Julio Godoy BERLIN, Sep 3 2009 (IPS) – Fifteen years after 179 nations agreed to implement a plan of action on sexual health, a woman still dies every minute because of inadequate pregnancy and birth services, according to the World Health Organisation. These alarming figures were under the spotlight at the opening of a forum…
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani CAIRO, Nov 17 2009 (IPS) – As authorities consider suspending a whole academic year to check the spread of swine flu among school children there is a feeling that measures to contain the H1N1 virus known to be less dangerous than the one responsible for seasonal flu are going…
Nalisha Kalideen JOHANNESBURG, Oct 22 2009 (IPS) – Eleven years ago, Raloke Odetoyinbo had been married for two years and a month when she found out she was HIV positive. Graça Machel: hold government to account on prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS in mothers and children. Credit: Erik Forster/CEPA In that moment she thought she…
Baradan Kuppusamy KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 2009 (IPS) – Melinda Teoh, 42, had a life that could easily be the envy of many except that it took an unexpected turn just when she thought she had it all. Two lovely children, a well-paying, high-profile job, a suburban home in an upscale neighbourhood, expensive cars and…
Edgardo Ayala SAN SALVADOR, Jan 27 2010 (IPS) – Environmental activists in El Salvador allege that managers of a gold mine owned by a Canadian corporation are implicated in the murders of three anti-mining activists. The killings took place between June and December 2009 in the central department (province) of Cabañas, where the Pacific Rim…
Matthew Berger WASHINGTON, Mar 2 2010 (IPS) – Neoliberal economic ideas have grown increasingly dominant over the last 30 years. During that same time, the spread of HIV/AIDS has reached an epidemic crescendo. This is more than a coincidence, argues Rick Rowden, author of the new book The Deadly Ideas of Neoliberalism: How the IMF…
Gustavo Capdevila GENEVA, Apr 7 2010 (IPS) – The world s public health policy-makers should focus on urban health problems, since for the last three years the majority of the planet s population is living in cities, World Health Organisation (WHO) experts say. Statistics confirm that the centuries-long predominance of rural populations ended in 2007,…
Haider Rizvi UNITED NATIONS, May 7 2010 (IPS) – The quest for nuclear disarmament is likely to fail if governments and corporations continue to promote nuclear technologies as a solution to the world s energy needs, say independent experts. Their warning comes as international talks on the future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) continue…
Marwaan Macan-Markar BANGKOK, Jun 23 2010 (IPS) – The Culion island, in the western Philippines, is increasingly becoming a magnet for tourists drawn to its corals in the shallow waters close to its shore, its deep green hills and its ancient Spanish fort. In the waters surrounding the island, mangroves, seagrasses and corals support a…
Laure Pichegru JOHANNESBURG, Jul 16 2010 (IPS) – Nine-year-old Nomasonto* had no choice but to switch roles with her mother and care for the HIV-positive woman who gave birth to her. Instead of worrying about homework and going out to play with her friends, Nomasonto s daily concerns were now a matter of life and…