Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Mexico's Development Banks Fuel the Fossil Energy Trade Emilio Godoy Since 2012, Teresa Castellanos has fought the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Huexca, in the central Mexican state of Morelos, adjacent to the country's capital. "We don't want the power plant to operate, because it will cause irreparable damage, polluting the water and air. This ... MORE > >

COVID-19 - China Tells World Health Assembly They Did their Best Samira Sadeque This week’s 73rd World Health Assembly had member states adopt a resolution to review the global response to the coronavirus pandemic. The World Health Organisation (WHO) will also undergo an evaluation for its response to the outbreak. At the virtual assembly, Chinese President Xi Jinping ... MORE > >

To Restore Forests, First Start With a Seed Emmanuel Hitimana In 2011, when Rwanda committed to restoring 2 million hectares of land in a global effort to restore 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested areas by 2020 — it seemed like a big ask. The densely populated and geographically small African nation had many limitations which could stand in ... MORE > >

Will UN Chief & Senior Management Volunteer Pay Cuts in Crisis-Stricken World Body? Thalif Deen As a spiraling financial crisis threatens to undermine the UN’s day-to-day operations worldwide, a proposal being kicked around, outside the empty corridors of the UN, has triggered the question: will senior officials, including the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), ... MORE > >

HIV Services Take a Backseat to COVID-19 in Russia Ed Holt In Russia, which has one of the world’s worst HIV/AIDS epidemics, an already fragile healthcare system is buckling under the pressure of dealing with COVID-19. The country has the second-highest number of reported coronavirus infections (as of May 19), hundreds of hospitals have reported ... MORE > >

Covid-19 Straw Breaks Free Trade Camel’s Back Jomo Kwame Sundaram Economic growth is supposed to be the tide that lifts all boats. According to the conventional wisdom until recently, growth in China, India and East Asian countries took off thanks to opening up to international trade and investment. Such growth is said to have greatly reduced poverty despite ... MORE > >

Coronavirus Leads to Nosedive in Remittances in Latin America Humberto Márquez Remittances that support millions of households in Latin America and the Caribbean have plunged as family members lose jobs and income in their host countries, with entire families sliding back into poverty, as a result of the COVID-19 health crisis and global economic recession. The region ... MORE > >

Forced Marriage, Organ Trafficking Rife in Asia Pacific - Part 2 Neena Bhandari A single mother, Mai (name changed) had the responsibility of providing for her young son and grandparents, who had brought her up in a poor rural province in southern Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. While she was looking for employment, somebody approached her on social media with an offer of a ... MORE > >

United States Leads the World in Covid-19 Deaths Joseph Chamie It’s an indisputable fact: the United States leads the world in the number of Covid-19 deaths. As of 15 May, three months after the country’s first confirmed coronavirus death, the US death toll from the pandemic has reached a remarkable 88,000 deaths. That rising figure is more than double the ... MORE > >

COVID-19 Has Blown Away the Myth About 'First' and 'Third' World Competence One of the planet’s – and Africa’s – deepest prejudices is being demolished by the way countries handle COVID-19. For as long as any of us remember, everyone “knew” that “First World” countries – in effect, Western Europe and North America – were much better at providing their citizens with a ... MORE > >

Modern Slavery in Asia Pacific Fuelled by Widespread Poverty, Migration & Weak Governance - Part 1 Neena Bhandari Aged 17, Moe Turaga was saddled with the responsibility of providing for his mother and young siblings when a family member approached him with the promise of a job and education in Australia. Dreaming of a bright future for himself and his family, he seized the opportunity and left the protective ... MORE > >