May 11 2020 – A spectre is haunting the conscientious citizens of Bangladesh—the spectre of the Digital Security Act, 2018 (DSA). By now the law has become synonymous with curtailment of freedom of expression and repression. The recent developments of involuntary disappearance, re-appearance and subsequent detention of several commentators and social activists have raised the alarm if indeed we as a nation are shying away from upholding one of the cardinal principles of the Muktijuddher Chetona (the spirit of the Liberation War) to freely express our views.

A few recent cases will corroborate the above statement. On May 6, businessman Mushtaq Ahmed and …

Jun 3 2020 (IPS) – Since the COVID-19 outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China in late December 2019, the disease has spread to more than 200 countries and territories. In the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment, governments worldwide have responded by implementing unprecedented containment and mitigation measures—. This in turn has resulted in large short-term economic losses, and a decline in global economic activity not seen since the Great Depression. Did it work?

Our , based on a global sample, suggests that containment measures, by reducing mobility, have been very effective in flattening the “pandemic curve.” For example, the stringent containment measures put in place in New Zealand—restrictions on gatherings and public events implemented when cases we…

NEW YORK, Jun 15 2020 (IPS) – While the end of life remains the inescapable fate of every man, woman and child, death can be delayed as has been repeatedly throughout human history. Amid the current coronavirus pandemic, a paramount objective is delaying death from Covid-19 for many millions of people across the globe.

Yet, now approaching 500,000 worldwide and many more expected before a vaccine becomes available, the objective of delaying deaths due to t…

Ndiabou Niang was able to get access to prenatal care after her town’s mayor decided to finance the health membership of nearly 300 women and children. Courtesy: Réseau Siggil Jigéen

SYDNEY, Australia, Jul 14 2020 (IPS) – Pregnant with her second child, 30-year-old Ndiabou Niang was enduring pelvic pain, but couldn’t afford to access prenatal care in Diabe Salla, a village on the outskirts of the small town of Thilogne in north-east Senegal. Her husband was unemployed and her earning…

A performance at a photo show in El Fasher, Sudan, 2018. The new transitional government of Sudan criminalized female genital mutilation this spring, but the practice has not ended. Credit: MOHAMAD ALMAHADY/UNAMID

Aug 18 2020 (IPS) – Just four months ago, Sudan took the monumental step to , a painful, unnecessary and dangerous procedure that leaves lasting scars. Generally carried out on girls before they reach puberty, genital mutilation is now punishable in Sudan by up to three years in prison and subject to a fine.

In a country where 88 percent of women between 15 and 49 years old have undergone some form of genital mutilation, according to the Unite…

Women in Nigeria collect food vouchers as part of a programme to support families struggling under the COVID-19 lockdown. Credit: WFP/Damilola Onafuwa

Oct 11 2020 (IPS) – As the threat of a COVID-19 pandemic emerged earlier this year, many felt a about what would happen when it reached Africa. Concerns over the combination of overstretched and underfunded health systems and the existing load of infectious and non-infectious diseases often led to it being in apocalyptic terms.

However, it has not turned out quite that way. On September 29th, the world the one million reported deaths mark (the true figure will of course be higher). On the same day, for Africa was a …

Jennie Lyn Reyes is the author of the 2020 Asian Tobacco Industry Interference Index and the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager of SEATCA.

BANGKOK, Thailand, Nov 20 2020 (IPS) – While the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated public health to a top priority in every country in the world, it has left many poorly resourced governments receptive to any and all aid that can provide immediate assistance to help their people.

The pandemic pandemonium has provided unprecedented opportunities for the tobacco industry to boost its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to get closer to health and senior government officials.

Using charity to gain access to senior officia…

Women’s empowerment is a crucial aim of the social networking site Fuzia. Credit: Fuzia

NEW YORK, Jan 4 2021 (IPS) – A cherished snapshot of a happy mother and a smiling grandmother is universally associated with a good childhood. In the movies, TV, or media, a broken or depressed mother’s face is hardly seen. But the reality is somewhat different. The measures communities and society take to ensure that women and girls are protected and supported are often questioned.

Shraddha Varma, co-founder, and director of social networking site Fuzia believes in enhancing women’s lives.

“Women empowerment is incomplete without key aspects like health, well…

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is Director-General of the World Health Organization*

A health worker at a local health centre in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, prepares a vaccine injection. The dispatch of millions of COVID-19 vaccines to Africa started in February. Credit: UNICEF/Sibylle Desjardins

GENEVA, Feb 11 2021 (IPS) – WHO and UNICEF have a long, deep and very special relationship. Neither of us could do what we do without the other.

UNICEF’s success is WHO’s success, and we are proud to be your partner on so many issues: Ebola, polio, maternal health, nutrition, infection prevention and control, primary health care – the list is lo…

The upcoming Samoan election is a unique opportunity to encourage diversity in politics

APIA, Samoa, Mar 12 2021 (IPS) – This year it will be 128 years since the right of women to vote was first recognized, with New Zealand becoming the first nation to allow the participation of women in its general election in 1893.

From the suffragettes to today’s feminists, both men and women have fought to increase women’s political participation and representation. It has been a slow, sometimes bitter and occasionally even dangerous struggle. Yet global progress remains slow and uneven – as it does in Samoa. As we approach the 2021 General Election on 9 April, it is important to remember that women’s full and effective participation in all areas of life drives progress for ev…