Reporting the underreported about the plan of action for People, Planet and Prosperity, and efforts to make the promise of the SDGs a reality.
A project of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as the Flagship Agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.
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Did Japan Beat COVID-19 with a Decentralized Response? A Grassroots Movement of Local Actions Has Been Credited for Success. Viewpoint by Dan Sanchez The writer is the Director of Content at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and the editor of FEE.org. The article was originally published on FEE.org. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. ATLANTA, GA | U.S. (IDN) – Japan's nationwide state of emergency was officially lifted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on May 25, who declared COVID-19 to be under control in the country. In his announcement of the move, Abe said, "Recently, new infection cases have fallen below 50 for the entire nation, and what was once nearly 10,000 hospitalized cases — that has now fallen below 2,000." Read More UN Discusses the Challenges of Combating COVID-19 Pandemic and Silencing the Guns in Africa By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) – In opening remarks to the Africa Dialogue Series on "COVID-19 and Silencing the Guns in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities", UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: "The pandemic has exposed the fragility of our societies. It is a global problem that demands a coordinated global response built on unity and solidarity". He commended African Governments for having responded swiftly. Read More India's Kerala Is Combating COVID-19 Through Participatory Governance By Yadul Krishna* NEW DELHI (IDN) – The left-ruled Indian State of Kerala remains in the global spot for its effective and efficient measures in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. The state subjugated the Indian news headlines, projecting its potential, strength and humane approach to the outer world, leaving an operative model that other states can follow. The government’s apt and adaptive state-interventionist strategy even garnered widespread attention across the world, with international media and academic journals, including that of MIT and Oxford, praising the robustness of the ‘Kerala Model’ of development. Read More COVID-19 Endangers 80 Million Children by Disrupting Vaccination Efforts UN Agencies Call for a Joint Effort to Safely Deliver Routine Immunization By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | NEW YORK (IDN) – Ahead of the virtual Global Vaccine Summit on June 4 in London, the World Health Organization WHO), UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have warned that COVID 19 is disrupting life-saving immunization services around the world. Consequently, millions of children – in rich and poor countries alike – are faced with the risk of diseases like diphtheria, measles and polio. Read More COVID-19 Pandemic Provides Opportunity to Revive the Oceans Sustainable Actions Will Stimulate Fisheries and Tourism Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona The author is Former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, Former Chair of the UNGA Sixth Committee and the Former Co-Chair of the UN Ad Hoc Committee on BBNJ. COLOMBO (IDN) – The well-being of oceans in the Asia-Pacific region is edging closer to a tipping point due to the unprecedented pace of marine pollution, overfishing and climate change in recent years. However, a new report released May 13 by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) suggests that "the temporary shutdown of activities as well as reduced human mobility and resource demands due to the COVID-19 pandemic may provide marine environments the much-needed breathing space for them to recover". Read More COVID-19: A Desperate Need for a Green New Deal Viewpoint by Peter Eriksson Following is the text of Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation Mr Peter Eriksson's address to the live-streamed session on Climate Change: the Other Crisis, at the 2020 Stockholm Forum organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). STOCKHOLM (IDN) – The free world and open society, as we know it, has partly and temporarily been shut down for many citizens. Factories have had to close as global value chains have been severely interrupted. People have lost their jobs. And politicians with nationalistic agendas have been pointing the finger at ‘someone else’, in the search for someone to blame when faced with the weaknesses of their own societies. Read More COVID-19 Lockdown Is A Much-Needed Break for Nature Viewpoint by Siddharth S Edake NEW DELHI (IDN) – Today, I can see the forests of the Aravali Biodiversity Park at the far end, under a light blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds. The air is crisp and clear, and close to around 20 yellow-footed green pigeons locally known as hariyal, a rare sighting for Gurugram, are feasting on the fruits of the shehtut (Mulberry) tree in front of me. The sound of traffic is replaced by the chirping of birds and the tinkling of wind chimes as they sway in the light breeze. For a nature lover and environmentalist, this is as good as it gets in a metropolitan city in India. Read More Communities in Mozambique Inspired to Curb Deforestation By Mariane Almeida and Sofia Barbeiro The two writers are part of a team of Young Environmental Journalists covering Africa. RIO de JANEIRO | LISBON (IDN) – In Mozambique's province of Gaza, 9,240 tons of charcoal are produced every year placing pressure on the region's natural resources. Wood burning for charcoal production has led to high rates of deforestation. Unfortunately, what is happening in the Gaza province mirrors a nationwide trend. Data from the Global Forest Watch show that Mozambique has lost nearly 3 million hectares – or 10 per cent – of its forests since 2000. Read More COVID-19 To Push More Than 34 Million People into Extreme Poverty in 2020 By Santo D. Banerjee NEW YORK (IDN) — The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to deal a huge blow to global efforts for eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, two of the vital goals of the 17 SDGs. A new UN report expects more than 34 million people to fall below the extreme poverty line in 2020. 