Azza Karam is Senior Advisor, UNFPA and Coordinator, UN Interagency Task Force on Religion and Development UNITED NATIONS, Jul 4 2017 (IPS) – A decade ago, it was difficult to get Western policy makers in governments to be interested in the role of religious organizations in human development. The secular mind-set was such that religion…

Artisanal gold mining in Latin America uses mercury, a practice that should be modified in countries that have ratified the international Minamata Convention for the control of this toxic metal. Credit: Thelma Mejía/IPS MEXICO CITY, Sep 26 2017 (IPS) – For environmentalist Patricia Ruiz the only word that comes to mind is “devastating,” when describing…

In this special series of reports, IPS journalists travel to the border region between Bangladesh and Myanmar to speak with Rohingya refugees, humanitarian workers and officials about the still-unfolding human rights and health crises facing this long-marginalized and persecuted community. Newly arrived Rohingya people wait at an army camp in Sabrang in Teknaf on Nov.…

This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of World Water Day on Mar. 22. Whether they like it or not, many Africans faced with the possibility of having to access water through prepaid meters have resorted to unprotected and often unclean sources of water because…

Dr. Dainius Pūras is UN Special Rapporteur on “the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”. GENEVA, Jun 21 2018 (IPS) – Ambulance drivers attacked, nurses detained, doctors tortured, pharmacists arrested, dentists facing more than a decade in prison—all for delivering healthcare to people considered enemies…

Phumeza Tisile is a student at the University of Cape Town and an advocate working to help eradicate TB CAPE TOWN, Oct 3 2018 (IPS) – Like death, hearing loss is irreversible. I never imagined that I would have to choose between the two until seven years ago when I became infected with tuberculosis (TB),…

This report is produced by and IPS Inter Press Service. DHAKA, Bangladesh, Feb 22 2019 – (IPS/UNB) – Bangladesh economy’s impressive growth trajectory over the last decade has been buttressed by the demographic dividend resulting from a large portion of its population around 65 percent on average being of working age. However, experts think growing…

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 21 2019 (IPS) – A recently-released report by the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) shows that generic drugs, like omeprazole (used to treat heartburn), can cost 20-30 times more in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Rachel Silverman, a researcher with CGD who worked on the report, told IPS…

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct 8 2019 (IPS) – Two decades into the 21st century, all too many people still associate being ‘overweight’ with prosperity, health and wellbeing, mainly because being thin has long been associated with being emaciated due to hunger, undernourishment and malnutrition. Overweight and obesity can easily be assessed by anthropometric measures, including…

KUALA LUMPUR and SYDNEY, Nov 26 2019 (IPS) – Historically, most social security systems have developed in the formal sector of rich economies. However, most of the poor and hungry in the world live in rural areas, surviving in the informal economy. Meanwhile, the world economy continues to struggle to recover following the 2008 financial…