Africa

Rwanda-backed rebels said they captured fighters from a group that took part in the 1994 genocide.

Scandal surrounds King Misuzulu's attempts to take a third wife - and to divorce his first one.

Scandal surrounds King Misuzulu's attempts to take a third wife - and to divorce his first one.

Scandal surrounds King Misuzulu's attempts to take a third wife - and to divorce his first one.

England's dismal Champions Trophy campaign ends with a sorry seven-wicket defeat by South Africa in Karachi.

England's dismal Champions Trophy campaign ends with a sorry seven-wicket defeat by South Africa in Karachi.

Thousands turn out to say farewell to Sam Nujoma who led the struggle against apartheid South Africa.

By Rosi Orozco
MEXICO CITY, Feb 28 2025 (IPS)

In 2020, a historic announcement emerged from the Global Trafficking in Persons Report, an annual assessment that evaluates human exploitation in 129 countries. For the first time, the world witnessed a 13% decrease in the number of victims. For those of us who fight against this heinous crime, it felt as if a door to paradise had opened—an Eden where no human being is for sale.

Rosi Orozco

However, reality was quick to slam that door shut. The following year, in 2021, we expected the downward trend to continue thanks to the tireless efforts of human rights defenders and survivors. With some luck, we hoped to celebrate another 13% decrease—perhaps even 15%? But the opposite happened: the number of detected victims rose by 10%.

The reason was painfully clear: that historic drop had been an artificial consequence of the COVID-19 lockdowns. Unless those in power were to orchestrate another health crisis, we would never again see such promising figures in the fight against sexual and labor exploitation.

The latest global report, published just weeks ago, confirms that the door to paradise is getting heavier: by 2022, the number of victims had surged by 22%. Sub-Saharan Africa now ranks first in victim detection, followed by North America. For the first time, the poorest and the wealthiest regions of the world share the same wounds—proof that human trafficking spares no one, preying on both the destitute and the privileged.

And it is not just the number of victims that is rising—they are getting younger. Between 2019 and 2022, the number of child victims increased by 31%. As is often the case in human trafficking, girls and women suffer the worst consequences.

The Metastasis of Human Trafficking

How do we explain this alarming expansion?

First, most governments lacked contingency plans to support those displaced by COVID-19. By the time the pandemic ended, thousands had already lost their jobs or homes. Faced with economic hardship and a severe lack of specialized shelters, desperation pushed many into exploitation. Countless individuals were forcibly displaced not once, but two or three times—whether due to violence in their communities or other destabilizing factors.

Second, a global analysis of 942 court rulings revealed a chilling reality: 74% of traffickers belong to organized crime networks. These are not lone criminals but cartels, gangs, and mafias operating with the efficiency of corporate enterprises or local governments, making them nearly impossible to dismantle. Only 26% of traffickers act independently, such as abusive parents or exploitative partners. Alarmingly, this phenomenon is growing each year.

The numbers do not lie: just when we thought our efforts were yielding results, reality reminds us that we must redouble them. This year, more than ever, we need every hand and heart available to reopen the door to that dreamt-of paradise. If we fail, it may close forever—and we may never find the key to free the victims who are counting on us.

United Against Child Trafficking

In response to this dire situation, the 3rd International Summit Against Human Trafficking was held in Washington, D.C., in 2024. The event took place at two of the most important venues for political and diplomatic action: the United States Capitol and the main building of the Organization of American States (OAS). This summit brought together key legislators and global leaders committed to eradicating human trafficking.

One of the most notable participants was Tom Homan, former ICE Director and a leading authority on border security, whose presence underscored the urgency of strengthening international cooperation. We celebrate that such a dedicated man has now been appointed as the Border Czar. His leadership and determination are crucial to shutting down the criminal networks that have trafficked and disappeared hundreds of thousands of children at our borders.

Homan’s participation in the summit was made possible thanks to Sara Carter, the renowned investigative journalist, who also moderated the expert panel on border security. Her deep knowledge of trafficking networks and firsthand reporting on the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border provided critical insights into the discussion.

One of the most pressing issues addressed at the summit was the alarming number of children disappearing at the hands of traffickers along the U.S.-Mexico border. For years, criminal networks have exploited vulnerabilities in the region, profiting from the suffering of tens of thousands of minors who vanish without a trace.

