Poverty

UN Institute Expects COVID-19 Fallout to Push Half a Billion People into Poverty

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – New research published by the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) warns that the economic fallout from the global pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people, or 8% of the total human population. This would be the first time that poverty has increased globally in thirty years, since 1990.

The authors of the UNU-WIDER study – Andy Sumner and Eduardo Ortiz-Juarez of King’s College London and Chris Hoy from Australian National University – find that a setback of this size would reverse a decade of global progress on poverty reduction.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 17 April 2020

Photo: Handover ceremony at UN compound in Beijing for donation of critical medical supplies to the Chinese government. Credit: UNDP China

International Cooperation Vital to Defying the Consequences of Coronavirus

Viewpoint by Beate Trankmann*, UNDP Resident Representative in China

BEIJING (IDN) – Since its outbreak, the effects of the coronavirus have been felt in countries across the world. With around 110,000 confirmed cases of COVID19 and over 4,000 deaths as of March 10, this epidemic has put public health systems and emergency services under immense pressure. Demand for medical supplies and protective equipment has surged, and many people have been quarantined due to suspected contamination. However, while the circumstances have been severe, this crisis has also been a strong reminder of China’s resilience and the importance of international solidarity.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 18 March 2020

Photo credit: PAHO/WHO/Fernando Revilla. Source: WHO

Experts Concerned About the State of Children

By Jaya Ramachadran

GENEVA (IDN) —A landmark report focuses on the health and future of children and adolescents worldwide who are under immediate threat from ecological degradation, climate change and exploitative marketing practices that push heavily processed fast food, sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco at children.

The report by a Commission of over 40 child and adolescent health experts from around the world finds that "children stand on the precipice of a climate crisis" and "no single country is adequately protecting children's health, their environment and their futures".

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 24 February 2020

Photo: An area that used to be on the edge of Lake Chad. The d/drying_lake_chad.jpg

Drying Lake Chad Basin Triggers Humanitarian Crisis

By Leon Usigbe; Africa Renewal

LAGOS (IDN) — Twenty-year-old Phoebe Musa remembers the day Boko Haram militants stormed her village of Gwoza in Borno State, northeast Nigeria, five years ago. They came in on horseback, motorbikes and screeching military vehicles and attacked everyone in sight. Amid bursts of gunshots, they set fire to dozens of homesteads.

The fighters then abducted Ms. Musa from her home, blindfolded her and dragged her deep into the nearby Sambisa forest, where she remained until she was rescued by Nigerian troops earlier this year.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 February 2020

Photo: The number of people living in extreme poverty has risen in several sub-Saharan African countries and in parts of Latin America and Western Asia. Credit: UN/Logan Abass

Broad-based Deterioration of World Economy Threatening Sustainable Development

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI | BANGKOK (IDN) – Prolonged trade disputes and wide-ranging policy uncertainties have catapulted the world economy into a significant and broad-based deterioration in 2019. This threatens to hamper efforts to reduce poverty, create decent jobs, broaden access to affordable and clean energy, and achieve many other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

According to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020 report, gross product growth slipped to 2.3 per cent in 2019—the lowest rate since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

: Devinder Kumar; UN INSIDER; 22 January 2020

Photo: An olive tree planted in a schoolyard in the Marrakech region of Morocco. Credit: High Atlas Foundation.

Morocco Fails to Mobilize Rural Communities to Advance SDGs

Viewpoint by Dr. Yossef Ben-Meir

The writer is a sociologist and president of the High Atlas Foundation, a Moroccan-U.S. not-for-profit organization dedicated to sustainable development in Morocco.

MARRAKECH (IDN) – In recent years, Morocco has put in place the right frameworks for mobilizing rural communities to advance the nation’s Sustainable development Goals (SDGs), yet it falls woefully short when it comes to implementation. As someone who has been engaged in rural development in Morocco for the past 26 years, I have analyzed how these frameworks can work together and complement each other.

: Opinion Editor; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 January 2020

Photo: Collage of Kaveh Zahedi and Van Nguyen. Credit: ESCAP.

Urgent Need for Accelerating SDG Progress in Asia-Pacific

Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi* and Van Nguyen**

BANGKOK (IDN) – “The 2030 Agenda is coming to life”, declared the Secretary-General at the opening of the first SDG Summit [September 24-25], a quadrennial event for the follow up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As leaders from Asia-Pacific took the floor, they highlighted country progress of SDG implementation and reaffirmed commitment to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Statements reflected different approaches across the region. Yet all converged on one priority: accelerated actions and transformative pathways.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 11 December 2019

Photo: Children playing on the riverside in Naryn. Credit: Sehar Naz Janani

A Kyrgyz Activist Translates UNICEF Mandate into Action

By Sehar Naz Janani

NARYN, Kyrgyzstan (IDN) – His pale skin, teary eyes, shivering body and trembling voice added to the air of grave solemnity pervading the room.

Breaking the dead silence, his mouth slowly started murmuring, “I am an orphan… But, I have a sister… She beats me every now and then” and added, “She also abuses me emotionally. I could not take it anymore.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 09 December 2019

Photo: A mother and her baby at the IDP Pissila campsite in Burkina Faso. Credit: WFP/Marwa Awad

The Humanitarian Emergency the World is Ignoring

By Kwame Buist

ROME (IDN) – Almost daily violent attacks in the Sahel nations of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have displaced nearly one million people and caused emergency levels of malnutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.

“Conflict is moving forward and moving fast,” says Margot van der Velden, Director of WFP’s Emergencies Division, referring to the three countries, where it is estimated 20 million people are living in areas affected by conflict and 2.4 million people are in need of food assistance – a figure that could rise due to continued displacements.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Africa; 20 November 2019

Photo credit: Institute for Security Studies.

$78 Billion a Year Will Suffice to Abolish Extreme Poverty

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

“Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” is the first of 17 Goals of the United Nations. The latest data indicate that it would cost only $78 billion a year – less than 0.1% of Global GDP – to abolish extreme poverty. Indeed, there is an argument for giving the abolition of the worst poverty priority over funding the combating of global warming. It’s a much, much cheaper cause than what is being estimated as necessary for stalling global warming – $2.5 trillion each year on the energy issue, overwhelmingly targeted on renewables.