Credit: William Oeri / NATION MEDIA GROUP

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 26 2020 (IPS) – On 27 August 2020, we mark the tenth anniversary of the New Constitution of Kenya – a landmark social contract inspired by citizens’ desire for a country characterised by participatory governance, inclusive development, human rights and the rule of law.

The Katiba is ground-breaking in many ways. First and foremost, it was borne out of extensive consultation by a wide cross-section of Kenyans who debated intensely and passionately to ensure a real people’s constitution.

As recognised in Article 1, sovereign power is now vested in the people of Kenya. Further, it gi…

PARIS, Oct 20 2020 (IPS) – School reopening doesn’t mean that education is back on course. For a start, schools remain closed in over 50 countries, affecting more than 800 million students. The poorest ones may never make it back to school, driven by poverty into child labour or early marriage. Distance learning has been out of reach for one third of the 1.6 billion students affected worldwide by school closures. They may disengage altogether if school closures continue.

Stefania Giannini

The health crisis is at risk of eroding decades of progress. For the first time since its conception, the Human Development Index is slated to decline, with education accounting…

Dr Asoka Bandarage, a scholar and practitioner, has taught at Yale, Brandeis, Mount Holyoke (where she received tenure), Georgetown, American and other universities and colleges in the U.S. and abroad. Her research interests include social philosophy and consciousness; environmental sustainability, human well-being and health, global political-economy, ethnicity, gender, population, social movements and South Asia.

A mother and doctor tend to a young girl with COVID-19 at an intensive care ward in the western region of Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Credit: UNICEF/Evgeniy Maloletka

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka , Dec 1 2020 (IPS) – According to the at Johns Hopkins University, as of November 2…

Respondents being questioned for the United Nations global conversation on the world they want. Many called for universal healthcare in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy: United Nations

BONN, Germany, Jan 11 2021 (IPS) – The peoples of the world are unanimous access to basic services such as universal healthcare must become a priority going forward. So too should global solidarity, helping those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing the climate change emergency.

The collective thoughts of the world’s future by some 1.5 million people, including those from various organisations and networks, from all countries across the globe has been highli…

BANGKOK, Thailand, Feb 22 2021 (IPS) – The past year is one that few of us will forget. While the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have played out unevenly across Asia and the Pacific, the region has been spared many of the worst effects seen in other parts of the world. The pandemic has reminded us that a reliable and uninterrupted energy supply is critical to managing this crisis.

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Beyond ensuring that hospitals and healthcare facilities continue to function, energy supports the systems and coping mechanisms we rely on to work remotely, undertake distance learning and communicate essential health information. Importantly, e…

The writer is Chief Executive Officer, Sanitation and Water for All partnership

 
The UN will be commemorating World Water Day on Monday March 22.

Credit: UN Water

LISBON, Mar 21 2021 (IPS) – This , we celebrate the value of water, which at first might be a given: after all, water is the basis of all life. Without water we have no health, wealth, equality, or education.

But, do governments adequately prioritize and invest in clean water? The answer, in far too many parts of the world, is a resounding no. As an international community, we are too often blind to the huge cost of failing to serve so many people with the most basic but crucial of services.<…

Women informal cross-border traders. Credit: Trevor Davies/IPS

May 6 2021 (IPS) – Recently, both Republics of Benin and Chad held their 2021 national elections. These countries are among  on the continent billed to elect new political leaders in 2021 alone. This is a good opportunity to improve conditions on the continent. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified other issues on the continent like youth unemployment that better leadership could help improve.

These are three ways West African leaders can better help their nations at this time of COVID-19 and beyond.

First, the rate of youth unemployment must be effectively tackled.

Y…

Over 600 million people in Africa require treatment for an NTD, making up 35% of the global burden. Credit: Uniting to Combat NTDs

HOVE, United Kingdom, Jun 11 2021 (IPS) – As world leaders come together in the UK for the G7, the global response to COVID-19 and how we can build a better defence system against infection is at the forefront of discu…

Credit: UNICEF

HAMILTON, Ontario, Canada, Jul 29 2021 (IPS) – In 1995, a highly-respected water expert in South Africa, , in very concise terms illustrated that the country, already battling a growing lack of water then, would likely run out in 25 years if it did not increase its supply.

Twenty-five years have now passed and the country is thirstier than ever. The recent is just one manifestation of the nation’s chronic water scarcity. And there is likely more water trouble ahead.

Water scarcity issues have been vexing experts for decades. Scientists developed and debated various, essentially saying that it is a global issue with strong local specifics. World…

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley and Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern. Credit: Pictures in montage ©United Nations

DOMINICA, Sep 22 2021 (IPS) – On September 20, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina accepted an award from the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network for her country’s ‘striking’ progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

That progress includes an adult literacy rate that jumped from 21 percent in 1981 to 75 percent in 2019 and a spike in access to electricity from 14 percent in 1991 to 92 percent today. The country has also dras…