Tuesday, January 25, 2022
News and Views from the Global South
Up to 70% of Children in Developing Countries to Be Left Unable to Read?
“Unless we take action, the share of children leaving school in developing countries who are unable to read could increase from 53 to 70 percent.”
Asia-Pacific: Just 5% of the Region’s Population Owns 70% of Its Total Wealth
The Asia-Pacific region is experiencing growing inequality even while registering impressive economic growth and poverty reduction. Such sharp inequalities continue to be persistent in the region, with nearly 2 in 4 people still unable to afford a healthy diet.
Fully Ready to Kill, Shockingly Unprepared to Save Lives
While absolutely ready to kill, with the biggest military powers spending in 2020 nearly two trillion US dollars on weapons, the world is shockingly unprepared to save the lives of millions of unarmed, innocent civilian victims of wars… and other man-made catastrophes.
Disparities in the Arab Region: Hunger Doubles, Indebtedness Triggers, Recovery Uneven
The panorama is bleak: hunger in the Arab region continues to rise, with more than 90% increase since 2000, while indebtedness is growing, and the economic recovery is tenuous and uneven.
Too Harmful: The March of Salt and Plastics on World Soils
There are more under-reported consequences of human activities unmatching the rhythm of Mother Nature. Such is the case, among many others, of the growing salinisation and ‘plastification’ of the world's soils.
Severe Water Stress, Absolute Scarcity for 2 to 4 Billion Humans by 2025
Now it comes to the scary water crises, as it is estimated that, globally, over two billion people live in countries that experience high water stress.
What Would Europe, the US, Do with One Billion Climate Refugees?
A bit of fiction. Or maybe not. If things keep going the way they are, the result will be that such a massive flux would create instability and tensions, impact the global markets, cause record prices of fossil fuels, food and everything else, and the bankruptcy of big private financial corporations…
All Humans Are Born Equal in Rights? That’s Still Far from Being True
”All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” These words are a sound introduction to the transcendental issue of human rights and equalities, as stated by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Call It ‘Old’, ‘Contemporary’, ‘Modern’ or Whatever: It Is Slavery
No matter what it is called -- it is the abhorrent daily life of a billion enslaved humans. The real number of “modern” slaves is understandably unknown. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that more than 40 million people worldwide are victims of modern slavery.
Yet Another Scourge: A Third of All Women are Subjected to Violence
Thirty percent of women and girls suffered physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most frequently by an intimate partner. And more than 70 percent of all sold, bought and enslaved victims of human smuggling and trafficking are women and girls -- three out of four of them are sexually exploited.
‘The Brutal Death of a Child’s Dream’
Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian social reformer and co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Malala Yousafzai, spoke in a recent international forum about the devastating impacts of child labour.
1 in 2 Humans Cannot Celebrate World Toilet Day – This Is Why
Did you know that half of the world's population do not have toilets? And that, globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces? And that every day, over 700 children under five years old die from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water, sanitation and poor hygiene?
Politicians Subsidise Fossil Fuel with Six Trillion Dollars in Just One Year
It sounds incredible: while politicians have been cackling about the climate emergency and profiling in empty promises to halt it, they have spent six trillion US dollars from taxpayers' money to subsidise fossil fuels in just one year: 2020. And they are set to increase the figure to nearly seven trillion by 2025.
Antibiotics? Handle with Care
Antibiotics, like other antimicrobials, have become a threat to health rather than healing it. Why? Because their misuse and overuse have created such a strong resistance that they no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Much so that antimicrobial resistance is now considered among the top 10 global public threats facing humanity.
Half World’s Population, Exposed to Floods, Storms, Tsunamis, by 2030
While negotiators from all over the world have been discussing, since 31 October 2021 in Glasgow, every single word, coma and dot in order to reach a final text that is expected to apparently keep everyone happy but really not everybody satisfied, 50% of world’s population will live in coastal areas, exposed to floods, storms and tsunamis by the year 2030.
Daughters of a Lesser God (II) 200 Million Girls Mutilated
While male circumcision is spread mainly among Muslim and other religious communities, and it is apparently accepted by some medical spheres, more than 200 million girls have already fallen prey to a dangerous, abhorrent practice, which is carried out in the name of social and religious traditions: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Daughters of a Lesser God (I) 800 Million Girls Forced to Be Mothers
Imagine your child, your daughter, being genitally mutilated and, further on, sold or even handed over for free to an older man who will force her to become a child mother, when her body is still far from being formed and thus able to bear with a so early pregnancy.
Any End to This Suicidal War? (II): More Lethal Gases and Fewer, Weaker Sinks
Another Year Another Record! The emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise, the land and sea temperatures are higher than ever since there are records, and the ecosystems could fail their role as vital sinks absorbing carbon dioxide and as a buffer against larger temperature increases.
Any End to This Suicidal War? (I) The Destruction of the Web of Life
Can yet another dispendious world gathering find a way to halt the ongoing suicidal war on Nature, which is leading to the destruction of all sources of life?
Disarmament Week? But Hundreds of Nukes Can Be Launched Within Minutes
Hadn't it been so worrisome, it would be ironic to hear that humanity is to mark the World Disarmament Week (Oct 24 to 30, 2021) barely six months after learning that the world’s biggest military powers had spent last year some 2,000,000,000,000 US dollars on killing machines.
Grabbed
“Imagine that the land your family has worked for generations is suddenly stripped away from you, purchased by wealthy companies or governments to produce food or bio-fuels or simply as a profitable investment for other people, often far away. You watch on helplessly as vast tracts of land are cleared for mono-culture crops and rivers are polluted with run-off and chemicals.”Next Page »
The Week with IPS
NEXT STOP - SDGs
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
