AMSTERDAM/ROME, Jun 1 2020 (IPS) – As the COVID-19 virus spread rapidly around the globe, so did various theories about what caused the pandemic. According to the standard scientific theory, the virus probably originated in bats and then crossed over to humans, probably via another intermediate host. It then spread rapidly across the globe, piggybacking on the international travel network.

While the mainstream scientific theory sufficed for some, a large number of people saw the pandemic as the work …

Congestion before the project came into force. Credit: WFP/Nalifa Mehelin

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Jun 15 2020 (IPS) – The novel coronavirus has affected the lives of millions worldwide at its very onset. The situation in Bangladesh is no different. Wearing masks and washing hands frequently have become the new normal. The first laboratory confirmed COVID-19 case was identified in Cox’s Bazar on 23 March. Unforeseen circumstances often lead to unprecedented innovative actions as is exemplified by a Humanitarian Access Project.

To mitigate the spread of COVID-19 amongst the 860,000 Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar, the Government of Bangladesh mov…

High school student in eastern India, studies a leaflet on menstrual hygiene. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

DEHRADUN, India, Jul 10 2020 (IPS) – The Coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdown has intensified most inequities in society- specifically those that affect vulnerable communities, including persons with disabilities, particularly young girls. As an aftermath of recent media attention, many government organizations, nonprofits and philanthropies have come together to ensure girls and women in remote communities…

Dr Shubha Nagesh is a medical doctor and works with the Latika Roy Foundation

Credit: United Nations

DEHRADUN, India, Aug 17 2020 (IPS) – According to the World Health Organization (WHO) at-least 15% of the population globally has some form or other of a disability- considered the world’s largest minority population and one that any of us can join at any point in our lives. It therefore makes so much sense for each one of us to invest towards inclusion, so…

Dr Siobhan O’Neil* is Project Director at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research on the project. She was previously the Project Lead for United Nations University’s project and the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Project Manager

 
Kato Van Broeckhoven** is a Project Manager at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research on the Managing Exits from Armed Conflict project and previously co-edited with Dr O’Neil.

Young people pose questions to Secretary-General António Guterres during a UN75 event with youth at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. António Guterres said despite youth engagement during this period – includi…

MEXICO CITY, Nov 18 2020 (IPS) – As many have observed worldwide, the outcome of the US presidential elections has been, as expected full of hope and fear. Many people had the bad feeling that if Trump were to be re-elected, the uncertainty, already enormous due to the pandemic and its effects, would jeopardize the economic recovery worldwide. The triumph of Democrat Biden does not guarantee great solutions, but at the least offers a little more of transparency, certainty, and stability.

Saul Escobar Toledo

For Mexico, the result could impact in different senses: the policy towards Latin America; pressures to stop undocumented migration; and the economic and commercial ties bet…

SYDNEY, Dec 24 2020 (IPS) – What a challenging year 2020 has been! A year of living dangerously – “Tahun vivere pericoloso”- perhaps these words of late President Soekarno of Indonesia are the best description.

Fortunately, I managed to remain sane, reading and writing op-eds (mostly about the pandemic, , ).

Anis Chowdhury

I began the year 2020 with an interview with New Age (Dhaka, 12 Feb.), headlined, “” where I highlighted the perils of growing inequality and how it could be a greater threat than the evolving pandemic for the human race, interacting with the climate crisis and advancements in biotechnology and artificial intelligence. The pandem…

A group of youths in Machinga, Malawi. During the COVID-19 pandemic, young people, especially young girls, are facing many challenges regarding their sexual and reproductive health. The world’s population of young people between the ages of 10 and 24 is at a historic high, with the majority — …

One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency education programmes supported by Education Cannot Wait are providing hope and protection to girls and boys in over 30 emergencies and protracted crises world-wide

NEW YORK, Mar 11 2021 – As the world marks the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic on 11 March 2021, initial progress reports on Education Cannot Wait’s (ECW) COVID-19 emergency responses to date show that the Fund and its partners have already reached over 9 million vulnerable girls and boys in the midst of the worst education crisis of our lifetime.

Within days of the declaration of the pandemic one year ago, ECW rapidly allocated $23 million in COVID-19 emergency grants to support continuous access to learning opportunities and to protect the health …

The writer is Communication Officer at Liberté Living-Lab, Paris France

Samah Ghalloussi, one of the entrepreneurs interviewed for the article with a worker of the French Red Cross. Credit: French Red Cross

PARIS, Apr 19 2021 (IPS) – This year s World Health Day on 7 April was an opportunity for three entrepreneurs to share their insights and reflections on a rather complex year due to the health crisis and comment on their experiences developing impactful products and services in this sector.

Emeric Lemaire, co-founder of , Samah Ghallousi, CEO of and Antoine Noel, co-founder and director of , are all either associates of , (a tech for good innovation space …