By UNCTAD GENEVA | 10 February 2024 (IDN) — A digital transformation supported by UNCTAD in the West African nation’s pharmaceutical industry is paving the way for quicker import and distribution of life-saving medicines—all online. Imagine living in a country where urgent medical supplies take 18 months to be imported and distributed, putting people’s lives […]
Poultry and Livestock Production Helps Communities Build Climate Resilience in Zimbabwe
By Farai Shawn Matiashe HARARE | 9 February 2024 (IDN) — When Peter Mangana’s crops were hit by drought over a decade ago, he felt depressed. He struggled to feed his family in Bhasikiti village in Mwenezi, southern Zimbabwe. The 49-year-old later realised that he was experiencing the effects of climate change and that he […]
UN Chief Urges Reform of IMF, World Bank, Stresses BRICS’s Role
By Arul Louis UNITED NATIONS | 8 February 2024 (IDN) — The international financial and development institutions should be reformed to reflect the interests of the Global South, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. While the BRICS can play an important and complementary role for developing nations, he stressed that it should not contribute to a […]
WHO Urges Provision of Life-Saving Health Services for the Most Vulnerable in Sudan
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 8 February 2024 (IDN) — Nearly ten months since the escalation of the conflict in Sudan in April 2023, the humanitarian situation in the country has deteriorated, resulting in the world’s largest displacement crisis. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on the international community to meet 100% of the […]
MYANMAR: Three Years After the Coup, Hope Remains
By Jan Servaes BANGKOk | 7 February 2024 (IDN) — Myanmar’s military junta has increasingly carried out unlawful airstrikes killing civilians in its military operations against a coalition of the People Defense Force (PDF) and ethnic armed groups (EAOs), Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on January 30, 2024, on the eve of the anniversary of […]
The US Should Have Persuaded Newcomers to Renounce Nuclear Weapons
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 6 February 2024 (IDN) —There are 29 states which have, at one time or another, set about becoming nuclear weapons powers or have explored the possibility. Most have failed or drawn back. Only the US, Russia, France, UK, China, India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea have crossed the threshold. […]
Small Arms Trigger 45 Percent of Violent Deaths, Says UN
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS | 6 February 2024 (IDN) —The weapons used in some of the world’s ongoing military conflicts—including Russia vs Ukraine, Israel vs Hamas and US vs Houthis—are mostly sophisticated fighter planes, combat helicopters, air-to-surface missiles, battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers (APCs) and drones. But in scores of civil wars, mostly in […]
UNDP’s New $1 Billion Fund Could Boost Africa’s Tech Startups Globally
By Damilola Banjo* This article was originally published by Passblue. LAGOS, Nigeria | 4 February 2024 (IDN) — Venture capital funding is shrinking globally, but experts are optimistic that a new $1 billion investment fund created by the United Nations Development Program for the tech ecosystem in Africa could protect startups there from declining investments. […]
The Battle for Leadership of the Global South
By Manjari Chatterjee Miller This article, first published on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), is licensed under Creative Commons. WASHIGNTON, D.C. | 3 February 2024 (IDN) — During the G20 summit in India last year, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi hosted a “Voice of the Global South for Human-Centric Development” virtual […]
Laying Foundation for Digital Revolution in Africa’s Food Systems
By Douglas Okwatch This report is a slightly modified version of the original published in the January 2024 issue of Africa Renewal. NAIROBI | 3 February 2024 (IDN) — Digital technologies will be key in addressing the three persistent problems in Africa’s agricultural industry—inefficiency, exclusivity, and unsustainability, according to the 2023 Africa Agriculture Status Report, […]