Poverty, Vulnerability and Social Protection

According to the World Bank, the MDG target of halving the share of the poor was achieved by 2008, well in advance of 2015, the target year. However, increased unemployment and lower incomes in recent times remind us that poverty is not an unchanging attribute of a shrinking group, but rather, a condition that billions of vulnerable persons risk experiencing.

The Next UN Secretary General Should Be a Woman – and Must Be a Feminist

The process for arguably the top political job on the planet is well underway.  And the time is right for a woman and a feminist to take the helm.

Nutrition – Small Investments Can Make a Huge Impact

Bangladesh has made great strides in many areas, including poverty eradication and life expectancy. There are still many opportunities for investments that improve the nation's future and transform lives.

New Alliance to Shore Up Food Security Launched in Africa

As over 20 million sub-Saharan Africans face a shortage of food because of drought and development issues, representatives of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Pan African Parliament (PAP) met in Johannesburg to forge a new parliamentary alliance focusing on food and nutritional security.

Q&A: Representing Developing Countries at the United Nations in New York

IPS spoke with the Virachai Plasai, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Thailand to the United Nations and Chair of the Group of 77 about what it’s like to represent 134 developing countries, including China, at UN meetings in New York. Plasai spoke about some of the group’s priorities for 2016, including the selection of the ninth UN Secretary-General, the 2030 Development Agenda, including the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Newly Empowered Black Farmers Ruined by South Africa’s Drought

Almost half a decade of drought across most of South Africa has led to small towns in crisis and food imports for the first time in over 20 years, as well as severely hampering the government’s planned land redistribution programme.

UN Trade and Development Conference a “Big Win” for Multilateralism

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) concluded its five-day meeting in Nairobi on a positive note—the launch of a new e-trade initiative and a multi-donor trust fund on trade and productive capacity.

Feed the Children

Hunger still stalks many of our countrymen. It is particularly destructive with our children who, because of poverty, do not get enough to eat, become vulnerable to disease and exploitation and end up unhealthy, uneducated and unhappy. Uneducated because the need to eat superimposes itself over everything, so that all their waking hours are spent looking to satisfy hunger, eschewing going to school. Unhappy because in the long run, without education, there will be a long, hard climb to get a job; most of all, a job that will provide a decent livelihood.

Chronic Hunger Lingers in the Midst of Plenty

In a fraught global economic environment, exacerbated by climate change and shrinking resources, ensuring food and nutrition security is a daunting challenge for many nations. India, Asia's third largest economy and the world's second most populous nation after China with 1.3 billion people, is no exception.

Climate Victims – Every Second, One Person Is Displaced by Disaster

Climate change and related extreme weather events have devastated the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of most vulnerable people worldwide-- by far exceeding the total of all the unfortunate and unjustifiable victims of all terrorist attacks combined. However, the unstoppable climate crisis receives just a tiny fraction of mainstream media attention. See these dramatic facts.

Climate Migrants Lead Mass Migration to India’s Cities

Deepa Kumari, a 36-year-old farmer from Pithoragarh district in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, lives in a one-room tenement in south Delhi's Mongolpuri slum with her three children. Fleeing devastating floods which killed her husband last year, the widow landed up in the national capital city last week after selling off her farm and two cows at cut-rate prices.

Fertilizer Access Grows Farmers, Food and Finance

Brightly coloured cans, bags of fertilizer and packets containing all types of seeds catch the eye upon entering Nancy Khorommbi’s agro dealer shop tucked at the corner of a roadside service station.

Uganda Ill-Equipped for Growing Cancer Burden

Lying on a dirty bed in a crowded, squalid hostel in Kampala, emaciated Jovia, 29, managed a weak smile as a doctor delivered her a small green bottle containing a liquid.

Beyond Rhetoric: UN Member States Start Work on Global Goals

UN member states “are going beyond rhetoric and earnestly working to achieve real progress” towards the Sustainable Goals, the members of the Group of 77 and China said in a ministerial statement delivered here on 18 July.

Devastating Droughts Continue as El Nino Subsides

Although the devastating El Niño of 2015 to 2016 has now subsided, in many parts of Africa, Central America and Southeast Asia rains and harvests are not expected to recover until 2017.

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: The Sooner, the Better

The first 1000 days after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals are critical, according to a report published last week, urging UN member states to take action quickly.

Fast-track Development Threatens to Leave Indigenous Peoples Behind

Fast-tracked development often means that indigenous people and their territories get run over and their rights are not taken into consideration, Roberto Borrero, from the International Indian Treaty Council and Indigenous Peoples Major Group, said here Friday.

Rewriting Africa’s Agricultural Narrative

Albert Kanga Azaguie no longer considers himself a smallholder farmer. By learning and monitoring the supply and demand value chains of one of the country’s staple crops, plantain (similar to bananas), Kanga ventured into off-season production to sell his produce at relatively higher prices.

‘Monster’ El Niño Subsides, La Niña Hitting Soon

As if human-made armed conflicts, wickedness, rights abuse, gender violence, cruel inequality and climate catastrophes were not enough, now the saying “God Always Forgives, Men Sometimes, Nature Never” appear to be more true than ever. See what happens.

What can Development Banks do to Protect Human Rights?

In a petition signed by 150 NGOs, the Coalition for Human Rights in Development have called for development banks to make sure that human rights are respected by their beneficiaries.

South Sudan Tense but Calm Following Intense Fighting: UN

The situation in Juba, South Sudan on Thursday was "tense" but "calm" following recent intense fighting, UN Spokesperson for the Secretary General Stephane Dujarric told journalists here Thursday.