There are concerns that Ebola could spread more widely without proper health screenings at Congo River ports. Photo: IOM

KINSHASA, May 25 2018 – Last week, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), cases of Ebola were confirmed in Mbandaka, a city with a population of 1.2 million people some 150 kilometres from where the outbreak originated in Bikoro Health Zone, Equateur Province.

The fact that Mbandaka is connected by river routes to DRC’s capital Kinshasa as well as cities in the Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, has fuelled concerns that the disease could spread more widely.

In order to mitigate this risk, IOM, the UN Migration Agency, the DRC…

This article is part of a series of stories on Disability inclusion.

Women with disabilities in Afghanistan protest for their rights. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 13 2018 (IPS) – Children with disabilities are up to four times more likely to experience violence, with girls being the most at risk, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.

“Children with disabilities are among the most marginalised groups in society. If society continues to see the disability before it sees the child, the risk of exclusion and discrimination remains,” Georgina Thompson, a media consultant for UNICEF, told IPS.

According to the…

is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.

Dr Natalia Kanem, Chief of UNFPA, “We are steadfastly committed to our three goals: Zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and the elimination of harmful practices including violence that affect women and girls”. Credit: UNFPA Tanzania

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 31 2018 (IPS) – Teenage pregnancy in Kenya is a .

The countdown to a New Year has begun. Can 2019 be a year of affirmative action to ensure hope and opportunity for Kenya’s adolescent girl?

Consider this. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says that when a young adolescent girl is not married during her childhood,…

Jack Niedenthal, the secretary of Health and Human Development in the Republic of Marshall Islands stands in front of the poster that records the dark past of the Pacific island nation and the need for good healthcare. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

MAJURO, Apr 5 2019 (IPS) – In Jack Niedenthal’s office in Majuro, there is an ominous reminder of the dark history of the Marshall Islands—once the site for dozens of nuclear tests conducted by the United States between 1946 and 1962. But it also provides a strong message about the future of island nation.
“Given what the Marshall Islands has done for humankind, we deserve the best healthcare in the world,” reads a poster…

Dexter, a 25-year-old fisherman from Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia, received treatment for Hansen’s disease, also known as leprosy, for over a year. He has been cured of the disease. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS

MANILA, Sep 9 2019 (IPS) – Increasing awareness of the continuing existence of Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) is critical to sustaining effective public health efforts against the disease, eliminating the social stigma associated with it, and halting its transmission.

That was the consensus reached by participants at the Global Forum of People’s Organisations on Hansen’s Disease in Manila on Sept. 9, following a lecture by Dr. A…

Dr. Julitta Onabanjo is Regional Director, United Nations Population Fund, East and Southern Africa

UNFPA-supported midwives ensured that this young woman gave birth safely in Bor Hospital, South Sudan. © UNFPA South Sudan

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Nov 12 2019 (IPS) – This is a special year for all rights-based health advocates, as we celebrate 25 years of the International Confe…

Parliamentarians from India and Japan are already discussing how to implement plants on sexual and reproductive health and rights soon after the recent Nairobi Summit on International Conference on Population Development (ICPD25). Credit : Jaideep Hardikar/IPS

MBABANE , Jan 10 2020 (IPS) – Parliamentarians from India and Japan have hit the ground running by acting soon after the recent Nairobi Summit on International Conference on Population Development (ICPD25).

The three-day summit in the Kenyan capital – which was from Nov. 12 to 14 – concluded with partners from 180 countries making over 1,200 commitments towards fast-tracking the promise made in …

The author is journalist and communications specialist; veteran of Al Jazeera English, BBC and CNN International.

Mar 16 2020 – First of all, I wish everyone reading this good health.

Second of all, I wish for everyone to get informed I mean properly informed from the many reliable sources out there. These areextraordinary times and every one of us needs to find a way to getthrough them the best way we can for ourselves, our families andour communities.

COVID-19 has governments around the world asking us tofundamentally change the way we live: working from home ifpossible, restricting travel, sports and entertainment venues areshutting their doors, as are schools and universities. Someaccounts say it’s all happening “amid fears of coronavirus” but Ithink tha…

New cases daily for COVID-19 in world and top countries. Chris55 /wikipedia, CC BY-SA

LONDON, Apr 3 2020 (IPS) – Suppose we wanted to estimate how many car owners there are in the UK and how many of those own a Ford Fiesta, but we only have data on those people who visited Ford car showrooms in the last year. If 10% of the showroom visitors owned a Fiesta, then, because of the bias in the sample, this would certainly overestim…

A Palestinian family on the street in Beit Lahia in north Gaza. Credit: Mohammed Omer/IPS.

GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM/BRUSSELS, Apr 2 2020 (IPS) – The coronavirus is now present in Gaza, the populous Palestinian enclave blockaded by air, land and sea since 2007. An epidemic would be calamitous. Hamas should tighten public health measures; Israel should loosen restrictions so…