News headlines in 2022, page 20

Far too often, Africa is viewed from outside “through a prism of problems” said UN chief António Guterres on Thursday, speaking in the Ethiopian capital, home to the African Union, where he has been taking part in the sixth UN-AU annual conference.

Across Africa, efforts to reduce the number of women and infants dying in childbirth are set to slow without a substantial increase in investment, the UN health agency said on Thursday. 

A record $51.5 billion is needed to help 230 million of the world’s most vulnerable people in nearly 70 countries next year, the UN said on Thursday.

KAMPALA, Nov 30 (IPS) - Since the onset of the Covid19 pandemic, at least two deaf people were shot and killed in Uganda by state law enforcement officers. Their ‘crime’ was being deaf and uneducated. Their inability to hear or comprehend Covid19 containment measures communicated in English led to their death.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 30 (IPS) - How are the multiple shocks and crises the world is facing changing how we respond to gender-based violence? Almost three years after the COVID-19 pandemic triggered high levels of violence against women and girls, the recent Sexual Violence Research Initiative Forum 2022 (SVRI) shed some light on the best ways forward.

Nov 30 (IPS) - While the world has focused on the COVID pandemic for nearly three years, less and less attention is being paid to HIV. However, HIV is still a global problem. In 2021, according to the United Nations, 38.4 million people were living with HIV, over 650,000 died from AIDS-related illnesses, and 1.5 million became newly infected.

WASHINGTON DC, Nov 30 (IPS) - As a central pillar of African diets for thousands of years, millet has a prized position as one of the continent’s most important crops.

And with the onset of climate change, millet offers valuable security to the continent’s smallholder farmers due to the crop’s tolerance for dry soils.

Nairobi, Nov 30 (IPS) - Up to 1 million species are threatened with extinction – many within decades – this includes nearly one-third of reef-forming corals, shark relatives, and marine mammals. Half of agricultural expansion occurs at the expense of forests, and 85% of wetlands that were present at the beginning of the 18^th century had been lost by the year 2000, with the loss of wetlands considered to be happening three times faster, in percentage terms, than forest loss.

Holy Week in Guatemala, traditional tea preparation in China, and the artisanal knowledge surrounding France’s iconic daily bread loaf, the baguette, are among the latest cultural practices and expressions to be recognized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Rising inflation has caused a striking decline in real monthly wages in many countries, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a report published on Wednesday, highlighting the urgent need for policies to prevent further poverty, inequality and social unrest.