By Le Nga and Le Phuong, VNExoress International HANOI (IDN) – Vietnam has readied as many as 90,000 doctors and 125,000 nurses as also turned many facilities into zones for quarantining and treating COVID-19 patients. On March 18, 90,000 doctors and 125,000 nurses nationwide had been positioned to be deployed in case Vietnam sees a […]
COVID-19: The Indian State of Kerala is a Beacon to the World
By Vijay Prashad and Subin Dennis * This article is taken from Countercurrents which published it on March 27. The article was produced by Globetrotter, a project of the Independent Media Institute. KOLKATA (IDN) – K.K. Shailaja is the health minister in the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala, the state in the southwest of […]
COVID-19: Artificial Intelligence to Back Up Data-Driven Response in Africa
By Reinhard Jacobsen BRUSSELS (IDN) – The epicentre of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic has moved from China to Europe and the United States. But it has not spared Africa. “It will victimise particularly communities living in poverty who have no protection and no access to health care,” says Prof. Dr. Mirjam van Reisen who chairs […]
COVID-19: Kenya Urged to Take ‘Swift & Effective’ Public Finance Response
By James Muraguri The writer is CEO of the Institute of Public Finance, Kenya, & an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity. NAIROBI (IDN) – On March 12, 2020, the first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was confirmed in Kenya. Over the next eleven days, 16 more cases were confirmed. Based on precedents elsewhere, […]
Kenya Surges on UN ‘Happiness’ Report
Kenya Surges on UN ‘Happiness’ Report NEW YORK (IDN) – As Mae West once said, “I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor; believe me, rich is better.” But could there be more to the story? A landmark survey of the state of global happiness designates Kenya as more positive and hopeful than its neighbors despite […]
Coronavirus Reaches African Shores
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Only a few weeks ago, African leaders were breathing a sigh of relief as the new coronavirus skipped the continent to lodge in Italy, Spain and other European countries. “Whether it’s a matter of faulty detection, climatic factors or simple fluke, the remarkably low rate […]
New Laws Allow Zimbabwe to Fine or Jail to Keep Kids in School
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Zimbabwe is experimenting with a bold attempt to make parents prioritize education and bring down drop-out rates. Harare has amended its laws to make the first 12 years of schooling compulsory. Children are now required by law to stay in school for an extra five […]
Coronavirus Exposes Australia’s Economic Dependence on China
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — Australia hasn’t had a recession for 29 years. Economists are now warning that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is almost certainly driving the country towards it and thus exposing Australia’s heavy dependence on China for its economic prosperity. Until the mid-1970s Australians were paranoid about a ‘yellow peril’ (the Chinese takeover) […]
Unlocking the Potential of Tanzania’s Smallholder Farmers
By Kizito Makoye IRINGA, Tanzania (IDN) – When Osmund Ueland met a group of farmers to pitch his idea about starting a goat milk project at a village in Tanzania’s southern highlands to help poor families improve nutrition and boost incomes, he elicited loud applause from the crowd. Huddled in a dimly lit mud-walled house […]
Sri Lanka Challenges UN Human Rights Council’s Impartiality
By Kalinga Seneviratne SINGAPORE (IDN) — Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Dinesh Gunawardena, has officially withdrawn from the co-sponsorship of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution on “Promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka”. His predecessor, Mangala Samaraweera, had co-sponsored it along with the U.S. and a number of European member […]