Development & Aid

Government Indifferent to Invasion of Drug Traffickers in the Peruvian Amazon

By Mariela Jara
The invasion of lands inhabited by Amazon indigenous communities is growing in Peru, due to drug trafficking mafias that are expanding coca crops to produce and export cocaine, while deforestation and insecurity for the native populations and their advocates are increasing

UN: Extreme Heat a Global Issue With an Unequal Impact

By Naureen Hossain
“The world must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures," says the UN Secretary-General as he launches a call to action on extreme heat and its impact on society and the environment.

Achieving the 10-10-10 HIV Targets by 2025

By Mandeep Dhaliwal and Kevin Osborne
Around the world countries are taking powerful steps to protect people’s rights, dignity, and health. Dominica and Namibia became the most recent to decriminalize same-sex relations. South Africa made strides towards decriminalizing sex work.

World Hepatitis Day: Celebrating Progress and Confronting Persistent Challenges

By Danjuma Adda
July 28th is World Hepatitis Day, created to celebrate the life and work of Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Baruch Samuel Blumberg. Blumberg’s work contributed to the discovery of hepatitis B, and the development of a vaccine that could prevent infection with this infectious viral disease. These discoveries revolutionized the public health response in preventing the liver cancer that hepatitis B causes. 

Kanak Political Grievances Are Fed by Deep Inequality in New Caledonia

By Catherine Wilson
New Caledonia, a French overseas territory of about 290,000 people in the southwest Pacific, is facing a challenging recovery from weeks of civil unrest that erupted in mid-May, leaving an aftermath of destruction and political turmoil.

Belém Improving to Host 2025 Climate Summit in Brazil

By Mario Osava
Hotels and other amenities may be lacking for participants at the 30th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP30), in this northern Brazilian city in late 2025, but the bottom line is they will have a unique experience in the Amazon.

USA: ‘The Stakes in the 2024 Election Are Incredibly High for the Fate of US Democracy’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses the recent US Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity and its potential impact on the 5 November presidential election with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law.

Smartphones: Children’s Blessing or Curse?

By Jan Lundius
Habits can change extremely fast, particularly within so-called “developed” nations, where children, even more than grownups are affected by life changing events. Gone are the times when kids could move around freely and invent games and adventures together with their friends. Far away from the scrutinizing control of parents and authorities they learned to interact with other kids, taking risks and solving problems. It could be tough and often quite merciless times, but educative, beneficent, and fun as well.

This Time is Different for Fiscal Policy – Ageing Proceeds Fast

By Michał Podolski
Several Asia-Pacific countries are ageing fast. This transition is neither unique nor limited to the region -- it is a global megatrend. However, this time it is different. Why? Because ageing proceeds quite fast.

Navigating Mental Health Challenges in West Africa

By Sylvia Muyingo
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 116 million people in the African region were living with mental health conditions. A large proportion of mental disorders is caused by depression and anxiety, and these conditions take a significant toll on health and wellbeing of people aged 15 to 59 years who are most affected.

More Poverty for the Poor

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Many low-income countries (LICs) continue to slip further behind the rest of the world. Meanwhile, people in extreme poverty have been increasing again after decades of decline.

African Diaspora To Drive Continent’s Development Ambitions

By Ignatius Banda
As the African diaspora continues its growth, agencies are seeking ways to tap into this vast demographic to help with the continent's development. Remittances from millions of Africans scattered across the globe have been hailed for sustaining local economies, but a new initiative is aiming to form upscale diaspora investments for longer-term economic development.

Southern African Drought: Extreme Hardship, Hopefully Only in the Short Term

By Kevin Humphrey
Heading into the traditional dry period of winter in southern Africa, there was significant consternation due to the drastically below average rainfall the region has been experiencing since January 2024.

Kenya’s Protests: More than a Question of Tax

By Andrew Firmin
Kenya’s President William Ruto has withdrawn the tax-increasing Finance Bill that sparked mass protests. He has sacked his cabinet and the head of the police has resigned. But the anger many feel hasn’t gone away, and protests continue. The protests have brought Kenya’s Gen Z onto the political stage, with young people – over 65 per cent of the population – at the forefront. Since the protests began, they’ve made full use of social media to share views, explain the impact of proposed changes, organise protests and raise funds to help those injured or arrested.

First, it was Food as Weapon of War– & Then Came Water…

By Thalif Deen
The Palestinians in Gaza have been victims of a double tragedy: killings by Israel’s mostly American-made weapons and deaths by starvation. And now comes a revelation of a new weapon of war: how Israel has been systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians in Gaza, according to a new report from the global human rights organization, Oxfam.

Protests Over Bangladesh Quota System Escalate to Violence, Information Blackouts

By IPS Correspondent
Student protests over the Bangladesh government’s recruitment system have escalated into violent retaliation from the police from the authorities. Today (Friday, July 19), violent clashes continued to rock Dhaka, Bangladesh's capital, and the northern city of Rangpuras, where university students continued their protest over the government’s civil service recruitment system. AFP reports reports the death toll reached 105.

Rights Groups Demand Governments Protect Exiled Journalists, Dissidents

By Ed Holt
Rights groups have called for governments to do more to combat transnational repression as a series of recent reports show growing numbers of exiled journalists, political dissidents and rights defenders are being targeted by autocratic regimes in an attempt to silence them.

BRAZIL: ‘The Law Should Protect Women and Girls, Not Criminalise Them’

By CIVICUS

 
CIVICUS discusses abortion rights in Brazil with Guacira Oliveira, director of the Feminist Centre for Studies and Advice (CFEMEA). CFEMEA is an anti-racist feminist organisation that defends women’s rights, collective care and self-care and monitors developments in Brazil’s National Congress.

Silenced: Women’s Many Layered Struggles for Climate Justice in Nepal

By Tanka Dhakal
A group aligned with the mayor of Chhayanath Rara Municipality in the Mugu district of Nepal’s Karnali Province physically attacked Aishwarya Malla for simply asking for a budgetary review of the local government. “As a deputy mayor, I have the right to know where the budget is allocated, but the mayor’s team attacked me,” Malla said. “They did it only because I’m a woman, but they forget I’m also an elected representative with a responsibility to serve people, especially women and marginalized sections of our society.”

Can Scientific Freedom Deliver Development for Africa?

By Busani Bafana
Scientific research has led to social and economic gains worldwide, but the scientists who make it happen face significant challenges.

Rural Communities in El Salvador Get Their Water Supply from the Sun

By Edgardo Ayala
Setting up a community water project with a solar-powered pumping system was an unlikely idea for the peasant families of a Salvadoran village who, despite their doubts, turned it into reality and now have drinking water in their homes.
Next Page »
w


the serpent and the wings of night