Credit: United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation
BANGKOK / BEIJING, Sep 12 2022 (IPS) – The world today faces a future that is in peril. Our challenges have become more complex and interconnected, as we see the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, an uneven economic recovery, a climate emergency, growing inequalities, and an increase in conflicts globally. This year also marks a grim milestone, with .
These events accompany increasing division in the community of nations which threatens to push the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) further out of reach for the Global South.
Adding to these crises, rising food and e…
Medical equipment supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP) arrives in Beijing.
Meanwhile, as COVID-19 infections surged in China, coronavirus experts gathered at the UN health agency in Geneva on January 3, to discuss next steps. Photo courtesy of Yingshi Zhang
BRUSSELS, Jan 4 2023 (IPS) – Three years after the coronavirus first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the Chinese government began in December to abruptly scrap its harsh containment policy known as zero-Covid.
This zero-Covid policy relied on strict lockdowns, use of a Covid tracking app, domestic travel restrictions, and quarantining those who test positive along with their close contacts. But the …
The newly-signed Sierre Leone law outlawing child marriage also says that those who entered into marriage as children before the new legislation came into effect can petition for annulment. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
FREETOWN & NAIROBI, Jul 11 2024 (IPS) – “A person shall not contract marriage with a child,” Sierra Leone…
LONDON, Jan 31 2024 (IPS) – The 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) marked a pivotal moment in the global efforts to combat climate change. Held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with the participation of delegates from around the world, COP28 showcased a commitment to drive genuine strides in climate action, bringing optimism and progress to the forefront. Here we explore the implications of COP28 outcomes for small and other vulnerable Commonwealth countries and identify the gaps that still need attention. Additionally, it will discuss concrete expectations for COP29, focusing on critical discussions held at COP28.
Vladimir Smakhtin is Director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, funded by the Government of Canada and hosted by McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
Open sewage in Uganda slum. Credit: I. Jurga, SuSanA
HAMILTON, Canada, Mar 19 2020 (IPS) – As the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic spreads, guidance on how wash your hands and other measures intensifies.
These recommendations are important, but they are hardly of value to the 40% of humanity lacking access to even the most basic hand washing requirements — soap and water 1.
In most African countries or India, the proportion is even higher – between…
what is the BCG vaccine and what might its place be in the fight against coronavirus?
May 14 2020 (IPS) – This week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it will donate to help fund an Australian trial testing whether a very old vaccine, BCG, can be used against a new threat, COVID-19. So what is the BCG vaccine and what might its place be in the fight against coronavirus?
The ABCs of BCG
The BCG vaccine has been used for nearly a century to protect against tuberculosis, a bacterial disease that affects the lungs. Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
BCG is short for , as it was c…
Martin Kropff, Director General, CIMMYT and Nteranya Sanginga, Director General, IITA
A woman farmer in Mozambique with DT maize harvest. Credit: CIMMYT
IBADAN and MEXICO CITY, Feb 17 2021 (IPS) – 17 February African smallholder farmers have no choice but to adapt to climate change: 2020 was the second hottest year on record, while prolonged droughts and explosive floods are directly threatening the livelihoods of millions. By the 2030s, lack of rainfall and rising temperatures could render 40 percent of Africa’s maize-growing area unsuitable for climate-vulnerable varieties grown by farmers, while maize remains the preferred and affordable staple …
The UN will be commemorating World Water Day on Monday March 22.
A woman in Madagascar walks for up to 14km a day to find clean water. Credit: UNICEF/Safidy Andrianantenain
LONDON, Mar 19 2021 (IPS) – For many, the last year will be remembered as the time our day-to-day lives screeched to a halt. As Covid-19 spread mercilessly across the world, wreaking havoc on health and livelihoods, world leaders, health experts and scientists grappled with how to protect populations and stem the tide of the virus.
It is right that attention has been focused on the immediate threat posed by the pandemic; the global death toll has surpassed 2.6 million people a…
Sania Farooqui is a journalist and filmmaker based out of New Delhi.
A relative wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) attends the funeral of his family member who died from Covid, at one of the biggest cremation grounds in New Delhi on 26 April. (Seemapuri Cremation Ground/File-Amit Sharma)
NEW DELHI, India, May 11 2021 (IPS) – The Coronavirus infections and deaths in India recorded a daily high on Monday, 10 May, with 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths as reported by the Indian health ministry, taking India s total tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths. Experts have raised a flag stating India s actual figures could be far higher than what is currentl…
A Dao family sharing a meal in Sa Pa, Lao Cai province, Vietnam. The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) support the Vietnam government’s Zero Hunger challenge. Credit: Alliance of Bioversity Inter…