2016/8/19 Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter   

UN Admits it Needs to do More After Causing Haiti Cholera Epidemic
Phoebe Braithwaite

Six years since UN peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti, the United Nations has finally accepted a greater degree of responsibility for its role in causing the outbreak, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and affected hundreds of thousands more.  “The UN has become convinced that it ... MORE > >


The Time is Ripe to Act against Drought
Monique Barbut

Let us start with some good news.  Sort of.  The strongest El Niño in 35 years is coming to an end. In 2015/2016 this “El Niño effect” led to drought in over 20 countries .  There were scorching temperatures, water shortages and flooding around the world.  Worst hit were eastern and southern ... MORE > >


133 Organisations Nominate Syria’s White Helmets for Nobel Peace Prize
Lyndal Rowlands

Syria’s White Helmets - the volunteers who rescue civilians from collapsed buildings - could be the “most popular” nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize ever, according to human rights group, the Syria Campaign. The nomination for the 2016 prize has received support from 133 organisations and ... MORE > >


Olympic Games – More Media Show than Sports Event
Mario Osava

Brazil’s first gold medal of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics gave it a new multipurpose heroine, Rafaela Silva, whose defeat of the favourites in judo has made her a strong voice against racism and homophobia. Not only is she black and poor, but she just came out as gay. In her first remarks as an ... MORE > >


Humanitarian Crises: Business Called to Take a Lead
IKEA Foundation

With more than 65 million people forced to flee their homes due to violence and armed conflicts, this year’s Wold Humanitarian Day on August 19 will call on all governments and social sectors to work together to tackle this unprecedented human crisis. The IKEA Foundation believes that businesses ... MORE > >


Arable Lands Lost at Unprecedented Rate: 33,000 Hectares… a Day!
Baher Kamal

Humankind is a witness every single day to a new, unprecedented challenge. One of them is the very fact that the world's arable lands are being lost at 30 to 35 times the historical rate. Each year, 12 million hectares are lost. That means 33,000 hectares a day! Moreover, scientists have ... MORE > >


Peruvians Say “No!” to Violence Against Women
Aramis Castro

Peruvians took to the streets en masse to reject violence against women, in what was seen as a major new step in awareness-raising in the country that ranks third in the world in terms of domestic sexual violence. The Saturday Aug. 13 march in Lima and simultaneous protests held in nearly a ... MORE > >


One Humanity? Millions of Children Tortured, Smuggled, Abused, Enslaved
Baher Kamal

Children are being smuggled, sexually abused, maimed, killed for their vital organs, recruited as soldiers or otherwise enslaved. Not only: 69 million children under five will die from mostly preventable causes, 167 million will live in poverty, and 263 million are out of school. And 750 million ... MORE > >


Ethiopian Food Aid Jammed Up in Djibouti Port
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. Once loaded, the trucks set off westward toward Ethiopia carrying food aid to help with its worst drought for ... MORE > >


Adaptation to Climate Change: Need for a Human Rights Approach
Arif Chowdhury

The memories of Cyclone Sidr and Aila are fresh in the mind of Razia Begum, a victim of climate change, of Dacope Upazila, Khulna. The standing field crops and houses of her community were destroyed, and they suffered the loss of cattle as well as people who perished in these natural disasters. She ... MORE > >


Women’s Inclusion in Sports Competes in Rio Games
Mario Osava

At the age of 14, Kaillana de Oliveira of Brazil knows she won’t be as tall as most professional basketball players, because of family genetics. But she is not letting that get in the way of her dream of standing out in the sport. “I’m point guard, and you don’t have to be so tall for that ... MORE > >


False Promises: Avoid ‘Miracle’ Rice and Just Eat a Carrot
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. How many Nobel ... MORE > >


Kenya’s Health Sector Challenges Present the Ideal Setting for Creating Shared Value
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. There has never been a better time for partnerships that harness ... MORE > >


Native Plants Boost Local Diets in El Salvador
Edgardo Ayala

Juana Morales is cooking one of the most popular dishes in El Salvador: pupusas, corn tortillas with different fillings. But hers are unique: they are not made with the traditional corn tortillas, but use Maya nuts, a highly nutritional seed that has fallen out of use but whose consumption is being ... MORE > >



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