Humanitarian Aid Efforts Continue in Niger Despite Military Coup

Nicole Kouassi, the UNDP resident representative in Niger, is constantly faced with the challenge of coordinating aid delivery to 4.3 million people in need. On Wednesday, Kouassi woke up and learned this must happen in a country where the president had just been overthrown. She said she did not see warning signs of a coup.

International Inertia Follows Israeli Assault on Jenin in the West Bank

The likelihood of further confrontations remains high following a major Israeli military assault on an impoverished camp of more than 23,500 Palestinian refugees in Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank earlier this month. The landlocked Palestinian territory, located between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east, has been illegally occupied, according to international law, following the invasion by Israel 56 years ago.

The Humanitarian & Strategic Risks of US Cluster Munitions Transfers to Ukraine

The Biden administration’s decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a weapon widely banned for the inherent dangers they pose to non-combatants, is risky.

It’s Time to Invoke “Responsibility to Protect” in Sudan

When war broke out in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, in April 2023, those of us who know the region well feared what would happen to the west, in Darfur. In 2003, former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir called on the Janjaweed Arab militia to quell an uprising in Darfur.

A Shot in the Arm Can Prevent Cervical Cancer

“Listen to your body, and if there is anything strange happening, do not ignore it,” is the advice of 57-year-old Afshan Bhurgri, a cancer survivor.

Education is a ‘Life-Saving Intervention’ in Emergencies, says South Sudan’s Education Minister

In times of crisis, education is an essential component of humanitarian intervention packages, South Sudan’s Minister of General Education and Instruction Awut Deng Acuil told IPS in an exclusive interview.

Pharma Giant’s TB Drug Decision Welcomed, But Not All Developing Countries Benefit

In a surprise move, pharma giant Johnson and Johnson (J&J) has agreed not to enforce some of its patents on a lifesaving TB drug, making generic versions available in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

New Machine Learning-Based Model Boosting Africa’s Preparedness and Response to Climate Change

Scientists have recently unveiled a first-ever weather forecasting model using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning solutions to help vulnerable African countries build resilience to climate impacts.

Financing Biggest Hurdle to Providing Children with Quality Education in Crisis Situations – ECW

If you want lasting peace, the best investment you can make is in education, said Education Cannot Wait’s Executive Director Yasmine Sherif in an exclusive interview with IPS.

Mandela Day Reminder to Stand Witness to Human Rights Defenders

As human rights increasingly deteriorate, rights defenders are being violently suppressed. Abducted, detained, tortured, and humiliated, many now live one day at a time. They have been told, in no uncertain times, that anything could happen. They are now asking the global community to stand as a witness.

Black Sea Grain Initiative ‘Paused’ But Africa Must Live Beyond Foreign Dependence

As Russia paused the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reacted with regret saying the global south would be badly affected.

Seizing the Moment for a More Resilient Asia & the Pacific

The world faces a disaster emergency, yet nowhere is the threat more immediate than in Asia and the Pacific. Ours is a region where climate change-induced disasters are becoming more frequent and intense. Since 1970, two million people have lost their lives to disasters.

‘Spending Money on Education is Investing in Humanity’

As the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) looms, Education Cannot Wait's director Yasmine Sherif warned, "We are failing the promises we made on everything in the sustainable development goals, but especially on education because, without education, we cannot achieve any of the other sustainable development goals.”

Supporting Conflict Prevention & Social Cohesion in Mauritania

Deep in the heart of Southeastern Mauritania lies the district and town of Bassikounou, nestled on the border with neighboring Mali, over 1,200 kilometers from the capital city of Nouakchott.

Venezuela’s Educational System Heading Towards State of Total Collapse

Hundreds of thousands of children and young people, and thousands of their teachers, drop out of regular schooling in Venezuela year after year, and most of those who remain go to the classroom only two or three days a week, highlighting the abysmal backwardness of education in the country.

Re-thinking Disability Inclusion for the SDGs

This year marks halfway towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an ambitious agenda which set out to transform our world. We have always known that the goals cannot be realized without the inclusion of persons with disabilities. From poverty to inequality, climate to health the promise to leave no-one behind is the bedrock of the SDG call to action.

UN Weather Agency calls for Robust Early Warning Systems as Latin America and the Caribbean Brace for More Extreme Weather Events

The World Meteorological Organization says adaptation efforts and the switch to renewable energy must increase for regions like Latin America and the Caribbean to face the challenges of a changing climate.

Vaccination Is the Best Bet Against Drug-Resistant Superbugs — Experts

The first thing you notice about eight-month-old Manahil Zeeshan is how tiny she looks on the adult-size hospital bed at the government-run Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) in Korangi, a neighbourhood in Karachi.

Tuberculosis: A Disease of the Poor Begs For Rich Funding

The United Nations General Assembly is convening a high-level meeting on Tuberculosis (TB) to get a political commitment for increased funding for programmes and research to end an old disease that today kills more people than AIDS and COVID.

Land Beneficiaries Lament Worsening Poverty in Resettled Areas

Located between two heavily-deforested mountains, Nakadanga Trust in Machinga District in southern Malawi looks lifeless. It is isolated away from all other original communities. Here, the houses are made of mud bricks and they are grass thatched. There is no source of potable water in the area. There is no school nearby, no health centre and no shops for groceries.[related_articles]

Food Beyond the Reach for Millions in Horn of Africa

Four months pregnant, Ayan was close to dying of starvation when she arrived at the Kabasa camp in Dolow, on the border between Somalia and Ethiopia.