Jun 19 2020 – Ms. Amina J. Mohammed is the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Mohammed served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment. Ms. Mohammed first joined the United Nations in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning. She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustai…
Prior to the pandemic, supporting and catalysing women entrepreneurship was a topic that was gaining traction across intermediary organisations and investment firms. Picture courtesy: Charlotte Anderson
BENGALURU, Karnataka, India, Jul 19 2020 (IPS) – Two years ago, Aarti started a small business selling traditional handicrafts online, supporting artisans based in rural Karnataka. After an initial phase of struggle, she had a steady stream of orders and was looking to procure manufacturing equipment and…
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels.
Aug 25 2020 (IPS) – The . It’s tempting to assume that once the first vaccine is approved for human use, all the problems of this pandemic will be immediately solved. Unfortunately, that is not exactly the case.
Developing a new vaccine is only the first part of the complex journey that’s . Producing hundreds of millions of vaccines for the U.S. – and billions for the world as a whole – will be no small feat. There are many technical and economic challenges that will need to be overcome …
NEW YORK and SUSSEX, Oct 16 2020 (IPS) – This week the world’s Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors meet virtually at of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and decide on the fate of the world.
This year’s gathering is particularly important, given that the world is confronting an unprecedented crisis. Governments are struggling to finance emergency care and urgent socioeconomic support to cope with the COVID19 pandemic.
Isabel Ortiz
While these short-term expenditures are necessary, countries need more than intensive care units, respirators, tests and emergency support. Governments must continue to invest in long-term public…
No cause to celebrate as COVID-19 has created setbacks on the aims of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It’s been 25 years since the declaration was signed. Credit: Markus Winkler / Unsplash
NEW YORK, Nov 30 2020 (IPS) – This year, the world commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, instead of celebration; however, its progress has been impeded by the COVID-19.
The so-called ‘new normal’ where people have been forced to stay at and, if possible, work from home has resulted in the pushing back of the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment targets.
Earlier this year Alia El-Yassir, the Unit…
People walking in public space with medical masks on to protect themselves from coronavirus infection. Credit: iStock / DragonImages
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan 7 2021 (IPS) – As the people of Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga gear up as the first nations to welcome 2021, communities around the Asia-Pacific region and beyond look forward to bidding farewell to the most tumultuous year in recent decades.
2020 brought unparalleled human suffering that continued to devastatingly impact on the daily lives of people across all corners of the region. With the emergency authorization and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, people are hoping for a ‘new normal’ r…
Subjective wellbeing and income are intricately linked
NEW DELHI, India, Feb 19 2021 (IPS) – The question whether the rich are more satisfied with their lives is often taken for granted, even though surveys, like the Gallup World Poll, show that the relationship between subjective well-being and income is often weak, except in low-income countries in Africa and South Asia. Researcher Daniel Kahneman and his collaborators, for example, report that the correlation between household income and reported life satisfaction or happiness with life typically ranges from 0.15 to 0.30. There are a few plausible reasons. First, growth in income mostly has a transitory effect on individuals’ reported life satisfaction, as they adapt to material goods. Second, relative income, rather than the…
The writer is Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Safe Water Network
The UN will be commemorating World Water Day on Monday March 22.
COVID precautions at Safe Water Network iJal Station in India. Credit: Safe Water Network
NEW YORK, Mar 20 2021 (IPS) – The global community is celebrating . In the COVID-19 pandemic era, the importance and value of water for all people has never been clearer. Access to safe water is essential for public health and thriving communities.
Before COVID, , or about two-thirds of the world’s population, face severe water scarcity at least one month every year. One of the most important defenses against the c…
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in Abuja, Nigeria, on March 6, 2021. First batch of COVAX vaccines arrived in March, country aims to inoculate 70% of 200 million people by 2022. Credit: Africa Renewal
UNITED NATIONS, May 4 2021 (IPS) – Since the COVID-19 vaccination began in the US in mid-December 2020, Africa had been looking forward to its turn. For Nigeria, that time came on 2nd March 2021 when the first batch of 3.9 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the country from the Serum Institute of India.
The delivery is part of a first phase of arrivals in Nigeria that will continue in the coming days and…
Participants in UN Women India’s Second Chance Educational and Vocational Learning Programme. Credit: UN Women
NEW DELHI, India, Jun 10 2021 (IPS) – Thousands of Indians have been affected by the latest COVID-19 outbreak. Not only those suffering from the disease, but also those who care for them.
Just as with the first wave and as with countless disasters before them, women have taken on the heavy burden of caring for the sick and finding ways to meet their family’s basic needs.
The combination of illness, unpaid care, economic slowdown, lack of access to financing for female entrepreneurs, and domestic violence has left many women unable to retu…