Poverty & SDGs

Illegal Immigration Dilemma

By Joseph Chamie
Illegal immigration in the 21st century poses a serious dilemma for the world. Governments in virtually every region of the globe appear to be at a loss on how to address the two central dimensions of the dilemma.

Reclaiming Our Future

By Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
The Asia-Pacific region is at a crossroads today – to further breakdown or breakthrough to a greener, better, safer future. Since the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was established in 1947, the region has made extraordinary progress, emerging as a pacesetter of global economic growth that has lifted millions out of poverty.

A Sliver of Hope for Lebanon?

By Rasha Al Saba
In the midst of what has been an incredibly turbulent period for Lebanon, the conclusion of elections last week ought to be hailed as a chance to focus on the future. This, the first election since the mass uprisings in 2019 against what was seen as a corrupt ruling elite, has shown some signs of the drive for change.

Covid-19: Rise of the Super Rich & Fall of the World’s Poor

By Thalif Deen
Michael Bloomberg, the three-term Mayor of New York city and a billionaire philanthropist, was once quoted as saying that by the time he dies, he would have given away all his wealth to charity – so that his cheque to the funeral undertaker will bounce for lack of funds in his bank account.

‘By Deliberately Ignoring Risk, the World Is Bankrolling Its Own Destruction’

By Baher Kamal
It is often said that a pessimistic person is an optimistic but well-informed person. Here, a good number of people may believe that human wit and inventiveness are capable of facing both the current and the looming disasters, like the impact of climate change, for instance.

What India Needs To Do To Achieve Net-Zero Status by 2070

By R R Rashmi
The recent IPCC report that came out in the month of March 2022 says that, by the end of the century, the temperature rise is likely to be 2 to 3.7 degrees if global emissions, as they stand today, are not curtailed. In fact, according to the report, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions need to come down by 45 percent globally (compared with 2005) by the end of 2030.

What the Russian Invasion Means for Syria

By Sinan Hatahet
Moscow’s decision to intervene militarily in Syria in 2015 effectively preserved the Assad regime in Damascus. Russian air power and intelligence support, along with Iranian-backed militias on the ground, allowed the regime to beat the opposition and brutally reassert its control over much of Syria.

As COVID Wanes, Tuberculosis Deaths Must Become Visible

By Angelique Luabeya Kany Kany
It is time to treat the scourge of Tuberculosis scourge with the same urgency as we did the COVID-19 pandemic.

Debt Distress in Africa: Problems and Ways Forward

By Danny Bradlow and Magalie Masamba
The COVID pandemic has had a profoundly negative impact on Africa’s sovereign debt situation. Currently, 22 countries are either in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress.

New Medicines May Help End AIDS– but High Prices & Monopolies Could Keep the Poor Locked Out

By Matthew Kavanagh and Eamonn Murphy
Here’s the good news: there are a new set of breakthrough medicines to prevent and treat HIV, known as “long actings” because they can be taken every few months instead of every day, and they are coming on-stream. If, as they are rolled out, they are made available at scale, they could help save many lives and help end the AIDS pandemic.

Africa Expected to Strongly Support Durban Call to Action on Child Labour

By Lyse Comins
Global goals to eradicate child labour will not be achieved without a breakthrough in Africa, where most of the world’s 160 million children entrapped in child labour work in rural regions, mostly in agriculture with their families.

From Child Laborer to Activist, Tara Banjara Asks World to Pledge to End the Scourge

By Lyse Comins
Tara Banjara was four and a half years old when her parents put her to work on the roads, cleaning the garbage and rubble out of potholes to prepare for construction in Nemdi village, Rajasthan, India. She worked in the wind, cold, and rain with her mother, day in and day out, year in and year out. She would return home shattered, too exhausted to eat before falling asleep each night.

Child Labour: No Quick End to Children Trapped in Tobacco Production

By Judith Mackay and Leonce Dieudonne Leonce
Despite World Day Against Child Labour launched in 2002 by the International Labour Organization (ILO), little has changed over the past two decades for the millions of children who remain trapped.

It’s Time To Globalise Compassion, Says Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi

By Fawzia Moodley
A mere 53 billion US dollars per annum – equivalent to 10 days of military spending – would ensure all children in all countries benefit from social protection, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi told the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour.

Massive Deforestation in the Congo Basin Will Lead to Poverty

By Sylvie Djacbou Deugoue
Growing up amid under the leafy canopy of the Congo Basin rainforest, the woodland was more than our home. It was our playground, our medicine cabinet, our teacher, our therapist. And it was a source of livelihood with its rich biodiversity and helped shield us from the effects of climate change.

Inequality Tightens Its Grip on the Most Vulnerable

By Baher Kamal
Please do not say you were not aware that the world produces enough food to feed all human beings on Earth, while nearly double the combined European Union’s population go to bed hungry… every single night.

Call to Freedom for Millions of Children Trapped in Child Labour as Global Conference Comes to Africa

By Joyce Chimbi
Children washing clothes in rivers, begging on the streets, hawking, walking for kilometres in search of water and firewood, their tiny hands competing with older, experienced hands to pick coffee or tea, or as child soldiers are familiar sights in Africa and Asia.

Russian Invasion Blamed for 44 Million People Marching Towards Hunger & Starvation

By Thalif Deen
The Russian invasion of Ukraine last February has triggered multiple crises in several fronts: the deaths of thousands of civilians, the destruction of heavily populated cities, the rise in military spending in Europe, a projected decline in development assistance to the world’s poorer nations; the demolition of schools and health-care facilities — and now the threat of hunger and starvation.

Projections for a Pandemic Future: in Whose Interest?

By Nicoletta Dentico
In what has been defined a historic consensus decision aimed at protecting the world from future infectious diseases crises, on 1st December 2021, the special session of the World Health Assembly agreed to kickstart a global process to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

Plants: Up to 80% of Food and 98% of Oxygen, Endangered

By Baher Kamal
It is as simple –and as horrifying– as that: both human health and the health of Planet Earth depend on plants. However, plants that make up 80% of the food and 98% of the oxygen, are under growing dangerous threats.

Most Maternal Deaths Are Preventable: How To Improve Outcomes in South Africa

The past 20 years have seen a significant decline in maternal mortality rates from 342 deaths to 211 per 100,000 globally . But every day, more than 800 women around the world die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, up to 42 days after delivery. Most of these deaths are preventable.
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