Wang Yi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, addresses the virtual Security Council summit-level debate on “Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Global Governance post Covid-19”. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe.

AMSTERDAM/ROME, Oct 5 2020 (IPS) – Lockdowns, social distancing, face-masks and other restrictions on personal and social behaviour have helped slow the progress of the COVID-19 …

KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Nov 17 2020 (IPS) – The United Nations’ renamed (WSR 2020) argued that income inequality is rising in most developed countries, and some middle-income countries, including China, the world’s fastest growing economy in recent decades.

Inequality dimensions
While overall inter-country inequalities may have declined owing to the rapid growth of economies like China, India and East Asia, national inequalities have been growing for much of the world’s population, generating resentment.

Jomo Kwame Sundaram

In 2005, when the focus was on halving poverty, thus ignoring inequality, the UN drew attention to . Secretary-General Kofi Annan wa…

Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait

NEW YORK, Dec 23 2020 – As Mohammed, a Palestine refugee with impaired vision who attends a specialized UNRWA programme for children with disabilities, told us during our mission to Lebanon a week ago: “I was worried. I was worried that I could not continue my education because the programme was going to be cut. Now I have hope that I can continue to study and make my dream come true.” As 2020 comes to a close and we reflect on Education Cannot Wait’s mission this past year, two things stand out: hope and action. Amidst multiple crises around the globe, exacerbated by the COVID-19 global pandemic, hope has been the fuel driving us all forward to take action to deliver to those left furthest behind. Indeed, while hope is life-…

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter: “We must get to work to make sure the vaccine is available to everyone, everywhere. With this pandemic, none of us are safe until all of us are safe.”

 
Benny Kuruvilla heads the India office of , an Asia-based think tank providing analysis and building alternatives for just social, economic and political change.

Wearing a full protective suit, a woman doctor who leads a group of volunteer medical professionals attending to COVID-19 patients at a community hospital in the Philippines. Credit: UN Women/Louie Pacardo

NEW DELHI, India, Feb 4 2021 (IPS) – As the pandemic spills into its second year, th…

Parliamentarians from Africa and Asia met to discuss how to improve the conditions of women, girls, and youth during pandemics. Credit: APDA

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Mar 11 2021 (IPS) – COVID-19 restrictions exposed women and girls to heightened abuse – revealing the conditions in which gender-based violence became the shadow pandemic on the continent, a recent webinar attended by parliamentarians from Africa and Asia heard.

Gift Malunga, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country repres…

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…