Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Inter Press Service | News and Views from the Global South

Will There Also Be a Post-Journalism? Andrés Cañizález Every era brings its own buzzwords or catchphrases along with it. The term du jour is ‘pandemic’, namely ‘coronavirus’ and ‘COVID-19’; but alongside these words, speculation and forecasts over the post-pandemic world are flourishing. There is a proliferation of pieces and commentary on what our ... MORE > >

AUDIO: Beirut On its Knees Eliane Eid Following the massive explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4, IPS correspondent Eliane Eid reports that the residents of the city are still shell shocked. Beirut looks like a battlefield, with destruction all around. The main port was on fire before the explosion. Described by some quarters as a “chemical ... MORE > >

Mental Health and COVID-19 in India Madhumitha Balaji and Vikram Patel To fully realise the mental health crisis that India faces in relation to COVID-19, one has to begin with recognising the very serious situation that existed even before the pandemic. The government’s National Mental Health Survey reported that about 10 percent of adults meet diagnostic criteria ... MORE > >

Bangladesh Deals with Triple Disasters of Flooding, Coronavirus and Lost Livelihoods Farid Ahmed With nearly 5.5 million people people across Bangladesh affected by severe flooding -- the worst in two decades -- humanitarian experts are concerned that millions of people, already badly impacted by COVID-19, will be pushed further into poverty. With a third of the country under water, the ... MORE > >

Clean Cooking Transition: Pathways as Seen by Kenyan Villagers Eco Matser The Sustainable Development goals on energy speak clear: universal access energy and clean cooking by 2030 (SDG7). But the current efforts are still lagging several steps behind the specific needs of the communities and are not enough to achieve energy access for all, especially clean cooking ... MORE > >

Address Malnutrition with Food Insecurity Jomo Kwame Sundaram The 2020 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization and its United Nations partners in mid-July, reports that chronic hunger continued to increase to 690 million worldwide in 2019, 60 million more than in 2014. Jomo Kwame SundaramSome ... MORE > >

The COVID-19 Plastic Pandemic Sonia Awale and Ramesh Kumar The coronavirus pandemic was a respite for nature everywhere. The air was cleaner, trekking trails were pristine, the summit of Mt Everest was deserted, and worldwide carbon emission dipped by -26%. However, there are dark clouds in that silver lining. The COVID-19 crisis has unleashed a plastic ... MORE > >

Why the African Free Trade Area Could be the Game-Changer for the Continent's Economies Most economists see structural transformation as one of the main routes to Africa’s sustainable development. What it means is changing the share of agriculture, manufacturing and services in an economy. It is a central aim of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. With this aim in mind, economists and ... MORE > >

The Charter of the United Nations: Ideals for Shaping Our Reality Nicolas de Rivière “Reconciling the requirements of the ideal with the possibilities of the real": this is how Georges Bidault, Minister for Foreign Affairs and head of the French delegation to the San Francisco Conference, summed up the objective pursued by the drafters of the Charter of the United Nations. On the ... MORE > >

Southeast Asia Has a Chance to Build Back Better Post-Pandemic Samira Sadeque Southeast Asia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been efficient, but some areas such as data privacy, measures to go back to normalcy after lockdown is lifted, and resources for migrant or transient populations will need addressing. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres ... MORE > >

Corporate Bailout or Cash Transfers for All, including Children? Sabine Saliba The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have spared children from the direct health effects of the virus but the crisis has affected their social and economic rights directly and indirectly beyond what we could have foreseen. And there's no doubt that children who come from more vulnerable backgrounds will ... MORE > >

Google’s $10 Billion Investment in India Should be Inclusive of Persons with Disabilities Shubha Nagesh and Ifeanyi Nsofor Over the next seven years, Google will invest a whopping $10 billion in India to improve technology, health and education, according to CEO Sundar Pichai. This is unprecedented and could be a game changer that could improve health, education and economic empowerment. While Google should ... MORE > >

Last Mile Teachers George K. Werner and Caitlin Baron “It has gotten really tough for us,” says James, a father in rural Liberia, of COVID-19 lockdown and school closures. “My son is trying but he is missing his friends and teachers. Children want to be in school.” “When Coronavirus passes, will your school still be there to help us with our ... MORE > >