Health & Well Being

Photo: Families in Gaza receive food baskets through the UNRWA home delivery programme. Credit: UNRWA/Khalil Adwan

Gaza Strip Rapidly Becoming 'Unliveable'

By Sean Buchanan

LONDON (IDN) – “The UN said some three years ago that it expects Gaza to become ‘unliveable’ by 2020,” recalls Majed Abusalama, award-winning Palestinian journalist, scholar, campaigner and human rights defender.

“Since then, Israel not only refused to take action to reverse Gaza’s rapid deterioration into a post-apocalyptic wasteland but intensified its attacks on the Strip, hindering efforts by activists, NGOs and locals to keep this open prison habitable for a little longer. With the novel coronavirus now spreading throughout refugee camps and communities across Gaza, we cannot afford to wait any longer for the world to acknowledge our suffering and take action.”

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Middle East; 29 November 2020

COVID-19 and Lessons from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Viewpoint by Jayasri Priyalal*

SINGAPORE (IDN) – They are fighting an invisible enemy taking a warpath. Many countries grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic interpret the situation like a war. Frontline heroes are found in battlefield scenarios.

These heroes come from different professions, medical and healthcare workers being the binding force, the rest including, security, transport, postal logistic, financial service providers, and employees attached to retail industries etc. Aside from them, many unsung heroes are working in hospitals, morgues, in burial grounds and the health and sanitary service providers who provide an invaluable essential service to keep the communities together.

: Opinion Editor; COVID-19; 22 November 2020

COVID-19 Shatters Hopes for Industrial Advance in Africa

But the Next Decade Might Trigger the Change Needed

Viewpoint by Jenny Larsen*

VIENNA (IDN) – Industrial development in Africa has been sluggish for some decades. Now, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic kick in, hopes for better progress, at least in the short term, appear to be fading. But if countries grasp the right opportunities, the next decade can deliver the industrial change needed to meet the challenges ahead.

Industrialization and development go hand in hand. There is hardly a country in the world that has developed without building a strong manufacturing base. But for Africa – sometimes referred to as the continent of the future – the fruits of industrialization have often seemed just out of reach.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 November 2020

Photo credit: Valeriia Miller from Pexels

Sports and Art Suggested as Means to Promote Teens' Mental Health

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Art, music and sports have all been proven to boost mental health across a wide range of age groups, but one new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia indicates that these extracurricular activities are a powerful way to boost teen mental health. The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine, showed that teens who spent less than two hours daily on leisure-centred screen time had higher levels of life satisfaction and felt more positive about life in general. The findings were especially strong amongst girls.

: Europe Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 21 November 2020

New Report Sparks Anxiety About COVID-19 Wrecking UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi has stressed the need to address the frailties of globalization that led to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its uneven economic impacts, gravely wounding the world economy with serious consequences for everyone. He hopes that the situation would prove to be 'course-altering' and a catalyst for change. "We need to reshape global production networks and reset multilateral cooperation for the better," he says.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 20 November 2020

Reclaiming Public Development Banks to Finance a Sustainable & Equitable Recovery Post Covid-19

Viewpoint by Thomas Marois and Maria Jose Romero *

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Those who work in the world’s public development banks will meet virtually on November 11-12 to discuss their response to the Covid-19 pandemic and their role in a more sustainable future.

This new summit, which they have called ‘Finance in Common’ (FiC), will also bring together the governments that own them and other key stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society, think tanks and academia.

: Europe Editor; COVID-19; 08 November 2020

Five BRICS Countries Accentuate UN's Central Role in International Affairs

Parliamentarians Pledge Partnership for Global Stability

By Kester Kenn Klomegah*

MOSCOW (IDN) – Parliamentarians of five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have pledged to join hands in combating COVID-19, facing the challenges and threats that each member state currently faces, and strengthening cooperation, including at the inter-parliamentary level.

In view of the coronavirus pandemic, the Sixth Parliamentary Forum on October 27 was organized via video conference. Its main theme was "BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth: parliamentary dimension".

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 30 October 2020

Photo. Mauritanian students return to school after several months of school closures due to COVID-19. Credit: UNICEF/Raphael Pouget

Financing and Political Will Critical to Avert A ‘Generational Crisis’ Triggered by COVID-19

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The world is at risk of suffering “a generational catastrophe”, as COVID-19 wreaks havoc on the education of students globally, the Secretary-General António Guterres has warned.

In a video message to the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Global Education Meeting (GEM), on October 22, he reminded delegates that the pandemic had had a “disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable and marginalized children and youth”.

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 23 October 2020

Breaking Media Stereotypes with Indigenous Storytelling

By UN Academic Impact

NEW YORK (IDN) – There are an estimated 476 million indigenous peoples in the world, living across 90 countries. They speak an overwhelming majority of the world’s estimated 7,000 languages and represent 5,000 different cultures.

COVID-19 has posed a grave threat to Indigenous peoples around the world, who already lack access to healthcare and other essential services. Yet, Indigenous peoples are seeking their own solutions in their own languages, using divergent knowledge, practices and preventative measures to fight the pandemic.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 23 October 2020

Photo: Nurses working in a South African COVID-19 clinic, based on a train, which travels to reach different communities. Credit: EPA-EFE

COVID-19: Europeans Can Learn from Developing Countries

Developed Countries Should Change Their Mindset

Viewpoint by Maru Mormina and Ifeanyi M. Nsofor*

OXFORD | WASHINGTON (IDN) – Nine months into the pandemic, Europe remains one of the regions worst affected by COVID-19. Ten of the 20 countries with the highest death count per million people are European. The other ten are in the Americas. This includes the US, which has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths in the world.

Most of Africa and Asia, on the contrary, still seems spared. Of the countries with reported COVID-related deaths, the ten with the lowest death count per million are in these parts of the world. But while mistakes and misjudgements have fuelled sustained criticism of the UK’s handling of the pandemic, the success of much of the developing world remains unsung.