Latin America & the Caribbean

Photo: OACPS Secretary General Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti. Credit: OACPS

A Climate Awakening Is Urgently Needed to Save The World’s Most Vulnerable

Viewpoint by Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti

The writer is Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

BRUSSELS (IDN) — Time is fast running out for millions of peoples living in situations of high risk where lives, livelihoods and a safe, secure place to live are all at stake.

Extreme climate and weather-related devastation is occurring at unprecedented scales, frequencies and intensities. We need only to look at the headlines of recent months to see the onslaught of drought, wildfires, hurricanes, torrential rains and floods right across the Blue Planet—North; South; East; West.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Climate Action; 26 September 2021

ALCAP’s “Documentaries for Development” at World Forum 4.0

Viewpoint by Niba Mirza*

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Documentaries have always been a potent medium to exchange ideas, information and knowledge. They manifest an inherent tendency of the human beings to document reality of their times and communicate with each other.

Among others, this year’s World Forum 4.0 shall feature “Documentaries for Development,” a unique concept developed by Mr. Manish Uprety F.R.A.S., Special Adviser - Asia and Africa, of the Audiovisual Regional Hub of the Asociación Latinoamericana de Comunicación Audiovisual Parlamentaria, ALCAP, or the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audio-Visual Communication.

: Asia Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 28 August 2021

Photo: Haiti was struck on August 14 by a deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake that left hundreds dead and countless others injured. (file) MINUJUSTH/Logan Abassi

UN Working with Aid Partners in the Wake of Massive Earthquake Hitting Haiti

By UN News

NEW YORK (IDN) — The United Nations is working to support rescue and relief efforts in Haiti following a powerful earthquake that reportedly left hundreds dead, with perhaps even more injured and missing, and caused massive damage in the south-western part of the country.

UN chief António Guterres said that he is closely following the latest unfolding tragedy in Haiti, while UNICEF reported that its teams already on the ground are making assessments to prioritize urgent needs and provide assistance to affected populations in the wake of the 7.2 magnitude quake that has reportedly killed more than 500 people.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Cities & Communities; 15 August 2021

Photo: A mother brings her young girl to a medical appointment at a health centre in Caracas, Venezuela. © UNICEF/Alejandra Pocaterra

UN Experts Call for Lifesaving Help for Venezuela Cancer Patients Hit by US Sanctions

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) — Independent UN rights experts are concerned that Venezuelan cancer patients could die because they have been caught up in excessively strict application of U.S. sanctions aimed at Venezuela and the state-owned oil company Petroleum of Venezuela (PDVSA).

: Jamshed Baruah; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 30 July 2021

Honduras Granted USD20 Million OPEC Fund Loan to Help Improve Climate Resilience of Rural Communities

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) — The OPEC Fund for International Development has signed a US$20 million loan agreement with Honduras to co-finance the 'Northeastern Small Producers' Economic and Social Inclusion Project—PROINORTE'. The importance of the project lies in the fact that the Central American nation's economy is primarily agricultural, making it especially vulnerable to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 23 July 2021

Photo: "We are learning how to manage our crops better,” say farmers Malvin Ortiz and Felipe Martínez, “and we are teaching our children how to do it, too.” Now, the future is looking more hopeful." Credit: Oxfam International

Latin America's Unique Biodiversity Can Help Boost Post-Covid Recovery

By Fermin Koop*

LONDON (IDN) — Protecting and restoring natural areas in Latin America, home to 50% of the planet’s biodiversity and over a quarter of its forests, could help the region achieve a ‘green’ post-pandemic recovery and meet biodiversity conservation targets, experts say. Doing so could even create thousands of jobs in key economic sectors such as agriculture.

: Europe Editor; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 13 July 2021

UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata Fidel Castro Ruz, President of Cuba addressing the General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York in 1979.

DON'T QUOTE ME: Cuba Survives One of the Longest Economic Wars in Modern History

By Thalif Deen*

NEW YORK (IDN) — When Raul Castro decided to retire, both as leader of Cuba and head of the Communist Party last April, it was the end of a politically adventurous era for a country most American leaders loved to hate.

In the late 1950s, it was Raul and his more famous older brother, Fidel Castro, who led an insurgency that toppled the American-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

: Thalif Deen; UN INSIDER; 23 June 2021

Photo: View of Santo Domingo streets. Credit: Adobe Stock

Latin America and the Caribbean Boost Chances of Success at Climate Conference

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK | SANTO DOMINGO (IDN) — The three-day Virtual Thematic Sessions of the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2021 (LACCW2021), which wrapped up on May 14, hosted by the Government of the Dominican Republic, are reported to have provided important momentum for a successful UN Climate Change Conference COP26 from November 1 to November 12 in Glasgow.

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 16 May 2021

Volunteers Are Helping Venezuela To Rebuild US-Devastated Industry

By Leonardo Flores

This article was produced by Globetrotter. Leonardo Flores is a Venezuelan political analyst and peace activist with CODEPINK. He is a Globetrotter/Peoples Dispatch fellow.

VENICE, CA (IDN) — “We don’t just repair machines; we repair consciences,” says Sergio Requena of the Productive Workers Army (EPO by its Spanish-language initials) in Venezuela. The EPO is a group of 2,270 volunteers with a broad range of technical expertise. They go from factory to factory repairing broken machinery. Their mission is to recover Venezuela’s industrial production by empowering workers to take matters into their own hands.

: J C Suresh; THE WORLD; Latin America & the Caribbean; 22 April 2021

Photo: Explosive eruption of La Soufriere volcano prompts evacuations for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Source: CaribDirect.com

Erupting Caribbean Volcano Enhances Solidarity to Save Lives & Property

By P.I. Gomes

Dr P.I. Gomes is former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, the Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS was previously ACP Group of States).

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad and Tobago (IDN) — La Soufriere volcano in the northeast of the main island of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, after warning signs of rumblings some months ago and the volcanologists’ prediction of an imminent eruption, just a week ago, the fate of nature’s fierce foray was felt on April 8, 2021 by the first explosive eruption of metre-high clouds of ash, smoke, rocks and debris. This was the first most severe event causing the evacuation of some 16,000 persons from a red zone in close proximity to the volcanic area.