The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Anaemia is a major health concern among women, especially pregnant ones, of developing countries like India. A serious iron deficiency can damage the health of unborn babies and their mothers. However, administering anti-malarial drugs during pregnancy has been shown to reduce the incidence of anaemia among expectant women by nearly …
condemning what it described as the phenomenon of "biocolonialism' in the context of gene patents , the European Council has supported India's stance against piracy of its natural patents. Quite obviously, the criticism was directed at a number of industrialised countries, particularly the us , where producers have already started …
Whenever the issue of urban smog due to diesel exhaust emissions is raised, auto companies vie that diesel is the answer to reducing emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), the main greenhouse gas. But the last bastion of the powerful diesel lobby collapsed with a new study saying that …
government plans have laid a lot of emphasis on research and development of appropriate technologies for rural areas since the First Five-Year Plan. But one shortcoming in making these technologies widely available and acceptable has been the lack of dissemination and communication of the work carried out by several research …
WHILE the deadline for developing countries to freeze the production of chlorofluorocarbons (cfcs) and halons ended, negotiations on the Montreal Protocol, which was signed in 1987, are expected to hot up once again at a meeting to be held in Beijing in November this year. Developing countries were to freeze …
in the 18 years that we have known the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome ( aids ), medical science has made significant advances towards combating the menace. The human immunodeficiency virus ( hiv ) has been isolated and characterised, several drugs have been discovered in record time, vaccine initiatives have been launched …
malboro , 555, Camel... cigarette shops stock them all for the increasingly brand-conscious Indian urban smoker. Foreign cigarette brands, which were available in select stores till a few years ago, are now being stored by almost every cigarette vendor. And they are no longer a "luxury' few could afford. As …
The United Nations General Assembly is holding a special session to draw up a strategy for limiting the world population, keeping in view the sharp divisions that exist on issues such as abortion, family planning and sex education in schools. The session is being held to review the decisions and …
despite incremental progress on a few technical issues, delegates left the bulk of the unresolved political questions open to debate at future meetings during the latest climate change meeting at Bonn, Germany. The 10th meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies to the Framework Convention on Climate Change ( fccc ), held …
the damage was staggering and the destruction, complete. One of worst cyclones in Pakistan’s history left a trail of death and devastation in the districts of Thatta and Badin in the southern province of Sindh on May 20, 1999. Tidal waves as high as six metres hit many villages in …
The rapid increase in small-mining in poor nations, often employing women and children, is taking a heavy toll by way of fatalities and diseases, said the International Labour Organisation (ILO). On an average, there has been a 20 per cent rise in the past five years in 35 countries studied …
If the available food is distributed according to need, it would be sufficient to feed all the people of the world. Yet there are more than 828 million chronically undernourished poor people in developing countries, says a study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. According to estimates, another …
according to a recent discussion paper prepared by the World Wide Fund for Nature, increasing privatisation and globalisation of the power sector will lead to ecological destruction and more displacement of people. The paper entitled
The concept of joint implementation as a way to implement climate change mitigation projects in another country has been controversial ever since its inception. Developing countries have raised numerous issues at the project-specific technical level, and broader concerns having to do with equity and burden sharing. This paper summarizes the …
developed countries are increasingly using trade restrictions as means to enforce their concept of sustainable development. There are different international forums like the World Trade Organisation ( wto ) where trade is the primary agenda, and the United Nation conventions where the focus is on environment and sustainable development. Over …
Pakistan will become the first country in South Asia when Viagra, the anti-impotency drug, will be made available through over-the-counter sales. The pill is expected to hit the shelves all over the country sometime this month. "It may be another feather in the present government's cap that it took Pakistan …
developing countries should ensure transfer of mechanism for environmentally sound technology, capacity building and financial transfer, so that they can reduce the potential for negative environmental impact from trade liberalisation. This was stated by Klaus Topfer, executive director of United Nations Environment Programme ( unep ). He was speaking at …
Women spend much more time working than men in virtually every society for which time use studies are available, according to the United Nations Human Development Report, 1998. This includes both paid and unpaid work. The disparities are particularly marked in rural areas of developing countries, where the environment in …
OFFICIALS from the World Bank (wb) and the World Health Organisation (who) have reported that there has been little progress in the area of maternal mortality, mostly from easily preventable diseases. In developing countries, one in every 48 women dies from pregnancy-related omplications each year, compared to one in 4,000 …
