BLANTYRE, MALAWI, Feb 09 (IPS) - In the past, the people of Sande Village in Chikwawa district, Malawi, would go to bed with empty stomachs even when the rest of the country harvested bumper yields.

NEW DELHI, Feb 09 (IPS) - If India ranks among the world’s fastest growing economies it is also where inequity is growing the fastest, thanks to endemic features unique to the country such as the caste system.

LONDON, Feb 09 (IPS) - In 2010 and the following years, there was attention to the fact that much of global poverty had shifted to middle-income countries (for example here, here, and here).

The COVID-19 pandemic could be defeated this year but only if vaccines, tests and treatments are made available to all people, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can improve older people’s health and well-being, but only if ageism is eliminated from their design, implementation, and use, said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.

From survivors of rape to young women entrepreneurs, the UN Deputy Secretary-General has spent the week meeting some of those whose lives have been upended by conflict in Ethiopia, but also hearing stories of hope that point towards the “indispensable” value of a return to lasting peace across the African nation.

NEW DELHI, India, Feb 08 (IPS) - The Covid-19 pandemic affected countries and people globally, at the same time exacerbated vulnerabilities such as modern-day slavery. There are over 40.3 million people estimated to be in modern-day slavery, and certain population groups, sectors and geographies such as children, migrant workers, women and girls that were already vulnerable, became more vulnerable to recruitment and exploitation during the pandemic. The United Nations has called the pandemic more than a health crisis, “it is an economic crisis, a humanitarian crisis, and a human rights crisis.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday that he is encouraged by the recent engagement between senior Israeli and Palestinian officials.

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must ensure civilian protection in the wake of recent deadly raids on camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday. 

Conflict last year had forced more than 700,000 Afghans to leave their homes and added to the 5.5 million people already displaced over past years, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday.