CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Mar 05 (IPS) - Anton Earle is Director of Stockholm International Water Institute's Africa Regional Centre (ARC) based in Pretoria, and leads SIWI's projects and partnership development, and is SIWI's representative in the Africa region.
Johannes Ernstberger is Communications Officer, SIWI* Cape Town has always been water insecure. The city has done some things well to prepare for a situation like this, but if the drought has shown us something, it is that you need to get everything right and have some luck on top to get out unscathed when the unexpected actually happens.

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 05 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of this year's International Women's Day on March 8.
 
 
Victor Tsang is UN Environment gender expert and Shari Nijman, UN Environment communication officerWhen Mandelena became a mother, she was only 16. During the prolonged dry season in Gwor County, South Sudan, her community saw crops failing and cattle dying. Children stopped going to school because of hunger and women and girls had to walk up to five hours every day to collect water.

KIKWIT, DR Congo, Mar 04 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of this year's International Women's Day on March 8.The numbers are hard to fathom. Nearly two million people driven from their homes in 2017 alone. The worst cholera epidemic of the past 15 years, with over 55,000 cases and more than 1,000 deaths. Countless others killed, maimed or sexually assaulted.

SANTIAGO, Mar 03 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of this year's International Women's Day on March 8.Adelaida Marca, an Aymaran indigenous woman who produces premium oregano in Socoroma, in the foothills of the Andes in the far north of Chile, embodies the recovery of heirloom seeds, and is a representative of a workforce that supports thousands of people and of a future marked by greater gender equality.

ROME, Mar 02 (IPS) - – Mika, age 35, arrived in Italy five years ago from Bangladesh, and actually came to Rome on a flight in search of work for a better life. He now works alongside other Romans in the outdoor food market in Piazza San Cosimato in Trastevere, selling food products, such as pasta, olive oil, spices and after dinner liquors, mostly from southern Italy. He is well versed in their ingredients, origins in Puglia and preparation process. He is there every day and feels good about the life he has created here.

ROME, Mar 02 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of this year's International Women's Day on March 8.As a student in Rome, the closest event that left a mark in my life was the Women's March in the Italian capital. The march allowed me to contribute to the empowerment of women and to demonstrate that no woman is free-- even if one's rights are being violated. #MeToo.

DHAKA, Mar 02 (IPS) - Nobel Laureates Mairead Maguire, Shirin Ebadi and Tawakkol Karman met with more than 100 women refugees in camps in the coastal Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh this week, as well as travelling to the "no man's land" where thousands of Rohingya have been stranded between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

WASHINGTON DC, Mar 02 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds launched by IPS on the occasion of this year's International Women's Day on March 8.
 
 
Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini is co-founder & Executive Director of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University.In 1909, the Socialist Party of America, in support of female garment workers protesting working conditions, designated March 8 as a day to honor women. By 1917, women in Russia were protesting for ‘bread and peace' against a backdrop of war. In recognition of that protest and women's suffrage in Soviet Russia, The International Socialist movement designated March 8 as International Women's Day.

BUENOS AIRES, Mar 01 (IPS) - A project to install a huge deposit of oil field waste pits has triggered a crisis in the north of Argentina's southern Patagonia region, and brought the debate on the environmental impact of extractive industries back to the forefront in this Southern Cone country.

ABIDJAN, Côte d'Ivoire, Mar 01 (IPS) - This is the first in a series of opeds -- by current and former senior UN officials and representatives of women's groups-- to mark International Women's Day, March 8.
 
 
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, is President of the African Development BankInternational Women's Day is a call to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of women and a reminder that globally, we are a long way from achieving gender equality.