Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

World’s Sewage Workers ‘Underpaid, Sidelined and Risking their Lives’ James Reinl People who empty out sewage tanks and scrub down latrines doubtless perform a vital, thankless and even undesirable task. A new report, however, shows that doing such jobs could also cost workers their lives. A study from the World Health Organization (WHO) and others has revealed that millions ... MORE > >

Art Helping Women to Highlight Gender-based Violence at ICPD25 Mantoe Phakathi While women find it hard to talk about their painful experiences, some have found a way of expressing themselves through art. Women, trained as artists, from Nairobi’s informal settlements Kibera and Kangemi, have produced a beautiful quilt that tells stories about their daily ... MORE > >

This Time Around ICPD25 Commitments Will Be Met Says UNFPA ... Crystal Orderson The United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA Ethiopia country representative, Bettina Maas speaks to IPS at the ICPD25 Nairobi Summit and she says she is optimistic that this time around that the three critical commitments; bringing preventable maternal deaths, gender based violence and harmful ... MORE > >

Will Artificial Intelligence Help Resolve the Food Crisis? Thalif Deen When UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a global appeal for “zero hunger” on World Food Day last month, he provided some grim statistics rich in irony: more than 820 million people do not have enough to eat, he said, while two billion people are overweight or obese. "It is unacceptable ... MORE > >

Young People at ICPD25: ' We Have the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Rights' Joyce Chimbi Every day in developing countries it is estimated that 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth. This amounts to 7.3 million births a year. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are still the leading cause of death among adolescent girls, according to the United Nations Population ... MORE > >

The UN at 75: Time to Give Citizens a Voice Andreas Bummel, Lysa John and Bruno Kaufmann Next year the United Nations will commemorate its 75th anniversary. The General Assembly determined that all the UN’s activities in 2020 shall be guided by the theme “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”. In January the ... MORE > >

Campaign Targets UNESCO’s Tie-up with ‘Saudi Spies’ James Reinl The United Nations faces renewed criticism over its partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Misk Foundation amid revelations that the charity is headed by the mastermind of a recent Twitter spying operation. An online petition against the tie-up has received some 6,000 signatures, with organisers saying ... MORE > >

Rock Glaciers Supply Water to Highlands Communities in Argentina Daniel Gutman In Argentina's Puna region, at 4,000 metres above sea level, the color green is rare in the arid landscape, which is dominated by different shades of brown and yellow. In this inhospitable environment, daily life has improved thanks to a system of piping water downhill from rock glaciers to local ... MORE > >

World Youth Call to Governments to Ban All Hindrances to LGBTQI Communities Mantoe Phakathi Governments across the world must ban all state-implemented harmful practices against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) community delegates at the ICPD25 tells IPS. Adding his voice in bridging the gap of Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) among the ... MORE > >

ICPD25: Lessons From the East Joyce Chimbi The Japan Parliamentary Federation for Population represented by Mr Teruhiko Mashiko and its secretariat, the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) has made a clear and concrete commitment to endorse the ICPD25 agenda. Mashiko tells IPS that Japan, as should every country driven by ... MORE > >

Women with Disabilities Speak out Against Exclusion at ICPD25 Joyce Chimbi One in five women globally lives with a disability even as they have same needs and interests as women without disabilities, their access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights remains severely limited. Delegates representing people living with disabilities at the ICPD25 ... MORE > >

Forced Child Marriage Must Be Stopped Says South Sudanese Child Activist Crystal Orderson Young women and girls are still subjected to a range of harmful practices and violence, including early marriage. Every year, an estimated 12 million girls get married before the age of 18. In an IPS exclusive from the ICPD25 summit one young brave woman from South Sudan tells us her story of ... MORE > >

A New Deal for Sustainable Development Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury Almost nine decades ago, newly elected US President Franklin Roosevelt introduced the New Deal in 1933 in response to the Great Depression. The New Deal consisted of a number of mutually supportive initiatives, of which the most prominent were: a public works programme financed by budget deficits; ... MORE > >

PNG Bougainville Prepares for Historic Vote on Nationhood Catherine Wilson The people of Bougainville, an autonomous region in eastern Papua New Guinea (PNG), have aspired to self-government for more than a century. Now their longed-for opportunity to vote on independence will occur on Nov. 23. But, even with a clear majority in the vote count, the region’s future, which ... MORE > >

How can Taps, Toilets & Good Hygiene Help Ensure Sustainable & Resilient Agricultural Supply Chains? Ruth Romer Water underpins the global economy and agriculture is by far the world’s largest water consumer, accounting for 70% of freshwater withdrawals. Global water demands are projected to increase by 55% by 2050 and climate change will present further pressures on water accessibility. Many ... MORE > >