Thalif Deen interviews DR. BINDESHWAR PATHAK, the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize laureate
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 21 2009 (IPS) – In India, many moons ago, nobody dared talk about toilets a subject that was taboo, particularly at mealtime.
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Credit: Sulabh Sanitation Movement
Those who were employed to clean toilets were treated as untouchables and designated human scavengers , says Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, who has been named winner of the 2009 Stockholm Water Prize.
They were not allowed to mingle with other people or have soci…
Kristin Palitza
LOUWVILLE, South Africa, Jan 6 2010 (IPS) – HIV-related stigma and discrimination remain a key concern in South Africa, despite the multitude of HIV awareness campaigns that have been launched by government and civil society organisations throughout the years, health experts say.
Stigma continues to be a seriously neglected issue , particularly in sub-Saharan countries, including South Africa, regardless of the fact that it has detrimental effects on public health and human rights, according to a 2007 UNAIDS report.
Fifty-year-old Gertrude* from Hopefield, a small village on South Africa s West Coast, experiences the effects of stigma and discrimination every day: A lot of people in my community shun me. They swear at me and call me names because I m H…
Esther Banales
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 25 2010 (IPS) – Mentally disabled legal permanent residents of the United States and asylum seekers face indefinite detention, erroneous deportation, and unfair hearings in U.S. courts, according to a new joint report from two leading human rights organisations.
The report released Sunday, and co-authored by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), points out that the shoddy treatment not only violates the human rights of affected individuals but also offends both U.S. and international standards of justice.
Non-citizens with mental disabilities with a lawful basis for remaining in the U.S. are unable to represent themselves and, in 61 percent of cases, do not have a lawyer when facing the judicial proc…
Aimable Twahirwa
KIGALI, Nov 8 2010 (IPS) – At Kigali s Kibagabaga Hospital, 30 young people aged between 12 and 18 years old wait in a crowded holding room, waiting for their turn to see the doctor in charge of prescribing antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). They are among 220,000 children affected by AIDS who are benefiting from social and medical assistance from the Rwandan government and its development partners.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Dec 13 2010 (IPS) – After almost a week of violent protests over preliminary elections results that left at least five dead, Haiti awoke to an eerie and tense calm Monday after a well-coordinated trial balloon was launched late Sunday night.
Men on a motorbike pass a burning campaign poster on Dec. 8, 2010. Credit: Digital.Democracy/flickr
After a rumour-filled weekend, the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) announced that a special commission was recou…