Breaking the link between polycrisis and poverty
9/3/2023: This year marks the halfway point towards the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. Multiple crises are converging on low income and lower-middle income countries, necessitating systemic change in our poverty eradication efforts.
Source: Inter Press Service
World parliaments could take 80 years to achieve gender parity
8/3/2023: Women’s participation in parliaments has never been as diverse and representative as it is in many countries today. However, the World Bank reports that only 14 countries have full legal equality between women and men, and much more needs to be done to increase women’s political representation.
Source: Inter Press Service
Why do 800 mothers die from preventable causes every day?
7/3/2023: New research from UN agencies reveals that progress on ending preventable deaths has slowed over the last five years, putting at risk the 2030 sustainable development goal for maternal health. Maternal deaths continue to be largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict.
Source: Inter Press Service
UN Refugee Agency is profoundly concerned by UK Asylum Bill
7/3/2023: The new bill introduced by the UK Government would deny protection to many asylum-seekers in need of safety and protection, according to the UN Refugee Agency. This would be a clear breach of the Refugee Convention and would undermine a longstanding humanitarian tradition of which the British people are rightly proud.
Source: UN Refugee Agency
World Bank backs controversial mega dam in Mozambique
6/3/2023: The government of Mozambique has touted the Mphanda Nkuwa dam as key to the southern African nation reaching its goal of universal energy access by 2030. Environmental groups say the dam threatens to negatively impact local communities and ecosystems.
Source: Climate Home News
Historic UN Ocean Treaty agreed
5/3/2023: An historic UN Ocean Treaty has finally been agreed after almost two decades of negotiations. Greenpeace describes the agreement as an important sign that multilateralism still works in an increasingly divided world.
Source: Greenpeace International
The unintended consequences of economic sanctions
27/2/2023: Sanctions imposed in response to Russia's aggression aimed to render the invasion of Ukraine politically and economically unsustainable. Shutting Russia out of global financial markets provoked Moscow into upending world energy and food markets, causing pain to consumers and industry across the world, but particularly in low-income countries.
Source: East Asia Forum
Did Nigeria’s election tech fail or was it sabotaged?
2/3/2023: Young voters put their faith in recent amendments to Nigeria's electoral law that promised robust standards through digital technology. But at polling units nationwide, many were transported to an elections twilight zone.
Source: African Arguments
A manifesto for an ecosocial energy transition from the South
3/3/2023: Movements from the Global South believe that world economic priorities put pressure on their countries to yield up rare minerals and land to deliver renewable energy. They propose an alternative energy transition that combines social justice with environmental justice.
Source: African Arguments
Interwoven global crises can best be solved together
2/3/2023: Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals has been hamstrung by biodiversity loss and climate change, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. The "Nexus Assessment", a UN scientific programme, will study the interaction between biodiversity, water, food and health in a rapidly-changing climate.
Source: Inter Press Service