Population

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.

Prioritising Menstrual Health and Hygiene During Emergencies

Over the last few years, the world has witnessed accelerated action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment. This has also led to significant interest in menstrual health and hygiene management (MHHM) as a critical factor in girls’ education and women’s participation in many spheres of life. 

Water: A Matter of Survival in the World of Pandemics

By Guillaume Baggio, Manzoor Qadir and Vladimir Smakhtin
The COVID-19 pandemic has undeniably amplified the existing vulnerabilities of billions of people worldwide. Marginalized communities in developing countries were excluded from social protection and support.

COVID-19 Pandemic Exacerbates Domestic Workers’ Plight in Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
Rani Akter, a mother of five, usually works as a domestic helper in Dhaka’s Zikatola area. When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Bangladesh last March, her employers asked her not to come to their homes for fear of infection. “I lost my work in three houses one after the other, which became a nightmare for me. My rich employers did not allow me in their homes as they thought that I might carry the invisible virus,” Akter told IPS.

Why Pacific Island Nations, like the Federated States of Micronesia, need Climate Change Finance for Food Security Now

By Neena Bhandari
Robby Nena is one of the many farmers and fishermen on the frontline of climate change in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), where coastal flooding and erosion, variable and heavy rainfall, increased temperature, droughts and other extreme weather events are becoming all too common.

A Time for Systemic Solutions in Latin America & the Caribbean

By Luis Felipe López-Calva
The first wave of COVID-19 never ended in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Since the region became a hotspot for the pandemic in June 2020, successive waves have continued to build upon the first.

130 Countries Promise to Protect and Invest in Health Care Workers

By Alison Kentish
One hundred and thirty countries have signed a statement recognising the efforts of health care workers, first responders and essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic – "one of the greatest global challenges in the history of the United Nations".

For People with Disabilities, COVID-19 Lays Bare the Weaknesses in Social Safety Nets

By Alison Kentish
People with disabilities were particularly hard hit by the social and economic impacts of efforts to control COVID-19.

Investing in Lives & Livelihoods of India’s Women Crucial to Nation’s Full Recovery

By Susan Ferguson
Thousands of Indians have been affected by the latest COVID-19 outbreak. Not only those suffering from the disease, but also those who care for them.

Nations Pledge to Tackle Inequalities as part of New Targets to end HIV/AIDS by 2030

By Alison Kentish
World leaders, those on the frontlines of the AIDS response, civil society, academics and youth have agreed that there is no way to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 without tackling persistent inequalities among marginalised groups.

Agroecology Under Threat

By Lauren Baker
This week*, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is expected to endorse recommendations on agroecological and other innovative approaches for sustainable food systems, after an intense period of negotiation involving governments, UN agencies and institutions, Indigenous People’s organizations, civil society, and the private sector.
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