56 percent of them will be in African countries. An additional 130 million people may join the ranks of people living in extreme poverty by 2030. Read More Our Oceans Keep Our Health, The Economy and Our Lives Above the Waves Healthy oceans: keeping Asia and the Pacific afloat Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana The writer is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP. BANGKOK (IDN) – Memories of idyllic beaches and sonorous waves may seem far away while we remain at home. Yet, we need not look far to appreciate the enduring history of the ocean in Asia and the Pacific. For generations, the region has thrived on our seas. Our namesake bears a nod to the Pacific Ocean, a body of water tethered to the well-being of billions in our region. The seas provide food, livelihoods and a sense of identity, especially for coastal communities in the Pacific island States. Read More Greece Extends COVID-19 Lockdown at Refugee Camps Viewpoint by Eva Cossé, Human Rights Watch The writer is Western Europe researcher, works on issues related to discrimination, migration, asylum and minority rights, with a focus on Greece. This article first appeared on Human Rights Watch and is being reproduced with the author's permission. LONDON | ATHENS (IDN) – The Greek government has begun easing lockdown measures, given the country’s success in keeping Covid-19 under control. Starting last week, people could leave their homes without authorization, most shops have re-opened, and older students have returned to the classroom. Read More Non-Aligned Movement Aligned Against COVID-19 By Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sr Lanka President The following is the text of the Sri Lankan President's address on May 4 to the online summit meeting of the 120-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) under the theme "United Against COVID-19": COLOMBO (IDN) – I am pleased to be participating at this summit, in support of global solidarity, unity and renewed multi-lateral cooperation in overcoming COVID-19. Sri Lanka firmly believes that this Summit will serve as an important platform for the NAM Member States to support collective global action in combating this deadly virus and sharing best practices and lessons learnt. Read More We Are Fighting Two Enemies at the Same Time: a Deadly Virus and a Deadlier Hunger By Bea Cordia NEW YORK (IDN) – COVID-19 has shattered the entire world. As a result of what some people have called the ‘Great Lockdown’, economic activity has plummeted, borders have been closed, and national health systems are on the edge of collapse. Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, more than 250,000 people have died from the highly contagious disease, which spread across geographical, racial and ethnic borders. The worst, however, is yet to come. Read More COVID-19: Urgent Need for African Governments to Upgrade the Health Systems By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW (IDN) – Amid multifold theories and disinformation spreading around the COVID-19 in Africa, it is important for African governments to consider strengthening the existing health systems and infrastructures, and allocate substantial funds for health research and production of basic equipment, for attaining sustainable development goals set in the African Agenda 2063, according to experts. Read More Sri Lanka Has Been Successful in Countering COVID-19 The Small Indian Ocean Island Deserves Recognition Viewpoint by Dr Palitha Kohona The writer is former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and former Foreign Secretary. COLOMBO (IDN) – Sri Lanka has been successful so far, compared to most countries in the world, in the fight against Covid-19. The mind-numbing figures of death and infection streaming in from many parts of the globe are not being reflected in Sri Lanka. An infection rate of around 700 with 7 deaths in a population of over 21 million are figures to arouse excitement. But surprisingly, no glowing headlines applauding the success of this small relatively poor Indian Ocean island embellish the front pages. Read More COVID-19: Fake, Shocking & Good News Stalks Africa By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – A new fact-checking industry had its hands full recently in Senegal when a fake news post on social media claimed that children were “dying on the spot” from vaccines against the coronavirus. The post, titled “Scandal in Senegal”, was shared thousands of times on Facebook even as the fact-checkers insisted it was a hoax. (P06) HINDI | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI Read More COVID-19: Should Economy Have Priority Over Migrant Workers' Health? Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne
SYDNEY (IDN) – Many critics have described labour migration as the 21st-century slave trade and Covid-19 crisis has exposed this stark reality. Eastern European migrant labour in Europe. Unpaid construction workers on the brink of starvation in the Middle East. Hundreds of South Asian dormitory locked down migrant labourers infected with Covid-19 in Singapore. Global economy’s lack of compassion for the migrant workers that drives its engines is very much in display today. (P05) GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | THAI Read More Limited Progress Achieved in Deterring War Crimes Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) – With a bit more pushing and, after, unfortunately, a bit more killing the three remaining serious wars on the planet, in Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen, should come to an end. Then it will be time to take stock on what caused the killing, especially why so many innocents lost their lives and whether wars of this kind can be deterred in the future. The world has already made a lot of progress over the last few decades: there are no interstate wars and the number of civil wars has steadily fallen, (albeit the graph has begun an upward turn in the last two years mainly because of mini-wars in West Africa). Read More COVID-19: We Need A Vaccine for The Mind By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) – Today the global media reports daily about the race to develop a vaccine against COVID-19, but what they fail to understand is that this vaccine may not help us to overcome the severe human security crisis we face today. Rather than a vaccine for the body, we need a vaccine for the mind. As millions of Buddhists around the world celebrate the triple Buddhist anniversary of Vesak on May 7, it will be an excellent time to reflect on how the Buddhist teachings, known as "Buddha Dhamma", can help to overcome the humanitarian crisis confronting us. Read More US Coercive Measures Against Iran Hurting Women Viewpoint by Azadeh Moaveni and Ali Vaez The two writers are affiliated to the Crisis Group: Azadeh Moaveni is Project Director, Gender; and Ali Vaez is Iran Project Director. This commentary is being republished by courtesy of the Brussels-based Crisis Group which first carried it on 6 March 2020. BRUSELS (IDN) – On 21 May 2018, less than two weeks after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched Washington’s “New Iran Strategy” before an audience at the Heritage Foundation. In his remarks, he insisted that Iranian women’s long struggle for inclusion and equality matters dearly to Washington. Read More
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