WORLD HEALTH DAY-BRAZIL: First Map of Clusters of Antibiotic Resistance

Scientists in Brazil have created the first map of clusters of antibiotic resistance in Brazil, linking the phenomenon to abuse of the drug and opening doors to guide public policies for antibiotic prescription and sales.

CLIMATE CHANGE: World Bank Under Fire for Role in New Global Green Fund

The World Bank is facing mounting opposition from a broad network of green and grassroots activists over its role in a new global Green Climate Fund (GCF) aimed at helping developing countries combat the ravages of climate change.

Twin Boost for TB Treatment in Swaziland

The fight against tuberculosis in Swaziland will be reinforced on two fronts this month. A new tool for the quick and accurate diagnosis of TB will begin its roll out and a monthly stipend for treatment supporters will help ensure patients get through the lengthy and unpleasant course of TB drugs.

SRI LANKA: Finally Dengue Takes a Beating

Dengue infections and deaths here have declined significantly this year.

NGOs Call for IMF Gold Profits to Cancel Debts of Poorest Countries

Nearly 60 international civil society organisations urged the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Monday to earmark some 2.8 billion dollars in profits from the agency's gold sales for cancelling the debts of the world's poorest nations.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Uncertain Future of Kyoto Protocol Alarms Green Groups

With just seven months to go before a pivotal U.N. climate change summit in South Africa, green groups are raising the alarm here about the future of the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only international treaty that mandates most industrialised nations to cut their environment polluting greenhouse gases (GHG) to save the planet from overheating.

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Assessing the True Value of Water

As water resources in Southern Africa come under pressure from growing population, climate change and increasing industrial and agricultural use, economic accounting for water is among the tools that could aid better management.

Sierra Leone Facing Facts of Teenage Pregnancy

On Apr. 5, the United Nations Children's Fund will launch a report on teenage pregnancy in Sierra Leone. Teenage pregnancies account for 40 percent of maternal deaths in the country, and the report comes as public health authorities recalibrate strategy to address a problem that endangers both mothers and children.

UGANDA: Sun Smiling on Renewable Energy Initiative

Clementine Auma was still living in a displaced person's camp in Gulu district when she acquired the treasure she's gone into the house to fetch. She re-emerges from her home with a white box in her arms: a solar oven.

In Cambodia, Women Fear Death at Childbirth

Death haunts women in this Cambodian village at a moment of happiness - when they give birth.

“Bold Decisions” Needed in AIDS Struggle

A new report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released Thursday found progress in combating HIV/AIDS worldwide to be promising, yet inadequate to meet the needs of the 33.3 million people estimated to be living with HIV in 2009.

Combating Poverty With ‘Poor Economics’

French economist Esther Duflo thinks poverty can be alleviated or even eradicated with the right policies. All it takes is for politicians to "translate research into action," implementing programmes that have been shown to work.

ZIMBABWE: Fears for Next Generation of Women Leaders

Zimbabwe's veteran women politicians fear there are no younger women coming up through the ranks to replace them. Measures to improve women's representation have achieved little and young women are absent from the traditional entry points into politics.

Zimbabwe’s Braying Cavalry in Campaign for Literacy

Across Zimbabwe, economic and political crisis has forced students to do without books, classroom furniture, teachers - the basics of a conducive learning environment. These learners cannot go to libraries, so the libraries have gone to them.

MALAWI: Putting Knowledge Into Practice in Childbirth

Post-partum haemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation. A decade of applying research to midwifery practice in one Malawi district demonstrates that PPH is quite easy to prevent.

Least Developed Countries Stagnate Under Ailing Strategies

A report released Tuesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO) for the Fourth Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) slated to take place in Istanbul, Turkey in early May expressed a strong critique of the snail's pace of development, but stopped just short of calling for radical new policies to be implemented.

BOTSWANA: Capital Upgrade for City’s Sewers

The evidence of Gaborone's inadequate sewerage system hangs in the air over the Botswana capital's low income area. Pit latrines dominate, and residents complain that the city doesn't empty them frequently enough. But the end may be in sight.

ZIMBABWE: Backlash Against Women in Politics

"Women in Zimbabwe are largely seen as a huge demographic to be exploited by politicians who seek our support," says Ntombikayise Mswela. "But when we take to the streets to demand respect and our rights from the same government we are thrown into prison.

GUATEMALA: Evictions of Native Families Add Fuel to Fire Over Land Access

"We have nowhere to plant our corn, we have nothing," Jorge Chocoj told IPS while waiting with his wife and three children for the police to evict them from the land they farmed in northwestern Guatemala.

KENYA: Sustainable Energy in the Heart of the Slums

Talk about foul foundations: the Katwekera Tosha Bio Centre is built on the stuff that goes into toilets. This community centre in the Nairobi slum of Kibera goes well beyond solving sanitation problems - it is a model for green energy, a meeting place for locals, and turning a profit for its operators.

ZAMBIA: Women Resume Struggle for Representation Ahead of Elections

Zambians head to the polls sometime before October and civil society groups are working hard to ensure their voices are heard. Groups which were excluded during the 2005 elections and the National Constitutional Conference that began in 2007 are mobilising to ensure they are not excluded.