HUMAN DEVELOPMENT – Page 122

Health2015-11-242023-07-10

HIV/AIDS Killed 40 Million People, And Continues To Kill 4000 A Day

By Somar Wijayadasa* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali (third from right) meets with the keynote speakers at an event on the occasion of the World AIDS Day, with the theme “One world. One hope” on December 2, 1996 at the UN Headquarters. From left to right: Martina Clark; Marina Mahathir; Cristina Saralegui; Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali; Elizabeth Taylor and Noerine Kaleeba. | Credit: United Nations, New York – Photo # 158026

NEW YORK (IDN) – The World AIDS Day, observed on December 1 every year, inspires me to recall how the United Nations acted – hesitantly but resolutely – when the AIDS pandemic killed millions of people around the world causing a substantial impact on the health and economy of many nations.

Since the first identification of HIV/AIDS among gay men in the United States of America, in 1981, approximately 76 million people have been infected with HIV, and 39.6 million people have died of AIDS – the highest global death toll of all time, and also the most politicized, feared and controversial disease in the history of modern medicine.

Latin America & the Caribbean2015-11-232023-07-12

Costa Rica Aims at Being the World’s First Decarbonised Economy

The Central American country of Costa Rica is a model state that embodies the concept of global citizenship by pursuing a culture of peace and aspiring to achieve complete carbon-neutrality.

By Fabíola Ortiz | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

SAN JOSE (IDN) – With less than five million inhabitants, Costa Rica became famous for abolishing its army in the late 1940’s, when its Central American neighbours were involved in armed conflicts. After becoming a model of peace in the region, the country now wants to be known as a laboratory for a deep decarbonisation process of the world economy.

Climate Change2015-11-212023-07-10

Gender Mainstreaming Essential to Combat Climate Change

By Ana Maria Currea* | IDN-InDepthNews Viewpoint

NEW YORK (IDN | UNDP) – It is well established that the poor are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and that women, who account for the majority of the world’s poor, are disproportionately impacted.

Why is this fact so important? And what are we doing to address it?

Women farmers account for 45 to 80 percent of all food production in developing countries. This means that any changes in climate – such as droughts and floods –affect their livelihoods, incomes and food security more than they do men.

Children2015-11-162023-07-10

UNICEF Warns of Rising Numbers of Child Refugees and Migrants

By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Report

GENEVA (IDN) –The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has drawn attention to a rather significant aspect of the current flow of migration of peoples young and old from war-torn regions. A record number of them are child refugees and migrants – 700 a day – seeking asylum in Europe.

Climate Change2015-11-092023-07-10

Experts Caution about Rising Perils of Climate Change

By Ramesh Jaura | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – Ahead of a landmark United Nations climate conference beginning on November 30 in Paris, two international organizations are warning that unless appropriate steps are taken, the planet would become “more dangerous and inhospitable for future generations” and poverty stretch its wings further by 2030.

Latin America & the Caribbean2015-10-302023-07-12

Uruguay Joins Prestigious OECD Development Centre

By Jaya Ramachandran | IDN-InDepthNews Report

BERLIN | PARIS (IDN) – Uruguay has become the 10th member country in Latin America and the Caribbean to join a group of 50 OECD and non-OECD countries that are already members of the Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Explaining the accession, a press release said, Uruguay’s structural characteristics, development experience and challenges offer rich opportunities for knowledge sharing among the Centre’s member countries.

Since its banking and financial crisis in 2002, it added, Uruguay has made remarkable progress. Stable macroeconomic policies and a favourable external environment permitted brisk growth and the financing of social policies, yielding the longest period of economic growth in decades.

Health2015-10-202023-07-10

Japan’s Development Agency Assisting Kenya’s Fight Against TB

By Robert Kibet | IDN-InDepthNews Feature

NAIROBI (IDN) – Catherine Nduta, 26, was diagnosed with Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2012, when she was a third year student at one of Kenya’s universities, where she was undertaking a civil engineering course.

“I was almost 6-month pregnant hence couldn’t start MDR-TB treatment. I was to either terminate the pregnancy for me to start medication or continue with normal TB medication until I give birth,” Nduta told a forum organized by StopTB Partnership Kenya, that attracted Kenya’s Members of Parliament (MPs).

“I finally underwent induction and my baby was removed prematurely for me to start medication. 12 months of injections and 24 months of taking 18 pills a day: life was hard,” says she, now mother of one son. Nduta is not a lone sufferer of MDR-TB. Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya’s two biggest cities, host the highest number of normal tuberculosis cases due to poor urban settlements and high population.

Education2015-10-152023-07-10

Global Citizenship Education Underpins Efforts of Youth to Build Peaceful Societies

By Kanya D’Almeida | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – By mid-2015, the number of young people between the ages of 10 and 24 stood at 1.8 billion, representing the largest youth population the world has ever seen.

A large portion of this demographic is based in the global South, according to the United Nations, with children and adolescents making up a majority of the combined populations of the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs).

Latin America & the Caribbean2015-10-092023-07-12

U.S. Hedge Fund Threatens Use of Free Trade Accord to Sue Peru

By INPS* | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

Washington DC (IDN) – An emerging-markets focused U.S. hedge fund that bought Peru’s 5.1 billion dollar decades-old military debts is threatening to sue the country.

Gramercy argues that the Peruvian government’s current repayment plan is inadequate and that if payments do not increase, it will sue Peru through a tribunal system embedded in the United States-Peru Free Trade Agreement (PTPA) that entered into force on February 1, 2009.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT2015-09-292023-07-10

An Upbeat UN Report Stresses Need of Funds to Spur Africa’s Development

By J Nastranis | IDN-InDepthNews Analysis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report released after the adoption of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is quite upbeat about Africa’s development prospects, but expresses serious reservations on several counts. “Having made encouraging progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), African countries have the opportunity” to use the SDGs “to tackle remaining challenges and achieve a development breakthrough,” says the report.