Pope Francis and Yohei Sasakawa, Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination led a global appeal to end leprosy and the stigmatization of those impacted. The pope’s statement was read to the second international symposium on Hansen’s Disease in Rome hosted by the Holy See, Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative, the French Raoul Follereau Fondation and the…
Nneka Henry is Head of UN Road Safety Fund An aerial photograph of a busy roundabout in Lusaka Zambia. Credit: UNRSF. GENEVA, Apr 27 2023 (IPS) – Crises may be a centuries-old phenomenon, but so too is human resilience. The high number of road deaths and life-changing injuries in the global south is a crisis…
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 2022 (IPS) – Central banks (CBs) around the world – led by the US Fed, European Central Bank and Bank of England – are raising interest rates, ostensibly to check inflation. The ensuing race to the bottom is hastening world economic recession. Going for broke New UK Prime Minister…
H.E. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is President of Malawi Vainesi, a former trachoma trichiasis patient, cheers in celebration knowing that trachoma has been eliminated in Malawi. Vainesi had suffered with the pain caused by trachoma for 10 years before a local disability mobiliser encouraged her to go to the hospital for treatment. LILONGWE, Jan 30 2023…
Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun TOKYO, Japan, May 8 2023 (IPS) – The Ukraine crisis, which in addition to bringing devastation to the people of that country has had severe impacts on a global scale—even giving rise to the specter of nuclear weapons use—has entered its second year. Against this backdrop and amid urgent…
TOPIO (“TOSY Ping Pong Playing Robot”) is a bipedal humanoid robot designed to play table tennis against a human being. Photo: . license. PORTLAND, USA, Jul 4 2022 (IPS) – It is time for countries, especially those with and human populations, to welcome , i.e., with human-like appearance and behavior, including speech, sight, hearing, mobility,…
Nowhere is the escalating threat of climate change-induced disasters greater than in Asia and the Pacific. The impact and magnitude of disasters, over the past decade, indicate that climate change is making natural hazards even more frequent and intense, with floods, tropical cyclones, heatwaves, droughts and earthquakes resulting in tragic losses of life, displaced communities,…
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Nov 8 2023 (IPS) – Public-private partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure and service provision are both costly and risky. Worse, PPPs typically fail to ensure universal, let alone fair access to public amenities. Public-private partnerships? PPPs usually involve long-term contractual arrangements in which private businesses provide infrastructure and services traditionally provided by governments.…
Students attending class at the Souza Gare school in the Littoral region, Cameroon. The school hosts displaced children who have fled the violence in the North-West and South-West regions. Credits: ECW/Daniel Beloumou UNITED NATIONS, Feb 15 2024 (IPS) – Inclusive social protections for children would be a positive signifier of social development in a time…
The Mandaue City government signs the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the city’s Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. This marks a significant milestone for the UNDP-supported Kadangpan Project. Credit: UNDP Philippines UNITED NATIONS, Jul 26 2024 (IPS) – Around the world countries are taking powerful steps to protect people’s rights, dignity, and health. Dominica and Namibia became the…