Midwives: The Workforce That Will Determine Maternal and Newborn Survival and Africa’s Future By Diene Keita and Jean Kaseya (++++++) Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Midwives: The Workforce That Will Determine Maternal and Newborn Survival and Africa’s Future By Diene Keita and Jean Kaseya NEW YORK / ADDIS ABABA, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - Tonight, thousands of women across Africa will give birth. Whether they survive to see daylight will largely depend on where they live, how quickly they reach care, and whether the health system around them is ready to respond. Maternal deaths in Africa have dropped 40 percent since 2000, but progress is now stalling. Africa still accounts for more than 70 percent of all maternal deaths worldwide. A woman facing pregnancy complications on the continent is around 130 times more likely to die than a woman in Europe or North America. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/09/midwives-the-workforce-that-will-determine-maternal-and-newborn-survival-and-africas-future/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_Plans_to_Restrict_Foreign_Journalists_Trigger_Rising_Protests_Nepalese_Experts_Victims_Contemplat Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Bridging Digital Transformation in an ASEAN-EAEU Cooperation By Ruhimat Soerakoesoemah, Andrey Panteleev and Philip Diamant BANGKOK, Thailand, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - Physical borders are shrinking, and digital ones are quietly taking their place. As governments use digital transformation as a powerful driver of economic and sustainable development, the challenge is no longer simply a digital divide between those with technology and those without it. It is a question of digital fragmentation, where infrastructure, standards and regulations make cross-border cooperation more difficult. This raises an important question of how economies in Asia and the Pacific can pursue digital sovereignty while remaining connected to trade, innovate and develop together. One promising answer lies in closer cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Both regions are trying to build stronger digital capabilities while keeping their economies open to cross-border trade. Despite their different economic structures and development pathways, the two blocs share many of the same digital ambitions and challenges. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/09/bridging-digital-transformation-in-an-asean-eaeu-cooperation/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_Plans_to_Restrict_Foreign_Journalists_Trigger_Rising_Protests_Nepalese_Experts_Victims_Contemplat Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Nuclear Victims’ Experiences Must Be at the Heart of Global Efforts for Assistance and Remediation By Naureen Hossain UNITED NATIONS, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - More and more, global disarmament discussions are encompassing the humanitarian and environmental impacts of the testing and use of nuclear weapons, as it becomes clear that the legacy of nuclear weapons leaves its mark on multiple generations. This was the purpose of the international meeting on ‘Victims Assistance and Environmental Remediation’ for countries affected by nuclear weapons. The meeting, held on September 1 in UN Headquarters, convened member states, academia, and civil society organizations, along with representatives from communities directly affected by nuclear weapons use and testing. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/09/nuclear-victims-experiences-must-be-at-the-heart-of-global-efforts-for-assistance-and-remediation/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_Plans_to_Restrict_Foreign_Journalists_Trigger_Rising_Protests_Nepalese_Experts_Victims_Contemplat Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - LIECHTENSTEIN: ‘We Have One of the Strictest Abortion Bans in Europe’ By CIVICUS Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - CIVICUS discusses struggles for abortion rights in Liechtenstein with Gabriella Alvarez-Hummel, a journalist and reproductive rights activist who works with Fristenlösung für Liechtenstein, an organisation that campaigns for the introduction of a legal time-limit abortion model. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/09/liechtenstein-we-have-one-of-the-strictest-abortion-bans-in-europe/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_Plans_to_Restrict_Foreign_Journalists_Trigger_Rising_Protests_Nepalese_Experts_Victims_Contemplat Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - UNGA 81: A United Nations at a Turning Point By Justina Kaluinaitė NEW YORK, Sep 7 2026 (IPS) - The 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA81) opens tomorrow at a particularly important moment for multilateralism. The UN80 reform initiative has entered what the Secretary-General describes as a decisive phase. Member States are selecting the next Secretary-General. The 2030 Agenda is entering its final four years, while conversations about what should follow it are beginning. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/09/unga-81-a-united-nations-at-a-turning-point/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_Plans_to_Restrict_Foreign_Journalists_Trigger_Rising_Protests_Nepalese_Experts_Victims_Contemplat Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Trump’s “Comprehensive” Gaza Peace Plan a Cover for Genocide By Anis Chowdhury SYDNEY, Sep 8 2026 (IPS) - It is nearly a year since the UN Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2803 on 17 November, 2025, endorsing President Trump’s 20-point framework ostensibly designed to end the war in Gaza and create a roadmap for long-term stability. It is not clear what progress has been made. In August 2026 The Jerusalem Post reported “the IDF continues almost daily strikes in Gaza”, killing more than 1,200 Palestinians since the US-brokered ceasefire deal came into effect, seizing more territory, and continuing to restrict the movement of people and goods into and out of Gaza. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN High Representative on the Board of Peace, wrote in early August 2026 that “two days of strikes across Gaza have killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on”. Ironically, this genocidal strike happened only a few days after a US-brokered Hamas disarmament deal, which Trump called, “a monumental step” towards peace and security. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/09/trumps-comprehensive-gaza-peace-plan-a-cover-for-genocide/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=US_Plans_to_Restrict_Foreign_Journalists_Trigger_Rising_Protests_Nepalese_Experts_Victims_Contemplat Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. 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