Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

The Gaza Strip and COVID-19: Preparing for the Worst The coronavirus is now present in Gaza, the populous Palestinian enclave blockaded by air, land and sea since 2007. An epidemic would be calamitous. Hamas should tighten public health measures; Israel should loosen restrictions so that medical supplies can enter and afflicted Palestinians can ... MORE > >

Snapshot of Life under Lockdown in Bangladesh Nayema Nusrat and Mohammad Rakibul Hasan The Coronavirus pandemic is changing how we live our daily lives. The scale of the COVID-19 and its impact on our lives is unprecedented. When humanity gets past this, the world will be a very different place than the one we have known. The changes will likely impact how we interact with each ... MORE > >

Coronavirus Proves Need for Free Healthcare for All-- Now Winnie Byanyima The multi-layered crisis of the Coronavirus epidemic has been a dramatic shock to everyone. But, to communities affected by HIV and AIDS, the crisis has not only brought a further shock to already vulnerable people, it has brought other reactions too – a troubling sense of déjà vu, and a ... MORE > >

The Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Developing Countries Daud Khan and Leila Yasmine Khan What is likely to be the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing economies? It is difficult to make predictions, because much will depend on the spread of the disease, especially in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, and the measures various Governments will take in the coming ... MORE > >

Modern Day Slavery Reaches a Far Corner of the World Thalif Deen The deadly, fast-spreading coronavirus which upended three key UN conferences—on the empowerment of women, on nuclear disarmament and on indigenous rights—claimed another casualty last week when a commemorative meeting on the transatlantic slave trade was postponed. A visibly disappointed ... MORE > >

Walking the Talk on Climate Change after the Pandemic: Reorienting State-Owned Enterprises towards Sustainability Leonardo Beltran This year started with the news of the appearance of a new virus, COVID-19. The impact and severity of its effects in public health, mortality and the world economy are overwhelming. No public health system was prepared for this crisis, and yet governments are reacting deploying different policies ... MORE > >

GEF Project to be Game-changer for Trinidad Quarries Jewel Fraser A Trinidad and Tobago parliamentary report in 2018 made two disturbing observations about that country’s quarry sector: Of the 67 mining operators on record, only 6 were operating with current licenses; The State loses large sums in the form of unpaid/uncollected royalties from quarry ... MORE > >

Life in the Time of COVID-19: Quo Vadis Homo Sapiens? Dr PL de Silva The writing is on the wall for all to see from far and wide – there is nowhere to hide from this invisible enemy, a new coronavirus, maybe with the exception of self-isolation, quarantined at home and even then, we are not 100% safe. An event of planetary magnitude is currently being visited ... MORE > >

West First Policies Expose Myths Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram As the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic shifts from China to the developed West, all too many rich countries are acting selfishly, invoking the ‘national interest’, by banning exports of vital medical supplies. US President Donald Trump has reportedly gone further by seeking exclusive rights ... MORE > >

Mexico's Plan to Upgrade Hydropower Plants Faces Hurdles Emilio Godoy Water security and profitability are the Achilles heels of the plan to modernise 60 hydroelectric plants in Mexico, drawn up by the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Most of them are power plants built more than 50 years ago, so the upgrading plan poses technical and ... MORE > >

Neglected Diseases Kill More People than COVID-19 – It’s Time to Address Them Ifeanyi Nsofor and Adaeze Oreh As COVID-19 surges globally and leaves fear and panic in its wake, global efforts are underway to find a cure. Yet, the same level of response is lacking for several other infectious diseases that kill millions annually. These kinds of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a broad group of ... MORE > >

Slums, Camps, Terrorism: Experts Worry about Coronavirus Hitting South Asia Samira Sadeque As coronavirus makes its way through different continents, countries, and communities around the world having claimed more than 23,000 lives, experts are ringing alarm bells about the implications of the disease as it hits South Asia, which hosts almost 2 billion of the world’s ... MORE > >

Chinese vs. Western Governance: The case of COVID-19 Martin Jacques During January the onslaught in the Western media, notably the US and the UK, against the Chinese government’s handling of the Covid-19 epidemic, was merciless. The Chinese government stood accused of an inhumane attitude towards its people, secrecy, a cover-up, and an overwhelming concern for its ... MORE > >

Can Eswatini’s Traditional Healers Encourage HIV Testing Among People Not Accessible via Routine Healthcare Systems? Mantoe Phakathi Doctor Khalishwayo is a traditional healer based in Nhlangano, a town in the Shiselweni Region, in southern Eswatini. His clients are people who consult him when they are suffering from different ailments. And he in turn diagnoses them using divine methods. “But as a traditional healer, there ... MORE > >