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In India, distress migration has always been a matter of grave concern. Such a phenomenon is attributed mainly inter alia to persistent poverty, food insecurity, and lack of employment opportunities. Intending to arrest distress migration, the Government of India introduced Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in 2005. In 2013, the convergence program was introduced. This study, based on the primary survey of 590 households covering some migration-prone districts of Odisha, thus, examines the impact of MGNREGA and associated convergence activities on distress migration. We employ the Mahalanobis Distance Metric matching method to assess the impact on distress migration, including certain economic wellbeing indicators. Anecdotes and empirical results indicate that the MGNREGA and the convergence schemes seem to have been effective in arresting distress migration, thanks to the rise in household incomes. Other notable impacts include a rise in saving propensities, female employment, and food expenditure. Suffice to state that with timely implementation and appropriate targeting, these measures can remove distress migration and make rural women economically empowered. As these schemes are inherently targeted towards the SC and ST households, if executed successfully, these disadvantaged sections will reap the desired benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The absence of the right to health of migrants in transit has evolved into a significant global health concern, particularly in the border regions thus, this study aims to improve knowledge in this area by exploring the effects of the spatio-temporal liminal characteristics at borders in the achievement of the right to health of migrants in transit moving across two of the most transited and dangerous borders in Latin America: Colchane (Chile-Bolivia) and the Darién Gap (Colombia-Panamá). Through a qualitative descriptive multi-case study, we implemented 50 semi-structured interviews (n = 30 in Chile and n = 20 in the Darién/Necoclí) involving national, regional, and local stakeholders. The findings highlight that the fulfilment of the right to health of migrants in transit is hindered by liminal dynamics at the borders. These dynamics include closure of borders, (in)securities, uncertainty and waiting, lack of economic resources, lack of protection to all, liminal politics, and humanitarian interventions. These findings surface how the borders’ liminality exacerbates the segregation of migrants in transit by placing them in a temporospatial limbo that undermines their right to health. Our study concludes that not just the politics but also the everyday practices, relationships and social infrastructure at borders impedes the enjoyment of the right to health of distressed migrants in transit. The short-term humanitarian response; illicit dynamics at borders; migratory regulations; and border and cross-border political structures are some of the most significant determinants of health at these borderlands.

The absence of the right to health of migrants in transit has evolved into a significant global health concern, particularly in the border regions thus, this study aims to improve knowledge in this area by exploring the effects of the spatio-temporal liminal characteristics at borders in the achievement of the right to health of migrants in transit moving across two of the most transited and dangerous borders in Latin America: Colchane (Chile-Bolivia) and the Darién Gap (Colombia-Panamá). Through a qualitative descriptive multi-case study, we implemented 50 semi-structured interviews ( n = 30 in Chile and n = 20 in the Darién/Necoclí) involving national, regional, and local stakeholders. The findings highlight that the fulfilment of the right to health of migrants in transit is hindered by liminal dynamics at the borders. These dynamics include closure of borders, (in)securities, uncertainty and waiting, lack of economic resources, lack of protection to all, liminal politics, and humanitarian interventions. These findings surface how the borders' liminality exacerbates the segregation of migrants in transit by placing them in a temporospatial limbo that undermines their right to health. Our study concludes that not just the politics but also the everyday practices, relationships and social infrastructure at borders impedes the enjoyment of the right to health of distressed migrants in transit. The short-term humanitarian response; illicit dynamics at borders; migratory regulations; and border and cross-border political structures are some of the most significant determinants of health at these borderlands., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Considering unemployment as the basic reason for poverty in India, the Government of India launched a 100 days guaranteed employment programme during 2005. A massive programme that is being implemented throughout India, it needs to be monitored and assessed regularly so as to understand the teething troubles in implementing the programme and make necessary modifications, if any, for better implementation. The present paper makes an attempt to understand the working of the programme by using the secondary data made available by implementing agencies, by conducting Participatory Rural Appraisals (PRAs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), physical visits to the works carried out under the programme, and by participation in social audit at the field level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We convey responses from migrant-sending households in western Odisha from interviews on migration conducted during the lockdown. The majority of migrants are indigenous (referred to as Scheduled Tribes or STs in India), come from very poor households and have little or no education. Prior to the lockdown, the majority of migrants engaged in seasonal, temporary migration—working in dangerous, informal, low-skilled odd jobs for low wages for a few months to supplement incomes at home the rest of the year. Lack of local employment alternatives is cited as the primary reason behind migration. After the lockdown, in the absence of income from migration, households with former migrants hope to earn a livelihood locally—with assistance from National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), India's public works program. Besides providing employment, NREGA works can include physical and health infrastructure which improve connectivity of health workers. NREGA works can also include community assets, such as facilities for irrigation, rainwater harvesting and plantations as well as child-care centers under India's Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program. We posit that in the long run, this can improve health, education levels and livelihoods of the local communities, addressing not only the immediate need for local employment but also distress migration in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]