Concept of planetary boundaries modified for environmental justice
23/1/2024: The team that developed the planetary boundaries framework has merged the concept with social thresholds of tolerance, recognised in doughnut economics and the Sustainable Development Goals. The modified approach has been published in a scientific paper.
Source: Third World Network
Cameroon rolls out world’s first malaria vaccine
22/1/2024: Following a pilot phase in which more than two million children have been jabbed in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the RTS,S vaccine is being rolled out at scale across Africa, starting in Cameroon. Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone are set to follow with large-scale vaccination programmes.
Source: The East African
Amnesty calls on Italian MPs to reject migration deal with Albania
22/1/2024: In November 2023, the Italian government signed an agreement for the construction of two centres on Albanian territory to detain people rescued or intercepted at sea by Italian state ships. This is part of a broader international trend to move border control and asylum processing to third countries: a policy that threatens the human rights of migrants, according to Amnesty International.
Source: Amnesty International
US and UK: give peace a chance in Yemen
17/1/2024: Recent military airstrikes by the US and Britain against the Houthis for their naval blockade in the Red Sea could undermine the peace process for the longstanding conflict within Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, the main parties to the peace talks, have been edging towards a peace deal.
Source: PassBlue
A new order for global trade is taking shape
15/1/2024: The World Trade Organization was established to pursue the idea of unfettered global trade without distortions of subsidy by national governments. This model of globalisation is crumbling as major economies deploy subsidies to gain control over resources and technologies for the future green economy.
Source: DownToEarth
A human rights economy is key to sustainable development
17/1/2024: The UN Summit of the Future scheduled for September 2024 may be the final opportunity to stimulate real momentum to the Sustainable Development Goals. An alternative economic model that enables the realization of human rights within planetary boundaries has support from many development agencies.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Why Bill Gates wants a COP for global health
16/1/2024: Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the billionaire defended the need to keep health funding levels high. He expressed concern that issues such as maternal health, nutrition and vaccines lack the media coverage enjoyed by environmental threats such as climate change.
Source: Devex
African Union urges restraint over Ethiopia-Somaliland deal
18/1/2024: The African Union's Peace and Security Council has urged representatives of Ethiopia and Somalia to pursue "meaningful dialogue" after landlocked Ethiopia signed a surprise maritime accord with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland. Somalia has vowed to defend its territory by "all legal means."
Source: The East African
Why a Nigerian coastal town is on the brink of extinction
15/1/2024: The US Agency for International Development estimates that 27 million to 53 million Nigerians may need to be relocated if sea levels rise by 0.5 meters, which the country is expected to see by the end of this century. In the coastal town of Ayetoro, the population has already fallen from 30,000 in 2006 to 5,000 today.
Source: Devex
Wealth of five richest men doubles since 2020
15/1/2024: The world’s five richest men have more than doubled their fortunes from $405 billion to $869 billion since 2020, while nearly five billion people have been made poorer, reveals a new Oxfam report on inequality and global corporate power. Oxfam urges a new era of public services, corporate regulation, breaking up monopolies and enacting taxes on permanent wealth and excess profit.
Source: Oxfam International