Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Women Activists Protest Torture & Imprisonment Under Repressive Regimes Thalif Deen Faced with an uneven battle against right wing nationalist governments, repressive regimes and extremist groups, scores of civil society organizations (CSOs) are gearing themselves to fight back. Expressing grave concern over a widespread crackdown on activists, 118 leading CSOs, scholars and ... MORE > >

Greater Skills Equals Greater Ability to Combat Leprosy Stella Paul It’s a Friday morning and Dr. Ken Jetton, the only doctor who treats leprosy in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, is seeing a patient recently cured of the disease. David, 32, has received multidrug therapy (MDT) treatment for a year already. But he is back in the doctor’s office ... MORE > >

Latin America Resets Its Strategy against Femicides Fabiana Frayssinet Several initiatives are seeking to strengthen the fight against femicides in Latin America, a region which, despite growing popular mobilisation and pioneering legislation against gender-based murders, still has the world's worst rates in what has been described as a "silent genocide," says U.N. ... MORE > >

VIDEO: Increasing Leprosy Cases in Micronesia Points to Better Detection and Awareness Stella Paul Elizabeth Keller is one of the most senior health officials in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). She is the current acting chief of Public Health and also the head of the leprosy programme in the island nation’s capital of Pohnpei. While Pohnpei has the largest number of leprosy cases in ... MORE > >

VIDEO: Financial Hurdles to Eliminating Leprosy in Micronesia Stella Paul Maylene Ekiek has been working with the Department of Health in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) for 12 years now. She is the head of the National Leprosy Programme in the Pacific island nation, which still remains one of three, along with the Marshall Islands and Kiribati, that is yet to ... MORE > >

Has Privatization Benefitted the Public? Jomo Kwame Sundaram In most cases of privatization, some outcomes benefit some, which serves to legitimize the change. Nevertheless, overall net welfare improvements are the exception, not the rule. Never is everyone better off. Rather, some are better off, while others are not, and typically, many are even worse ... MORE > >

An Indigenous Nation Battles for Land and Justice in Bolivia Franz Chávez The ancient Qhara Qhara nation began a battle against the State of Bolivia in defence of its rich ancestral lands, in an open challenge to a government that came to power in 2006 on a platform founded on respect for the values and rights of indigenous peoples. Men and women from the Qhara Qhara ... MORE > >

Sierra Leone: Bio Government’s First Year Lahai J. Samboma If the government of Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio were to be graded on their first year’s performance in office, it is likely that their report card would read, “promising start, which they must surpass in the years ahead”. Since taking office after his successful election last ... MORE > >

2, 4, 8 and ? Billion People Joseph Chamie Two, four and eight billion people is the extraordinary doubling and redoubling of the world’s population that occurred in slightly less than a century. World population, which had grown to 2 billion by 1927, doubled to 4 billion by 1974 and will reach 8 billion by around 2023. Source: United ... MORE > >

'The First City Completely Devastated by Climate Change' Tries to Rebuild after Cyclone Idai Amos Fernando The city of Dondo, about 30 kilometres from Beira, central Mozambique, didn’t escape the strong winds of Cyclone Idai. It is estimated that more than 17,000 families were displaced and more than a dozen schools were destroyed in the city. While the world has rallied around Mozambique and ... MORE > >

Bridging the Gaps for the Disabled Tharanga Yakupitiyage People with disabilities are being left behind, and steps must be taken to ensure their inclusion in the world of education and work. Approximately 15 percent of the world’s population, or an estimated one billion people, live with disabilities. But neglect, discrimination, and abuse are still ... MORE > >

Militarised Government Attempts to Resume Mega-projects in Brazil Mario Osava Two military-inspired initiatives are leading Brazil's new government, which includes a number of generals, down the path of mega-projects, which have had disastrous results in the last four decades. Completing the country's third nuclear power plant and setting the construction of eight others ... MORE > >