Keychain accessories, often underestimated, hold profound stories and sentiments. Beyond their practical use for keys, they become repositories of memories, symbols of heritage, and expressions of personal identity. They connect individuals to cherished places and symbolize resilience and hope in adversity, weaving a rich tapestry of human experiences and emotions.
A Connection to Places
The serve as tangible reminders of places visited or cherished. Whether it s a miniature Eiffel Tower from a memorable trip to Paris, a seashell picked up on a beach vacation, or an accessory featuring a map of a hometown, these items evoke memories and nostalgia. They provide a physical link to specific locations, transporting individuals back to moments of joy, adventure, or solace spent in …
Shailendra Singh
SUVA, Mar 28 2007 (IPS) – Pacific Island Countries (PIC) have made no real effort to deal with a public health crisis arising from overweight populations because it is silent and the effects are not immediate say experts.
Commenting on a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, released late February, that identified lifestyle diseases as the number one killer in the region, associate professor in economics at the University of South Pacific, Mahendra Reddy, said the findings were alarming but not surprising.
Reddy told IPS that the problems have been mounting because of delays in dealing with them and that many governments in the region are now finding that they lack the capacity to cope.
As is the case in most developing countries, Pacific I…
Kristin Palitza
ROME, Feb 24 2009 (IPS) – Almost five million children under the age of five die of malnutrition every year in the developing world. Food aid which mainly contains nutrient-poor carbohydrates does little to address the absence of a diverse diet that would prevent the condition.
Food aid: meeting nutritional needs in the South, or disposing of subsidised grain from the North? Credit:…
Mantoe Phakathi
MBABANE , Feb 24 2010 (IPS) – Every Tuesday you will find 70-year-old Precious Dlamini under a tree, weighing children and babies from her local community as she monitors their health and nutrition.
Most of Swaziland s caregivers have no formal training. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPS
Though she may not have any official qualifications to do so, Dlamini is a retired teacher, she devotes much of her time to caring for the orphaned children in her community and educating people about a health…
Wambi Michael
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Apr 1 2010 (IPS) – East African countries risk not attaining the millennium development goal (MDG) on universal treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases if the region s parliament adopts the anti-counterfeits policy and bill currently under consideration.
Civil society representatives, government officials and intellectual property experts warn that the region would not meet MDG six if it adopted the proposed policy and bill as they would block the production and importation of generic medicines used by healthcare services to treat diseases. The countries affected are Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya.
The draft bill and policy could erode recent gains in the scaling up treatment of people livin…
People lining up for food has become a common sight in many major U.S. cities. Credit: Jeffrey Beall/cc by 2.0
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 16 2012 (IPS) – Against the backdrop of a spreading global economic crisis, exacerbated by changing climate patterns, the global aim of guaranteeing food security for all by 2015 appears to be far from being achieved.
As delegates and activists are addressing the lingering issues of world hunger, malnutrition and poverty on the occasion of World Food Day Tuesday, homelessness and hunger are spreading fast and affecting millions of people across the globe, with far reaching implications in the United States.
In the world s wealthiest nat…
Families displaced from their homes in Pakistan’s troubled northern regions returning home. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS.
UNITED NATIONS, May 4 2016 (IPS) – Though the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit may seem timely, a debate ensues on an important question: is the world humanitarian system broke or broken?
The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit, which takes place in Istanbul on May 23-24, was convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to address the pressing needs of today’s humanitarian problems.
“We believe this is a once in a generation opportunity to address the problems, the suffering of millions of people around the …
Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD)
An undersea restaurant in the Maldives, a Small Island Developing State (SIDS)
GENEVA, May 4 2020 (IPS) – The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures put in place to contain its diffusion are taking a heavy toll on the tourism sector. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the COVID-19 pan…
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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…