The Week with IPS 9/19

	Can ‘Womenomics’ Stem the Feminisation of Poverty in Japan? Suvendrini Kakuchi Fifty-four-year-old Marlyn Maeda, an unmarried freelance writer living in Tokyo who never held a permanent job, is now watching her dream of aging independently go up in smoke. “I work four jobs and barely survive,” said the writer, who disclosed only her penname to IPS. Her monthly income after ... MORE > >
	Honduran Mothers and Grandmothers Search Far and Wide for Missing Migrants Thelma Mejía United by grief and anxiety, the grandmothers, mothers and other relatives of people who disappeared on the migration route to the United States formed a committee in this city in northern Honduras to search for their missing loved ones. Founded in 1999, the Comité de Familiares de Migrantes ... MORE > >
Nuclear Deal with Iran Likely to Enhance U.S. Regional Leverage Jim Lobe A successful agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme could significantly enhance U.S. leverage and influence throughout the Greater Middle East, according to a new report signed by 31 former senior U.S. foreign-policy officials and regional experts and released here Wednesday. The 115-page report, ... MORE > >
	U.N. Pushes Climate-Smart Agriculture – But Are the Farmers Willing to Change? Manipadma Jena United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to make a strong pitch to world political leaders at the U.N. Climate Summit in New York on Sep. 23 to accept new emissions targets and their timelines. Launching the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) represents yet ... MORE > >
	As Uganda Heats Up, Pests and Disease Flourish to Attack its Top Export Crop Prossy Nandudu When Abudu Zikusoka was a small boy his father would bring people to their home in Ndesse village in Central Uganda’s Mukono district. He would watch as they packed the family’s harvested coffee into sacks and then loaded it onto their bicycles. “I used to see one of them giving daddy money from ... MORE > >
	U.N. Launches Ambitious Humanitarian Plan for Gaza Mel Frykberg The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has launched an ambitious recovery plan for Gaza following the 50-day devastating war between Hamas and Israel which has left the coastal territory decimated. However, the successful implementation of this plan requires enormous international funding as ... MORE > >
	Will the Upcoming Climate Summit Be Another Talkathon? Meenakshi Raman As the United Nations hosts a Climate Summit Sep. 23, the lingering question is whether the meeting of world leaders will wind up as another talk fest. It is most likely that it could go that way. The problem is that developed countries are pressuring developing countries to indicate their ... MORE > >
	World’s Most Unequal Region Sets Example in Fight Against Hunger Marianela Jarroud Latin America and the Caribbean, the world’s most unequal region, has made the greatest progress towards improving food security and has become the region with the largest number of countries to have reached the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of undernourished ... MORE > >
	Against All the Odds: Maternity and Mortality in Afghanistan Karlos Zurutuza Nasrin Mohamadi, a mother of four, has promised herself never to set foot in an Afghan public hospital again. After her first experience in a maternity ward, she has lost all faith in the state’s healthcare system. “The doctors said that I had not fully dilated yet so they told me to wait in the ... MORE > >
	Panama Turns to Biofortification of Crops to Build Food Security Fabiola Ortiz Panama is the first Latin American country to have adopted a national strategy to combat what is known as hidden hunger, with a plan aimed at eliminating micronutrient deficiencies among the most vulnerable segments of the population by means of biofortification of food crops. The project began ... MORE > >
	For These Asylum Seekers, the Journey Ends Where it Began Karlos Zurutuza "Of course I'm scared, but what else can I possibly do?" asks Ahmed, a middle-aged man seated on the carpeted floor of a hotel located on the southern edge of Afghanistan. He is bound for Iran, but he still has no idea when or how he’ll cross the border. In his early 40s, Ahmed looks 15 years ... MORE > >
	A Flood of Energy Projects Clash with Mexican Communities Emilio Godoy Since January, villagers and townspeople near the Los Pescados river in southeast Mexico have been blocking the construction of a dam, part of a multi-purpose project to supply potable water to Xalapa, the capital of the state of Veracruz. “Our rights to a pollution-free life, to decide where ... MORE > >
	OPINION: Investing in Adolescent Girls for Africa’s Development Hinda Deby Itno and Julitta Onabanjo Adolescence is a time of transition from childhood to adulthood. It is also a time of change and challenge. Today's adolescents, connected to each other like never before, can be a significant source of social progress and cultural change. But they are also facing multiple challenges that ... MORE > >
	‘Breaking Silence’ on the Slave Trade A. D. McKenzie The Oscar-winning film 12 Years a Slave opened many people’s eyes to the barbarity of slavery and fuelled some discussion about that period in world history. But the film is just one of the many initiatives to “break the silence” around the 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade and to “shed ... MORE > >
	OPINION: Say ‘No’ to War and Media Propaganda Mairead Maguire While the United States, United Kingdom and NATO are pushing for war with Russia, it behoves people and their governments around the world to take a clear stand for peace and against violence and war, no matter where it comes from.We are at a dangerous point in our history of the human family and ... MORE > >
	Salvadoran Farmers Stake Their Bets on Sustainable Development Edgardo Ayala Peasant farmers from one of El Salvador’s most fragile coastal areas are implementing a model of sustainable economic growth that respects the environment and offers people education and security as keys to give the wetland region a boost. The Mangrove Association has been carrying out the plan ... MORE > >