The Republic of Congo received just over 300,000 doses of the COVID vaccines through the COVAX Facility in August 2021. The international COVAX initiative aimed at guaranteeing global access to the vaccines, recently announced that it was being forced to slash planned deliveries to Africa, by around 150 million doses this year. The scheme is now expected to deliver 470 million doses through the end of December. These will be enough to protect just 17 per cent of the continent, far below the 40 per cent target, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Credit: UNICEF/Aimable Twiringiyima
MANOA, Hawaii / TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec 6 2021 (IPS) – Many countries around the …
AUSTRALIA, Feb 7 2022 (IPS) – Safeguarding food security has long been a critical priority for the Chinese central government. President Xi’s latest comments and meetings demonstrate continued concerns at the top about . Ahead of the 20th National Congress this year and the release of the No 1 policy document, there are already several hints regarding what the Chinese central authorities could prioritise in terms of food security for this year and beyond. Other factors, including the potential influences of gene-edited plants, commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops, and of a Russia-Ukraine conflict should also be considered.
Genevieve Donnellon-Ma…
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Apr 5 2022 (IPS) – Food systems are under severe stress around the world now. The thresholds of tolerance are already exceeding limits with millions facing acute food and water scarcity throughout all continents. Over a quarter of Africa’s population are facing hunger and food insecurity. Conflict, droughts, flooding, rising unemployment, inequality, economic crises, and the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic have been ravaging the Continent on an unprecedented scale.
Menghestab Haile
In Southern Africa, the food systems are heavily dependent on traditional small holder farmers who are mostly women and old men and is largely reliant on rainfed a…
BANGKOK, Thailand, May 23 2022 (IPS) – The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads today – to further breakdown or breakthrough to a greener, better, safer future.
Since the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was established in 1947, the region has made extraordinary progress, emerging as a pacesetter of global economic growth that has lifted millions out of poverty.
Yet, as ESCAP celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, we find ourselves facing our biggest shared test on the back of cascading and overlapping impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, raging conflicts and the climate crisis.
Few have escaped th…
Refugee tents in a camp in Greece. UN report shows refugees may be affected by poor health outcomes. CREDIT: Julie Ricard/Unsplash)
United Nations, Aug 16 2022 (IPS) – While refugees globally face insecurity and uncertainty, a new World Health Organization (WHO) report highlights that they also face poorer health outcomes.
The published on July 20, 2022, was the first to survey studies of various refugee health outcomes, including mental health.
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The report highlighted that refugees are not inherentl…
Yomira Cuadros faced motherhood at an early age, as well as the obstacles of a sexist society like Peru’s, regarding her reproductive decisions. In the apartment where she lives with her family in Lima, she expresses faith in the future, now that she has finally started attending university, after having two c…
Uganda used public health measures like screening, testing of temperatures, and isolation of suspected cases to contain the Ebola outbreak. While those measures were successful, scientists warn that another outbreak could occur. Credit: Wambi Michael/IPS
KAMPALA & MUBENDE, Mar 10 2023 (IPS) – It is two months since the World Health Organization declared Uganda free of the most recent Sudan ebolavirus, which killed 55 people.
Uganda employed public health measures to end the outbreak. In the absence of vaccines and therapeutics, the threat of the next outbreak looms.
Scientists are yet to find answers to questions like who was the first person to be affe…
Credit: UNESCO / Teacher Task Force
BONN, Germany, Oct 4 2023 (IPS) – Once a year, on October 5, we celebrate World Teachers’ Day. Why is it so important to have a closer look on the teaching profession? What is so special about being a teacher nowadays?
World Teachers’ Day is an international day which was established to attract public attention on the work of teachers. The day was established in 1994, in commemora-tion the signing of the “ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers” in 1966, which focused on “appreciating, assessing and improving the ed-ucators of the world” and on providing a global opportunity to consider issues …