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 […]
Productive Capacities Key to Achieving Sustainable and Growth in LDCs
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought to light not only the systemic interdependence of countries, but also the socioeconomic fragility of the global economy. From a trade and development perspective, this has been felt most acutely in the most vulnerable developing countries—the least developed countries (LDCs), says […]
Donating for COVID-Relief — Mixed-Up Governmental Priorities
Viewpoint by Sunil J. Wimalawansa * The COVID-19 pandemic has brought “a tsunami of suffering”, taken over 3.4 million lives and 500 million jobs, while wiping trillions of dollars from global balance sheets, Secretary-General António Guterres told business last May, for equitable vaccine distribution worldwide. NEW JERSEY, USA (IDN) — While the COVID-situations are significantly […]
G7 Judged a ‘Colossal Failure’ for All the World to See
Viewpoint by Jon Queally* PORTLAND | USA (IDN) — Anti-poverty groups, climate campaigners, and public health experts reacted with outrage and howls of disappointment Sunday after the G7 leaders who spent the weekend (June 11-13) at a summit in Cornwall, England issued a final communique that critics said represents an extreme abdication of responsibility in […]
WHO Welcomes G7 Commitment to Donate Vaccines but Asks for “More” and “Faster”
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — The leaders of seven industrial nations, constituting the Group of Seven (G7 Summit), have pledged in a landmark agreement to share COVID-19 vaccine doses internationally, in support of global equitable access and to help end the acute phase of the pandemic. In doing so, they have built on the […]
If Lessons Are Not Learned, Eternal Abnormality the New Normal?
Viewpoint by Jayasri Priyalal * SINGAPORE (IDN) — The new normal has become a famous phrase with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This new normal could become an eternal abnormality if lessons learned about inequality in the globalized world economy exposed by the COVID-19 are not recognized and acted upon. Today, people feel frustrated […]
Heart Disease in Morocco and Empowerment Workshops
By Carlie Daniel Carlie Daniel is an Intern with the High Atlas Foundation and a student at the University of Virginia. MARRAKECH (IDN) — Heart disease is a prevalent chronic disease in Morocco and has been one of the leading causes of death over the last 10 years. Heart disease can be prevented through lifestyle […]
The Ocean Is Now in Need of Support
By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) — “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods” was the theme for World Oceans Day 2021 as well as a declaration of intentions that launches a decade of challenges to get the Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources”, by 2030. The importance […]
Canadian and French Nuclear Weapons Policies Challenged for Violating the Right to Life
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — Spurred by civil society organisations, the UN Human Rights Committee has challenged the nuclear weapons policies of Canada and France as being in violation of the Right to Life, a right enshrined in Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). These rights derive from […]
WHO Warns of the Risk of COVID-19 Upsurge Threatening Africa’s Health Facilities
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA | BRAZZAVILLE (IDN) — The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the threat of a third wave of COVID-19 in Africa threatening Africa’s health facilities, and advised them to urgently boost critical care capacity to prevent health facilities from being overwhelmed. At the same time, vaccine shipments to the continent […]