Global Issues

Opinion by Kaveh Zahedi (bangkok, thailand) Thursday, July 15, 2021 Inter Press Service The writer is Deputy Executive Secretary for Sustainable Development at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) BANGKOK, Thailand, Jul 15 (IPS) – Last year, the Asia-Pacific region recorded its worst economic performance inContinue Reading

Margarita Lysenkova. Credit: GRI Opinion by Margarita Lysenkova (amsterdam, the netherlands) Thursday, July 15, 2021 Inter Press Service AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Jul 15 (IPS) – The writer is Manager – Sector Program, Global Reporting Initiative As the global community gears up for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit in September, itContinue Reading

Two women processing peppers in a small plant in Turkey. Credit: FAO Opinion by Mario Lubetkin (rome) Thursday, July 15, 2021 Inter Press Service Mario Lubetkin is Assistant Director General at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) ROME, Jul 15 (IPS) – Europe, the United States andContinue Reading

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) comes into force in 2023 as part of new measures to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, including taxes on imports such as oil, coal and gas.  In tandem with the EU announcement, UNCTAD has published a report examining the potential implications for countries both withinContinue Reading

That’s more than double the number of deaths recorded over the same period last year and it highlights how perilous maritime migration routes are from Africa to Europe. In an appeal to countries to respect international human rights laws and obligations, IOM Director-General António Vitorino called for “urgent and proactive steps” to reduce lossContinue Reading

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the recent data in an address to the Emergency Committee on COVID-19, established under the International Health Regulations (IHR), a treaty that guides global response to public health risks. Recalling the sustained decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths that was being driven, in recent months, by increasing vaccinationContinue Reading

This is the highest number since 2009, and nearly four million more than recorded in the year preceding the crisis, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.  “Even as countries clamour to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines, we have gone backwardsContinue Reading

According to the UNAIDS Global AIDS Update 2021, people living with HIV are at a higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death, yet the vast majority are denied access to life-saving vaccines.   Gender inequality & gender-based violence continue to fuel the HIV epidemic among women & girls. In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls & youngContinue Reading

In a statement, Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said “emergency” assistance for Myanmar was desperately needed to save lives.  “The highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being and that right is being denied to most within Myanmar. The international community must act.”  He reiterated his appealContinue Reading