent world. It strives to promote Africa as a source of knowledge and to place Africa in a more prominent position in global affairs, by facilitating various intercultural exchange programs such as Community Volunteer, Cultural home-stay and linguistic immersion, Student Work Abroad, Internship, Educational Travel and Excursion and Academic placement within various well-recognized schools, colleges and universities worldwide.

UNASEB-ONG - Human assistance across education, health, hospital fields.

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