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 […]
Protect Health Workers Serving Like Soldiers At the Frontlines Against COVID-19
Viewpoint by Siddharth Chatterjee and Mutahi Kagwe Mr. Mutahi Kagwe is the Cabinet Secretary for Health in Kenya and Siddharth Chatterjee is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya. This article was first published in Africa Renewal on 24 March 2020. NAIROBI (IDN) – Many soldiers have seen first-hand the horrors of war and, terrifying […]
COVID-19: A Battle Plan for Ensuring Global Food Supplies
Africa Renewal Talks to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen NEW YORK (IDN) – The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world on a crisis footing, with unprecedented actions to restrict movements and plans for radical deployment of public funds to combat the threat posed by a novel coronavirus that knows no boundaries. Success will entail […]
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: Bio-Warfare Conspiracy Theories Need Investigation
Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – With the new coronavirus now known as COVID-19 becoming a global pandemic affecting countries around the world, with epicentres in western countries, various conspiracy theories have emerged and are gaining traction both in social media and the mainstream. Rather than dismissing these, all such theories may need close […]
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, […]
Hybrid Cars and the Myth of Zero-Emission Driving
By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Emissions from the new generation of hybrid cars are 31 percent higher than those from the previous generation. While the demand for larger vehicles appears to be the driving force, this discrepancy is part of a larger problem that the most eco-conscious hybrid owners are acutely […]
UN Aims at Writing A Greener Story in Asia and the Pacific
Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana. The writer is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. BANGKOK (IDN) – Rising economic prosperity and poverty reduction may not tell the whole story of progress in Asia and the Pacific. Telling signs in the natural world recount a narrative that is far from complete. This year […]
One-Size-Fits All Approach to COVID-19 Could Have Lethal Consequences for Africa
Viewpoint by Alex Broadbent and Benjamin T.H. Smart* JOHANNESBURG (IDN) – Suppose you had the choice between two health policies, A and B. Policy A would result in the death of a lot of elderly people. Policy B would result in the death of a lot of children, especially infants. Which would you choose? Right […]
UN Chief’s Call for Global Ceasefire Gathering Support
By Radwan Jakeem NEW YORK (IDN) – In a clarion call for “an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on March 23 urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening […]