Aslihan Arslan, Senior Economist, Research and Impact Assessment Division, IFAD and Zoumana Bamba, IITA Country Representative, DR Congo
Jun 29 2020 (IPS) – Warnings at the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that Africa could be hit by a wave of up to 10 million cases within six months thankfully now seem unfounded, although it is still far too early to be over-confident.
The World Health Organization said on May 22 that the virus appears to be “” on the continent, with a lower mortality rate and a slower rise in cases than other regions. However, three weeks later WHO warned that the and noted that it took 98 days to reach 100,000 cases and only 19 days to move to 200,000 cases.
PRESS RELEASE
Jun 8 2020 – The Commonwealth Secretary-General is urging governments to ensure their countries’ post-COVID economic recoveries are environmentally sustainable and safe for the ocean.
Forty-seven of the Commonwealth’s 54 member countries have a coastline while 25 are either small island developing states or ‘big ocean states’ relying heavily on the ocean for food and income.
On World Oceans Day (8 June), Secretary-General Patricia Scotland calls on countries to reform development strategies in a way that supports vibrant and sustainable blue and green economies.
Patricia Scotland
She said: “The ocean is …
Globally 75 million children who cannot access education as a result of crises. A dated photo of a Syrian child in a refugee camp in Jordan. Credit: Robert Stefanicki/IPS.
NEW YORK, Oct 5 2020 (IPS) – Teachers are at the heart of children and young peoples’ educational experiences. Teachers play multiple roles in their students’ lives by supporting their learning, providing them with inclusive and safe environments to grow and develop, and helping them become more confident as they make the…
Credit: United Nations
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Nov 20 2020 (IPS) – Japan should step up and play a role as a global facilitator for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, Dr Daisaku Higashi said at a recent Japan Parliamentarians Federation for Population (JPFP) study meeting.
The country should use the credibility developed in the post-Second World War era as a country with expertise in peacebuilding to ensure that developing countries are included in the vaccines’ rollout.
Higashi, a renowned commentator from Sophia University, warned that only an international effort could solve the pro…
NEW YORK, Aug 10 2020 (IPS) – Even during the best of times, unfortunately members of the global community who have special needs are marginalized and often treated as social outcasts. The COVID crisis which has been raging for over the better part of the year 2020 has posed additional barriers and challenges for these already disenfranchised individuals.
Padmini Murthy
These people are at a higher risk for contracting COVID -19 with reduced access to health care services, personal protective equipment such as masks, basic hygiene facilities and sanitation .Many of these people with physical and mental disabilities may not be able to wash their hands not only beca…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Jan 12 2021 (IPS) – The incoming Biden administration is under tremendous pressure to demonstrate better US economic management. Trade negotiations normally take years to conclude, if at all. Unsurprisingly, lobbyists are already urging the next US administration to quickly embrace and deliver a new version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Trump legacy
Repackaging and reselling a TPP avatar will not be easy. Well before Trump’s election, even the official mid-2016 doubted Peterson Institute of International Economics (PIIE) of significant for all.
Unsurprisingly, most major US presidential – even Hillary…
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 2021 (IPS) – The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is adversely impacting most developing countries disproportionately, especially the United Nations’ least developed countries (LDCs) and the World Bank’s low-income countries (LICs).
Years of implementing neoliberal policy conditionalities and advice have made most developing countries much more vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic by undermining their health systems and fiscal capacities to respond adequately.
Anis Chowdhury
Less taxes
Four decades of ‘neoliberal’ policy influence has resulted in a ‘’ to cut direct taxes, particularly , ostensibly to promote investmen…
At a critical juncture on the road to the UN Food Systems Summit, three UN rights experts warn that it will fail to be a ‘people’s summit’ unless it is urgently rethought.
NEW YORK, Mar 22 2021 (IPS) – Global food systems have been failing most people for a long time, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made a critical situation even worse. 265 million people are threatened by famine, up 50% on last year; 700 million suffer from chronic hunger; and 2 billion more from malnutrition, with obesity and associated diet-related diseases increasing in all world regions.
Michael Fakhri
Everyone agrees that we need urgent solutions and action. The convening of this year’s UN F…
Across the world, climate change and Covid-19 disruptions have led to rising food prices in the past year. Southeast Asian countries, which have not been immune to such challenges, need to build resilience in their food security policies.
Jun 24 2021 (IPS) – In 2020, Southeast Asian countries were already facing varied challenges that affected the region’s food supplies and prices. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic later in the year exacerbated the region’s food insecurity and poverty. Southeast Asian countries need to take a hard look at food security, even as the double challenges — climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic — continue to fester.
Paul Teng
So…
Delegates from Asia and Africa met during a two-day conference to discuss ICPD25 programme of action. Credit: APDA
Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug 23 2021 (IPS) – Politicians from Asia and Africa shared activism anecdotes demonstrating their determination to meet ICPD 25 commitments. They were speaking at a hybrid conference held simultaneously in Kampala, Uganda, and online.
Ugandan MP Kabahenda Flavia dramatically told the conference that women parliamentarians in her country stampeded the budget process to ensure there was potential to recruit midwives and nurses at health centres. Another told of a breastfeeding lawmaker who brought her child to parliament, fo…