Evelyn Nguleka is president of the , an international organisation of Farmers for Farmers, which aims to bring together all the national producer and farm cooperative organisations with the objective of developing policies which favour and support farmers’ causes in developed and developing countries around the world. Nguleka introduces the key issues discussed at the May 4-7 2016 WFO conference in Lusaka.
LUSAKA, May 6 2016 (IPS) – Agriculture is the primary sector of all economies. It is the sector responsible for granting food and nutrition security to all human beings. Consequently it is responsible for social stability and health. And it provides work opportunities to families, men, women and youth, and largely contributes to the country Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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Dr. Katrin Glatzel is Policy & Research Officer at Agriculture for Impact, which acts as the convenor for the Montpellier Panel.
Peter Mcharo’s two children digging their father’s maize field in Kibaigwa village, Morogoro Region, some 350km from Dar es Salaam. Mcharo has benefitted greatly from conservation agriculture techniques. Credit: Orton Kiishweko/IPS
KIGALI, Rwanda, Jun 14 2016 (IPS) – After over a year of extreme weather…
Peru is carrying out a strategy to eliminate mother-to-child-transmission of hepatitis B. The most important preventative intervention is the universal vaccination, which can prevent infection in 95 per cent of cases. Photo credit: PAHO
ROME, Jul 26 2016 (IPS) – With some 400 million people around the world infected with hepatitis B or C, mostly without being aware, the United Nations top health agency encourages countries to boost testing and access to services and medicines for people in need to combat the ignored perils of this disease.
A staggering 95 per cent of people infected with B or C do not know they are infected, often living without symptoms f…
Participants in the 2015 New York March for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights. Credit:
UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz.
NEW YORK, Jan 20 2017 (IPS) – Just one day after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, hundreds of thousands of women are expected to attend one of the largest demonstrations in history for gender equality.
Starting out as a social media post by a handful of concerned women, the Women’s March on Washington quickly transformed, amassing over 400 supporting organisations representing a range of issues including afford…
Vani S. Kulkarni teaches Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, and Raghav Gaiha is (Hon.) Professorial Fellow, Global Development Institute, University of Manchester.
getty images/ istock photo
PHILADELPHIA AND NEW DELHI, Apr 14 2017 (IPS) – Implementation of the Mental Healthcare Act will require a restructuring of health-care services
The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, which was passed in the Lok Sabha on March 27, 2017, has been hailed as a momentous reform. According to the Bill, every person will have the right to access mental health care operated or funded by the government; good quality and affordable health care; equality of treatment and protection fro…
Health Surveillance Assistant (HSA) Noah Chipeta rides his bicycle from the Chanthunthu community clinic to the nearest health centre, which is 17 kilometres away, in order to restock medical supplies at the clinic in rural Kasungu District, Malawi | Credit: UNICEF
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 28 2017 (IPS) – Investing in the health of the poorest communities saves almost twice as many lives, according to a UN agency’s analysis.
In a new report titled “Narrowing the Gaps: The…
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 20 2017 (IPS) – In his first address on the global stage of the General Assembly, United States’ President Donald Trump touted an “America First” approach at the very institution that is meant to inspire collaboration between nations.
Donald J. Trump. Credit: UN Photo/Cia Pak
During his 45-minute speech, President Trump praised national sovereignty, referencing the concept a whopping 21 times.
“Our government s first duty is to its people, to our citizens to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values,” he told world leaders.
“As President of the United States, I will always pu…
Academics discuss the impacts on health and the environment of the use of glyphosate in Argentine agriculture, during a Dec. 6 conference at the University of Buenos Aires. Concern about this topic is now on the country’s public agenda. Credit: Daniel Gutman / IPS
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 8 2017 (IPS) – In and around the city of Rosario, where most of Argentina s soybean processing plants are concentrated, a local law banned the use …
Tih Ntiabang is Regional Coordinator – AFRO, Framework Convention Alliance, Cameroon
Credit: Bigstock
YAOUNDE, Mar 20 2018 (IPS) – Last week, the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) governing body postponed yet again a decision to stop accepting money from the tobacco industry for its projects to end child labour in the tobacco growing sector.
A majority of countries and workers in the governing body want to finally break financial ties with the tobacco industry. However, there is still opposition from the employers group and a few countries, mostly in the African region.
The tobacco industry has mor…
Credit: Manipadma Jena/IPS
ROME, Jun 19 2018 (IPS) – We worry about how we can continue to put food on our tables; and yet one-third of food is never eaten, instead being lost or wasted.
We worry about eating properly, and yet in many countries, poor nutrition, obesity and micronutrient deficiencies are increasingly common. This trend is taking place in the Americas, Oceania, Asia, Africa and in Europe.
Enrique Yeves
We want to empower women and girls, yet in every sector we still see serious disparities in terms of equa…