Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Archives

EDUCATION-SOUTH AFRICA: ”Schooling That Hampers Development”

For 16 years, Themba was proud to be a teacher in South Africa but a wave of violence at her school has proven so nerve-wracking that she may leave the profession.

DEVELOPMENT: Campaigners Counter Privatisation Source

By IPS Correspondents

Anti-poverty campaigners are calling on the European Union's developing aid chief not to renew the contract of an industrialist advising him on the role of the private sector in Africa.

NICARAGUA: Sandinistas Wage a New War – Against Hunger

By José Adán Silva

With the support of international cooperation, the Nicaraguan government is preparing to launch an all-out offensive against hunger, as part of an ambitious plan to help the rural poor achieve food sufficiency.

HEALTH: Living in Portugal, Giving Birth in Spain

By Mario de Queiroz

Drastic public health budget cuts in Portugal have led to the closure of emergency and maternity services and prompted protests against the government of socialist Prime Minister José Sócrates.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Operation ”Living Well” Also A Disaster

By Davison Makanga

''It is appalling how our government has simply discarded its own people,'' exclaims civic activist Max Mkandla. He is referring to the ruling ZANU-PF's Operation Murambatsvina (''drive out filth'') and its follow-up, Operation Garikai (''living well'').

POLITICS: U.N. to Extend Stay in Cash-Strapped Liberia

By Thalif Deen

As Liberia's post-war, cash-strapped economy continues to threaten its political stability, the United Nations is planning to extend the mandate of its four-year old peacekeeping force through March next year.

SOUTH AMERICA: A Cooler Way to Feed the World

By Marcela Valente

The growth in exports of agricultural and livestock products from the countries of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) trade bloc poses an environmental dilemma, as half their greenhouse gases are emitted in rural areas.

TRADE-ZAMBIA: Is China Sneaking in Deals Through the Back Door?

By IPS Correspondents

The recent state visit by Chinese president Hu Jintao has sparked renewed debates among Zambians about whether their country is receiving real benefits from its close economic relations with the Asian giant.

RIGHTS-UAE: Women Partly to Blame for Slow Change

By IPS Correspondents

Sitting in her small art-deco office, wearing a traditional head-to-toe black garb and a headscarf, Najla al Awadhi might, at first glance, fit the traditional stereotype image of a conservative Muslim, Arab woman, content to be ruled in a male-dominated society.

TRADE-MAURITIUS: EU Assisting in Revamp of Sugar Cane Industry

By IPS Correspondents

Sugar cane has been associated with Mauritius for over 367 years, shaping many aspects of the history and culture of the island state. The arrival of renewable energy technologies has made sugar cane even more important to the Mauritian economy.

ASIA: Facing the Threat of GE Rice

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

With an eye to the future of rice farming in Thailand, a local grassroots organisation is bringing together youth in a north-eastern rice-growing province in a celebration of the diverse varieties of this staple grown in the traditional way.

EUROPE: Poor Need More Than a Declaration

By IPS Correspondents

The 50th anniversary of the European Union has been marked by a declaration committing the 27-country bloc to "drive back poverty, hunger and disease" throughout the world.

LESOTHO: Local Elections May Hold the Key to National Success for Women

By Moyiga Nduru

As Lesotho's newly-elected legislators settle down to the task of governing, activists are expressing disappointment at the low representation of women in the country's parliament.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Renewable Sources the Key to Energy Crisis?

By Stephanie Nieuwoudt

Biofuel and other renewable energy sources may hold the key to Africa's energy crisis. Without intervention, this crisis is set to grow. Southern African cities such as Lusaka in Zambia, Harare in Zimbabwe, Gaborone in Botswana and Dar-Es-Salaam in Tanzania will be affected.

DEVELOPMENT-INDIA: Project-Displaced Camp in India’s Capital

By IPS Correspondents

Through this week, a broad pavement on a leafy road in the Indian capital has served as venue for a spirited ‘parliament of people' from across the country, come to protest a relentless globalisation drive that is stripping them of their land and livelihood.

CHILE: Indigenous and Rural Women Make Their Voices Heard

By Daniela Estrada

"It's our turn to speak! It's time to fight, to dream, to build, to sow, to participate." This was the slogan of the National Association of Rural and Indigenous Women (ANAMURI)'s First Congress which ended Friday in the Chilean capital.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Understanding Weather to Protect the Poor

By Constanza Vieira

Climate phenomena like El Niño and global warming have a disproportionate effect on the poor. That is why meteorology has a crucial contribution to make in the fight against poverty, scientists say.

CHILE: Ice Fields Could Become Biggest Natural Heritage Site

By Daniela Estrada

The Chilean government will nominate six parks and reserves in the extreme south of the country, including Torres del Paine, for the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list in February 2008. The total area covers 7.2 million hectares, and it is unequalled for sheer size in this category.