Feroza Begum, Leprosy activist. Credit: Rafiqul Islam / IPS
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Dec 12 2019 (IPS) – When Feroza Begum was first diagnosed with leprosy in 2006, it felt as though she had been struck by a thunderbolt due to the deep-seated prejudice in her society that the disease is a curse from Allah (God).
“ I was affected with leprosy disease, nobody accepted me (in the past). They had made me isolated. I cannot forget the plight I suffered at that time. Even my family was broken as I was left by my husband,” she told IPS. The 35-year old says she was ostracized and made to feel like a lesser person.
Feroza travelled about 200 kilometres from Bogura d…
Dr. Ifeanyi Nsofor is a medical doctor, the CEO of EpiAFRIC, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Nigeria Health Watch
Credit: UN News/Li Zhang
ABUJA, Mar 9 2020 (IPS) – Recently, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo , “We have an epidemic caused by Coronavirus, but we have a pandemic caused by fear “.
This fear is worsened by how news agencies report the outbreak. These are some examples.
“Bodies pile up in morgue as Iran feels strain of coronavirus”
“First UK death from coronavirus confirmed as cases surge to 115”
“Coronavirus: Global death toll exceeds 3,000” –
“Death toll from coronavirus in Italy rises…
SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 31 2020 (IPS) – As the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic shifts from China to the developed West, all too many rich countries are acting selfishly, invoking the ‘national interest’, by banning exports of vital medical supplies.
US President Donald Trump has reportedly gone further by seeking to a future coronavirus vaccine, although the report has been denied by a German drug company and some investors believed to be involved.
Europe first
Following now also want to ban the export of certain types of protective equipment and gear, prompting Stella Kyriakides, the EU Health Commissioner, to contradict them, insisting instead that “Solidarity is key”.
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Situation dashboard. This interactive dashboard/map provides the latest global numbers and numbers by country of COVID-19 cases on a daily basis. Credit: WHO
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 15 2020 (IPS) – President Donald Trump’s threat to abruptly cut all US funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) has been described as ‘reckless and deadly”—particularly at a time when the Geneva-based UN agency was engaged in an uphill battle against the spreading coronavirus.
The US president, who has dismissed WHO as “China-centric”, has also been accused of playing politics with human lives—while he, in turn, blames the agency for mishan…
WAGENINGEN, Netherlands / ROME, May 5 2020 (IPS) – Globalization has been a driver for increased prosperity world-wide, but it has been in reverse in the last years due to the growth of populism in the USA and Europe. The COVID-19 pandemic may well provide further momentum to increasingly national-interest oriented policies in the west.
Nevertheless, a common response to COVID-19 is needed, where rich countries support developing countries in alleviating the impacts on the poor…
Zigunchor in Senegal’s southern Casamence region has the highest literacy rate in the country but here gender-based violence such as such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still practiced. Credit: Stella Paul/IPS
HYDERABAD, India, Jul 7 2020 (IPS) – Growing up in Senegal’s southern Casamence region — a conflict zone — Fatou Ndiaye, now 43, often heard gunfire and watched fearfully as she saw people flee their villages. But what she dreaded more than …
The COVID-19 response must address mental health alongside containment of the pandemic itself. Credit: Unsplash /Melanie Wasser.
Aug 5 2020 (IPS) – To fully realise the mental health crisis that India faces in relation to COVID-19, one has to begin with recognising the very serious situation that existed even before the pandemic.
The government’s reported that about 10 percent of adults meet diagnostic criteria for a mental health condition (ranging from mood and anxiety disorders to severe mental illness). The estimated that n…
A suicide survivor shares her story of how an online community helped her overcome anxiety and depression. Credit: Unsplash / Dan M
NEW YORK, Sep 28 2020 (IPS) – Romana Hoque had it all, a comfortable life, a happy family. Despite this, the 43-year-old second-generation immigrant from Indonesia living in the United States was depressed enough to contemplate suicide.
Hoque, in an exclusive interview with Inter Press Service (IPS), said despite her comfortable life, not being able to conceive resulted in her feeling so depressed that she tried to take her own life. She shared her story during September – set aside as a month for creating awareness of suicide prevention.…
Kriti Sharma is a senior disability rights researcher and Shantha Rau Barriga is the disability rights director at Human Rights Watch.
Approximately 30 patients stay at Edwuma Wo Woho Herbal Centre, many with mental health conditions. At least half are shackled. Credit: Robin Hammond/Witness Change for Human Rights Watch.
Dec 16 2020 (IPS) – Long before the Covid-19 pandemic grounded much of the world, lockdown, confinement, violence, and isolation was the daily reality for hu…
A man and a woman in front of the Beirut Port, Lebanon, following the blast. Courtesy: UN Women Arab States/Dar Al Mussawir
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 2021 (IPS) – Lebanon must “shield and preserve” the skills, knowledge, and experience of its people in order to move forward with its development, according to Christophe Abi-Nassif, the Lebanon programme director for the Middle East Institute (MEI).
“Shielding and preserving whatever is left of Lebanon s human capital should be the main policy-making concern at the moment,” Abi-N…