The recent actions by the United States to strengthen border security offer a glimmer of hope. Measures aimed at shutting down trafficking routes and dismantling criminal operations are a step in the right direction. For both the U.S. and Mexico, the highest priority must be clear: when it comes to children, there can be no compromise.

The fight against human trafficking is far from over, but summits like this remind us that change is possible when nations, policymakers, and civil society unite with a common purpose. We cannot allow traffickers to keep slamming the door in our faces. The time to act is now.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Officials say they are concerned that they will spread the contagious disease to the wider community.

The Holy Bible, Trump Edition: "They shall beat their swords into nine irons." Credit: Shutterstock.

By Peter Costantini
SEATTLE, USA, Feb 28 2025 (IPS)

Like any self-respecting don of a powerful crime family, Donald Trump – AKA “Don the Con” – always gets a taste of any action going down on his territory. And that territory, as recent events have made clear, knows no borders. (I mean, except for the southwest one.)

The capo di tutti capi of TrumpWorld says that he wants to acquire Gaza and turn it into “The Riviera of the Middle East”. And it’s no secret what the jewel in the crown has to be: a magnificent golf course. [Shear et al 2/5/2025] [Baker 2/5/2025]

Given conditions in Gaza, this will be a challenge. But a leaked and probably apocryphal memo from the TrumpWorld real-estate division (formerly the U.S. Department of State), lays out an ingenious strategy for the centerpiece of the rebranding of Gaza.

 

———-

 

To: Gaza Desk

 

OK, campers, minimize PornHub and listen up.

I’m working on some promotional material for the Riviera project. Please return any comments yesterday.

——

 

Trump Links Gaza at Rubble Beach

Welcome to a whole new dimension in golfing adventure: Trump Links Gaza. Here, you can tee off into a breathtaking new experience: rubble golf. We found a strip of land short of water, vegetation and soil, but with plenty of gravel, broken concrete, and twisted rebar. So we had to think outside the box of grassy fairway | water hazard | putting green.

Our solution? If life gives you rubble, make rubble golf. At Trump Links Gaza, the whole length of the 18 holes will be one big rubble trap. We’re working to make it the Pebble Beach of Middle Eastern war zones, so we’re dubbing it Rubble Beach.

For chipping out of bomb craters and demolished building foundations, your pitching wedge will be your best friend. You may lose a few more balls than usual, but looking for them will be like a treasure hunt: you’ll never know what you may find.

Our attorneys tell us we are required to warn you about the unexploded ordnance. No worries, this is where the adventure really begins, and the risk just heightens the excitement. Accidental death and dismemberment insurance is available in the clubhouse.

For small mines or unexploded shells, simply plant one of the skull-and-crossbones flags we’ve provided nearby – but not too close.

If you happen to uncover a large bomb, about the size of a Fiat 500, do not take the time to plant a flag: run for your life. Those bunker-busters weigh 2,000 pounds and have a blast radius of three football fields. Best of all, we’re proud to say they’re made in the U.S. of A. Now we’re talking real adventure golfing. (Not to worry too much, the previous owners assure us that all such bombs dropped on Gaza did detonate – creating much of the rubble you will be enjoying.)

You may unearth piles of bones, but don’t be alarmed. They are probably sheep or goat bones. If they seem a little larger, they could be – Who knows? – calves or llamas.

Golfers may occasionally come upon torn or burned children’s books in Arabic, pieces of stuffed animals, shards of plates or glasses, and shreds of kaffiyehs or hijabs. In a small number of cases, visitors have also noticed what seem to be small children with distended bellies wandering around outside the razor wire perimeter.

The previous proprietors explained that the area had been taken over by squatters, who were very messy and did not keep track of their children. Their security forces removed nearly all the offenders and tried to eliminate any traces of them, but may have missed a few here and there.

We apologize for any unpleasant experiences that may keep looping in your head. (Although as you may not have noticed, on page 9 of the visitors’ waivers you agreed not to hold us liable for any PTSD or recurrent nightmares that may result from what you see here.)

