In June, New York state legislature will vote on a bill that will increase protection for sex trafficking victims. Credit: Bigstock NEW YORK, Jun 13 2013 (IPS) – It started for Ruth when she was 12 years old and for Lowyal when she was 13. After being raped by her mother s boyfriend, Ruth ran […]
Category: Wellness
A Decade of Legal GM Soy in Brazil
GMOs are steadily advancing in Brazil, where transgenic crop varieties produced by multinational corporations grow alongside others developed nationally. Field of soy in Não-Me-Toque, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Credit: Nilson Konrad/IPS RIO DE JANEIRO, Jul 30 2013 (IPS) – Ten years ago, Brazil yielded to agribusiness pressure and legalised the […]
For the Disabled, Progress Unearths More Questions
This article is the second of a two-part series exploring disability’s place in international development guidelines. In part one, IPS looked at the repercussions of ignoring disability on an international level. Part two asks: was the lack of attention simply an oversight or due in part to the complex nature of disability? The media and […]
Health Gaps Between Most Countries Could Close by 2035
In Swaziland, which has been hard-hit by the AIDS pandemic, an HIV-positive mother sits next to her 18-month-old baby girl. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPS WASHINGTON, Dec 3 2013 (IPS) – The gap in health standards between the world’s poorest countries and the more advanced middle-income nations could close by the year 2035, according to a major […]
Caribbean Sees Worrying Rise in Climate-Sensitive Diseases
People go about their daily lives in Roseau, Dominica. The country’s chief medical officer says climate change is taking a toll on the health of people. Credit: Desmond Brown/IPS ROSEAU, Dominica, Jan 20 2014 (IPS) – Caribbean countries, struggling to emerge from a slump in exports and falling tourist arrivals brought on by the worldwide […]
Divisions Over Drugs Rise
VIENNA, Mar 17 2014 (IPS) – A top level United Nations conference on drugs has highlighted growing divisions between member states on how to move forward in dealing with global drug problems as calls grow for major reforms in approaches to international drug policy. The High-Level Review at the latest annual session of the U.N. […]
Desperate Gazans Turn Plastic Into Fuel
Ibrahim Sobeh and his son Mahmud with the device they built for domestic fuel production. Credit: Khaled Alashqar/IPS. GAZA CITY , May 7 2014 (IPS) – On the roof of a modest house amidst the alleys of Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Ibrahim Sobeh and his sons spent more than 200 days working […]
Here Are the Real Victims of Pakistan’s War on the Taliban
An elderly displaced man carries a sack of rations on his shoulder. The Pakistan Army has distributed 30,000 ration packs of 110 kg each. Credit: Ashfaq Yusufzai/IPS PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jul 1 2014 (IPS) – Three days ago, Rameela Bibi was the mother of a month-old baby boy. He died in her arms on Jun. 28, […]
Former War Zone Drinking its Troubles Away
Women and children are badly affected by the rise in alcohol consumption in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province. Credit: Amantha Perera/IPS DHARMAPURAM, Aug 3 2014 (IPS) – Back in the day when the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ran a de-facto state in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, alcohol consumption was closely monitored, and sternly […]
U.N. Urged to Reaffirm Reproductive Rights in Post-2015 Agenda
Millions of women in Pakistan do not have access to family planning services. Credit: Zofeen Ebrahim/IPS UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2014 (IPS) – The U.N. s post-2015 development agenda has been described as the most far-reaching and comprehensive development-related endeavour ever undertaken by the world body. But where does population, family planning and sexual and […]