By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 6 April 2024 (IDN) — The World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency, has launched “My health, my right” campaign to champion the right to health of everyone, everywhere—urging an additional US$ 200–328 billion a year globally, to scale up primary health care in low- and middle-income countries. Because of necessary […]
Abusive Gender Practices “Tragically Embedded” in American Life
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 5 April 2024 (IDN) — The United Nations has continued a longstanding campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages, both still prevalent, mostly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. According to the UN children’s agency UNICEF, FGM refers to “all procedures involving partial or total removal […]
US Downhill All the Way in The Middle East
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 2 April 2024 (IDN) — The Middle East is going to hell in a handbasket. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the principle living architect of the repression that has long preceded the war in Gaza. There is now effectively only one state in the old Palestine, yet most […]
Countries are Failing Women on Hunger
By Matt Freeman* UTRECHT, Netherlands | 2 April 2024 (IDN) — It is often assumed that women and girls disproportionately bear the brunt of global hunger and malnutrition. Analysis from Equal Measures 2030’s SDG Gender Index that tracks countries’ gender equality progress on the United Nations’ sustainable development goals now shows the true scale of […]
Gambian Women Furious Over Vote to Restore Female Circumcision
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 1 April 2024 (IDN) — ‘Over my dead body!’ That was how one Gambian woman expressed her frustration with a vote by the country’s majority male legislators to end the prohibition of female genital mutilation (FGM). The practice has been on the rise in recent years […]
Drought Grips Southern Africa, Hunger Crisis Foreseen
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 1 April 2024 (IDN) — A severe dry spell in southern Africa linked to the El Nino weather pattern is crippling the nations of Malawi and Zambia. Zimbabwe has seen much of its crops decimated, underlining concerns by the UN World Food Program that numerous nations […]
A Sustainable Future Must Respect Indigenous Peoples’ Worldviews
By Dario José Mejía Montalvo* The writer is Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues NEW YORK | 1 April 2024 (IDN) — The recent sessions of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) have addressed crucial issues and persistent and emerging challenges for the realization of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. For […]
FAO Chief Pleads for Investing in the “Super-Powers” of Millets
By Jaya Ramachandran ROME | 31 March 2024 (IDN)—The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, has called for investments to tap into the potential of millets. These are highly nutritious and resilient alternatives to staple grains that can play a crucial role in ensuring global food security. […]
Revival of the Cold War and Decarbonization of the Economy
By Leonam dos Santos Guimarâes* RIO DE JANEIRO | 31 March 2024 (IDN)—The wars in Ukraine and Gaza can be seen as manifestations of intensified geopolitical tensions that resemble the Cold War period, although the contexts and circumstances are different. During the Cold War, the world was divided into two main blocs, led by the […]
Mekong Delta Adopts Water-Saving Irrigation
By Le Thanh Binh HO CHI MINH CITY | 28 March 2024 (IDN)—The Mekong Delta region in South Vietnam is a major food production base for the country. Approximately two million hectares of land are allocated for rice and fruit farming, and about a third of this land is regularly affected by drought and salinity […]