Allow us to put you at ease on one other point: because conditions are so rough, it’s no big deal if you lie about your score. In fact, it’s an official Trump Links Gaza policy: falsifying scorecards and telling tall tales about your eagles and birdies are encouraged. There’s so much latent creativity out there, we don’t want to inhibit it with the buzzkill of fact-checking.

This adjustment will also keep Trump Links Gaza in step with the rest of TrumpWorld and its wholly owned subsidiary, the U.S. government. The corporate guidance on truthiness was enunciated most eloquently by Vice President J.D. Vance.

He was asked by reporters why he and President Trump kept saying that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were illegal immigrants who had stolen and eaten pet cats and dogs, even after the false story had been debunked by Republican officials and the Wall Street Journal. Vance, apparently speaking in tongues, told National Public Radio: “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.” [Garrett 9/15/2024]

So don’t worry about handicaps or pars. We’ve created an arithmetic-free zone here to let you celebrate your fairway prowess with your most improbable golf memes – and to emulate the liberating example of our leaders in the Oval Office.

Stop by the clubhouse afterwards for a complementary house cocktail: an ivermectin sour with a splash of hydroxychloroquine.

The Trump Links Gaza Management

 

—–

 

So let me know what you think. There are no stupid comments – well, actually, there are a few. You’ll know if yours is one when HR tweets you your pink slip and the security guards bring you a cardboard file box.

Breaking news for your eyes only: Bibi told the transition team that the squatters who were in the area of Trump Links Gaza before the transformation are now in custody.

They will be charged as criminal aliens and most will be deported to permanent camps in Rwanda and El Salvador. But in the interim, TrumpWorld has signed a contract with a U.S.-based private prison firm to build facilities to hold them until they can be shipped out.

However, we are considering keeping a small number of them in Gaza as guest workers, much like the H-2B workers long used by Trump enterprises in the U.S.

These will be lodged in the immigration prison and let out only to work as dishwashers and laborers at the new Gaza minimum wage (lol it’s negative – they will be charged ten dollars a day for the privilege of getting out of their cells for healthy exercise). Meals, rent and utilities will also be deducted. Hey Elon, can your boyos from the Department of Government Efficiency match that?

As exciting as it is, Trump Links Gaza is only the beginning. Think glacier golf in Greenland -your ice axe doubles as a putter – and aquatic links on jet skis in Panama.

But Canada is le grand prix, as the snail-sucking surrender monkeys put it. The Boss may have to drop a few bunker-busters on the tundra to nudge them towards statehood. The Canucks may complain about losing their health insurance and being tased for saying “Eh”. They may gag at having to call Hudson Bay “MAGA Bay”.

But once True North has been downgraded to Magnetic North and welcomed into the Union, TrumpWorld will buy up some well-known golf course, tart it up, and lean heavily on the new “governor” (actually, proconsul) to have the Canadian Open moved to it – as Beloved Leader tried unsuccessfully to do in Scotland with the British Open. (Don’t breathe easy yet, haggis-eaters – Donald Trump has a long memory.) [Landler et al 7/16/2021]

I’m proud to say that golf diplomacy has become the linchpin of our transition from the “No more forever wars” foreign policy to a new one: “Many short and sweet annexations”. Who’s next?

As the Good Book, Trump Edition, says: “They shall beat their swords into nine irons.” Fore!

ArnoldPalmersJunk (Like my new handle?)
Vice President for Golfing Anschluss

Trump Links Gaza at Rubble Beach: Come for the adventure, stay for the gaslighting.

 

References

Peter Baker. “An Unbound Trump Pushes an Improbable Plan for Gaza”. New York Times, February 5, 2025.
https://nytimes.com/2025/02/05/us/politics/trump-gaza-netanyahu-takeover.html

Mohamad Bazzi. “Trump is using the presidency to seek golf deals. Hardly anyone’s paying attention.” London: The Guardian, February 27, 2025.
https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/27/trump-pga-liv-saudi-arabia

Jonathan Freedland. “Trump is fueling lethal fantasies of driving people from their land”. London: The Guardian, 7 February 2025.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/07/middle-east-land-people-donald-trump-gaza

