Health

Pandemic’s ‘Silver Lining’ for Caribbean Was the Use of Technology

By Jewel Fraser
Global South countries did get one benefit from the COVID-19 pandemic. A professor at St. George’s University in Grenada describes it as the pandemic’s “silver lining." He was referring to the widespread use of next-generation genomic sequencing technology to identify, track, and trace the numerous variants of the Sars Cov-2 virus. Researchers and scientists in the Caribbean, Africa, and elsewhere have been eagerly harnessing genomic sequencing technology to develop resilience and greater self-sufficiency in numerous fields, ranging from health surveillance to agriculture and beyond.

Mayurbhanj Kai Chutney: From Forests to Global Food Tables

By Diwash Gahatraj
On a scorching May morning, Gajendra Madhei, a farmer from Mamudiya village, arrives at the local bazaar in Udula, a town in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. He displays freshly caught red weaver ants, known locally as kai pimpudi, in the bustling tribal market. Thanks to the recent recognition of Mayurbhanj's Kai chutney, or red weaver ant chutney, with a Geographical Indication (GI) tag awarded in January, his business of selling the raw ants has seen a significant surge in profitability.

Kashmir Frontier Woman Leads the Way in Breaking Down Patriarchy

By Umar Manzoor Shah
Smelling the toxic smoke coming from burned powder kegs and helplessly watching fields turn into smoke and ash is traumatic. Rushing to the government's safe houses and leaving your homes, belongings and cattle behind whenever the armies of India and Pakistan trade fire is inexplicable. Then came climate-change-induced weather unpredictability. 

Finance Healthcare, Not Insurance Premia

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Comparative research on healthcare financing options shows revenue-financed healthcare to be the most cost-effective, efficient, and equitable, while all health insurance imposes avoidable additional costs.

Women Warriors Winning Fight to Bring Back Indigenous Food Traditions

By Manipadma Jena
As the school lunch bell goes off, 40 eager little bodies—41 if you count the school dog—burst out onto the veranda. Awaiting them are a stack of steel platters, into which will be ladled a nutritious and delicious lunch, all of it indigenous cuisine.

The World Bank Must Double Its Fund for the Poorest Nations like Mine to Tackle Hunger Crisis

By Simplex Chithyola Banda
After El Niño-induced floods and devastating drought, roughly two in five people in Malawi – a country of some 20 million people – are now facing the looming prospect of acute hunger by the end of the year.

Unveiling the “Dark Matter” of Food, Diets and Biodiversity

By Maya Rajasekharan and Selena Ahmed
This year, bee pollen has become a trendy superfood thanks to a wide range of potential benefits. Last year, sea moss led the superfood trends. Before that, it was turmeric.

Indignity, Disease, Death—The Life of a Sewer Worker in Pakistan

By Zofeen Ebrahim
A dark head emerges, followed by the torso. The balding man heaves himself up, hands on the sides of the manhole, as he is helped by two men. Gasping for breath, the man, who seems to be in his late 40s, sits on the edge, wearing just a pair of dark pants, the same color as the putrid swirling water he comes out from.

Turning the Tide: Health Community Turns to UNFCCC for Inclusivity

By Friday Phiri
There is a rapid realization that climate change is impacting health, which is why the recently adopted World Health Organization's Climate Change and Health Resolution is considered pivotal.

People at Risk Need Protection Before Another Hot Summer

By Jonas Bull
Spring has traditionally brought a welcome new beginning: daylight increases, flowers bloom and temperatures are pleasantly warm. However, in recent years, it’s also brought justified fears about extreme heat with summers in Southern Europe getting increasingly hot because of climate change. Older people, children, people with disabilities, and people with mental health conditions are among those at higher risk.

International Community Urged to End Impunity for Violence Against Healthcare in Conflicts

By Ed Holt
Governments and international agencies must do more to end impunity for violence against healthcare, campaigners have urged, as a new report shows that attacks on healthcare during conflicts reached a new high last year.

Rising Temperatures Drive Human-Wildlife Conflict in Zimbabwe

By Ignatius Banda
Rising temperatures are being blamed for an increase in human-wildlife conflicts in Zimbabwe as animals such as snakes leave their natural habitat earlier than usual.

Afghan Women Struggle with Soaring Mental Health Issues

Afghanistan is grappling with a growing crisis of mental illness, particularly among its women, as highlighted in a United Nations report. Officials from the mental health department at Herat regional hospital have observed a concerning uptick in the number of women afflicted by psychological disorders in the province.

SBSTTA and SBI—Biodiversity Meetings Crucial for the Global South Begin

By Stella Paul
The 26th meeting of the Subsidiary Body of Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advisors (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) started in Nairobi, Kenya, on Monday. Over 1,400 delegates, including 600 representing signatories or parties from over 150 countries, are present for the seven-day meeting at the headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A large number of members from Indigenous Peoples and other observer organizations, including women’s groups, are also attending the meetings.

The World Must Not Abandon the Mothers of Gaza

By Natalia Kanem
As millions of children and families celebrate their mothers, my thoughts turn to the pregnant women and new mothers our teams at UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, support in more than 130 countries around the world. And I hold in my heart all those who, tragically, will never live to see their newborns.

Latin America and the Caribbean Hit with Record-Breaking Heat and Other Climate Effects in 2023

By Alison Kentish
Every year for the last four years, a collaborative effort involving scientists and other experts has assessed the state of the climate in Latin America and the Caribbean. The findings have revealed increasingly alarming trends for the world’s second-most disaster-prone region.

Beyond the Fields: Unraveling Zambia’s Drought Crisis and the Urgent Call for Climate-Health Solutions

By Friday Phiri
For most families in Zambia, April is traditionally a month of plenty—it is typically the beginning of a harvest season for various food and cash crops. Both fresh and dried maize, groundnuts, pumpkins, and a whole variety of both traditional and exotic food crops are usually in full supply and readily available for consumption, supporting household food security and nutrition.

Civil Society Scores LGBTQI+ Rights Victory in Dominica

By Inés M. Pousadela
On 22 April, Dominica’s High Court struck down two sections of the country’s Sexual Offences Act that criminalised consensual same-sex relations, finding them unconstitutional. This made Dominica the sixth country in the Commonwealth Caribbean – and the fourth in the Eastern Caribbean – to decriminalise same-sex relations through the courts, and the first in 2024.

Transgender Health Rights Boosted by Hospitals’ ‘Separate Room’ Policy

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
Transgender people and civil society organizations have welcomed the decision of the chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to allocate separate rooms in hospitals for the transgender community so they can avail themselves of uninterrupted healthcare. “We demand that all provinces follow suit and announce facilities for more than 500,000 transgender people in the country,” Farzana Shah, president of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Transgender Association, told IPS.

WHO Africa Advances African Science by Promoting Peer-Reviewed Research

By Maina Waruru
The World Health Organization's African regional office and partners published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals in 2023 as part of efforts to address the imbalance in global research and ensure that Africa was better represented in the production of health research academic literature, a new report shows.

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.
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