Farhana Haque Rahman is Senior Vice President of IPS Inter Press Service; a journalist and communications expert, she is a former senior official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented and the rate of species extinctions is accelerating. Credit: UN

ROME, Nov 19 2019 (IPS) – Mottled and reddish, the Lake Oku puddle frog has made its tragic debut on the , a rapidly expanding roll call of threatened species. It was once abundant in the Kilum-Ijim rainforest of Cameroon but has not been seen since 2010 and is now listed as critically endangered and pos…

The Government of Kenya and the UN Kenya team with their hosts on the roof of the LinkedIn HQ in San Francisco on 21 Jan 2019. Credit: UN

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 29 2020 (IPS) – One year ago, the UN began implementing reforms meant to make it more effective in delivering on sustainable development. Now, with the start of 2020, the global body has declared this as the decade of action to turn the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into a living reality for all humanity. But what does this look like, on the ground?

In countries like Kenya, there is widespread belief that the traditional approaches to economic growth are not enough to achieve the SDGs.…

The United Nations Country team in Kenya hosted a meeting on responding to the COVID 19 pandemic with the Government of Kenya and development partners observing social distancing etiquette. Credit: UNIC Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 20 2020 – The Government of Kenya, United Nations and International Community convened today at the UN Complex in Nairobi to combine their forces in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya.

The United Nations Country Team in Kenya is in lockstep with the UN Secretary General’s call to action and it continues to mobilize full support to the Government of Kenya in its fight against the virus on all fronts.

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NEW YORK, May 4 2020 (IPS) – How many COVID-19 deaths will occur before a vaccine becomes available worldwide? As with many seemingly simple questions about an uncertain future, the proper answer to that important query is: “it depends”.

The total worldwide number of deaths from COVID-19 before a vaccine, reported to be nearly at the end of April and amounting to a since the start of April, is . It depends on a host of critical factors, many of which are not well understood and are changing rapi…

AMSTERDAM/ROME, Apr 6 2020 (IPS) – What is likely to be the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing economies?  we looked at possible short term disruptions and discussed actions by the private sector and Governments.

These included mobilizing available public resources to augment what private citizens are doing to help the poor and vulnerable; working on some of the national macro-economic levers to sustain businesses; and discussing with international creditors about cancelling or rescheduling repayments, of some…

Credit: Gopen Rai/NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE

Apr 26 2020 (IPS) – The number of Nepalis suffering from mental health issues is increasing with the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown, and the lack of treatment and counselling means the country may be facing an epidemic of psychosocial disorders.

Mental health is a  in Nepal because of social stigma, with  showing that a shocking 37% of the population suffered from some form of mental health problem.

“During a time of a disaster or an epidemic, anxiety disorder, phobia, obsessive compulsive tendencies and depressive thought…

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…