Map of countries with projected austerity cuts in 2021-2022, in terms of GDP, based on IMF fiscal projections. Credit: I. Ortiz and M. Cummins, 2021

NEW YORK and NAIROBI, Apr 15 2021 (IPS) – Last week Ministers of Finance met virtually at the of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to discuss policies to tackle the pandemic and socio-economic recovery.

But a just published by the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University, international trade unions and civil society organizations, sounds an alert of an emerging austerity shock: Most governments are imposing budget cuts, precisely at a time when their citizens and economies a…

There is no health without mental health. Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser.

ABUJA, Jun 2 2021 (IPS) – Recently, Naomi Osaka, the number 2 ranked women’s tennis player in the world,  she would not participate in the press conference at the French Open (Rolland-Garros) because she wanted to protect her mental health.

The organizers of the tournament were incensed, imposed a fine on her and  to disqualify her.  Would the organizers have reacted differently if Naomi Osaka said she could not participate in the tournament’s press briefing because of a physical illness, such as a…

People wade through water during floods in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. Credit: UNICEF/G.M.B. Akash

NEW YORK, Jul 13 2021 (IPS) – Could the next wars be triggered by climate change?

Until recently, the question might have seemed like science fiction, but now it is very real. Ethiopia and Egypt are locked in an over the Nile, as a combination of dams and shifting weather patterns pose existential risks to both countries.

In the Sahel region, climate-driven changes in have contributed to a massive in conflicts, while oscillations in the size of Lake Chad are into the terrorist group Boko Haram.

From driving Caribbean fishing communities into or…

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Sep 7 2021 (IPS) – Vaccine costs have pushed many developing countries to the end of the COVID-19 vaccination queue, with most low-income ones not even lining up. Worse, less vaccinated poor nations cannot afford fiscal efforts to provide relief or stimulate recovery, let alone achieve Agenda 2030.

Anis Chowdhury

Excluding by appropriating
Developing countries now account for . By early September, estimated actual COVID-19 deaths worldwide at 15.2 million, rather than the official 4.6 million.

In with the highest fatality rates, less than a tenth of their populations were fully vaccinated as of 10 August. In the other four, no…

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct 12 2021 (IPS) – The world should now be more aware of likely COVID-19 devastation unless urgently checked. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced an to quickly vaccinate many more people to expedite ending the pandemic.

New WHO plan
Perhaps frustrated after being ignored by rich country governments and major vaccine producers, the new WHO plan is relatively modest, but hopefully more realisable. Supported by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the seeks to reduce by inoculating 40% in all countries before year’s end, and 70% by mid-2022.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

had urged governments to vaccinate at least 10% of th…

Yohei Sasakawa – WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Chairman of Nippon Foundation speaking at the 3rd of the “Don’t Forget Leprosy” webinar series organized by Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative. Credit: Stella Paul

Hyderabad, Dec 3 2021 (IPS) – As 2021 nears its end, public health systems worldwide remain severely strained by COVID 19, which is showing no sign of ending. But even as countries battle to control the deadly pandemic, they must also maintain the progress made against other diseases, including leprosy, global leprosy experts and advocates have urged.

On Thursday, at a webinar organized by the , a…

NEW DELHI, Feb 7 2022 (IPS) – The year 2021 began with several new vaccines showing efficacy in randomized trials, but despite 26 authorised Covid-19 vaccines globally, and at least another 200 in development (The Lancet, 2021), the first few weeks of year 2022 brought a sense of uncertainty.

Nidhi Kaicker

Nearly 2 years after the first Covid-19 case was registered in India, the country ranked third globally in terms of total deaths due to coronavirus, and second in terms of total number of cases. More than six and a half million cases and fifteen thousand deaths were added to India’s tally in January 2022 alone. The increased detection of the Omicron variant in th…

DHAKA, Bangladesh, Apr 1 2022 (IPS) – When is too much Autism awareness still not enough? This thought recurs every April as we near World Autism Day on April 2, and parents reach out to me after reading enthusiastic and well-meaning news and journal articles – which are actually harmful and hurtful.

Saima W. Hossain

In 2008, along with a few dedicated parents and professionals, we began our effort to raise awareness around Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We eventually came together to form an advocacy, capacity-building, and research-based not-for-profit organization (Shuchona Foundation) established in 2014.

Today, we feel our work in Bangladesh, through e…

Credit: Office of New York City Mayor

NEW YORK, May 22 2022 (IPS) – A fifth wave of a new Covid 19 variant BA.2, followed by a surge in infections, is threatening to undermine the safety of New York city (NYC) which was gradually returning to normal after a prolonged pandemic shutdown. As a result, the City went on “high Covid alert.”

But NYC Mayor Eric Adams has assured New Yorkers he will not bring back mask and vaccine mandates in work places, shopping malls, restaurants and Broadway theaters. Instead, he said he will focus on anti-virus treatment and home-testing.

Briefing reporters at a press conference, he said “I think the reason we a…

NEW YORK, Aug 12 2022 (IPS) – Today marks , a global celebration of the transformative power of young people. Introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, the event was inaugurated not only to observe the power of the youth voice, but to serve as a promise from those in power to activate the power of youth across the development sector.

Yasmine Sherif

Since then, the United Nations appointed a Youth Envoy, dedicated to the diffusion of the day’s promise, and many aid organizations have followed suit by including the voices of young people in social media campaigns, high-level events, and stakeholder forums.

In 2021, Education Cannot Wait (), t…