FXB Center for Health & Human Rights. “Press Release: New study shows Israel air-dropped 2000lb bombs within lethal and damage ranges of hospitals in Gaza”. Boston, MA: Harvard University, October 10, 2024.
https://fxb.harvard.edu/2024/10/10/new-study-shows-israel-air-dropped-2000lb-bombs-within-lethal-and-damage-ranges-of-hospitals-in-gaza

Luke Garrett. “Vance defends spreading claims that Haitian migrants are eating pets”. National Public Radio, September 15, 2024.
https://npr.org/2024/09/15/nx-s1-5113140/vance-false-claims-haitian-migrants-pets

Mark Landler, Lara Jakes & Maggie Haberman. “Trump’s Request of an Ambassador: Get the British Open for Me”. New York Times, July 16, 2021.
https://nytimes.com/2020/07/21/world/europe/trump-british-open.html

Michael D. Shear, Peter Baker & Isabel Kershner. “Trump Proposes U.S. Takeover of Gaza and Says All Palestinians Should Leave”. New York Times, February 4, 2025.
https://nytimes.com/2025/02/04/us/politics/trump-gaza-strip-netanyahu.html

The tropical cyclone left more than 180,000 homes without power and 170,000 without running water.

People use plastic containers to collect drinking water in Havana. Water supply problems have worsened in recent months in Cuba, partly due to power outages that interrupt water pumping through hydraulic networks and, at times, equipment breakdowns. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS

By Dariel Pradas
HAVANA, Feb 28 2025 (IPS)

Problems such as hydraulic network breakdowns, water lost through leaks, power outages, and even fuel shortages are making access to water supply services difficult for the population in Cuba

“Terrible,” is how Mariam Alba, a café employee and resident of Manzanillo, a city 750 kilometers east of Havana in the eastern province of Granma, described the water supply situation to IPS.“In my neighborhood we have water almost every day, but I know places that go months without it. In the early hours, you see people carrying water from a hole filled by a leak. It’s not drinking water:” Mariam Alba.

“In my neighborhood, Reparto Gutierrez, we have water almost every day, but I know places that go months without it. In the early hours, you see people carrying water from a hole filled by a leak. It’s not drinking water. On some blocks, they’ve placed tanks: they fill them in the morning, and by night they’re empty. Then they refill them a month later,” she added.

In this province with 804,000 people, only 76% receive piped water in their homes, and just 38.7% have access to water at least once every three days. Meanwhile, over 66,000 residents depend on water delivered by tanker trucks, as confirmed by Granma’s Hydraulic Resources authorities in an interview with IPS in August 2024.

A month after that interview, the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) announced that over 30,000 people in the province lacked access to water services, out of a total of more than 600,000 nationwide.

In Havana, where supply issues may not be as prolonged as in Manzanillo, they are more widespread: around 130,000 “customers” were affected last September.

“I’ve gone up to two weeks without water due to a supposed break in the (hydraulic) network. Then the issue gets fixed, but comes up again soon after. In the 40 years I’ve lived here, there hasn’t been a single day when I wasn’t unsure if the water would come or not,” Flora Alvarez, a 43-year-old accountant living in Centro Habana, told IPS.

A worker from Aguas de La Habana supervises the filling of a water tanker truck that supplies drinking water to residents of Havana communities. By early February 2025, over 600,000 people in Cuba were receiving water permanently through tanker trucks. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS

An Infrastructure Problem

Cuba lacks large rivers and, being an island, faces the constant risk of saline intrusion into its groundwater. It relies heavily on rainfall, so droughts severely impact water supply, especially in the agricultural sector.

However, 2024 was not as marked by this climate change effect as previous years: accumulated rainfall reached 97% of the national historical average, and reservoirs were at 63% of their total capacity, or 98% of the usual level for early February, when the INRH presented its annual report.

The problem begins with over 40% of pumped water being lost due to leaks in major pipelines, hydraulic network branches – sometimes visible on dozens or hundreds of Havana streets – and even from dripping faucets in homes.

Hydraulic sector officials acknowledge the existence of 2,500 to 3,000 such leaks.

Secondly, pump equipment breakdowns or interruptions due to frequent power outages, characteristic of Cuba’s energy crisis, also degrade service quality, which not everyone has access to.

