BANGKOK, Thailand, Dec 3 2021 (IPS) – Almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in the developing world continue to grapple with basic issues such as securing sufficient vaccines and providing essential medical care for their sick. Many economies are in recovery mode as governments scramble to resuscitate them with recovery packages and plans.
In this mix, COVID-19 did not dent Big Tobacco’s profits as it exploited the pandemic and persuaded governments to treat cigarettes as “essential,” accept its charity, obtain perks such as tax breaks and treat new tobacco products more favorably. These were the main findings of the 2021 Asian Tobacco Indu…
In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly designated 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, with the aim of amplifying and directing the efforts on the elimination of this practice. Credit: UNFPA
NEW YORK, Feb 4 2022 (IPS) – “Multiple overlapping crises are putting millions of girls at increased risk of female genital mutilation. “Countries already grappling with rising poverty, inequality and conflict are seeing the COVID-19 pandemic further threaten years of progress to end the practice, creating a crisis within a …
Alice Atieno relies on sack farming outside her shanty in the sprawling Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya. COVID-19 reversed gains made in poverty reduction, and the unequal access to vaccines has deepened global inequality. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
Nairobi, Kenya, Mar 29 2022 (IPS) – Even as COVID-19 brought Africa’s already fragile health care and economic systems to the brink, wealthy states colluded with corporate giants to dupe people with empty slogans and false promises of a fair recovery from the ongoing health pand…
A child has her teeth examined remotely. The Daktari Smart technology means children in rural Kenya are linked to specialist care in big centres. Credit: Daktari Smart
Nairobi, Aug 8 2022 (IPS) – New telemedicine technology, Daktari Smart, aims to mitigate the gap between child patients and medical specialists in rural Kenya.
Officially launched in November 2021, the system was built to help sick children have easy access to medical specialists minus the cost of being physically present (remote/digital ac…
In Africa only 60% of the estimated TB cases have been diagnosed. All the other infections are hidden by poverty—and so the disease continues to spread. Credit: Jeffrey Moyo/IPS.
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 8 2022 (IPS) – The news in many parts of the world is that tuberculosis (TB) is reclaiming the title of the world’s most deadly infection, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to kill an estimated around the world. But this is not news to African countries, which are home to globally who die from TB, even though they have less than one fifth of the world’s population.
And on our continent, the real burden might be worse: only 60% of the estimated cases have b…
Dr. Nicoline de Haan is Director of the
A cell phone gives rural women access to financial services, training, networks, and, importantly, information and knowledge. Credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan (CCAFS)
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 2023 (IPS) – While 100 million people worldwide are using the AI chatbot ChatGPT to get ahead on homework and try at Google, in developing countries lack the services of a simple cell phone.
The world may be witnessing a quantum leap in the digital revolution, but cell phones and mobile internet would give these women enough of a foothold to access unprecedented opportunities to improve their incomes, nutrition and h…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug 17 2022 (IPS) – Global Public Investment. A short and simple phrase. But one that means so much.
At its most basic, GPI means public money being used to invest in goods and services that are of global benefit. There is no shortage of goods and services that need GPI, whether they be used to prevent or respond to environmental catastrophe, international war and conflict, or the next pandemic.
We live on a single, small and fragile planet and greater levels of GPI are needed to help us look after our planet; and invest in the global institutions and services needed to provide security and health for all.
This is why over th…
Security Council members vote to adopt a resolution endorsing special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 2022 (IPS) – The United States, which recently laid down a set of guidelines to monitor sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by US citizens in international organizations, including the United Nations and its agencies worldwide, has implicitly accused the UN of faltering on a high-profile case last month.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Karim Elkorany, an American citizen and a former UN employee, to 15 years i…
The WHO working group met to consider 307 amendments proposed by governments to update current regulations. February 2023. Credit: World Health Organization (WHO)
GENEVA, Mar 13 2023 (IPS) – As countries recently gathered in Geneva for the on the WHO proposed pandemic treaty or accord, close examination of by civil society experts has revealed significant gaps.
Critical concerns about the underlying vision of the draft text have been highlighted in a led and endorsed by civil society organizations globally. The statement has been shared with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB4) that is mandated with the pandemic treaty negotiation.
These concerns st…
The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons
Since the Taliban’s return to Afghanistan in 2021, numerous women grapple with profound mental health challenges, often in silence, fearing repercussions for speaking out. Credit: Learning Together
May 16 2024 (IPS) – Afghanistan is grappling with a growing crisis of mental illness, particularly among its women, a…