Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Keeping Education within the Grasp of Refugee Children Mantoe Phakathi “Not being able to go to school is not something I’d wish on any child in this world,” said 21-year-old Nujeen Mustafa, a young advocate for refugees who fled the Syrian war with her sister. Mustafa, who now lives in Germany, is also the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) high profile ... MORE > >

Debt Hawks Detract from Urgently Needed Fiscal Recovery Efforts Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram Developing country debt has continued to grow rapidly since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis (GFC). Warnings against debt have been reiterated by familiar prophets of debt doom such as new World Bank chief economist, Carmen Reinhart, once dubbed the ‘godmother of austerity’. Anis ... MORE > >

Youth Rural-Urban Migration Hurts Malawi's Agriculture Charles Mpaka As households in Chiradzulu District in Southern Malawi start preparing their farms for the next maize growing season, Frederick Yohane, 24, is a busy young man. Every morning, he works with his two brothers in their family field where they grow maize and pigeon peas. In the afternoon, he tills ... MORE > >

Impending Food Crisis in Lebanon will Largely Affect Migrant Workers Samira Sadeque Migrant workers and refugees in Lebanon will “inevitably” suffer the most as food insecurity threatens the nation following last week’s blast. “People already living in poverty – including destitute migrants and refugees – will inevitably suffer the most,” Angela Wells, public information ... MORE > >

To Stay Ahead of the Next Insect Outbreak, Harness Available Data Intelligence Esther Ngumbi Recently, the UK contributed £17 million to support the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to continue their efforts to combat the desert locust surge in East Africa and improve early warning and forecasting systems. Because of contributions like this and other ... MORE > >

COVID-19: Where to From Here For Efforts to Support Youth Economic Inclusion? Steven Rebello As the world marks International Youth Day on August 12, it is difficult to ignore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people - particularly on efforts towards youth economic inclusion in Africa. Meaningful and swift action is needed from African states to ensure the damage is not ... MORE > >

The Growing Global Movement to End Outdoor Advertising Steve Rushton “With advertisements removed in Grenoble you can see the city’s beauty and the mountains beyond. Adverts create obstacles. Without them you can breathe,” explains Khaled Gaiji, national mobilisation coordinator of the French anti-advertising organisation Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire ... MORE > >

Understanding the Benefits of local Wetland Encourages Eswatini Community to Save it Mantoe Phakathi Sibonisiwe Hlanze, from Lawuba in Eswatini’s Shiselweni Region, lights up as she shows off her sleeping mat which she made from what she described as “the highest quality indigenous fibre”. Hlanze boasts that she did not pay a cent for the likhwane (Cyperus latifolius) used to make mats that she ... MORE > >

Warming Temperatures & Decades of Oil Spills Cause Irreversible Damage to the Persian Gulf Rabiya Jaffery The Persian Gulf is one of the most strategic waterways in the world and is also one of the most polluted. According to estimates by experts, pollution levels in the Persian Gulf are 47 times higher than the world’s average and are steadily increasing. The 600-mile body of water that is ... MORE > >

​As Latin America Looks to a COVID Recovery, It Will Need to Tackle its Growing Middle-Class Angst Ricardo Raineri and Philippe Benoit While COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc across Latin America, its governments are developing policies which they hope will provide for a rapid economic recovery when the pandemic wanes. In doing so, they will need to address the aspirations of the region’s growing middle and working classes -- ... MORE > >

COVID-19 - Some 23.8 Million More Children Will Drop out of School Samira Sadeque Countries with low human development are facing the brunt of school lockdowns, with more than 85 percent of their students effectively out of school by the second quarter of 2020, according to a United Nations policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on education. At the launch, U.N. Secretary ... MORE > >

Multilateral Bank Intermediation Must Help Developing Countries’ Recovery Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has warned that developing countries would need more than the earlier estimated US$2.5 trillion to provide relief to affected families and businesses and expedite economic recovery. Anis Chowdhury With their ... MORE > >