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By Reinhard Jacobsen
VIENNA (IDN) — The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a US$20 million loan agreement with Honduras to co-finance the 'Northeastern Small Producers' Economic and Social Inclusion Project—PROINORTE'. The importance of the project lies in the fact that the Central American nation's economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
By Radwan Jakeen
NEW YORK (IDN) — Nearly 18 million Afghans or half the population of the South Asian country require assistance. A third of the country is malnourished, while half of all children under five are experiencing acute malnutrition.
In view of this critical situation, Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, has urged donors to step up support for the country.
By Catholic News Agency (CNA)*
ROME (IDN) — More than 220,000 people left Catholic Church in Germany in 2020, according to official figures. The statistics issued by the German bishops’ conference on July 14 showed that 221,390 people exited the Catholic Church last year.
The figure was almost 19% lower than that of 2019 when a record 272,771 people departed. But it was higher than the 2018 figure of 216,078, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.
By Fermin Koop*
LONDON (IDN) — Protecting and restoring natural areas in Latin America, home to 50% of the planet’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests, could help the region achieve a ‘green’ post-pandemic recovery and meet biodiversity conservation targets, experts say. Doing so could even create thousands of jobs in key economic sectors such as agriculture.
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The biggest war at the moment is the civil war in Somalia, started in 1991. It has claimed over half a million lives. Second, is the civil war in Syria which has led to about 400,000 deaths. Third, is South Sudan where approximately 400,000 have been killed. Yemen is a younger conflict, with over 230,000 deaths. Human suffering is at its worse in Yemen—it is held in the pincers of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Emirates. Food and medical supplies have often been squeezed to a dribble. The US and the UK contribute to relief in the Yemen via the UN’s World Food Program and UNICEF, while supplying arms to the side of Saudi Arabia.
Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir
The writer is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and president of the High Atlas Foundation.
MARRAKECH (IDN) — The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aspirationally universal, addressing globally relevant issues with earnest objectives. Despite the profound good that they represent, fundamental problems exist with the Goals. They lack prescriptiveness, even to the extent of not explicitly aligning with what we know is indelible to sustainability: local people’s participation.
By UN News
NEW YORK (IDN) — A renewed focus on boosting the production of millets and highlighting their benefits, is critical to reducing over-reliance on more commonly grown crops, boosting diverse diets, and food security. That’s especially true during periods of natural disaster when food becomes scarce, according to Dr Nancy Aburto, an agriculture expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
By Martien van Nieuwkoop and Monique Eloit
The text below is from the World Bank blogs 'Voices'. Martien van Nieuwkoop is Global Director, Agriculture and Food Global Practice, World Bank and Monique Eloit is Director-General of the World Organization for Animal Health.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — In the case of pandemics, billions of dollars in prevention are worth trillions of dollars for the cure. But how do we translate that simple insight into effective action that saves lives?
An Expert Voice
NEW YORK (IDN | UNDESA) — With hundreds of millions suffering hunger, a growing population and devastating impacts of agriculture on the environment, many experts are asking themselves: will we have enough food for everyone? Ahead of the 54th session of the UN Commission on Population Development, we ask that question to Cheryl Sawyer, Senior Population Affairs Officer at UN DESA.
By Jaya Ramachandaran
PARIS (IDN) — The Sahel and West Africa are facing a major food and nutrition crisis for the second consecutive year and 27.1 million people will be at risk during the 2021 lean season, according to experts. A swift and co-ordinated response, they say, is needed alongside strengthened political commitment to finding more sustainable ways of addressing recurrent crises and the growing need for food assistance across the region.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.