Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Global Inequality Continues to Grow: UNDESA Report Samira Sadeque More than 70 percent of the global population is currently living in parts of the world where income inequality has grown, according to a World Social Report 2020 launched by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The report, which was launched at the U.N. on Tuesday, ... MORE > >

UN Chief & Staff Union Predict Another Cash Crisis in 2020—if Member States Don’t Pay Up Thalif Deen UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared last week that the United Nations just “managed to survive its deepest financial crisis in a decade.” But if countries continue to default on their assessed contributions to the world body – as 47 countries did in 2019 -- the UN may be heading for ... MORE > >

Bridging Africa’s Great Gender-Financing Divide Miriam Gathigah What stands between Soi Cate Chelang and her dream of turning her small pallet-making business into a major enterprise is capital. In Kenya, Chelang may well be a pioneer in making seats out of wooden pallets — the flat pieces of wood used to support goods or containers during shipping. While ... MORE > >

Why the Coronavirus Should Worry Us All Ifeanyi Nsofor The coronavirus outbreak -- which began in Wuhan, China, and causes a pneumonia-like illness -- is raging across Asia, infecting close to 300 people and killing four. It was initially known to be transmitted from animals to human, and was just confirmed to be transmitted from human to human. The ... MORE > >

Ending Bullying and Humiliation over Menstruation as Girls and Boys in Conservative Eswatini are Educated about Reproductive Health Mantoe Phakathi When 14-year-old Nomcebo Mkhaliphi first noticed the blood discharged from her vagina, she was shocked. Confused, she turned to her older sisters for advice. “My sisters told me that they were experiencing the same every month and that they used fabric, toilet paper and newspapers as sanitary ... MORE > >

School Lunch Programmes for Progress Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Wan Manan Muda If well planned, coordinated and implemented, a government funded school feeding programme for all primary school children can be progressively transformative. Such a programme, involving government departments and agencies working together, can benefit schoolchildren, their families, farmers and ... MORE > >

Geneva Staff Battles UN Chief over Unequal Pay & Illegal Salary Cuts Thalif Deen As the United Nations commemorates its 75th anniversary this year, the financially-crippled Organization is also saddled with a rash of administrative problems, plus an ongoing cash crisis, perhaps one of the worst in history. At a town hall meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last ... MORE > >

UN Special Rapporteur Offers Assistance to Indian Supreme Court in Case of Rohingya Deportation Samira Sadeque University of California professor E. Tendayi Achiume, who is a United Nations Special Rapporteur, has recently offered her assistance to the Indian Supreme Court in a long hearing about India deporting Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. The hearing, which began in 2017, has this update at a crucial ... MORE > >

Pro-Growth Demographic Dogma Joseph Chamie Whenever the issue of population comes up, pro-growth demographic dogma invariably dominates. Governments, political parties, businesses, the media and many others typically praise population growth and lament population slowdown, stabilization or decline. The demographic dogma basically advocates ... MORE > >

Slovak Journalist’s Trial a Fundamental Moment to Prove if Country can Punish Crimes Designed to Silence Journalists Ed Holt As four people appear in court in Slovakia over the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova, both 27, the trial is being seen by many as a historic moment for not just press freedom in the country but public faith in its justice system. Miroslav Marcek, Tomas Szabo, ... MORE > >

Empowering Women in Poor Communities & Building Resilience Against Climate Pressure Bijal Brahmbhatt As global temperatures continue to rise, vulnerable populations around the world are facing increasingly complex climate risks – with ongoing droughts in Zimbabwe and floods devastating Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. From flooding and cyclones to heatwaves and droughts, the stresses and shocks ... MORE > >