Commonwealth to Champion Climate-Vulnerable Small States at COP26

The Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland called for urgent action to ensure improved climate resilience of small states and promised to amplify the concerns of small and other vulnerable states around climate change at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow this November.

ECW Interviews Dubai Cares Ceo H.E. Dr. Tariq Al Gurg

H.E. Dr. Tariq Al Gurg was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares in 2009 and as Vice-Chairman in July 2021. Al Gurg has been a primary driver behind the organization’s success. He has enabled Dubai Cares to contribute to the evidence-base in education, leverage funding and invest in strategic relationships and programs that support the global education agenda. His focus has been to develop Dubai Cares as a recognized best-case practitioner and a global leader in education program design and innovation that is grounded in a philosophy of continuous monitoring and evaluation and rigorous research.

Armed with a New Training Manual, Pacific Farmers Look to Control Deadly Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Infestations

The Pacific has been battling the spread of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles (CRB) for years and is now challenged by the invasion of a new CRB biotype, the CRB-Guam strain, that has spread to seven Pacific Island countries in just a decade leaving thousands of dead palms in its wake. The Guam strain, together with much more established biotype CRB-S has hampered the success of renovation programmes for mature tall palms as well as newly emergent, high-value coconut product industries (such as virgin oil and coconut water) that offer economic opportunities for communities in the region.

Advancing the Rights of Women Manual Scavengers in India

Manual scavenging is a caste-based profession that leads to discrimination and atrocities against those engaged in it. Generations of families from marginalised communities in India have been forced to continue in this profession because of social ostracism and a lack of alternatives.

Tonga’s experience: Implementation of Domestic Violence Legislation

Fourteen Pacific Island Countries have enacted specific legislation to address domestic violence. While these laws have been developed to respond to domestic violence, implementation continues to be a challenge. It is affected by various factors that include practical social, cultural, religious, political, environmental and economic challenges.

As the Taliban Returns, 20 Years of Progress for Women Looks Set to Disappear Overnight

As the Taliban takes control of the country, Afghanistan has again become an extremely dangerous place to be a woman.

Bolstering Food Security in Marshall Islands

Forty schoolteachers and principals in the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) completed a five-day workshop last month equipping schools to play a key role in strengthening the food security efforts in the country.

The Water Cycle Is Intensifying as the Climate Warms, IPCC Report Warns – That Means More Intense Storms and Flooding

The world watched in July 2021 as extreme rainfall became floods that washed away centuries-old homes in Europe, triggered landslides in Asia and inundated subways in China. More than 900 people died in the destruction. In North America, the West was battling fires amid an intense drought that is affecting water and power supplies.

Astronaut Sirisha Bandla on How ‘You Often Don’t See’ Women of Colour in Space

In the latest edition of The Interview, Indian-American astronaut Sirisha Bandla speaks to Hindustan Times and talks about the gender bias that she thinks exists in the aeronautical field. She talks about stars, describes how she gradually fell for the space environment and how space exploration became a passion for her. On July 12, the 34-year-old aeronautical engineer became the third Indian-American woman to fly into space when she joined British billionaire Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic's first fully-crewed successful suborbital test flight from the US state of New Mexico. Watch the full video for more.

Child Protection Schemes Are Failing Children Orphaned by COVID-19 in India

The second wave of COVID-19 brought with it unimaginable grief, agony, and frustration. India saw a sharp increase in the number of deaths, especially among younger people, which meant that many children lost one or both parents. Reports of people seeking help for orphaned children as well as requests to ‘adopt’ these children emerged on social media.

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2021

Indigenous peoples live in all regions of the world. They are distinct social and cultural groups and share collective ancestral ties to the land they live on.

ECW Interviews the Honourable Awut Deng Acuil, Minister of General Education and Instruction for South Sudan

Awut Deng Acuil is the first female Minister of Education for South Sudan, and only the second person to serve as Minister of Education for her country – which became independent country in 2011. Prior to this role, Minister Acuil was the first woman to serve as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Recently, Minister Acuil made history as the first women to lead a South Sudan university when she was appointed head of council at the University of Bahr El-Ghazal.

5 Things To Watch For in the Latest IPCC Report on Climate Science

On Aug. 9, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release its most comprehensive report on the science of climate change since 2013. It will be the first of four reports released under the IPCC’s latest assessment cycle, with subsequent reports coming in 2022.

Muslim Women in India’s Workforce: Where Are They?

Muslims are the largest minority community in India, and yet, they are highly underrepresented both in public and private institutions. According to a study conducted by the Economic Times Intelligence Group in 2015, Muslims constituted approximately 2.7 percent of mid to senior executives in the private sector. As of April 2018, only 1.33 percent of officers in the central government, holding the rank of joint secretary and above, were found to be Muslims. 

Kenya’s Huge Railway Project Is Causing Environmental Damage. Here’s How

Kenya is constructing a railway line that connects the coastal port of Mombasa and the interior of the country. It is expected to terminate at Malaba, a town on the border with Uganda, and link up with other railways that are being built in East Africa. It’s locally known as the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

German Development Agency Raises Awareness of Teen Pregnancy in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, Honorine Meda has been trained by the German Development Agency (GIZ) to raise awareness among teenage girls about pregnancy. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says all children have a right to education, adolescent girls who fall pregnant in Sub Saharan Africa tend to drop out of school. Meda and a group of model parents, also trained by GIZ, play an essential role in preventing teenage pregnancies and supporting learners, who fall pregnant, to get back to school.

Why Are Some Pacific Lagoon Corals Resistant to Climate Change?

Abundant with diverse coral and fish species, the South-West Pacific reefs play a critical role in the marine ecosystems and economies of Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). While there is no question that climate change is affecting coral, the level and type of impact is not uniform. To help us better understand why these differences exist, a team of marine scientists from New Caledonia set off on a scientific mission to sample coral species around the mainland of this Pacific Island nation.

It’s Time To Reopen Primary Schools in India

“The government should open schools, even if it’s for an hour, to facilitate some student-teacher interaction. Most teachers feel that students should be encouraged to come to school.

Europe’s Catastrophic Flooding Was Forecast Well in Advance – What Went So Wrong?

Almost 200 people dead and many others still missing. Billions of euros’ worth of damage. Communities devastated. Thousands of homes destroyed and their occupants traumatised.

Pacific Islands Making the Move to Electronic Data Collection

Between 2010 and 2020, many Pacific Islands and Territories have updated their traditional data collection processes, embracing new technologies. The island nations Kiribati and Vanuatu, among others, successfully switched to computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), a new data management system and a survey monitoring dashboard. The innovations implemented with support from the Pacific Community helped to weather the impact of the pandemic on census activities and to become fit for the purpose of tracking the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

New Global Framework for Managing Nature Through 2030: 1st Detailed Draft Agreement Debuts

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat today released the first official draft of a new Global Biodiversity Framework to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect Nature and its essential services to people.