By Johann Ivanov* ACCRA (IDN) — Africa is facing a severe employment crisis. But if nothing is done to find a solution, it could get much worse in the not-too-distant future, as World Bank projections from 2017 show: By 2035, Africa’s working age population will expand by 450 million. At the same time, however, only […]
Food Insecurity At ‘Crisis’ Or ‘Emergency’ Levels Haunts More Than Half of Afghans
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) — Forty years of war, recurrent natural disasters, chronic poverty, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic have devastated the people of Afghanistan. The recent upheaval has only exacerbated needs and further complicated an extremely challenging operational context, notes the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its […]
Youth Group Fights to Save Indigenous Land on The Palawan Island in the Philippines
By Nena Palagi PUERTO PRINCESA, Palawan, Philippines (IDN) — It is a feat unimaginable by any modern standard. Six young people from this remote island of Palawan, in the Philippines, have taken on the goliaths of land ownership, and won. They got over 40,000 hectares of land legally declared as protected habitat with the direct […]
People as Pawns to Power: The Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis on the Belarusian Border Needs Urgent Attention
By Anna Alboth The writer is Anna Alboth is Media Programmes Coordinator, Minority Rights Group International, Warsaw. WARSAW (IDN) — For an organisation established on the back of a humanitarian disaster that shocked the world, the lack of discussion at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly about events unfolding on the Polish-Belarusian border […]
OPEC Fund Loans Uganda to Enhance Productivity for Smallholder Farmers
Newsbrief by Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) — More than 120,000 smallholder households in Uganda’s northern and north-eastern regions engaged in the production and marketing of oil seeds (groundnuts, sunflower, sesame and soy) are expected to benefit from US$30 million loan agreement the OPEC Fund for International Development has signed with Uganda.
In the US, Unpaid Maternity Leave Puts Mothers in a Bind
By Mike Brown* OMAHA, Nebraska, USA (IDN) — Around the world, paid maternity leave is the norm. According to data from the International Labour Organization, African nations including Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, and many more provide 14 weeks of paid maternity leave where 100% of wages are replaced. In the Americas, Barbados, Colombia, Dominican […]
Honduras Granted USD20 Million OPEC Fund Loan to Help Improve Climate Resilience of Rural Communities
By Reinhard Jacobsen VIENNA (IDN) — The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a US$20 million loan agreement with Honduras to co-finance the ‘Northeastern Small Producers’ Economic and Social Inclusion Project—PROINORTE’. The importance of the project lies in the fact that the Central American nation’s economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to […]
Frequent Kidnapping Gives Mozambique Tainted Image
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) — While Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and his Government struggle with strategic plans, with the possible engagement of the southern African regional group and funding assistance from the United States and the European Union, to enforce nation-wide security, kidnapping of foreign business representatives has become common in Mozambique.
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 […]
World Bank-IMF Pledge Support for Pandemic Affected Countries
By Caroline Mwanga WASHINGTON (IDN) — While planning to rebuild economies after the COVID-19 pandemic, countries would do well to lay the foundation for a green, resilient, and inclusive future. This was the message of the World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) virtual Spring Meetings from April 5 to 11, 2021. World Bank Group President David […]