José Graziano da Silva is Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
José Graziano da Silva. Credit: FAO
ROME, Nov 7 2016 (IPS) – Migration is part of the process of development. It is not a problem in itself, and could, in fact, offer a solution to a number of matters. Migrants can make a positive and profound contribution to the economic and social development of their countries of origin, transit and destination alike. To quote the New York Declaration, adopted at the UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants on 19 September, “migrants can help to respond to demographic trends, labour shortages and other challenges in hos…
This story is part of IPS coverage of World Water Day, observed on March 22
Pastoralists in the Ufeyn region of Puntland are walking further and further to find water for their livestock. Credit: @WFP/K Dhanji
ROME, Mar 21 2017 (IPS) – During the final exams of Spanish official high school of journalists, a student was asked by the panel of professors-examiners: If scientists discover that there is water in Planet Mars, how would you announce this news, what would be your title? The student did not hesitate a second: “There is life in Mars!” The student was graduated with the highest score.
In spite of this simple truth, human beings h…
In a letter to Permanent Representatives of 193 member states, the Secretary-General details his plan for a revitalization of the UN system.
UNITED NATIONS, May 31 2017 (IPS) – Through a series of recent global agreements on sustainable development, climate change, sustaining peace, disaster risk reduction, and financing for development, Member States have provided a broad vision of the future they want. I am committed to advancing meaningful reforms to adapt the United Nations to this complex world, so that it can effectively serve all of its Member States in achieving that future and managing shared challenges and opportunities along the way.
Fatima Shooie sits between her 85-year-old mother and 22-year-old daughter who are both receiving treatment for cholera at a crowded hospital in Sana’a. Credit: WHO/S. Hasan
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 10 2017 (IPS) – If aid deliveries are not resumed, Yemen will experience the worst famine the world has seen in recent decades.
Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia closed all land, air, and sea ports in Yemen after Houthi rebels fired a missile at Riyadh.
Though the Saudi-led coalition reopened…
is the United Nations Resident Coordinator to Kenya.
A UN peacekeeper holds a child as her mother is helped down from a relocation truck in Port-au…
Shamshad Akhtar is the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
BANGKOK, Thailand, May 15 2018 (IPS) – Inequality is increasing in Asia and the Pacific. Our region’s remarkable economic success story belies a widening gap between rich and poor. A gap that’s trapping people in poverty and, if not tackled urgently, could thwart our ambition to achieve sustainable development. This is the central challenge heads of state and government will be considering this week at the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). A strengthened regional approach to more sustainable, inclusive growth must be this Commission’s outcome.
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 21 2018 (IPS) – The dangers of mercury contamination have escalated from the dental chair to the realm of outer space.
First, it was the hazardous use of mercury in dentistry, then in cosmetics, particularly skin-lightening creams, and now it is threatening to make its way into satellite propulsion systems.
A coalition of over 45 civil society organizations (CSOs) and environmental groups worldwide has warned against the use of mercury in satellite propulsion systems because it is “highly likely that most, if not all,” of the mercury emitted at the altitudes planned would find its way back and eventually into the earth’s surface.
This ha…
Approximately 15 percent of the world’s population, or an estimated 1 billion people, live with disabilities. But neglect, discrimination, and abuse are still all too common among disabled youth, leaving them deprived of rights including those to education, health, and employment. Credit : Melody Kemp/IPS
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 29 2019 (IPS) – People with disabilities are being left behind, and steps must be taken to ensure their inclusion in the world of education and work.
Approximately 15 percent of the world’s population, or an estimated one billion people, live with disabilities. But neglect, discrimination, and abuse are still all too common amo…
At the first Global Forum of People’s Organizations on Hansen’s Disease, which begun on Sept. 7 in Manila, Philippines, participants present their ideas on entrepreneurship models to attain sustainability. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
MANILA, Sep 7 2019 (IPS) – Being part of a platform where leprosy-affected people from all over the world can freely interact, exchange and share opinions, ideas, experiences and strategies was always something Tasfaye Tadesse dreamt of.
So this week, Tadesse packed his bags and travelled for 36 hours from his home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to reach the Philippine capital of Manila.
The journey was worth it.
…
NEW YORK, Dec 23 2019 (IPS) – “When I think about Bangladesh, I think about everybody. Not everybody is enjoying Rabindranath and the great literature and culture that Bangladesh has. But I think everybody has got the right to have this experience”, deeply felt by late Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities), a unique, integrated development organization that many have hailed as the most effective anti-poverty organization in the world; who passed away December 20, 2019at the age of 83.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed. Credit: The Daily Star
Sir Fazle, who was knighted by the British Crown in 2009, grew BRAC into the world’s largest non-go…