Jun 15 2020 – The African Development Bank has responded swiftly to the needs of its member countries during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bank’s operations have continued to run smoothly since the first cases appeared in early March, despite the wide range of lockdowns and measures imposed by governments to flatten the curve.
The COVID-19 pandemic is forecast to cause Africa’s GDP to drop by between $22.1 billion and $88.3 billion.
African countries, with the experience of having fought off Ebola, are working to adapt to this new threat and looking to the Bank for an effective, multilateral response to the crisis.
As of June…
Harabhara Cooperative is finding ways to sell their milk during the pandemic. Photo from Heifer Nepal.
Jul 10 2020 – For nearly three months, the government of Nepal implemented a strict lockdown to combat the spread of COVID-19. And while it slowed the spread of the virus, it also put a tremendous economic burden on many families nationwide. As of June 15, the country transitioned to a “soft lockdown,” easing some restrictions such as allowing private vehicles to operate on an odd/even-day scheme. But the economic effect is already being seen.
At the onset of pandemic, the majority of migrant laborers from Nepal returned home, meaning that remittances, the sour…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug 18 2020 (IPS) – With the Covid-19 contagion from late 2019 spreading internationally this year, governments have responded, often in desperation. Meanwhile, predatory international law firms are encouraging multimillion-dollar investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) lawsuits citing Covid-19 containment, relief and recovery measures.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Sharing the pain
Most governments failed to introduce sufficient precautionary measures early enough to prevent Covid-19 contagions from spreading. And when they did act, they often believed they had little choice but to impose nationwide ‘stay in shelter’ lockdowns to enforce preventive phy…
There is a deep mistrust not only of institutions and big business, but even of the medical establishment. One of the most worrying symptoms of this mistrust and disillusionment is the No Vax Movement. Credit: Bigstock
AMSTERDAM/ROME, Oct 8 2020 (IPS) – Around the 16th century there was a radical shift in the way humans perceived nature. New thinking in physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics heralded a deeper understanding of the world around us. Between the 17th and 18th century this new thinking had resulted in spate of tec…
Say Samal, Minister of Environment, Cambodia
Trần Hồng Hà, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam
WASHINGTON DC, Nov 19 2020 (IPS) – The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted nearly every facet of our lives and delayed what was slated to be a landmark Conference of the Parties (COP26). This pivotal year marks the first due date for countries to submit revised national climate plans per the five-year cycle required by the Paris Agreement. Remarkably, countries are still moving forward with renewed urgency. And many countries are integrating green recovery into their COVID-19 responses, further contributing to climate action. While many countries hav…
Miscarriage is the most common reason for losing a baby during pregnancy. It happens for up to 15% of women who knew they were pregnant.. Credit: UNSPLASH/Claudia Wolff.
ABUJA, Dec 29 2020 (IPS) – Recently, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, wrote a sharing about her miscarriage. I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second, she wrote. She is part of a growing list of celebrities who have publicly shared their experiences with miscarriages.
Model Chrissy Teigen also re…
Today, Feb. 6 marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. In commemoration IPS has reissued our piece on FGM/C in India. The story was originally published on Jan. 28
Masooma Ranalvi is the founder of WeSpeakOut and has campaigned to end FGM/C.
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 6 2021 (IPS) – Survivors of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), are determined to share their stories to end this practice – even though they face ostracisation by their communities.
Masooma Ranalvi, an FGM/C survivor and founder of ‘WeSpeakOut’, an organisation committed to eliminating FGM/C or khafd/khafz/khatna explains that FGM/C is practised by various…
Photovoltaic panels on St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Of the trillions of dollars set aside for COVID-19 recovery, a small percentage has been used in green recovery initiatives according to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report. Credit: Kenton X. Chance/IPS
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 11 2021 (IPS) – Last year, only $368 billion of a $14.6tn budget geared towards COVID-19 recovery …
Skilling programmes already face issues with the delivery of training and achieving the desired learning outcomes. Moving them online may in fact worsen learning outcomes. | Picture courtesy: Flickr
HYDERABAD, Telangana, India, Apr 19 2021 (IPS) – India’s evolving Technical and Vocational Education and Training ecosystem (TVET) faced many challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the national lockdown, organisations had to remain shut for 7-8 months, until September 2020.
This ecosystem is made up of a range of players, i…
The following article is part of a series to commemorate World Environment Day June 5
Restoring natural habitats as pictured here in Cuba will help to slow down climate change. A new UN-backed study released May 27 says annual investments in nature-based solutions will have to triple by 2030, and increase four-fold by 2050, if the world is to successfully tackle the triple threat of climate, biodiversity and land degradation crises. Credit: UNDP
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 4 2021 (IPS) – The United Nations has been in the forefront of an ongoing battle against the growing hazards of climate change, including the destruction of different species of plants and animals, the dan…