Population

UN Live’s CEO Katja Iversen Talks About the Power of Popular Culture and ‘Sounds Right’

By Naureen Hossain
UN Live’s CEO, Katja Iversen, says the way to engage people in the environment is through popular culture—film, music, gaming, sports, food, and fashion. She is excited about the Sounds Right project, which puts the sounds of nature—bird songs, waves, wind, and rainfall—at the center of a campaign to support those involved in climate action.

IPCI 2024: Oslo Commitment Protects Sexual and Reproductive Rights Across All Contexts

By Naureen Hossain
Parliamentarians from 112 countries have adopted the IPCI statement of commitment to protect and promote sexual and reproductive health rights, committing to the principle that "life or death is a political statement." As IPCI Oslo drew to a close on Friday, April 12, 2024, parliamentarians adopted a new Statement of Commitment that was “the collective effort of every single delegate,” said Alando Terrelonge, MP from Jamaica and chair of the drafting committee.

IPCI 2024: Technology as a Tool to Advance and Threaten Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights

By Naureen Hossain
Technology emerged as a core theme of IPCI Oslo for its relevance in advancing the objectives of the Cairo Programme of Action. When channeled for good, it is an effective tool that can fill accessibility gaps in the health sector and spread awareness of sexual and reproductive health rights. Yet, the way in which digital technology has been weaponized against SRHR is of great concern for parliamentarians, especially for women.

IPCI 2024: Oslo Conference Focuses on Parliamentary Power over Reproductive Rights

By Naureen Hossain
Gearing up for the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the world’s parliamentarians and ministers are meeting in Oslo to determine the course of action needed to promote sexual and reproductive human rights (SRHR).

Has the World Progressed or Regressed, 30 Years After a Landmark Population Conference?

By Thalif Deen
As the world commemorates the 30th anniversary of the landmark International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994, one lingering question remains: Has the world progressed-- or regressed-- in implementing some of the recommendations in the Programme of Action (PoA) approved by 179 UN member states.

‘The World Is Bigger than 5’

By Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
The title of this piece is not mine. It’s from the President of Turkiye calling for a reform of the United Nations Security Council. It has since become a motto in the UN reform campaign encapsulating the shared resentment at a global system that gives the five Permanent members – The P5 of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – unfair and often destructive veto powers that undermines the very ideals for which the UN was established.

WHO Calls for More Data on Violence Against Older Women and Women With Disabilities

By Naureen Hossain
Older women and women with disabilities experience abuse that is unique to their demographics, yet they are underrepresented in national and global databases, according to findings shared by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Abandoned Children Growing Problem in Northern Syria

By Sonia Al Ali
Wael Al-Hassan was returning from work in the Syrian city of Harim when he heard the sound of a baby crying. He was returning from work on December 10, 2023. He stopped momentarily, turned on his mobile phone flashlight to investigate, and spotted a baby girl, around one month old, wrapped in a white blanket, lying by the roadside.

Child Malnutrition in Peru Driven Up by Poverty and Food Insecurity

By Mariela Jara
Quechua farmer Felipa Noamesa, who lives in the southern Peruvian department of Cuzco, prepares a cream of fava bean soup for breakfast every morning with bread and vegetable soup with noodles. Her children are grown up, so her priority is that her five-year-old granddaughter does not suffer from anemia or malnutrition, two problems she frequently sees in her community.

Building Resilience and Mental Health Capacity of Youth

By Cecilia Russell
Sri Lankan lawmaker Hector Appuhamy, in conversation with IPS ahead of a two-day conference aimed at educating  and involving university students in mental health issues, said parliamentarians were concerned about gaps in the programmes and financing for youth mental health. They were looking beyond the country's health budget for support in ensuring that youth were able to access mental health facilities in a supportive environment.

How Women in Ahmedabad Slums Are Beating Back Climate’s Deadly Heat

By Manipadma Jena
Seema Mali is desperate. She has no defences against this changing climate’s brutal heat. Mali makes fresh flower garland the whole year, but her summer income has been plummeting by 30 percent over the last 8–10 years due to the extreme heat.

Maternity Benefits: Critical Tool to Ensure Mothers & their Newborns are Free from Poverty

By Sayuri Cocco Okada
Maternity protection is a human right enshrined in Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Income security for newborn mothers ensures their mental and physical wellbeing and contributes to the healthy development of their infants.

Inequality Also Afflicts Clean Energy in Latin America

By Emilio Godoy
The specter of blackouts hovers over the Mexican city of La Paz, the capital of the state of Baja California Sur in Mexico's far northwestern corner, as summer approaches, due to increased electricity demand from air conditioning and insufficient capacity in the local grid.

Tracking Global Development in Child Benefits Through New Monitoring and Information Platform

By Naureen Hossain
Inclusive social protections for children would be a positive signifier of social development in a time where 1.4 billion children globally are denied them. A step towards realizing this has been taken through a new monitoring tool on current social protection and child poverty statistics.

What Is It Like to Live in Ecuador, One of the Most Violent Countries?

By Carolina Loza
"For a couple of years now we've been seeing the violence growing so fast," said José, who asked not to give his last name for fear of reprisals he may face in Monte Sinai, a low-income neighborhood in Ecuador's most populous city, Guayaquil.

Inclusive & Sustainable Businesses Set New Pathways for Sri Lanka

By Marta Perez Cuso and Yihan Zhao
Selyn, a women-led handloom business, offers flexible employment and valuable income opportunities to about 1,000 women artisans and persons from marginalized groups in rural Sri Lanka. Selyn develops and exports high-value craft products in global markets.

Solar Energy Gives Important Boost to Small-scale Farmers in Chile

By Orlando Milesi
The installation of photovoltaic panels to use solar energy to irrigate small farms is expanding quickly in Chile because it lowers costs and optimizes the use of scarce water resources.

Poverty and Inequality Mark Rural Life in Latin America

By Humberto Márquez
Rural life in Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be marked by poverty and inequality compared to the towns and cities where the vast majority of the population lives. A new focus on rural life in the region could help reveal and address the challenges and neglect faced by people in the countryside.

Scared of Sharps? This MAP Shows the Way to Delivering Painless Vaccines

By Busani Bafana
If the fear of sharps makes a visit to the doctor dreadful, you need not dread it anymore. A South Korean company's invention of an innovative micro-needle patch could make you look forward to your next doctor’s visit.

The Birthrate Blues

By Joseph Chamie
Increasing numbers of countries are experiencing a spreading demographic condition, below replacement fertility, with many governments bemoaning the birthrate blues.

Hindu Woman Doctor Confident of Election In Pakistan Polls

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
A woman medical graduate from the Hindu community is making waves, as she is the first minority woman to contest the Pakistan Parliamentary election for a general seat, and she does so in the face of deep-rooted religious traditions and wealthy political opponents. Dr Saveera Parkash, a nominee of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for the February 8 polls, is sure of her victory despite her religion.
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