Michael Sheldrick
Contributor
Global Citizen
Apr 3, 2023
As the new Head of the Commonwealth, His Majesty King Charles III faces the formidable challenge of reinvigorating an institution that has struggled to maintain its relevance in modern times and has been criticized as a prevailing vestige of British colonialism. The Commonwealth's success or failure will directly impact millions of people worldwide. But by prioritizing critical issues such as period poverty and leveraging effective leadership, it can emerge as a potent force for transformative change around the world.
So what exactly is the Commonwealth? The Commonwealth of Nations is a global organization, composed of more than 50 member states spread across the world, ranging from the emerging superpower of India to the rapidly growing and youthful African nations, to the stunning island archipelago of Kiribati.
In his first Commonwealth Day address this year, The King touched on its "near-boundless potential as a force for good in the world." The Commonwealth is at its best, he went on to say, when "it is an association not just of shared values, but of common purpose and joint action." One notable example was how the Commonwealth served as a forum to rally support for economic sanctions on apartheid era South Africa in the 1980s (with the only notable member opposing the move being the UK itself under PM Margaret Thatcher). More recently, it played a particular role in the eradication of polio.
In 2011, the Commonwealth helped reinvigorate the fight to eradicate polio, with the gathering of Commonwealth leaders in Perth, Western Australia marking a turning point. The meeting’s host, the then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, convinced member states to recommit to eradicating polio, pledging $118 million. Four years later in Malta, this commitment was renewed, with ongoing support from Commonwealth countries. Baroness Patricia Scotland praised polio eradication as "an exemplary example of what the Commonwealth can do." Since then, the number of countries where polio is endemic has been reduced from four to two, with only one case of wild polio being reported this year.
Unlike other forums such as the UN General Assembly Leaders' Week, the Commonwealth offers a less crowded platform that is better suited to rallying attention around specific issues such as polio. This is because the Commonwealth brings together key players and stakeholders, making it a unique and valuable forum. It could easily help raise other critical, yet often neglected, issues on the agenda. As a family of nations, the Commonwealth's member nations also share a deeper relationship that goes beyond traditional intergovernmental processes, making it a powerful vehicle for driving change and progress in areas like women's health and empowerment.
Girls' education and period poverty are two such significant issues that would hugely benefit from the Commonwealth’s urgent attention and leadership. Over 500 million women and girls worldwide who menstruate suffer from period poverty, with more than one in ten living in extreme poverty. This problem has serious effects on women and girls' physical, mental, and emotional health, and devastating implications for their development and economic potential. In addition, the pervasive stigma surrounding menstruation often exacerbates the issue, leading to further marginalization and social exclusion. Addressing period poverty requires not only practical solutions but also a concerted effort to break down harmful stereotypes and misconceptions, which is where the unique platform of the Commonwealth can play a critical role.
The Global Menstrual Equity Accelerator (GMEA) was launched at Global Citizen Festival in Ghana and New York in 2022 with the goal of promoting menstrual health equity through partnerships with grassroots organizations and initiatives around the world. Supported by Procter & Gamble, the Gates Foundation, Miss Universe India and others, the GMEA’s potential impact would be dramatically amplified if it is included on the agenda of the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa in 2024, which will be the first time King Charles attends as the Head of the Commonwealth. The format for the meeting will be determined between the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Samoan Government. Imagine, though, the ripple effect of impact around the world for women, girls, and the pervasive stigma of period poverty if King Charles III were to address the issue in his first-ever speech as monarch at the summit! It would be a powerful way to ensure that menstrual equity becomes part of the global conversation and is officially recognized as a vital step toward the end of extreme poverty and gender inequity.
To be sure, Commonwealth countries have already made significant strides in tackling period poverty. For instance, Kenya eliminated their 'tampon tax', while Scotland now provides free period products in all schools and public institutions. Australia also abolished its goods and services tax on tampons. These best practices show that ending period poverty is a tangible and concrete objective that can be achieved with the right attention, and they need to be shared and scaled across the Commonwealth nations to ensure access to 12 years of quality education for all girls, universal health coverage for women and girls, and realization of their human rights. Commonwealth leaders have laid the groundwork in previous communiques and action plans to tackle this issue, but today’s Commonwealth has a chance to go further.
Ultimately, the Commonwealth has the potential to advance global health, gender equality, and environmental sustainability by continuing its work on polio and addressing issues such as period poverty and climate change. These initiatives would align with the King's recent articulation of the Commonwealth's defining values, which include peace, justice, tolerance, respect, solidarity, and care for the environment and the most vulnerable among us. By prioritizing these issues, King Charles and the Commonwealth can demonstrate an authentic commitment to improving the lives of millions of people worldwide and to creating a more just and sustainable future for all.
Many people are fixated on whether the King will remain the head of state of his 14 realms. However, it is unlikely that this will be the case, as the King himself acknowledged in Rwanda last year, and as countries increasingly take charge of their own constitutional arrangements. However, in my opinion, measuring the success of the King's reign by his stewardship of the Commonwealth is a more interesting and exciting approach. The growth in membership of the Commonwealth is a testament to its enduring appeal, which will only increase if it can demonstrate the positive impact it has on people's lives. Ultimately, the true test of the King's reign will be whether he can build on his mother's legacy and leave a lasting impression as the People's King for the 2.6 billion citizens of the Commonwealth. A pledge to end period poverty could be a good start.
I am the cofounder and chief policy and government relations officer at Global Citizen, a global advocacy and education movement focused on ending extreme poverty by 2030. At Global Citizen I oversee international advocacy campaigns in support of universal sanitation, climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, access to education, food security, gender equality and disease elimination and prevention. Since 2009, our advocacy work has resulted in over 100 commitments worth $48billion USD, affecting more than 880 million lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment