Sherwan's predicament is part of what has been described by Amnesty International as human rights abuse in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to investigations by Amnesty International, ‘In mid-August 2020, widespread protests erupted in the KR-I, mainly in Sulaimaniyah, Duhok and Erbil, demanding an end to corruption, better public services, and the payment of overdue salaries of government employees'.

DVV International supported research on the development of ALE (Adult Learning and Education) in the Central Asian Countries of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in 2020 during the time of the COVID 19 pandemic. National consultants in each of the three countries cooperated with a team of international experts, and they all worked along a common outline which was prepared as part of the project development. In addition to the country studies a comparative synthesis review was prepared also. Full versions of the country and the regional reports are available from DVV international.