By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — Close to seven million deaths could be prevented by 2030, if low and lower-middle income countries were to make an additional investment of less than a dollar per person per year in the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), according to a new World Health Organization report. NCDs […]
Internet Governance Forum Calls for Stronger Digital Rights
By Jutta Wolf BERLIN | KATOWICE, Poland (IDN) — Ensuring the protection of human rights and social and economic inclusion in the digital age was front and centre at the five-day discussions. These concluded in Katowice, Poland, on December 10 with a call to urgently connect the 2.9 billion people who still cannot access the […]
The Global Pandemic Disrupts Health Services Around the World
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA (IDN) — The global pandemic is likely to halt two decades of global progress towards Universal Health Coverage, according to two complementary reports compiled by the World Health Organization and the World Bank. The organizations also reveal in two reports launched on Universal Health Coverage Day that more than half a […]
Development Community Calls For Universal Vaccine Access
By UNDP SAL | Cabo Verde (IDN) — Cabo Verde President José Maria Neves on December 2 joined the development community in calling for urgent universal vaccine access as a way to mitigate the impact of Omicron and other variants of the Covid-19 virus. The World Health Organization on December 3 categorized Omicron as a […]
Time For Reforms in Latin America and The Caribbean to Address Long-Standing Challenges
Viewpoint by Alicia Bárcena, Sergio Díaz-Granados, Mathias Cormann, Jutta Urpilainen* The following is the text of the editorial in the ‘Latin American Economic Outlook 2021: Working Together for a Better Recovery’. PARIS (IDN) — Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has been the region worst affected by the pandemic and is only re-emerging from what […]
The Taliban’s Social Media Warfare Operation Toward Seizing Kabul
Viewpoint by Iria Puyosa This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission. MICHIGAN, United States (IDN) — In their advance towards Kabul, the Taliban were anticipating their military victory through WhatsApp’s voice notes, tweets, and Facebook posts. The Taliban insurgency crafted transmedia storytelling on how Afghan army soldiers […]
Security Council Debates the Nexus Between Climate Change and Terrorism
By J Nastranis NEW YORK (IDN) — People and countries most vulnerable to climate change also are most vulnerable to terrorist recruitment and violence, speakers in an open debate told the Security Council on December 9, as the 15-nation United Nations organ considered a draft resolution proposed by Niger and Ireland. The Council was considering […]
Africa’s Land Restoration Movement Needs a Moon Shot
By Ibrahim Mayaki and Wanjira Mathai Dr Mayaki is the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, while Ms Mathai is the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa at the World Resources Institute. JOHANNESBURG; South Africa (IDN | Africa Renewal) — Six years ago, African leaders recognized that the degradation of 65 per cent of Africa’s agricultural land […]
Biden’s White House Is Deliberately Flaring Up Tensions with Kremlin
Viewpoint by M K Bhadrakumar* NEW DELHI (IDN) — This must be a rare occasion when Russian President Vladimir Putin during his 18 years in the Kremlin came out second best in an encounter with an American president. And it had to be at the hands of President Joe Biden who has not yet completed […]
Ten Problems with Biden’s Foreign Policy—and One Solution
Viewpoint by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK (IDN) — The Biden presidency is still in its early days, but it’s not too early to point to areas in the foreign policy realm where we, as progressives, have been disappointed or even infuriated. There are one or two positive developments, such as […]