Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

People Affected by Leprosy in Latin America Unite for Their Rights and Their Voice Mario Osava With the decision to found a regional coalition to promote rights and greater participation in national and international forums and decisions, the First Latin American and Caribbean Assembly of Organisations of People Affected by Hansen's disease, popularly known - and stigmatised - as leprosy, ... MORE > >

VIDEO: Helping St. Vincent’s Fishers Maintain an Essential Industry in a Changing Climate Kenton X. Chance From an influx of sargassum in near-shore waters, to fish venturing further out to sea to find cooler, more oxygenated water, fishers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are battling the vagaries of climate change. The country is doing what it can to respond.https://youtu.be/gyqfPfQ9lt8 MORE > >

In Latin America, the Term Leprosy Still Carries a Burden from Biblical Times Fabiana Frayssinet Known scientifically as Hansen's disease, leprosy carries a symbolic burden from the past that people affected by the disease and experts from around Latin America are fighting, including the terminology used. The debate took place during a panel called Hanseniasis versus Leprosy, at the First ... MORE > >

Using Climate-Smart Solutions to Promote Peace in South Sudan Isaiah Esipisu Almost a month to go ahead of the traditional rainy season in Gbudue State, 430 kilometres west of South Sudan’s capital, Juba, smallholder farmers are already tilling their land as they prepare to plant purer, drought-tolerant seeds. “We are preparing our land this early because we are never ... MORE > >

People Affected by Leprosy Still Face Stigma in Latin America Mario Osava The First Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Organisations of People Affected by Hansen's Disease, more widely known as leprosy, seeks to exorcise stigma and discrimination. The meeting has brought together around a hundred activists in Brazil. The rights and participation of these people ... MORE > >

Multilateralism: A Testimony Ambassador Idriss Jazairy and Roberto Savio For over 70 years, the UN system has been perceived as the guardian of peace and development in the world. However, multilateralism today is undeniably under strain. The effectiveness of global institutions and of global policymaking is questioned, and alliances are fraying. Often, in times of ... MORE > >

Innovative Sustainable Business: A Three Trillion-Dollar Opportunity that UN Environment Wants People to Develop Isaiah Esipisu In the East African region, communities around the continent’s largest water body, Lake Victoria, regard the water hyacinth as a great menace that clogs the lake and hampers their fishing activities. But in Lagos, Nigeria, some groups of women have learned how to convert the invasive weed into a ... MORE > >

Gender Quotas Help Women Parliamentarians to Rise in Numbers Thalif Deen When the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), based in Switzerland, released its annual report on the representation of women legislators worldwide, four of the top five countries were from the developing world. Rwanda led the way with 61.3 percent of the seats held by women in its lower or single ... MORE > >

UN Pays Homage to Staffers Who Died in Plane Crash Thalif Deen The United Nations headquarters is in mourning – and the UN flag is at half mast. The deaths of 21 UN staffers March 10, on board an Ethiopian Airlines flight in Addis Ababa, is one of the biggest tragedies in the extended UN family—with a flashback to the deaths of 22 people, mostly UN ... MORE > >

Access to Water Is a Daily Battle in Poor Neighborhoods in Buenos Aires Daniel Gutman "Look at this water. Would you drink it?" asks José Pablo Zubieta, as he shows a glass he has just filled from a faucet, where yellow and brown sediment float, in his home in Villa La Cava, a shantytown on the outskirts of Argentina's capital. In La Cava, as in all of Argentina's slums and ... MORE > >

Q&A: Inventor from a Small Fishing Village in Saint Lucia Provides Hope for Water Woes Alison Kentish Karlis Noel spends his days in his lab in the small, picturesque community of Laborie in St. Lucia. The former fisherman’s story might sound like an overnight success, but his present accolades in the field of engineering are the result of years of hard work and an unceasing drive to make life ... MORE > >

Preaching World Peace by Day, Peddling Lethal Weapons By Night Thalif Deen The Middle East, one of the world’s most politically-volatile and war-ravaged regions, has doubled its arms imports during the past five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The sharp increase in arms purchases has been triggered – directly or ... MORE > >