India is home to one-fourth of the world’s poor. Credit: Neeta Lal/IPS

NEW DELHI, Feb 14 2015 (IPS) – Despite being one of the world s fastest expanding economies, projected to clock seven-percent GDP growth in 2017, India – a nation of 1.2 billion – is trailing behind on many vital social development indices while also hosting one-fourth of the world s poor.

While the United Nations prepares to wrap up a decade-and-a-half of poverty alleviation efforts, framed through the lens of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), by the end of this year, the international community has its eyes on the future.

“A focus on accelerating sustainable, inclusive and …

Islam Iliwa lost her home and cleaning products business in Gaza following an Israeli bombardment. She is one of many single, divorced mothers struggling to survive under the siege. Credit: Mel Frykberg/IPS

GAZA CITY, Mar 21 2015 (IPS) – Israel’s siege of Gaza, aided and abetted by the Egyptians in the south, has aggravated the plight of Gazan women, and the Jewish state’s devastating military assault on the coastal territory over July and August 2014 exacerbated the situation.

In a resolution approved by the U.N.…

Chris W. Williams is the Executive Director of the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council, the UN’s only body devoted to the sanitation and hygiene needs of vulnerable and marginalised people worldwide, and Kersti Strandqvist is Senior Vice President of Group Sustainability for Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, based in Stockholm.

Strengthening women’s positions, and giving them the opportunity to fully participate in society is necessary if we are to achieve the SDG targets. …

Nora Happel interviews Philippe Douste-Blazy, U.N. Under-Secretary-General in charge of Innovative Financing for Development, chair and founder of UNITAID and former French foreign minister.

Courtesy of Philippe Douste-Blazy

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 9 2015 (IPS) – Implementation of the ambitious post-2015 development agenda which will be adopted in September 2015 at the United Nations depends to a large extent on funding.

Amidst preparations for the upcoming 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) to be held from July 13 to 16, 2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, discussions centre on “innovative financing mecha…

Australia has set a target to cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent of 2005 levels by 2030 but aggressive coal mining could hamper those plans. Credit: Neena Bhandari/IPS

SYDNEY, Sep 2 2015 (IPS) – Rowan Foley has spent many years as a ranger and park manager, caring for Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park Aboriginal lands in the spiritual heart of Australia’s Red Centre in the Northern Territory. He has been observing the effects of soaring temperatures and extreme weather events on his people, residing in some of the hottest regions of the country.

“There are hotter and more frequent fires. Salt water intrusion is leading to less fresh water. This is impacting on indige…

, the Founder and CEO of the Gina Din group, is a businesswoman from Kenya specializing in strategic communication and public relations. She was named CNBC outstanding businesswoman of the year for East Africa 2015 as well as in Africa. is the UNFPA Representative to Kenya.

Women in Meru. Kenya look at menstrual cups, something that will make their lives easier and more productive. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 7 2016 (IPS) – The onset of menstruation is a landmark event in the life of a young woman. Yet many complications and challenges accompany such an event. One in 10 adolescent girls miss school and eventually drop out due to menstruati…

José Graziano da Silva is Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

ROME, May 5 2016 (IPS) – After its remarkable success in reducing hunger, Europe must now rise to the challenge of making sure food assures more than survival and furnishes healthy lives. As head of a global hunger-fighting organization, nothing gives me more satisfaction than to see a vast region of the world achieving food security for its people.

José Graziano da Silva. Credit: FAO

With 53 member countries and one member organization, Europe and Central Asia is FAO’s largest region, stretching across 13 tim…

Loyce Maturu, a Zimbabwean living with AIDS since the age of 12 and an advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS, addresses the General Assembly High-level Meeting on HIV/AIDS.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 10 2016 (IPS) – Young people are disproportionately affected by HIV, yet their concerns about sexual education, and discrimination of key populations were ignored at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on ending AIDS.

Although the overall number of AIDS-related deaths is down 35 percent since 2005, estimates suggest that AIDS-related deaths among adolescents are .

In fact, AIDS is a leading cause of deaths among adolescents in Afri…

Albert Kanga’s plantain farm on the outskirts of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. Credit: Friday Phiri/IPS

ABIDJAN, Cote d’Ivoire, Jul 18 2016 (IPS) – Albert Kanga Azaguie no longer considers himself a smallholder farmer. By learning and monitoring the supply and demand value chains of one of the country’s staple crops, plantain (similar to bananas), Kanga ventured into off-season production to sell his produce at relatively higher prices.

“I am now a big farmer. The logic is simple: I deal in off-season plantain. When there is almost nothing on the market, mine is ready and …

On 6 May 2016 in Yemen, a baby is screened for malnutrition at the UNICEF- supported Al-Jomhouri Hospital in Sa’ada. Credit: UNICEF/UN026928/Al-Zekri

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 6 2017 (IPS) – Millions of Yemenis could soon face widespread famine if no action is taken to improve food access through humanitarian or trade means, an early warning system has said.

Up to eight million Yemenis are severely food insecure while another 2 million are facing food insecurity at emergency levels, just one phase below famine, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has . The World Food Programme (WFP) that the food-insecure population in the Middle Eastern nation co…