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 […]
‘Cataclysmic’ Situation in Haiti Needs Bold Action
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 30 March 2024 (IDN) — A UN report has called for immediate and bold action to tackle the “cataclysmic” situation in Haiti. The international community has funded only seven per cent of 624 million US dollars in response to the UN humanitarian appeal in February for the Caribbean country. It […]
Will Agenda 2030 be Postponed to 2062?
By Jan Servaes BANGKOK| 28 March 2024 (IDN) — The widening gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ is reflected in the progress reports on the feasibility of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After the African Union already postponed the date for achieving their development goals to 2063, the United Nations Economic and Social […]
There Is More to Write About Africa’s Agriculture Than Famines
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 26 March 2024 (IDN) — Once again, the media is presenting us with images of the mother of all famines — stretching from Yemen to Somalia, to Sudan and South Sudan, to the Central African Republic, to northern Nigeria and, most recently, to Gaza. It’s a bad famine, but […]
“Oppenheimer” Brings the Harsh Reality of Nuclear Doomsday, Warns UN Chief
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, 25 March 2024 (IDN)— The award-winning movie “Oppenheimer”, based on the life of Robert Oppenheimer, credited with having helped the creation of the atomic bomb, has once again turned the spotlight on the longstanding campaign for nuclear disarmament—and the deaths and devastation caused by one of the world’s most destructive […]
UNDP Report Warns of Emerging ‘Democracy Paradox’
By J Nastranis NEW YORK | 24 March 2024 (IDN) — A new UN report has warned of an emerging ‘democracy paradox’, aggravating inequality, substantial economic concentration in the hands of the rich few, coupled with protectionism taking the upper hand over multilateralism, and rampant political polarization protection’democracy paradox’ and protectionism coupled with political polarization […]
A Growing Water Crisis Risks Military Conflicts & Undermines UN’s Development Goals
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 23 March 2024 (IDN) — The volatile politics of the Middle East have long been dominated by the fluctuating fortunes of a single treasured commodity: Oil. “Whenever we dig for water in our parched deserts”, a diplomat from the Middle East once confessed, “we end up striking oil”. But […]
UN Greets the Adoption of Robust Blueprint to End Women’s Poverty
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK | 23 March 2024 (IDN) — UN Member States have pledged to boost financing and institutions to eradicate women’s and girls’ poverty. The outcome document (or Agreed Conclusions) of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) points out that women and girls living in poverty […]
Sudan Will Soon Be the World’s Worst Hunger Crisis
By Edem Wosornu The author is Director of Operations and Advocacy of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Following are extensive excerpts from his Briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. NEW YORK | 21 March 2024 (IDN) — In resolution 2417, you asked the Secretary-General […]