Stuart Minchin, is Director-General
Aug 24 2020 – Throughout my career, I have always championed the value of open data, especially geospatial and earth observation data for the social, environmental and economic growth that it brings. Access to timely and accurate data is critical to maximizing the efficiency of development programmes and is a critical economic as well as scientific imperative for our region.
When I took office as Director-General of the Pacific Community (SPC), one of the projects that immediately grabbed my attention was the Pacific Data Hub (PDH). The PDH is an ambitious catalyst for change in how we manage and extract value from o…
KJ Ong is an independent researcher on technology and the co-founder of Data Democrasea, an initiative that advocates for knowledge, justice, and equality at the frontier of tech in the developing world.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct 15 2020 (IPS) – In the glitzy Dolby Theater in Hollywood Heights, with stars dressed in hundred thousand-dollar garbs, Parasite—a film about inequality, class tension and the fault lines of capitalism—won big. I couldn’t help but recall South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s earlier 2013 film, Snowpiercer.
KJ Ong
Starring a rugged Chris Evans, the positively demonic Tilda Swinton and Bong’s erstwhile collaborator Song Kang-Ho, the f…
Riccardo Petrella, an Italian national living in Belgium is Emeritus Professor, Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), with Honorary Degrees (Honoris Causa) from eight universities in Sweden, Denmark, France, Canada, Argentina and Belgium. His research and teaching fields have been regional development, poverty, science and technology policy and globalisation.
The UN General Assembly is holding a Special Session on the Covid-19 pandemic at the level of Heads of State and Government on 3 and 4 December.. It took more than a year of discussions to overcome the opposition of certain states, notably the United States and President Donald Trump.
A healthcare…
Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake is a Social and Medical Anthropologist, at the International Center for Ethnic Studies, based in Colombo. Sri Lanka.
A lockdown closer home. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres walking the empty corridors of the UN Secretariat building in New York in 2020. Credit: United Nations
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan 7 2021 (IPS) – The currently available Covid-19 vaccines have been authorized for ‘emergency use ‘in Europe and North America. This is due to an apparent spike in Covid-19 flu cases in the northern hemisphere as winter advances. Highly advertised vaccines are being produced and rolled out at ‘warped speed’ by powerful pharmaceutical…
Remote teaching in Bangladesh. Credit: BRAC
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Feb 19 2021 (IPS) – School closings and the varied impacts of remote learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic are a global challenge. Educators worldwide have been struggling to meet contemporary educational standards in this environment. But this challenge is followed by yet another: how to assess the readiness of students to resume in-school education when schools open. At BRAC, the international nongovernmental organization that operates 25,000 schools in Bangladesh, serving 750,000 students, we have developed an approach that could be helpful.
Schools in Bangladesh have been closed since March 2020, …
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EKITI, Nigeria, Mar 19 2021 (IPS) – The mouth is a barometer of social inequities it reflects the injustices in our society. As , an 18th century naturalist said: Show me your teeth, and I will tell you who you are . To me, as a dentist, the mouth is like a microscope that reveals more than just tooth decay. It exposes us to a world where people lack access to water, health, quality education and live…
Credit: UN Women/Olivia Owen
BANGKOK, Thailand, May 3 2021 (IPS) – The lockdowns and illnesses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically increased the need to care for children, the elderly and the sick. And in societies where gender inequality and biased norms persist, most of this burden has fallen on women, many of whom have had to leave their regular jobs with no idea of when they can return.
Actually, the pandemic has merely exacerbated the existing stereotypes about the role of women, who are reflexively expected to take care of their family members, house chores, and myriad other daily domestic tasks that are unpaid but vital to households, communit…
Credit: Bibbi Abruzzini
PARIS, Jun 10 2021 (IPS) – In the last 20 years, . At global level we witness on average one sweeping disaster a day, the majority of which are floods and storms. From the Covid-19 pandemic to climate change, calamities are taking new shapes and sizes, infiltrating every dimension of society. From the emotional to the political, how do we deal with disasters? How can we create a whole-of-society approach to disaster risk reduction?
Right through this vortex of intersecting crises, by , the (GNDR), and , with the support of , looks at how civil society organisations coordinate disaster risk reduction and post-emergency interventions. Meant for civ…
The writer is CEO of Sanitation and Water for All
A young girl collects water from a tanker truck in an IDP camp in northwest Syria.
Meanwhile, the UN commemorates the anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration to Water & Sanitation on July 28th. Credit: UNICEF/Khaled Akacha
LISBON, Portugal, Jul 28 2021 (IPS) – The water we drink and the air we breathe are the basis of life. With universal access to clean water and sanitation, we will be healthier, our economies will be stronger, gender equality will be more achievable, and more children will stay in school.
However, the many benefits of universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene are unde…
The World Food Programme distributing food in El Salvador. The second of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals is to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Credit: WFP/David Fernandez
MELBOURNE, Sep 21 2021 (IPS) – COVID-19 has exposed serious vulnerabilities in how people around the world access and consume food.
One of the more alarming trends is the significant increase in the consumption of foods that may be tasty and convenient, but harm our heath. These ultra-processed products include sugary drinks, snack foods, frozen meals, packaged breads and frozen desserts.
In the half centu…