Lean Times Get Leaner in Northern Cote d’Ivoire

Salimata Coulibaly, director of a medical centre in the town of Korhogo in the northern Cote d’Ivoire region of Savanes, stood before a chart displaying before-and-after photos of local children – one taken when each child arrived at the centre, and one after he or she responded to treatment for malnutrition.

Children Treated as Lab Rats

Four-year-old Deepak Yadav, a mentally disabled boy from Indore city in the Indian state Madhya Pradesh, was being treated for stomach problems at Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, a government hospital for children attached to the M. G. M. Medical College.

Pakistan’s Measles Deaths Hinder Global Goals

Measles outbreaks, which have killed at least 100 children in Pakistan’s militancy-hit border areas since May, have prompted calls by experts for better cooperation in territories adjacent to Afghanistan with international immunisation campaigns.

Armed Forces Still Dictating Côte d’Ivoire’s Law

Even as Côte d'Ivoire gradually recovers from the bloody events of the 2010-2011 post-electoral crisis, massacres in the western part of the country and the frequent sound of gunfire in the economic capital, Abidjan, are signs of the long road ahead.

From the Field to the Rubbish Heap

Agriculture provides a livelihood to the majority of the population in Papua New Guinea, a developing island nation of approximately seven million in the south west Pacific.  However, the loss and waste of an estimated half of all fresh produce between harvesting and marketing is threatening improvements to food security and local incomes.

Women Now Have a Voice in Chile’s Press

"We always dreamed of a ‘heroine’ who would not only denounce violence against women, but would also represent us in other spheres,” Kena Lorenzini, the director of Chile’s first feminist publication, told IPS.

“Latin America’s Miracle” – the Land of Invisible Inequality

It’s Friday morning, and Carlos, an executive at a real estate firm in the Chilean capital, gets up knowing that he will knock off early that day, as he does at the end of every week, to enjoy the weekend in the family’s vacation apartment on the coast with his wife and three daughters.

Mauritian Fishers Want EU Vessels Out of Their Seas

“Look out there, the blue one…. that is a European Union fishing vessel that is threatening our livelihood,” says Lallmamode Mohamedally, a Mauritian fisherman, as he points to a boat offloading its catch at the Les Salines port, close to the country’s capital Port Louis.

Q&A: Microcredit Bank “Incorporates Women in the Benefits of Development”

“Our raison d’etre is incorporating women in development, and especially in the benefits of development,” says Nora Castañeda, an economist who has headed the Banmujer bank in Venezuela since it was founded in 2001.

Fishing Communities in Brazil Fight for Survival

His father and other fishermen fought back with sickles, hoes and other work tools against the armed men sent by the purported owner of the land where they lived in order to evict them. But then the military police came and knocked down eight of their houses.

HAITI: Kitchen Gardens Help Keep Hunger at Bay

Many Haitians living in poor neighbourhoods of the capital Port-au-Prince and semi-permanent tent camps are relying on kitchen gardens to put healthy food on the table.

East End’s First Muslim Mayor Unfazed by Racist Press Attacks

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the “East End", is the historic core of England, the home of the Tower of London, and now it is a Gateway borough to the Olympics.

Elderly Find Few Places to Call Home

Mr. Jayakumar (73), a philanthropic bachelor hailing from a prosperous industrial family in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, decided at the age of 70 that it was time to settle down.

Empty Condos Hold Opportunity in U.S. Housing Crunch

Even as thousands of families in the United States remain homeless due to a lack of affordable housing, millions of units are sitting empty across the country, including foreclosed single-family homes, foreclosed or vacant condominium units or entire condo buildings, and vacant high-priced apartments.

Trailer Trashing as South Africa Considers Outlawing Bicycle Trailers

The road between Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls and Livingstone, in Zambia, is a well-traversed one, criss-crossed by bicycle riders towing trailers of bread and other supplies, with their bicycle spokes reinforced to bear the extra weight.

DRC Farmers Reap Benefits of Soil Fertility

Just two years ago, rice farmers on the Ruzizi plain in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo were content to harvest 2.5 tonnes of rice per hectare. The adoption of new techniques has seen their output rise to between six and eight tonnes, with smallholder farmers also increasing their local market share.

Malawi Checks China’s African Advance

The move in Malawi to close down Chinese businesses outside of the four major cities has been condemned as xenophobic by rights organisations. A new law enforced Jul. 31 barred foreigners from carrying out trade in Malawi’s outlying and rural areas.

Awareness of Climate Change Risks Low in Dominican Republic

One of the major difficulties to overcome in climate change adaptation policies in the Dominican Republic is society’s low awareness of the risks, even though this Caribbean island nation is seriously exposed to the impacts of the phenomenon.

Operating in Rural Tanzania “To Save a Life”

At the Kakonko Health Centre, about 250 kilometres from the nearest hospital in Kigoma Region, Western Tanzania, assistant medical officer Abdu Mapinduzi prepares to operate on Joanitha, a young pregnant mother.

Pakistan Faces a ‘Youth Bomb’

“This is just a trailer of the horror that awaits us,” says noted demographer Farid Midhet, referring to Pakistan’s bulging population and the possibly corresponding  link to rising crime, including murders, robberies, rioting and extremist activity.

Using Cameroon’s Community Grapevine to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission

For nearly two years, not a single child with HIV has been born at the public hospital in the Cité-Verte district of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon. Dr Emilien Fouda, the hospital's director, says this proud record is the result of combined effort by his staff and community support groups.