By Moumita Maji*
SANTINIKETAN, India (IDN) — Different units of Visva-Bharati University have come together since the onset of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in an attempt to fight the virus and ensure the safety of the community with minimum expenses but maximum courage. The home-grown strategy developed is unique with an emphasis on a scientific approach that enables maximum penetration within and outside the campus.
The endeavour which went into the Action Phase on May 18, is an ambitious project that engages most associated with the institution and is unlike anything that is being attempted elsewhere.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) — Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds great promise for improving the delivery of healthcare and medicine worldwide, but only if ethics and human rights are put at the heart of its design, deployment, and use, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO's report, Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health, is the result of two years of consultations held by a panel of international experts appointed by WHO.
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) — The leaders of seven industrial nations, constituting the Group of Seven (G7 Summit), have pledged in a landmark agreement to share COVID-19 vaccine doses internationally, in support of global equitable access and to help end the acute phase of the pandemic. In doing so, they have built on the momentum of the G20 Global Health Summit hosted by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 21 and the Gavi COVAX AMC Summit hosted by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan on June 2.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — There’s hardly a person alive who doesn’t know that the Third World continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America are having a desperate struggle fighting the Coronavirus. At a time when the richer countries are winning the fight against the virus many Third World countries—like Brazil, India and South Africa—are overwhelmed by it.
- Ramesh Jaura
- Goal 3
Viewpoint by Nicolas J. S. Davies*
PORTLAND | USA (IDN) — A recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that worries about the COVID pandemic in the United States are at their lowest level since it began. Only half of Americans are either “very worried” (15%) or “somewhat worried” (35%) about the virus, while the other half are “not very worried” (30%) or “not worried at all” (20%).
But the news from around the world makes it clear that this pandemic is far from over, and a story from Vietnam highlights the nature of the danger.
![[IDN-InDepthNews – 17 May 2021] * The author, a senior journalist based in New Delhi, is Editorial Consultant-WION TV and Senior Editorial Consultant of IDN. Photo: Crematoriums in India overwhelmed. Source: USA Today.](/images/covid-ravaged_india.jpg)
By Shastri Ramachandaran*
NEW DELHI (IDN) — The tsunami of Covid-19 infections and deaths in India continues unabated as people and governments at the Centre and states continue to battle the shortage of hospital beds, medicines, ventilators and much else that is required to overcome this crisis. The horrifying deaths and the plight of the dying have also created a climate of fear with people not knowing when it may strike, where and whom in what form; and, how they would cope if they or their near and dear ones are stricken. (P07) HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH
By Caroline Mwanga
NEW YORK | SANTO DOMINGO (IDN) — The three-day Virtual Thematic Sessions of the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2021 (LACCW2021), which wrapped up on May 14, hosted by the Government of the Dominican Republic, are reported to have provided important momentum for a successful UN Climate Change Conference COP26 from November 1 to November 12 in Glasgow. (P06) GERMAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — For a while, Africa appeared to be losing the fight to build manufacturing capacity for the production of COVID-19 vaccines as big pharma and rich countries questioned African capacity to make its own vaccines.
Some international companies regard African self-sufficiency as a long-term risk to their business, some fear a loss of influence.
Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi *
A defining feature of the post-COVID world will be the digital transformation of the world, though it might also widen gaps in economic and social development within and between countries. The digital transformation has gone hand in hand with the rise of digital technologies, writes Kaveh Zahedi, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). (P04) INDONESIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
- Ramesh Jaura
- Project Articles
By Mahinda Seneviratne*
SYDNEY (IDN) — As twilight approaches, Rakesh (not his real name) mounts his bicycle with a large thermal backpack over his narrow shoulders. He lost his regular job at a small suburban restaurant when the family business could not sustain itself during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. With the recent shocking road deaths of three food delivery riders heavily on his mind, Rakesh pedals cautiously into the growing traffic lanes to commence his first home delivery gig.
- Top Economists Urge Solidarity to Avert Worsening of the COVID-19 Impacts
- World Bank-IMF Pledge Support for Pandemic Affected Countries
- UN Forum Highlights New Initiatives to Tackle Inequalities Exacerbated by Pandemic
- IMF and World Bank Decision to Tackle COVID-Related Debt Crisis Greeted
- Global Pandemic Hits the World's Poorest the Hardest
