Digital Socioeconomic Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Among Indigenous Households in Suriname
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United Nations Development Programme Digital Socioeconomic Impact Assessment of COVID-19 among Indigenous Households in Suriname Copyright @ 2021 United Nations Development Programme Suriname Gonggrijpstraat 25, Paramaribo, Suriname All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission. Cover: Members of Indigenous Households completing the COVID-19 Rapid Digital Socioeconomic Impact Assessment (RD SEIA) online survey. Photo: Courtesy of de Vereniging van Inheemse Dorphoofden in Suriname ( VIDS ) / August 2020 / Paramaribo, Suriname Foreword This publication comes at a time when Suriname is in the peak of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and with the re-energized launch of the preventive measures and roll out of vaccines campaign. The report presents the unique experience of the Rapid Digital Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (R-D SEIA) among indigenous households in Suriname, conducted in the complex context of COVID-19 pandemic, which brings light to the living conditions of diverse indigenous communities across Suriname. The survey focused on assessing the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 and was intended to bring comprehensive evidence on how the crisis has affected Indigenous families and to help inform future responses within their social and economic realms. The report confirms the concerns of the negative impacts of COVID-19 and the containment measures that have largely been realized by the indigenous communities of Suriname. This has been demonstrated by the extensive analysis of multidimensional vulnerabilities that has revealed the states of vulnerability of these communities to multidimensional poverty as well as highlighting the key well-being domains that require institutional support. The study has explored households’ vulnerabilities through the design of a suite of multidimensional vulnerability indices, which to the best of our knowledge has not been attempted to date in Suriname, whether at the indigenous population or national level. The survey found that the largest majority of indigenous peoples preferred some form of in-kind assistance compared to cash-based assistance. The two top priorities are food security and health, particularly the supply of materials to practice safety measures. This suggests a doubling of the national efforts on food supply coupled with the provision of safety material. The latter for the effective prevention of COVID-19 and the former to mitigate the alarming reported reduction in food consumption. Effects on children, including long- term negative physical and mental effects, must be considered. A significant number of respondents were interested in cash for work or food for work programmes. Public investment programmes and public works represent key policy instruments to promote productive employment opportunities and generating pro-poor growth. Thanks to this survey, it is for the first time that a dataset with indicators of indigenous communities has been developed and analyzed with the lenses of socio-economic vulnerability, as well as gender. It is also for the first time that a digital survey has been applied with the indigenous population. Jairo Valverde Bermudez Resident Representative, UNDP Suriname Acknowledgements This Rapid Digital Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (RD-SEIA) of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Indigenous Households in Suriname was commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office Suriname in partnership with the Association of Indigenous Leaders in Suriname (VIDS), and with the technical support from the UNDP Crisis Bureau and UNDP Regional Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean. We acknowledge our indebtedness to the many persons and agencies who have contributed to this important assessment. To the Department of Indigenous Affairs of the Ministry of Regional Development and Sport under whose portfolio this mandate falls, for their communication in the process. Our sincere gratitude goes to the Board of the Association of Indigenous Leaders in Suriname (VIDS), chaired by Captain Theo Jubitana, and the technical team of the executive office of VIDS, represented by Maria Josee Artist, Cylene France and Carla Madsian, without whose leadership, support and input the study would not have been possible. We are thankful to Jacinda Fairholm and the SEIA team at the UNDP Crisis Bureau with Rita Sciarra; Dony El Costa and Anila Qehaja, of the Data Surge Hub (previously the Integrated Digital Assessments Initiative) for their support on the development of survey instrument, training, survey sampling design and the use of the Kobo toolbox. This report also benefited from the technical guidance of Dony EL Costa, who started as Senior economist at the Data Surge Hub, during the development of survey instrument and sampling design, and subsequently continued in his capacity as an independent researcher and poverty expert to support the Country Office in the preparation of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Analyses.. We also extend our sincere thanks to the Gender Specialists, of the UNDP Latin America and Caribbean Regional Hub, Renata Pardo and Daniela De Los Santos who ensured the consideration and integration of the gender dimension. The contribution of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) National Coordinator, Leon Wijngaarde in extending insights and mobilizing local networks was invaluable to the process. The coordination role and driving force of Ruben Martoredjo of the Social Development Programme Unit at UNDP Suriname during the entire RD-SEIA process is recognized and appreciated. Finally, to the contact persons and members of the households in the various Indigenous Villages in Suriname who have willingly supported and or participated in the study, we wish to express our gratitude for the partnership. Margaret Jones Williams Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Suriname CONTENTS 1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 2 Socio-demographic features ................................................................................................................. 5 3 Covid-19 policies ................................................................................................................................. 16 4 Socio-economic impact of covid-19 and containment policies .......................................................... 20 5 Coping mechanisms ............................................................................................................................ 27 6 Resilience, concerns, and needs ......................................................................................................... 31 7 Multidimensional vulnerabilities of indigenous communities in suriname ........................................ 33 7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 33 7.2 Purpose, normative framework and methodological approach ................................................. 36 7.3 Measurement design and structure of SUR – MVI and the complementary indices ................. 46 7.4 General overview of indigenous households’ deprivations........................................................ 58 7.5 SUR-MVI key results .................................................................................................................... 62 7.6 Vulnerabilities at the dimension level ........................................................................................ 67 7.7 The Composition of multidimensional vulnerability: Indicators’ percentage contributions to SUR-MVI .................................................................................................................................................. 72 7.8 Multidimensional vulnerabilities across sites, districts, and resorts .......................................... 75 7.8.1 Vulnerabilities across sites .................................................................................................. 76 7.8.2 Vulnerabilities across districts and resorts ......................................................................... 83 7.8.3 Multidimensionally vulnerable population across resorts ................................................. 95 7.9 Inequality among multidimensionally vulnerable households across districts and resorts ....... 98 7.10 Multidimensional vulnerabilities across indigenous communities ........................................... 109 7.11 Multidimensional vulnerabilities and household characteristics ............................................. 124 7.11.1 Multidimensional vulnerability across selected household characteristics ..................... 124 7.11.2 Household characteristics of the multidimensionally-vulnerable .................................... 132 7.12 Robustness analysis of SUR-MVI ............................................................................................... 137 7.12.1 Robustness of districts, resorts, and tribes vulnerabilities orderings to the weighting structure 137 7.12.2 Robustness of the classification of the multidimensionally-vulnerable households across weighting structures ........................................................................................................................