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Large numbers of people are bypassing immigration controls as they exit Venezuela. Credit: Tomer Urwicz

CÚCUTA, Colombia, Jun 13 2019 (IPS) – Not long ago, 15-year-old Nelsmar attended a middle-class school in central Venezuela. That was before her family was uprooted by the economic and humanitarian crisis in her country, which has pushed nearly 3.9 million persons to migrate or flee, according to of the Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela.

Nelsmar’s family made the move over a year ago. They walked for eight days, and spent the rest of the journey traveling by bus, before reaching the border with Colombia. When they arrived in the b…

Srinivas Tata, is Director, Social Development Division, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

 
Eduardo Klien, is Regional Director, Asia, HelpAge International

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct 1 2019 (IPS) – As we are celebrating the International Day of Older Persons today, we recognize that population ageing is a human success story, a story of longer and often healthier lives of the world’s people. The many faces of older persons that we see in Asia and in the Pacific, and, indeed, all over the world, attest to this fact. Still, however, ageing is considered a threat. There is talk about the “burden of ageing”, exploding healthcare costs, and concerns about plummeting economic growth due to the shrinking labour force. In many c…

According to the study, the Philippines had the highest inactivity levels among boys, at 93 per cent, while in South Korea, researchers found that 97 per cent of girls failed to do enough exercise. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños/IPS

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 22 2019 (IPS) – An alarming lack of exercise among adolescents across the world risks seriously compromising their health into adulthood, the UN said on Thursday.

In the first study of i…

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 3 2020 (IPS) – With over 37,500 staffers in its global Secretariat payroll, the United Nations has gone high alert as the deadly coronavirus continues to take a heavy toll worldwide.

The 39-storeyed Secretariat building is perhaps the only sprawling office space in New York city where thousands of staffers and diplomats from 193 countries either work or meet under one roof along with hundreds of journalists and representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs).

Patricia Nemeth, President of the UN Staff Union (UNSU) in New York, told IPS that staff members have “expressed concerns” to the UNSU, “as to what measures are being taken …

Shloka Nath is Executive Director, India Climate Collaborative

MUMBAI, India, Mar 23 2020 (IPS) – Over the past few years, worsening air quality in India—and in north India specifically—has awakened policy makers and civil society to take urgent action.

There have been some efforts to address air quality, specifically the (NCAP), which was launched in January 2019 with the aim of improving air quality standards by 20-30 percent over the next five years. While this has been a positive step, we not only need a more ambitious agenda, but also a strong compliance framework that ensures accountability to the targets we have set.

With growing congestion in cities�…

• Education and COVID-19: UN helps children continue their learning

There have even been that the coronavirus is related to exposure to new technologies (such as 5G, which can be used to deliver money mobiles services). There are measures authorities can take in response to better protect consumers.

Regulators, providers and consumer protection agencies can alert people to the risks; providers can make sure they have adequate consumer complaint mechanisms in place; and law enforcement can coordinate firm action, not only in country but across borders.

Credit: United Nations

Preying on vulnerable populations in developing countries at a time of cris…

A man’s legs chained in a Christian rehabilitation center in Ibadan City, Oyo State, Nigeria, Ibadan City, Oyo State, Nigeria, September 2019. Women and men are chained and tied for perceived or actual mental health condition or intellectual disability. © 2019 Robin Hammond for Human Rights Watch.

NEW YORK, Apr 7 2020 (IPS) – When Akanni’s mother died in early 2018, she stopped eating for three weeks. Her mood became unpredictable; she was often shouting or sulking angrily. Medicine from a local pharmacist didn’t help. At a loss for what to do to handle the trauma, Akanni’s father took her to a church in Abeokuta, Ogun state, in Nigeria. And then he left her the…

A pregnant woman in Kenya’s North Eastern Province with one of her children. Overpopulation in the area contributes to poor maternal health. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 27 2020 (IPS) – Sexual and reproductive health and pandemics might seem to be unrelated topics, but large and dense populations are drivers of the high velocity transmission of COVID-19, and there are lessons to be learned for the future.

Gains made in women’s sexual reproductive health and rights just took several steps backward in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to contraceptives has been interrupted, resulting in an increase in unintended pregnancies. With sch…

JOHANNESBURG, May 15 2020 (IPS) – One of the planet’s – and Africa’s – deepest prejudices is being demolished by the way countries handle COVID-19. 

For as long as any of us remember, everyone “knew” that “First World” countries – in effect, Western Europe and North America – were much better at providing their citizens with a good life than the poor…