They are Threatened with Torture & ill-Treatment

By Thalif Deen

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — According to a joke that was circulating in Washington political circles in a bygone era, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s notorious torture chamber in the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad—once held up as a symbol of barbarity—was never shut down.

After the US invasion and occupation of the country (2003-2011), a signboard outside the prison chamber apparently read: “Under New Management”.…

Viewpoint by Roopa Dhatt & Samiratou Ouedraogo

Roopa Dhatt is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Women in Global Health. Samiratou Ouedraogo is the Coordinator and Co-Founder of Women in Global Health, Francophone West Africa, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

WASHINGTON DC (IDN) — If there were a Harvey Weinstein in health, we probably wouldn’t know about it. Not because sexual harassment in the health workforce isn’t widespread—we know that it is and not because women don’t want to report their experiences of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH) at work—we know that they do; but because across much of the world’s health systems, there are simply no feasible reporting or legal mechanisms in place that women health workers can use with confidence.
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By Robert Johnson

PARIS (IDN) — Though ODA-official development assistance from members of the OECD’s DAC-Development Assistance Committee rose to a new high last year, it amounted to the equivalent of only 0.33 per cent of their combined GNI-gross national income, thus falling short of a United Nations goal to reach an ODA/GNI ratio of 0.7%.

The biggest ODA givers by volume in 2021 were the United States (USD 47.8 billion), Germany (USD 33.3 billion), Japan (USD 17.6 billion), the United Kingdom (USD 15.7 billion), and France (USD 15.5 billion).…

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced 13 grants totalling more than $19.2 million to strengthen local and regional investigative journalism in Nigeria.

The initiative, awarded through the foundation’s Nigeria program, seeks to reduce corruption by supporting Nigerian-led anti-corruption efforts that advance accountability, transparency, and civic participation.…

By Joseph Maina

NAIROBI (IDN) — Seven years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, Kenya has made significant strides towards the realisation of the SDGs. Official sources cite “remarkable progress” made towards achieving the goals. SDGs and other development initiatives are well anchored in its long-term development blueprint dubbed Vision 2030, as well as a robust constitutional framework under the Constitution of Kenya 2010 that has a strong Bill of Rights and principles that are good drivers of Agenda 2030.…

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA | LONDON (IDN) — Climate uncertainty is creating health threats for thousands of migrants as overcrowding and pollution place huge stresses on humanitarian organisations’ ability to provide sanctuary in refugee camps, a new study reveals.

Locating camps in disaster-prone or climate hotspot areas increases their vulnerability and, coupled with stress from overcrowding that increases pressure on water, sanitation, and hygiene resilience (WaSH), leads to the overexploitation of resources.…

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Every year, on December 1, World AIDS Day is commemorated. People worldwide unite to show support for those living with HIV and remember those who have passed on from AIDS-related illnesses.

Ten years ago, HIV had infected at least 10 per cent of the population in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Some 50,000 infections were reported in the U.S. per year over the same period.…