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Photo: The Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system is emerging as the backbone of the vaccination programme in India. Photo: Manisha Mondal | Credit: ThePrint

Cloud-based CoWIN Platform & India’s Journey towards Universal Vaccination

By Arjun Kumar, Ritika Gupta, Chhavi Kapoor, Kashish Babbar, Rohit Mehta*

NEW DELHI (IDN) — With the rolling out of vaccinations early in the year 2021, there was a need for an efficient vaccination drive to dose about 1.39 billion Indians.

To pave the way for a universal and citizen-centric structure of vaccination drive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a digital vaccination management system called CoWIN, a cloud-based IT solution for planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of COVID-19 vaccination in India.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 22 June 2021

Little Sense of Proportion When It Comes to War, Conflict and Corona

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — “How sour sweet music is,

When time is broke, and no proportion kept!

So it is in the music of men’s lives”

Shakespeare wrote this in his play Richard II in 1595. In the events of his day in high politics, there was little sense of proportion. In Europe war was everywhere. Neither is there much today, particularly when it comes to conflict and war.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 June 2021

Photo: Nelson Mandela and Kenneth Kaunda. Credit: AFP/The Australian

Kenneth Kaunda, Giant Of African Nationalism, Passes At 97

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — One of the giants of 20th century African nationalism, Kenneth Kaunda, former president of Zambia was to many, the gentle giant who pioneered African socialism. The “patriarch of African independence” passed away June 17 at a military hospital in Zambia’s capital, Lusaka. He was 97.

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta eulogized him for bravely hosting various liberation groups and he received international kudos for bowing out peacefully after losing an election.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 June 2021

SADC Executive Secretary Proud of Her Achievements

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MAPUTO | MOSCOW (IDN) — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has recorded numerous achievements since its establishment, some of which during the term of office, from September 2013 to date, of Executive Secretary, Stergomena Lawrence Tax. She concludes her second term in August 2021. Her key responsibilities have been engaging all the members as an economic bloc, overseeing, and implementing various programmes and projects in the Southern African region.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 June 2021

New Conference to Strengthen Africa's Economic Stability and Growth

By Bernhard Schell

DUBAI (IDN) — The African continent is emerging as one of the preferred destinations for investments, because it has immense untapped economic potential that presents innumerable opportunities for investors, according to data released in 2020 by the United Nations Population Division. Business experts across the globe have regarded this region as the future economic growth engine of the world.

: Bernhard Schell; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 June 2021

Photo: António Guterres (right) takes the oath of office for his second five-year term as Secretary-General of the United Nations. The oath is administered by Volkan Bozkir, President of the seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Guterres Calls for New Era Of ‘Solidarity and Equality’ After Re-appointment As UN Secretary-General

By Caroline Mwaga

NEW YORK (IDN) — “We are truly at a crossroads, with consequential choices before us. Paradigms are shifting. Old orthodoxies are being flipped,” António Guterres told ambassadors after being re-appointed on June 18 to a second term as UN Secretary-General. He was the sole candidate from the UN’s 193 Member States to vie for its top job. His first five-year term began in January 2017. He was nominated by his homeland, Portugal, and appointed by acclamation by the General Assembly, following prior endorsement by the UN Security Council, for a second term that runs from January 2022 to December 2026.

: Caroline Mwanga; UN INSIDER; 21 June 2021

Nobel Laureate Offers Pathways to A Better Future After COVID-19 Crisis

By UNCTAD

GENEVA (IDN) — Coronavirus pandemic recovery efforts should provide comprehensive social protection, fight climate change, and ensure vaccines reach the poorest people quickly.

Nobel laureate Esther Duflo spelled out what an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 crisis should entail and outlined lessons learned from the pandemic, while delivering the 17th edition of UNCTAD’s prestigious Raúl Prebisch Lecture on June 15.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 20 June 2021

Photo: Nisar Keshvani (third from left) at the UCA campus in Naryn during its launch.

Dreams Have Come True As the University of Central Asia Graduates its Inaugural Cohort

By Nisar Keshvani

SINGAPORE (IDN) — Imagine. The most remote of mountains. Two thousand metres above sea level. On the Silk Road, and 240 km away from China. In secondary cities with populations going up to 150,000. Therein, majestically stands a fully-residential university, delivering a world-class education for the next generation of Central Asian learners—regardless of their financial position.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 20 June 2021

Photo: At the present time, mankind is losing the battle against the climate crisis. Wall Steet International.

Climate: The Creativity Crisis

Viewpoint by Bill Dahl*

This is the second in a series of four articles. Click here for the first in the series.

QUERETARO, Mexico (IDN) — If Covid-19 has taught us one lesson, it is that the creativity within the scientific community led to effective vaccine development in a timeframe nobody anticipated. Frankly, humanity got lucky. Imagine if science had not made the requisite advances to create effective COVID-19 vaccines in record time. Regarding the climate challenge, there are no effective vaccines available. There is no immunity from the deleterious effects of climate change. Like the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the climate challenge threatens the survival of humanity.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 19 June 2021

China's Three-Child Policy Is Unlikely to Better the Demographic Situation

Viewpoint by Shastri Ramachandaran*

NEW DELHI (IDN) — China’s announcement of May 31 to allow couples to have three children, instead of two as is the rule now, has not captured the attention it deserves for its ramifications because the country is so much in the news for the wrong reasons such as its military stand-off with India or glossing over the origin of Covid-19 virus. The ruling Communist Party Politburo’s decision shows that although China’s economy is doing better than any other major economy in the Covid-ravaged world, the country is caught in a demographic crisis that could begin eroding its economic strength.