Protecting Workers & Enabling a Green Recovery from COVID-19

2022 is a decisive year for all of us as recovery prospects remain highly uncertain. Global human development has witnessed a decline for the first time since the measurement began in 1990. As UNDP’s new Special Report on Human Security also reveals, 6 in 7 people worldwide are plagued by feelings of insecurity.

Gender Lens Crucial to Leaving No One Behind (Part 2)

A crucial two-day meeting of Parliamentarians from the Asian, Arab and African regions will put human-rights-based legislative frameworks under the spotlight as the regions work to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.

Gender Lens Crucial to Leaving No One Behind (Part 1)

Parliamentarians' leadership in a post-COVID-19 recovery is crucial to achieving the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agenda. The involvement of lawmakers in ensuring a more equal, just, and sustainable society will come under the spotlight during a two-day inter-regional meeting organized by the Asian Population and Development Association (APDA) and the Forum of Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAPPD,) and supported by UNFPA ASRO in early March 2022.

Caring for The Old

With the unprecedented ageing of populations worldwide, countries are struggling with the critical questions of who should be responsible for caring for the old and what should be the extent of care provided to women and men in old age.

Cyclone Ana Floods Choke Malawi’s Water and Sanitation Goals

On the night of January 24, 2022, as Cyclone Ana-triggered rains incessantly rattled on the rusty roof of her house, amid intervals of gusty winds, a thud woke up Josephine Kumwanje from her sleep.

Financialization at Heart of Economic Malaise

COVID-19 has exposed major long-term economic vulnerabilities. This malaise – including declining productivity growth – can be traced to the greater influence of finance in the real economy.

Global Road Safety Crisis: Three Questions to Ask to Help Solve It

When we think about global crises, road safety isn’t one that comes to mind. The reality is that unsafe roads is a health crisis gone rogue. 

A Step Toward Africa’s First Covid-19 Vaccine of Its Own

Efforts to combat the vast global inequity in access to Covid-19 vaccines just got a boost. A Cape Town company claims it successfully made a vaccine that mimics Moderna’s messenger RNA vaccine—without any help from Moderna. This copycat will still need to undergo clinical trials, but the effort could yield Africa’s first Covid-19 vaccine.

WASH Interventions Key to Reaching Africa’s Child Health Milestones

For two days in a row back in 2018, four-year-old Calvin Otieno suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting, and his mother responded by giving him a salt solution.

Dream. Dare. Do.

Conflict, forced displacement, climate change and COVID-19 are disrupting the education of millions of crisis-affected children and adolescents around the world.

ONE OCEAN SUMMIT – An Opportunity For Blue Transformation

The ocean covers more than 70 percent of our planet. There is no question it is critical for our health and well-being. It provides half the earth’s oxygen supply and every organism in existence depends on it to survive.

Responding to New Threats to Poverty Eradication in Asia

With consistent, robust economic growth, countries across Asia have made monumental strides in eradicating extreme poverty over the past 30 years. In Bangladesh, for example, the population living in extreme poverty dropped from 43% in 1991 to 10.5% in 2019. Similarly in Cambodia, poverty incidence fell from 53% in 2004 to below 10% by 2016.

The Global South Moves Towards Vaccine Sovereignty

In 2021, Global South countries came out on the short end of vaccine supply deals. In 2022, they are building capacity to produce vaccines themselves.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of ECW’s High-Level Steering Group

  ECW: You played a critical role in establishing Education Cannot Wait just five years ago. As the Chair of ECW’s High-Level Steering Group, what are some of the key successes achieved by ECW over the last five years; and what needs to be done in the next five years as we approach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development deadline?

Storybook Apps Turn African Learners Into Writers

Suwaiba Hassan published an engrossing story. She used digital apps that are giving literacy a boost.

An International Treaty on Pandemic Prevention?

The global consensus about an international treaty on pandemic prevention is certainly a milestone towards the creation of a global health security framework.

Three Key Questions for Understanding Shifts in Global Poverty

In 2010 and the following years, there was attention to the fact that much of global poverty had shifted to middle-income countries (for example here, here, and here).

Power of Connection & Collaborations to Fight Modern-day Slavery

The Covid-19 pandemic affected countries and people globally, at the same time exacerbated vulnerabilities such as modern-day slavery. There are over 40.3 million people estimated to be in modern-day slavery, and certain population groups, sectors and geographies such as children, migrant workers, women and girls that were already vulnerable, became more vulnerable to recruitment and exploitation during the pandemic. The United Nations has called the pandemic more than a health crisis, “it is an economic crisis, a humanitarian crisis, and a human rights crisis.”

Resist Inflation Phobia Coup

Calls, even screams, to fight inflation above all else are getting shriller. Thankfully, even The Economist (5 Feb. 2022) reminds all, Fighting inflation could put the world in a slump. No inflation consensus International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva doubts the world faces a runaway inflation threat. She urges policymakers to carefully calibrate fiscal and monetary policies, with more “specificity”, as not ‘one size fits all’.

Looking to the Future: China’s Priorities for Food Security in 2022 and Beyond

Safeguarding food security has long been a critical priority for the Chinese central government. President Xi’s latest comments and meetings demonstrate continued concerns at the top about China’s food security. Ahead of the 20th National Congress this year and the release of the No 1 policy document, there are already several hints regarding what the Chinese central authorities could prioritise in terms of food security for this year and beyond. Other factors, including the potential influences of gene-edited plants, commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) crops, and of a Russia-Ukraine conflict should also be considered.

An Unending & Uncertain Battle Against the Covid

The year 2021 began with several new vaccines showing efficacy in randomized trials, but despite 26 authorised Covid-19 vaccines globally, and at least another 200 in development (The Lancet, 2021), the first few weeks of year 2022 brought a sense of uncertainty.