Health

2017 World Water Week: ‘Water and Waste: Reduce and Reuse’

By IPS World Desk
With a growing global population, a rise in energy and industrial production, the demand for water is reaching new levels.

Minamata Convention, Curbing Mercury Use, is Now Legally Binding

By IPS World Desk
The Minamata Convention -- a legally-binding landmark treaty, described as the first new environmental agreement in over a decade – entered into force August 16.

Why Breastfeeding Is One of the “Smartest Investments” for All Countries

By Roshni Majumdar
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has released new findings on the economic gains—besides the obvious health benefits—of breastfeeding.

World Still Lagging on Indigenous Rights 10 Years After Historic Declaration, UN Experts Warn

By Mariam Wallet Aboubakrine, Albert K. Barume and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz
The world’s indigenous peoples still face huge challenges a decade after the adoption of an historic declaration on their rights, a group of United Nations experts and specialist bodies has warned. Speaking ahead of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August, the group says States must put words into action to end discrimination, exclusion and lack of protection illustrated by the worsening murder rate of human rights defenders.

Zaatari Camp Marks Fifth Year With 80,000 Refugees

By Roshni Majumdar
Jordan’s Zaatari camp, which opened in 2012 as a makeshift camp to house Syrian refugees fleeing the war, marked its fifth year on June 28.

Has Disability Risen among the Elderly?

By Veena S. Kulkarni, Vani S. Kulkarni and Raghav Gaiha
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (or RPD Act) is laudable in its intent and procedural detail, but mostly silent on disabilities among the elderly. Indeed, for this reason alone, it is arguable that its overarching goal—“The appropriate Government shall ensure that the persons with disabilities enjoy the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for his or her integrity equally with others” —is mere rhetoric, if not a pipe dream.

Last Mile Connectivity to Bangladesh’s Impoverished North

By Mahfuzur Rahman
Life for Bangladesh’s rural people, particularly in its remote north, is still miserable. Seasonal flooding, river erosion, and the low quality of rural infrastructure and lack of connectivity have made things harder for poor northerners.

US Lags Far Behind in Banning Dental Health Hazard

By Thalif Deen
The United States is lagging far behind its Western allies – and perhaps most of the key developing countries – in refusing to act decisively to end a longstanding health and environmental hazard: the use of mercury in dentistry.

“The Time is Now” to Invest in Youth, Girls

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
The demographic dividend: though not a new concept, it is one of the major buzzwords at the UN this year. But what does it really mean?There are 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 around the world, the most in the history of humankind.

UN Appoints Experts to DRC’s Kasai to Probe Harrowing Rights Abuses

By Roshni Majumdar
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, appointed a team of three international experts yesterday to collect information and raise awareness about grave atrocities in the ongoing conflict in the remote Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Yemen Records 400,000 Cholera Cases

By Roshni Majumdar
The directors of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) released a joint statement today shedding light on a deadly cholera epidemic engulfing war-torn Yemen.

Alcoholism Cannot Explain Russian Mortality Spike

By Vladimir Popov and Jomo Kwame Sundaram
The steep upsurge in mortality and sudden fall in life expectancy in Russia in the early 1990s were the highest ever registered anywhere in recorded human history in the absence of catastrophes, such as wars, plague or famine. The shock economic reforms in the former Soviet economies after 1991 precipitated this unprecedented increase in mortality, shortening life expectancy, especially among middle-aged males.

No Justice, No Peace for Yemeni Children

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Human rights groups are urging the UN Secretary-General to include the Saudi-led Coalition (SLC) in a child rights’ “shame list” after documenting grave violations against children.

Pope Francis Donates to FAO for Drought, Conflict-Stricken East Africa

By IPS World Desk
As an unprecedented gesture, Pope Francis has donated 25,000 euro to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's efforts supporting people facing food insecurity and famine in East Africa.

WHO Urges Govt’s to Raise Taxes on Tobacco

By Roshni Majumdar
Seven million people die each year from tobacco-related deaths, according to a new report published by the World Health Organisation today.

Educating Children One Radio Wave at a Time

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
Nigeria’s conflict has displaced more than a million children, leaving them without access to education. However, an innovative radio program aims to transform this bleak scenario.

East Africa’s Poor Rains: Hunger Worsened, Crops Scorched, Livestock Dead

By IPS World Desk
Poor rains across East Africa have worsened hunger and left crops scorched, pastures dry and thousands of livestock dead, the United Nations food and agriculture agency has warned in a new alert.

Digitizing Family Planning: The Way of the Future

By Stella Paul
Online shopping may have its pros and cons, but when it comes to buying products that have an invisible morality tag, it’s the safest possible option, believes Franklin Paul.

2 Billion People Don’t Have Access To Clean Water, Opens up Fissures of Inequality

By Roshni Majumdar
More than two billion people lack access to clean and safe drinking water, according to a new report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Promoting Sustainable Population Growth, Key to Raising Human Rights Standards

By Dr. Hanif Hassan Al Qassim
The world population has witnessed a remarkable growth during the recent decades. In 1965, it stood at 3.3 billion people. In 2017 –52 years later-- the global population reached a staggering 7.5 billion people corresponding to more than a doubling of the Earth’s residents over the last half-century.

For India’s Urban Marginalized, Reproductive Healthcare Still a Distant Dream

By Stella Paul
In a semi-lit room of a southern Chennai neighborhood, a group of women sit in a circle around a table surrounded by large cardboard boxes of "Nirodh" – India’s most popular condom.
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