In this Caribbean island nation of about 10 million inhabitants, only 83.9% are supplied water by public Water and Sanitation companies, 4.5% more than at the end of 2023, according to the annual report.

The INRH acknowledged in its report that this improvement is largely due to a decrease in population.

Meanwhile, investment in creating new connections to hydraulic networks and other sanitation work has slowed, reaching only 45% of the planned target, due to the negative impact of U.S. economic sanctions on Cuba and unpaid debts to creditors.

Additionally, only 61.2% of the population has access to “risk-free” drinking water services, 1.6% more than in 2023.

The “risk-free” definition aligns with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “safely managed” standard, which refers to access to “drinking water from an improved water source that is located on premises, available when needed, and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination.”

By early February, over 600,000 people were receiving water permanently through tanker trucks, and nearly 1.5 million through “easy access” points, where people can fetch water in less than 30 minutes, including travel and waiting time.

However, these figures do not account for the thousands affected by “temporary” pipeline breaks, who must then carry water from easy access points or rely on tanker trucks that arrive as frequently as fuel supplies allow –  another recurring issue in Cuba.

The company Aguas de La Habana lays a high-density polyethylene pipe as part of the installation of new hydraulic networks in the Cuban capital. In 2024, the government installed 241 kilometers of new water supply networks, mains, and connections to alleviate chronic water supply issues. Credit: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS

Slow Progress

“The goals and targets planned for 2024 were met at an acceptable level, considering the adverse scenario,” summarizes the INRH’s annual report.

This optimism is based on the fact that, despite only resolving around 60% of public complaints or reports in several provinces, 241 kilometers of networks, mains, and new water supply connections were installed.

Or an average of 512 liters of water per inhabitant per day, representing 91.8% of the planned amount, though distribution remains uneven, as the figures show.

The INRH also worked on installing 32 water treatment plants, 10 wastewater treatment plants, and 9 desalination plants, as well as replacing pumping equipment and installing nearly 25,000 water meters, useful for promoting water conservation with tariffs based on actual consumption. Without these, many households pay a fixed monthly fee.

However, authorities predict that the core water problems will continue to “flow” through 2025, despite the government’s multimillion-dollar investments to improve the situation.

 

The US axes vital HIV/Aids funding, which South Africa's health minister says is a "wake-up call".

A selection of the week's best photos from across the African continent and beyond.

A selection of the week's best photos from across the African continent and beyond.

COP16 President Susana Muhamad. Parties to the UN Biodiversity adopted decisions to implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. Credit: IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin/Mike Muzurakis.

By Tanka Dhakal
BLOOMINGTON, U.S.A & ROME, Feb 28 2025 (IPS)

The second round of the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP16, concluded in the early hours of Friday, February 28 in Rome, with an agreement to raise the funds needed to protect biodiversity.

COP16 was suspended in Cali, Colombia, in 2024 without any major financial support decision to support biodiversity conservation. But in the second round of the conference in Rome, Italy, governments agreed on a financial strategy to address the action targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which was adopted in 2022 with the aim of closing the biodiversity finance gap.

In a final document, all parties to the biodiversity convention agreed to mobilize resources to close the global biodiversity finance gap and achieve the target of mobilizing at least 200 billion dollars a year by 2030, including international flows of USD 20 billion per year by 2025. Which will be rising to USD 30 billion by 2030.

In the closing press briefing in the early hours of Friday, COP16 President Susana Muhamad said the Rome conference came to a successful end. “It was a remarkable achievement of being able to approve all the decisions, especially the most contentious, difficult decisions.” She said, “And not in a way that made the parties feel that they were compromising their main objectives.”

The agreement includes the commitment to establish permanent arrangements for the financial mechanism in accordance with Articles 21 and 39 of the Convention while working on improving existing financial instruments. It also includes a roadmap of the activities and decision-making milestones until 2030.

COP16 president Muhamad also said that the agreement between governments in Rome will help bring the agendas of biodiversity and climate change together. In November, Belem in the Amazon rainforest region of Brazil will be hosting the UN climate conference, COP30.

“The importance of these resolutions that have been approved in Cali and also here of the cooperation between the different conventions,” she said.

