Population

UN Chief, in an Unprecedented War of Words, Battles it out with a Member State

By Thalif Deen
A growing diplomatic battle is being played out at the United Nations between Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and one of the world body’s member states: the politically-troubled Ethiopia which is desperately in need of international humanitarian assistance.

Build Forward Fairer in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

By Windi Arini
Cities have been epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. City authorities have been the frontlines responders—from running testing stations, to managing food distribution, to disposing of corpses. Yet they are often under-resourced, and their critical role in policy implementation is often overlooked.

Is Asia Pacific Prepared to Take Care of Its Elderly?

By Bjorn Andersson
Imagine it is the year 2050. In Asia Pacific, one in four people will be over the age of 60 years—three times the number of older people in 2010. With close to 1.3 billion senior citizens in less than 30 years from now, are countries in the region prepared to fully address the needs of their older populations, so that they age with dignity?

Young Migrant Workers Bear Brunt of COVID-19 Pandemic

By Cecilia Russell
Most families in the Republic of Tajikistan were affected when economic migrants were caught up in the COVID-19 pandemic abroad, Dr Vazirov Jamshed, research consultant for Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), told a webinar on the impact of the pandemic on youth.

Raise Retirement Ages

By Joseph Chamie
Raise retirement ages! That’s the simple, clear and unavoidable message that economics and demographics are sending to governments around the world.

Social Protection at a Crossroad—and Poverty On the Rise

By Annalena Oppel
How can we ensure a resilient and inclusive recovery from COVID-19? How can we hold on to the target of eradicating poverty and hunger by 2030, with the pandemic still ongoing?

Southern African Migrants Excluded as COVID-19 Pandemic Grows

By Kevin Humphrey
Migrants across the Southern Africa region are massively disadvantaged as they find themselves excluded from vaccine programmes – even when the global vaccine initiative COVAX often funds these programmes.

Parliamentarians Determined to Reach ICPD 25 Goals

By Cecilia Russell
Politicians from Asia and Africa shared activism anecdotes demonstrating their determination to meet ICPD 25 commitments. They were speaking at a hybrid conference held simultaneously in Kampala, Uganda, and online.

Salvadoran Migrants Still Look to the U.S. to Lift Themselves Out of Poverty

By Edgardo Ayala
The Joe Biden administration's call for undocumented Central American migrants not to go to the United States, as requested by Vice President Kamala Harris during a June visit to Guatemala, appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

A New Global Agenda on Sport for 2030

By Simone Galimberti
Does sport need to change to better serve society? What can sport and development actors do better in the future? How can sport play a greater role in contributing to development and peace? Can we reimagine the role of sport? Can we resolve the conflict and contradictions inherent within sport?

Solar Energy Revitalises Indigenous and Farming Communities in Chile

By Orlando Milesi
Communities in Arica y Parinacota, the region in the extreme north of Chile, are using solar energy and are being empowered by projects for shrimp and trout farming, the production of yarn from camelid wool, the production of tomatoes and cheese, and even the sale of surplus solar power to the national electric grid.

How Market Knowledge is Powering Africa’s Solar Irrigation Sector

By Thai Thi Minh and Cecily Layzell
‘Know your customers’ is arguably the first rule of marketing. By identifying and segmenting customer groups, companies can target their products and services to the right people, in the right way. This can open-up opportunities for growth, inform product development and improve customer retention.

Zimbabwe’s Urban Sprawl Dilemma

By Ignatius Banda
Ndaba Dube, a Bulawayo resident, says he built himself a home on a small piece of land after the authorities kept him on the housing waiting list for more than two decades. The land he chose is in an old township established before Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.

UN Preaches Transparency to the Outside World but Fails to Practice it in its Own Backyard

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations has long preached the wisdom of transparency and accountability to the outside world, but has failed to practice the same principles in its own backyard – or even on the 39th floor of the Secretary-General’s office in the UN Secretariat.

Human Ingenuity Now Needed for Our Survival

By Don Collins
The scientific and other human accomplishments in my 90-year lifetime are not only amazing but also seem to have apparently made too many of us arrogant and feckless about our future human survival on Earth. Or, if not arrogant or feckless, at least largely or unknowingly ignoring the urgency of the onset of devastating environmental threats.

Suburban Living the Worst for Carbon Emissions – New Research

By Sabrina Zwick
Work, education, entertainment, or simply better connectivity all draw people to cities. By the end of this century around 85% of the world population are predicted to live in cities.

Are UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in the Doldrums Due to the Corona Virus?

By Jan Servaes and Muhammad Jameel Yusha'u
A short answer to this question is yes, but it is obvious and predictable failure was visible for some time. This debate started before 2015, the year in which the Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) were adopted as successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed in 2000. The 8 MDGs were expanded to 17 massive goals and 169 targets.

Water Scarcity: Coming Soon

By Guillaume Baggio, Manzoor Qadir and Vladimir Smakhtin
In 1995, a highly-respected water expert in South Africa, Bill Pitman, in very concise terms illustrated that the country, already battling a growing lack of water then, would likely run out in 25 years if it did not increase its supply.

Water Poverty: The Political Connection

By Catarina de Albuquerque
The water we drink and the air we breathe are the basis of life. With universal access to clean water and sanitation, we will be healthier, our economies will be stronger, gender equality will be more achievable, and more children will stay in school.

Latin America Sets an Example in Welcoming Displaced Venezuelans

By Humberto Márquez
The exodus of more than five million Venezuelans in the last six years has led countries in the developing South, Venezuela's neighbours, to set an example with respect to welcoming and integrating displaced populations, with shared benefits for the new arrivals and the nations that receive them.

Reflections on South Sudan’s Ten Years of Independence

By Rajab Mohandis
The declaration of independence of South Sudan was a great historic moment that gave hope to South Sudanese on July 9, 2011. It brought a sense of satisfaction, indicating achievement of a life-time dream for which millions of our people across generations paid the ultimate price.
Next Page »