Malawi Suffers Worst Cholera Outbreak in Decades

Cholera ward in a health centre in Blantyre. Malawi has experienced a massive rise in cholera in the past year. Credit: Charles Mpaka/IPS

Cholera ward in a health centre in Blantyre. Malawi has experienced a massive rise in cholera in the past year. Credit: Charles Mpaka/IPS

BLANTYRE, Jan 9 2023 (IPS) – On March 3, 2022, Malawi declared a cholera outbreak after a district hospital in the southern region reported a case. This was the first case in the 2021 to 2022 cholera season.

That single case was a warning for what would become Malawi’s worst cholera outbreak in decades.

For nearly a year now, cholera has gripped the coun…

Politics Behind the Removal of Mughal History From Textbooks Say Academics

The removal of Mughal history from textbooks is seen as a political move which downplays the rich diversity of the Indian subcontinent. This artwork stems from this period. Credit: Govardhan. Jahangir Visiting the Ascetic Jadrup. ca. 1616-20, Musee Guimet, Paris

The removal of Mughal history from textbooks is seen as a political move which downplays the rich diversity of the Indian subcontinent. This artwork stems from this period. Credit: Govardhan. Jahangir Visiting the Ascetic Jadrup. ca. 1616-20, Musee Guimet, Paris

NEW DELHI, Apr 20 2023 (IPS) – The removal from school textbooks of chapters covering th…

How the Rise of Timor-Leste’s Aquaculture Sector Is a Blueprint for Other Small Island Nations

Dr. Jharendu Pant is Senior Scientist – Sustainable Aquaculture Program, WorldFish

Fish farmers harvest genetically improved farmed tilapia. Credit: Shandy Santos

PENANG, Malaysia, May 3 2023 (IPS) – For Timor-Leste, as with most other islands in the Pacific, fortunes are to be found in fish – an equity food available to all regardless of status.

Nevertheless, the island is highly exposed to the impacts of climate change, hampering domestic food production and contributing to Timor-Leste’s ranking of out of 121 countries for malnutrition. Meanwhile, the country is highly dependent on imported foods – including aquatic foods.

But a na…

Urgent Need to Enact Proposed Law to Secure Sexual and Reproductive Health in East Africa Countries

The proposed law seeks to provide age appropriate sexual and reproductive health information and services. Credit: Miriam Gathigah/IPS

The proposed law seeks to provide age appropriate sexual and reproductive health information and services. Credit: Miriam Gathigah/IPS

NAIROBI, Jun 27 2022 (IPS) – The Ministry of Health in Kenya recently that about 700 teenage girls got pregnant daily over a two-month period, in this year alone. What is more is that during this period, 98 adolescent girls betwe…

Inflation Phobia Hastens Recessions, Debt Crises

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 27 2022 (IPS) – Inflation phobia among central banks (CBs) is dragging economies into recession and debt crises. Their dogmatic beliefs prevent them from doing right. Instead, they take their cues from Washington: the US Fed, Treasury and Bretton Woods institutions (BWIs).

Costly recessions
Both BWIs – the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank – have recently raised the alarm about the likely dire consequences of the ensuing contractionary ‘race to the bottom’. But their dogmas stop them from being pragmatic. Hence, their policy analyses and advice come across as incoherent, even contradictory.

Anis Chowdhur…

New Business Technology Transfer Provides Benefits for African Pharmaceutical Industry

The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation will be hosted by Rwanda. It is part of the African Development Bank’s commitment to spend at least USD 3 billion over the next ten years to support Africa s pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing sector. Medical and pharmaceutical experts pose for a group photo with their colleagues during the forum to introduce the newly launched African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation last month in Kigali. Credit: Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

The African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation will be hosted by Rwanda. It is part of the African Development Bank’s commitment to spend at least USD 3 billion over the next ten years to …

Proven Vector Control Interventions Needed to Stem Malaria Infections in Africa

Rwanda is using drone technology as an effective and innovative way of eradicating malaria in breeding sites. Credit: Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

Rwanda is using drone technology as an effective and innovative way of eradicating malaria in breeding sites. Credit: Aimable Twahirwa/IPS

KIGALI, Feb 8 2024 (IPS) – Experts recommend that the current prevention of malaria in highly endemic countries in Africa should integrate locally appropriate control measures to cope with the highest burden of mosquito-borne disease on the continent.

The latest shows that the life-threatening disease remains a significant public health challenge, with both malaria incidence and m…

Navigating Mental Health Challenges in West Africa

The acute shortage of qualified mental health specialists in West Africa is a major obstacle to tackling mental health issues in the region. Credit Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser - An analysis of mental health in West Africa, highlighting the shortage of specialists and efforts to integrate traditional and modern treatments

The acute shortage of qualified mental health specialists in West Africa is a major obstacle to tackling mental health issues in the region. Credit Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser

NAIROBI, Jul 24 2024 (IPS) – Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, people in the African region were living with mental health conditions. A large proportion of mental dis…

The UN and International Community united in fighting COVID-19 in Kenya

The United Nations Country team in Kenya hosted a meeting on responding to the COVID 19 pandemic with the Government of Kenya and development partners observing social distancing etiquette. Credit: UNIC Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 2020 – The Government of Kenya, United Nations and International Community convened today at the UN Complex in Nairobi to combine their forces in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya.

The United Nations Country Team in Kenya is in lockstep with the UN Secretary General’s call to action and it continues to mobilize full support to the Government of Kenya in its fight against the virus on all fronts.

Why Covid-19 Choices Are Critical for Children

Jo Becker is the children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch

Children eating lunch in the João Baptista Cáffaro School cafetería. Itaboraí, Brazil, 45 km from Rio de Janeiro. Credit: Mario Osava/IPS

NEW YORK, Apr 24 2020 (IPS) – Children may escape the worst symptoms of Covid-19 and suffer lower mortality rates, but for millions, the pandemic will have devastating effects.

The choices that governments make now are crucial for children. Governments can both lessen the worst effects of the crisis on children in the months to come, and also put policies in place that will improve children’s lives long after the pandemic is over.

School shutdown…