Opinion: Strengthen Tax Cooperation to End Hunger and Poverty Quickly

By the end of this year, the 15-year time frame for the Millennium Development Goals will end, with good progress on several indicators, but limited achievements on others.

Opinion: Mandela Day – Where Do We Stand Today?

Today Jul. 18 is Mandela Day, the annual international day in honour of the late Nelson Mandela, the first democratically-elected President of the Republic of South Africa.

New Convention Will Help Protect Latin America’s Elderly

“Our rights are only partially respected; in some places we are given special attention, but in others it is quite the opposite. There is a lack of education and respect for people my age,” Hilda Téllez, a 70-year-old Mexican woman, told IPS.

Indigenous People in Brazil’s Amazon – Crushed by the Belo Monte Dam?

Ethnocide, the new accusation leveled against the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, brings to light deeper underlying aspects of the conflicts and controversies unleashed by megaprojects in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

Opinion: Unrestrained ‘Privatisation of Poverty-Reduction’ Puts Human Rights at Risk

Corporate lobbyists are unusual guests at development meetings, but when the United Nations held its Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa this week to decide who pays for its new “Sustainable Development Goals”, some governments laid out the red carpet for the private sector.

IPS Reporter Wins Dag Hammarskjöld Fellowship

IPS journalist Fabíola Ortiz is the winner of one of four prestigious Dag Hammarskjöld fellowships to cover the United Nations in fall 2015.

Civil Society Sceptical Over “Action Agenda” to Finance Development

Despite high expectations, the third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) ended on a predictable note: the United Nations proclaimed it a roaring success while most civil society organisations (CSOs) expressed scepticism over the final outcome.

Fear Stalks Students in Northern Pakistan

It has been seven months since a group of gunmen raided the Army Public School in Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, killing 145 people, including 132 students.

U.N. Panel Lays Out Vision of “Just Security”

Amid a range of new and old challenges, from climate change to gender equality and war crimes, a new report by the Commission on Global Security, Justice and Governance emphasises the need to reform the U.N. system.

Opinion: What Will It Take to Bring a Second Green Revolution to India?

Long-term agricultural growth in India is slowing down. The lands that saw remarkable increases in productivity in the 1970s and 80s, thanks to the technology rolled out as part of the first “Green Revolution”, are not yielding the same results today.

In Search of Jobs, Cameroonian Women May End Up as Slaves in Middle East

Her lips are quavering her hands trembling. Susan (not her real name) struggles to suppress stubborn tears, but the outburst comes, spontaneously, and the tears stream down her cheeks as she sobs profusely.

Latin America Has Beaten Down, but not Beaten, HIV/AIDS

The countries of Latin America have partially met the Millennium Development Goal referring to the fight against HIV/AIDS, according to the UNAIDS report on the global epidemic released Tuesday.

Is Climate Change or ISIS the Greater Threat to Humankind?

The world at large is apparently divided over what constitutes the biggest single threat to human kind: the devastation caused by climate change or the unbridled terror unleashed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)? According to a new Pew Research Center survey designed to measure perceptions of international threats, climate change is viewed as the “top concern” by people around the world.

New Census Paints Grim Picture of Inequality in India

Despite being Asia’s third-largest economy, positioning itself as a major geopolitical player under a new nationalist government, India's first ever Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) paints a grim picture of poverty and deprivation despite billions of dollars being funneled into state-sponsored welfare schemes.

Sixty-Five More Years Until Electricity for All in Africa – Report

Sub-Saharan Africa is still far behind in its ability to generate electricity, hampering growth and frustrating its ambitions to catch up with the rest of the world.

Opinion: U.N. Can Help Reform the International Financial System

The growth in global interdependence poses greater challenges to policy makers on a wide range of issues and for countries at all levels of development.

Pledges for Humanitarian Aid Fall Far Short of Deliveries

When international donors pledge millions of dollars either for post-conflict reconstruction or for humanitarian aid, deliveries are rarely on schedule: they are either late, fall far below expectations or not delivered at all.

Female Commandos Ready to Take on the Taliban

For years, Robina Shah has dreamed of joining the police force. Ever since her father, a police constable, was killed in a 2013 Taliban suicide attack in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, she has longed to carry on his legacy.

Latin America Has Uneven Record on Environmental Sustainability

Millions of Latin Americans have better access to clean water and decent housing than 25 years ago. But the region still faces serious environmental challenges, such as deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions - a legacy of the model of development followed in the 20th century.

New Malaria Strategy Would Double Current Funding

Although malaria is both preventable and curable, it still killed an estimated 584,000 people in 2013, the majority of them African children.

Opinion: Why Women Peacemakers Marched in Korea

The year 2015 marked the 62^nd anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War. The temporary ceasefire has never been replaced with a peace treaty and the demilitarised zone (DMZ) continues to divide the country.