Health

Governments Band Together to Address Antibiotic Resistance

By Lyndal Rowlands
The looming threat of a world where even minor infections are deadly has led governments to commit to collective action against antibiotic resistance at the UN General Assembly earlier this week.

Myths, Secrets and Inequality Surround Ugandan Women’s Sex Lives

By Lyndal Rowlands
Mambera Hellem tells her friends and neighbours about all forms of contraception, yet despite their high HIV risk she knows many of the women she speaks to will not use condoms.

Asia, Looking Beyond the Green Revolution

By IPS Correspondents
More than 2.2 billion people in Asia rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, but the Asian Development Bank warns that stagnant and declining yields of major crops such as rice and wheat can be ultimately linked to declining investments in agriculture. Public investments in agriculture in India, for instance, have been roughly the same since 2004.

Ships Bring Your Coffee, Snack and TV Set, But Also Pests and Diseases

By Baher Kamal
“Every evening, millions of people all over the world will settle into their armchairs to watch some TV after a hard day at work. Many will have a snack or something to drink…

Smart Technologies Key to Youth Involvement in Agriculture

By Friday Phiri
She is only 24 and already running her father’s farm with 110 milking cows. Cornelia Flatten sees herself as a farmer for the rest of her life.

Uruguay’s Victory over Philip Morris: a Win for Tobacco Control and Public Health

By Germán Velásquez
In a landmark decision that has been hailed as a victory of public health measures against narrow commercial interests, an international tribunal has dismissed a claim by tobacco giant company Philip Morris that the Uruguay government violated its rights by instituting tobacco control measures.

India’s New Maternity Benefits Act Criticised as Elitist

By Neeta Lal
The passage of the landmark Maternity Benefits Act 1961 by the Indian Parliament, which mandates 26 weeks of paid leave for mothers as against the existing 12, has generated more heartburn than hurrahs due to its skewed nature.

Deadly Yellow Fever Spreading, Amid Global Vaccine Shortages

By Lyndal Rowlands
As deadly yellow fever spreads to seven provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), new measures have been introduced to ensure that as many people as possible are immunised, despite global shortages of the yellow fever vaccine.

Dhaka Could Be Underwater in a Decade

By Rafiqul Islam
Like many other fast-growing megacities, the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka faces severe water and sanitation problems, chiefly the annual flooding during monsoon season due to unplanned urbanisation, destruction of wetlands and poor city governance.

Ethiopian Food Aid Jammed Up in Djibouti Port

By James Jeffrey
Bags of wheat speed down multiple conveyor belts to be heaved onto trucks lined up during the middle of a blisteringly hot afternoon beside the busy docks of Djibouti Port.

False Promises: Avoid ‘Miracle’ Rice and Just Eat a Carrot

By Dr Vandana Shiva
Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution, died on September 9, 2009. Alfred G. Gilman died on December 23, 2015.Both were Nobel laureates and now both dead. Gilman was a signatory to a recent letter condemning Greenpeace and its opposition to genetic engineering.

Kenya’s Health Sector Challenges Present the Ideal Setting for Creating Shared Value

By Siddharth Chatterjee and Dr. Amit Thakker
The increased budgetary allocations to the health sector by county governments point to an acknowledgement not only of the enormous challenges facing the sector, but also of good health as a prerequisite to overall development.

Food Safety Issues Rise in Colombo

By Editor, Sunday Times, Sri Lanka
This newspaper’s News Desk has been following up on Public Health issues for some time, and their ongoing reports should raise concerns among Colombo residents, both the affluent, and the not-so, because of the declining standards in the monitoring of food establishments, from the humble ‘buth kades’ to the restaurants of five-star hotels.

Sustainable Development in Africa Will Not Be Achieved Without Women’s Full Participation

By Gina Din
In some parts of the world, the proverbial “glass ceiling” is shattering. As Theresa May and, most likely, Hillary Clinton join Angela Merkel at the leadership of three major world powers, women’s leadership in politics is on the ascent.

Climate-Smart Agriculture for Drought-Stricken Madagascar

By Miriam Gathigah
Mirantsoa Faniry Rakotomalala is different from most farmers in the Greater South of Madagascar, who are devastated after losing an estimated 80 percent of their crops during the recent May/June harvesting season to the ongoing drought here, said to be the most severe in 35 years.
Next Page »