Adelheid Onyango is Adviser for Nutrition at the World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Africa and Bibi Giyose is Senior Nutrition and Food Systems officer, and Special Advisor to the CEO of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).
Typical food store in Brazzaville, Congo. Credit: WHO
BRAZZAVILLE, Congo, Aug 14 2018 (IPS) – When faced with a crisis, our natural reaction is to deal with its immediate threats. Ateka* came to the make-shift clinic with profuse diarrhoea: they diagnosed cholera. The urgent concern in the midst of that human…
Roberto Savio is founder of IPS Inter Press Service and President Emeritus
ROME, Jan 8 2019 (IPS) – The person most qualified to write the foreword for the latest work by Riccardo Petrella, In the Name of Humanity, would actually be Pope Francis, who, using other words but speaking of values and making denouncements, has often argued what the reader will find in its pages.
I quote him, because words like solidarity , equality , social justice or participation – now used only by Pope Francis I – have now disappeared from today s political vocabulary. I was called to this task because I have spent my life in favour of information that would give citizens the tools to be conscious actors. But the reason why from a professional I have become an activist in the campaign for…
Dexter, a 25-year-old fisherman from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, received treatment for Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, for over a year. He has been cured of the disease. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
POHNPEI, Apr 8 2019 (IPS) – It’s a good day for Dexter, a 25-year-old fisherman from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. He’s just been told that he is cured of leprosy.
“I have been sitting at home for nearly a year now,” Dexter, who doesn’t want to reveal his last name, tells IPS. “But now I can finally return to my job,” he says with a smile.
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However, not every patient in Pohnpei State m…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sep 10 2019 (IPS) – Smoking-related diseases are the major causes of premature death worldwide. Every year, six million smoking-related deaths are reported worldwide. If current smoking trends persist, 8 million deaths can be expected by 2030, of which four-fifths will occur in lower- and middle-income countries.
Start them young
Many studies show that smoking is typically learned and started during adolescence. Owing to nicotine addiction, the earlier someone starts to smoke, the higher the likelihood he or she will continue the habit into adulthood, and the smaller the likelihood of stopping smoking.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Early smoking ini…
There’s been progress, but
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) executive director, Natalia Kanem, told delegates that despite the long journey ahead, progress has been made in the last 25 years.
UNFPA Executive Director, Natalia Kanem speaking at the Opening of the Nairobi Summit. Credit: ICPD25
“Maternal mortality is down 44 percent, worldwide,” said Kanem, adding: “This means four million women who would have otherwise died while pregnant, or at childbirth, are alive today.”
While she noted that there was a good reason to celebrate,…
A friendship of trust, President Kenyatta and UN Secretary General Guterres exchange notes during the UNGA 2019 in New York. Credit: PSCU
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 13 2020 (IPS) – One of the highlight activities as the United Nations commemorates its 75th anniversary this year will be the launch of an “annual temperature check” on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress. With only ten years left to the final whistle for the Goals, this activity that will take place each September will provide a snapshot of what’s working, and where countries need more action.
As a citizen of this great country, I am proud that Kenya was one of the leaders and architects of t…
Mar 17 2020 (IPS) – Analysing how coronavirus impacts differently could be key in fighting the , say public health experts.
Women are on the coronavirus frontlines as healthcare workers, primary caregivers and migrant workers, but policy responses often fail to consider how gender and epidemics interact.
The and Zika outbreaks underline the urgent need for gendered analyses, says Clare Wenham, assistant professor in global health policy at the London School of Economics and Poli…
Congestion in public hospitals is frequent in Latin America even without epidemics. Long waits and the need to resort to out-of-pocket spending to obtain medical assistance are common in the region. CREDIT: Courtesy of Integralatampost
CARACAS, Apr 4 2020 (IPS) – Health systems in Latin America, already falling short in their capacity to serve the population, especially the poor, are in a weak position and face serious risks when it comes to addressing …
Written by Isabelle Durant, Deputy Secretary-General, and Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director, Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD
Gender equality concept as woman hands holding a white paper sheet with male and female symbol over a crowded city street background. Sex sign as a metaphor of social issue.
GENEVA, Apr 2 2020 – Globally, women are more vulnerable to economic shocks wrought by crises such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Why are women so at risk?
Firstly, women are more likely to lose their jobs than men. In many countries, women s participation in the labour market is often in the form of temporary employment.
Sam Ben-Meir is a professor of philosophy and world religions at Mercy College in New York City.
Credit: Human Rights Center, University of Dayton, Ohio
NEW YORK, Apr 21 2020 (IPS) – Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 film The Seventh Seal is set in medieval Sweden, as the bubonic plague ravages the countryside. In one famous scene, a procession of zombie-like flagellants enters a village and interrupts a comic stage-show.
The townspeople are present to hear the procession’s leader, a bombastic preacher who proclaims that death is coming for them all: they are full of sin – lustful and gluttonous – and the plague is God’s punishment for their wicked ways.
…