OP-ED: The Care Imperative

As the debate about a future global development agenda to succeed the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 gathers pace, there is broad agreement that gender equality and women’s empowerment are crucial components.

An Equal Share of Wealth Equals Lasting Peace in CAR

While wrangling over Central African Republic’s (CAR) wealth in natural resources played a role in the country's crisis, its future peace and stability still partly depends on a solution that factors in how to equitably distribute its national wealth.

Arab NGOs Warn IMF Against Sharp Cuts to Subsidies

Civil society activists from five Arab countries are urging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ease pressure on their governments to reduce food and fuel subsidies until stronger social-protection schemes and other basic reforms are implemented.

Ghana’s Small Women’s Savings Groups Have Big Impact

Dunwaa Soayare, 45, a smallholder farmer, widow and mother of five had the sort of economic profile that meant she was denied access to credit from Ghana’s mainstream banking institutions.

Rich Railroad Brings Few Opportunities in Brazil

The Carajás railroad, regarded as the most efficient in Brazil, runs a loss-making passenger service for the benefit of the population. But this does little to make amends for its original sin: it was created to export minerals and crosses an area of chronic poverty.

Economic Reforms Needed for Peace in South Sudan

Gatmai Deng lost three family members in the violence that erupted in South Sudan on Dec. 15 and lasted until the end of January. And he blames their deaths on the government’s failure to use the country’s vast oil revenues to create a better life for its almost 11 million people.

Casting Call for Kenya’s ‘Briefcase’ NGOs

Ben Okoth, 45, was born and raised in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa, situated just outside of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Over the years, he has encountered many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to improve the plight of the poor who live here.

Smuggled Medicines Save Lives

They are contraband, yet a large number of Pakistanis have come to depend on drugs made in India and smuggled into Pakistan. Patients as well as doctors say these are cheap and effective, even as law enforcers look the other way.

An Environment-Wrecking Pipeline Hangs in Limbo

The Pine Ridge Reservation of the Lakota Nation, in the midwest of the United States, is one of the most abandoned places in the country and in the world.

Cartel Boss Captured, Mexican Drug Trade Soldiers On

The arrest of the head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, will not affect drug trafficking in Mexico, but it presents an opportunity to change the country’s drug policy, experts told IPS.

EU No Instant Saviour for Ukraine

Ukrainians are facing years of pain and upheaval if the country moves towards closer EU integration – or the prospect of the country being left to “rot” if they do not, experts say following the weekend’s revolution.

Somalis Caught in Crossfire as Al-Shabaab ‘Plays to Survive’

As the Somali government plans to launch a new military campaign to wipe out the Islamic extremist group, Al-Shabaab, from its strongholds in this Horn of Africa nation, experts say that its Somalia’s innocent who live in areas controlled by the group who will suffer the most.

Swiss Vote for New Squeeze on Migrants

Swiss voters have approved an initiative by the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) aimed at limiting immigration. The result not only threatens the free movement of people, but all agreements between Switzerland and the European Union.

‘Humanitarian Crisis’ for Ogaden Living Near Ethiopia’s Oil Fields

New allegations of scorched earth evictions of the Ogaden people have raised concerns that a lack of benefit sharing could escalate instability in the region and reinforce separatist tensions as foreign energy companies prepare to extract oil and gas from troubled southeastern Ethiopia.

Poverty Rises Amidst Gold

Natural reserves such as gold, copper, nickel, gas and timber are being extracted in the western Pacific island states of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands to feed the soaring economies of East and South East Asia. But despite these Pacific nations recording economic growth rates of 6-11 percent over the past seven years, opportunities for human development have not been grasped.

South-South Cooperation Takes Off in Arab World

As the concept of South-South cooperation (SSC) continues to strengthen worldwide, some of the richest countries in the Arab world have been reaching out to the poor and the needy in the developing world.

Rising Prices Threaten to Increase Inequality in Argentina

Argentine consumers have responded to calls on social networks to mobilise against price hikes that threaten the country’s major advances towards poverty reduction and greater social equality.

U.N. Focuses on Faltering Goals: Water, Sanitation, Energy

When the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their deadline in 2015, there will still be a critical setback: millions of people in the developing world without full access to safe drinking water, proper sanitation and electricity in their homes.

Troika Becomes the Villain in a Greek Tragedy

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Greece and other recession-hit European countries as they undergo harsh austerity measures in exchange for a bailout. At the heart of it is the Troika, say trade unions, civil society and rights activists.

Hope for HIV Positive Teenagers in Northern Ghana

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Zainab Salifu queued at the fevers unit of the Tamale Teaching Hospital in northern Ghana. Earlier in the day, the 18-year-old had been diagnosed HIV positive.

Climate Change Triggers Disease Risk in Tanzania

Residents in low-lying areas in Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam, are potentially at risk of contracting waterborne diseases as heavy rains, which started last week, continue to pound the city.