Protesters outside the offices of agriculture giant Monsanto who were rallying as part of a “national day of solidarity.” Credit: Daniel Lobo/cc by 2.0
SEATTLE, Washington, U.S., Oct 17 2013 (IPS) – The northwestern state of Washington could become the first in the U.S. to require labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on foods and food packages, after a similar measure in California failed last year.
Over 353,000 Washingtonians signed on to a petition creating Initiative 522, which will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot statewide. It notes that such labeling is fast becoming the international norm.”The ‘no’ side has corporations that are all bankrolling their …
Lack of awareness among youth on risks of HIV infections needs to be addressed quickly to stem the disease from spreading, the National HIV Strategic Plan Sri Lanka 2013–2017 has warned. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS.
COLOMBO, Feb 2 2014 (IPS) – Four thousand HIV infections in a population of 20 million should not be a difficult figure to manage. But experts in Sri Lanka say social customs and strict laws are hindering them from carrying out prevention and awareness campaigns among high-risk groups.
Despite impressively low national infection rates, there are signs that the spread of HIV which can lead to AIDS has increased among these groups, most of which face os…
This is the first in a three-part series on youth and AIDS in Africa
Afraid of losing playmates, children hide their HIV positive status from their peers. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS
BULAWAYO, Apr 3 2014 (IPS) – Three years ago, Robert Ngwenya* and his father got into a heated argument over medication. Ngwenya, then aged 15, refused to continue swallowing the nausea-provoking pills he had been taking since he was 12 years old, and flushed them down the toilet.
During the argument, Ngwenya understood he had been born HIV positive, had been taking antiretrovirals (ARV) and not vitamins and anti-allergenics, and that his father too lived with the virus and the gu…
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Photo Courtesy of UN Women
UNITED NATIONS, May 19 2014 (IPS) – Nearly 20 years ago, the world came together in Beijing for the Fourth World Conference on Women. There, 189 governments adopted a visionary roadmap for gender equality: the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
More than 17,000 delegates and 30,000 activists pictured a world where women and girls had equal rights, freedom and opportunity in every sphere of life.We must seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to position gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment firmly at the centre of the global agenda.
While much progress has been made i…
Abusers are often family members, making victims reluctant to report the violence. Credit: Boris Bartels/cc by 2.0
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 14 2014 (IPS) – A veteran women s rights activist, Patricia Brownell was still taken aback by the prevalence of abuse against older women she discovered during dozens of conversations she and her colleagues had with victims.
They found that for every one official report of abuse made by agencies in New York State, there are 23 self-reports, with the abusers ranging from husbands, sons, daughters and other relatives to complete strangers.“In many cases, the victims did not want to talk about it. They felt guilty. They felt it was th…
Increasing levels of violence across India due to ethnic tensions and armed insurgencies are taking their toll on women and cutting off access to crucial reproductive health services. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
BASTAR, India, Sep 26 2014 (IPS) – Twenty-five-year-old Khemwanti Pradhan is a ‘Mitanin’ – a trained and accredited community health worker – based in the Nagarbeda village of the Bastar region in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Since 2007, Pradhan has been informing local women about government health schemes and urging them to deliver their babies at a hospital instead of in their own homes.
Ironically, when Pradhan gave birth to her …
Tim Brewer is a Policy Analyst at WaterAid, a UK-based international charity.
A woman from Pune, Timor-Leste, collects water for her home. Credit: UN Photo/Martine Perret
LONDON, Nov 24 2014 (IPS) – The Ebola crisis has thrown into sharp relief the issue of water, sanitation and hygiene in treating and caring for the sick. Dying patients are being taken to hospitals which never had enough water to maintain hygiene, and the epidemic has pushed the system to the breaking point.
Last week’s World Health Organisation report produced by UN Water, the (GLAAS), has provided a sobering picture of water and sanitation services so necessary to healthcare system…
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 10 2015 (IPS) – The global rate of maternal deaths is reducing faster than any time in history, according to a new report presented to the United Nations on Tuesday.
The ‘Every Woman Every Child’ initiative has saved 2.4 million women and children since its inception in 2010, claims the report Saving Lives, Protecting Futures, presented by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The states maternal mortality has been nearly halved since 1990, and in 2013, 6.4 million fewer children under age five died compared to 1990. Every Woman Every Child states 11 million more women have given birth in a health facility, 8.4 million more women and girls use modern contraception, and post-natal care for women increased 25 percent.
“Our task now is to…
Anne-Marie Steyn is Series Producer of Shamba Shape-Up and a spokesperson for Farming First. The Farming First coalition is currently in New York advocating for agriculture’s central role in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.
Experts give advice on potato-planting for greater yields in an episode of Shamba Shape Up.
NAIROBI, Apr 24 2015 (IPS) – Peter looked confused as he recounted how he’d painstakingly planted potatoes to sell and to feed his family of eight, only to find that when harvest time rolled around he had been greeted with tiny tub…
María Elena Dávila, national coordinator of the Nicaraguan Sex Workers Network, participating in a workshop on the Regulation of Sex Work in this Central American nation. Credit: Courtesy of RedTraSex
MANAGUA, Jun 13 2015 (IPS) – After living in the shadows, thousands of Nicaraguan sex workers have broken their silence, won support from state institutions and gained new respect for their rights.
María Elena Dávila, national coordinator of the (TraSex), explained…