Off the main streets in Gonder, Ethiopia, poverty becomes starker. Credit: James Jeffrey/IPS
PHILADELPHIA and NEW DELHI, Mar 13 2020 (IPS) – With about 109 million people, Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa after Nigeria, and the fastest growing economy in the region. However, it is also one of the poorest, with a per capita income of $790.
About 80% of the Ethiopian population lives in rural areas, but these are increasingly migrating to urban areas due to a lack of job opportunities. However, with unemployment levels at 16.5%, the situation in urban areas offers even fewer possibilities of finding employment.
Poverty is predominantly a rur…
Part 1 – Addressing the Short Term Aspects
Credit: UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
AMSTERDAM/ROME, Apr 1 2020 (IPS) – What is likely to be the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing economies? It is difficult to make predictions, because much will depend on the spread of the disease, especially in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, and the measures various Governments will take in the coming weeks and months.
This two part article looks at possible economic impacts and what actions may be required to minimize disruptions on the poor and vulnerable. The first part looks at short term actions, whereas the second will look at possible medium …
Steven Broad is Executive Director, TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network
An animal market in Indonesia. Credit: TRAFFIC
CAMBRIDGE, UK, May 7 2020 (IPS) – At the time of writing, the COVID-19 pandemic is raging worldwide, causing human mortality and socio-economic disruption on a massive scale and it appears highly likely that profound impacts will continue for many years to come.
Although the precise origins of the disease remain unproven, there are strong indications of a wild animal source and a direct link to wildlife trade in China.
Even if evidence points elsewhere in future, the magnitude of the current outbreak places under an intense spo…
Djaffar Shalchi is an entrepreneur and business owner and founder of the Move Humanity campaign
Health workers applause back to the public applauding them. Madrid, Spain, 22 March 2020. Credit: Burak Akbulut
COPENHAGEN, May 28 2020 (IPS) – For the past few decades, many big corporations and very wealthy individuals have operated according to the myth that they are “self-made”, that their success owed nothing to anyone else.
From that narrative has come the notion that they are entitled and able to cut themselves off from others, contributing as little as possible in taxes and workers’ wages.
But now that the myth has run into the fact of th…
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jul 8 2020 (IPS) – The issue of women’s rights, feminism and gender is complex and ongoing in most countries including Bangladesh. When I was asked to write about impact of COVID-19 on women and girls, I found myself drawn towards writing about women’s situation in general as that automatically impacts COVID-19 response as well. Since I am a woman who has been a part of many different cultures, yet a Bangali at heart, I am not only a survivor within its ranks but also responsible for being a part of the solution to the problems we face.
Saima W. Hossain
At the heart of it is the question: Are women in Bangladesh truly equal in all social, economi…
STOCKHOLM / ROME, Aug 10 2020 (IPS) – COVID-19 has become a scourge affecting all levels of human society – morals, behaviour, human interaction, economy and politics. The pandemic has wrecked havoc on our way of being and its impact will remain huge and all-encompassing. It is not only affecting our globally shared existence, it is also changing what has been called ”the little life”, i.e. our own way of thinking and being, our personal life situation and the one of those close to us; people we love and depend upon – our friends and family.
COVID-19 has so far mainly contaminated humans, though since everything on earth is connected it is a…
Caryll Tozer* is engaged in social upliftment of women headed-households, and advocates conservation and women and child rights. She is a co-founder of Women In Need crisis center providing refuge for abused women.
Soraya M. Deen* is a lawyer, interfaith consultant and award-winning international activist and community organizer. She divides her time between Sri Lanka and Los Angeles and has written extensively on the plight of minorities and minority women.
Credit: Oxfam.org
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec 22 2020 (IPS) – During the COVID 19 lockdown in Sri Lanka, seven women from diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds came together to deliver Wisdom and th…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 2 2021 (IPS) – “Oh what a tangled web we weave When first we practice to deceive”. Walter Scott’s lines, already over two centuries old, nicely sum up how pursuit of national advantage and private gain have undermined the public interest and the common good.
As known COVID-19 infections exceed 100 million internationally, with more than two million lives lost, rich countries are now quarrelling publicly over access to limited vaccine supplies. With ‘vaccine nationalism’ widespread, multilateral arrangements have not been able to address current challenges well.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Vaccine nationalism has meant that the rich and p…
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark the upcoming International Women’s Day, March 8.
Credit: GGGI
SEOUL, Republic of Korea, Mar 8 2021 (IPS) – As the global effort to address climate change has strengthened over the last few years, so has the realization that rising temperatures and climactic disruptions disproportionately impact women, particularly in developing countries, as they tend to be and are thus overrepresented in resource-intensive economic sectors. Furthermore, inherent in gender inequality are disadvantages for and discrimination against women in all facets of society, including in the economy and politics. Thus, it is unfortun…
The following Oped is part of a series of articles to commemorate World Environment Day June 5
Women and girls, like Susmita who lives in the Sundarbans, West Bengal, spend an estimated 200 million hours a year walking to fetch water, and climate change is making things even worse. Credit: Wateraid/Ranita
LONDON, Jun 1 2021 (IPS) – This year is being described as pivotal for climate change. That’s not only because we’re reaching a point of no return when it comes to the rise in global temperature, it’s because the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties – commonly known as COP26 – is due to take place in November in Glasgow.
COP26 is widely consi…