Esther Banales
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 15 2010 (IPS) – The fragile health system in the cash-strapped Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK), long described as one of the world s most secretive countries, is on the verge of collapsing, Amnesty International (AI) warned Thursday.
In a report released here, the London-based human rights organisation said the situation was so dire that amputations and other major surgeries were being done without anaesthesia.
The hospitals and clinics in the country are rundown and operate with frequent power cuts and no heat and, even though free health care is guaranteed by law, doctors don t receive salaries and have to charge their patients, sometimes in cigarettes or clothes.
Medicines are supposed to be provided in hospit…
Thalif Deen
STOCKHOLM, Sep 6 2010 (IPS) – A major weeklong international water conference opened in the Swedish capital Monday with an ominous warning: time is running out faster than fresh water.
Anders Berntell of SIWI speaks at the opening session of World Water Week. Credit: worldwaterweek
If the massive and complex challenges facing one of the world s most finite natural resources are not resolved soon, the future looks grimly devastating: scarcities, pollution, droughts…
A mother and her child from West Point, a low-income neighbourhood of Monrovia, Liberia. The 10-worst countries to be a mother in are all in sub-Saharan Africa. Credit: Travis Lupick/IPS
NAIROBI , May 19 2013 (IPS) – Victoria J. married in 2009 at age 14, and became pregnant shortly after. “I started labour in the morning on a Friday …. The nurse kept checking and saying I would deliver safely. On Monday she said I was weak.
“The doctor decided to operate on me. (During the) operation they found the baby was dead. The doctor said the baby had died due to the long labour. After that, I found out that urine was coming out all the time,” she said.
Women and…
Esmee Russell is International Campaigns Coordinator, End Water Poverty
A young Sudanese boy carries water home for his family in a plastic container. Credit: UN Photo/Tim McKulka
LONDON, May 22 2015 (IPS) – In September, the United Nations will agree on new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which will set development priorities for the next 15 years. The draft goals that have been developed are ambitious – they seek to end poverty and ensure no one is left behind.
Until now, civil society has been engaged in discussions over goals and targets; th…
Ms Mette Knudsen is Denmark’s Ambassador to Kenya. Follow her on twitter: . Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Representative to Kenya. Follow him on twitter:
Ms Margaret Kenyatta, the First Lady of Kenya visits a maternal health facility in Mandera County on 06 November 2015. Dr Babatunde Osotimehin the Executive Director of UNFPA looks on. Credit: @UNFPAKen
Mandera County, Kenya, Jan 18 2016 (IPS) – On Friday, 06 November 2015, we had the honor of meeting the First Lady of Kenya Ms Margaret Kenyatta, a tireless advocate for “every woman and every child”, during the launch of the Beyond Zero campaign in Mandera County, North-East…
KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Sep 1 2020 (IPS) – After accusing the World Health Organization (WHO) of pro-China bias, President Donald Trump from the UN agency. Although the US created the UN system for the post-Second World War new international order, Washington has often had to struggle in recent decades to ensure that it continues to serve changing US interests.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Invisible virus trumps POTUS
In early July, Washington gave the officially advising the UN of its intention to withdraw from the WHO, created by the US as the global counterpart to the now century-old Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).
However, the White House decision as it …