The biodiversity COP also adopted a Strategy for Resource Mobilization to mobilize the funds needed for implementation of the KMGBF. Which includes public finance from national and subnational governments, private and philanthropic resources, multilateral development banks, blended finance, and other approaches.

The Cali Fund

The Rome gathering of parties also agreed to establish a dedicated fund for fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of Digital Sequence Information on Genetic Research (DSI), known as the Cali Fund.

The fund was launched on 26 February 2025—at least 50 percent of its resources will be allocated to indigenous peoples and local communities, recognizing their role as custodians of biodiversity. Large companies and other major entities benefiting commercially from the use of DSI are expected to contribute a portion of their profits or revenues in sectors and subsectors highly dependent on the use of DSI.

Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, plant and animal breeding, agricultural biotechnology, industrial biotechnology, laboratory equipment associated with the sequencing and use of digital sequence information on genetic resources, and information, scientific and technical services related to digital sequence information on genetic resources, including artificial intelligence. Academic, public databases, public research institutions and companies operating in the concerned sectors but not relying on DSI are exempt from contributions to the Cali Fund.

The fund is part of a multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources adopted at COP15 in December 2022 alongside the KMGBF.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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• COP16 Delivers on Indigenous Peoples, Digital Sequencing, But Fails on Finance
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Cargo Ship and Cranes at Hamburg Port. Credit: Wolfgang Weiser

By Matt Freeman
LONDON, Feb 28 2025 (IPS)

Who bears the brunt in trade wars? The answer is absolutely everyone. Not just the countries enacting or retaliating with tariffs and export bans, and not just the citizens of those countries. It’s everyone.

Global headlines have been warning of looming trade wars between the United States, Mexico, Canada and China. Though many of the tariffs floated by President Donald Trump have since been lifted or delayed, many are rightly concerned that trade restrictions will be an all too present part of our future.

Trade wars cause tremendous economic damage to countries affected by them; to companies, workers and suppliers; and to the consumers to whom these costs are invariably passed.

But the damage is not only economic. There are profound implications to both global and national food and nutrition security as well. Though many of these measures seek to protect homegrown industries, or in the case of U.S. tariffs – to protect borders, they all too often lead to increased food prices and supply chain disruptions that undermine access to healthy and nutritious food we all need to thrive.

The recently threatened U.S. tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada are a good example of how these kinds of restrictions can impact what ends up on our plates. In 2023, the US imported $195.9 billion of its agricultural produce from foreign suppliers, with almost half of this ($86 billion) coming from its two closest neighbors.

Two farmworkers pick food in a greenhouse.

When you look at more nutrient-rich foods, the impacts are even more pronounced: the US imports approximately 60% of its fresh fruit and 40% of its fresh vegetables from abroad.

Economists warn that such measures would not only strain consumers’ wallets but also disrupt supply chains, leading to potential longer-term shortages and reducing the availability of diverse and nutritious foods.

This is not a price that US policymakers should be willing to pay.

47.4 million Americans – 1 in 7 people, including 1 in 5 children – are already experiencing food insecurity, meaning many lack access to the basic vitamins and minerals they need to power their bodies and fuel their minds. Among the most vulnerable groups – communities of color, rural communities, veterans, seniors, and low-income households – these inequalities are even more stark.

The impacts can easily stretch beyond the borders of North America. The interconnectedness of our global food systems – the complex web of processes that take our food from farm to fork – mean that trade restrictions in one region can have ripple effects worldwide.

The World Economic Forum highlights that the combined effects of the pandemic and geopolitical tensions have exposed the fragility of global supply chains essential for food security. The outbreak of war in Ukraine, for instance, sent shockwaves through markets for key commodities like fertiliser and grains, demonstrating how restriction in the trade or production of essential goods in one part of the world can exacerbate the vulnerabilities of the whole system.

As with most things in life, trade policies have distinct implications for women and girls. In many developing countries, women play a crucial role in agriculture and food production. Trade barriers that increase input costs or limit market access can disproportionately affect women farmers, reducing their incomes and economic independence.

Additionally, higher food prices resulting from tariffs can strain household budgets, where women often bear the responsibility of managing limited resources and the health of their families. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) notes, whilst increased trade can provide women with better job opportunities and access to resources, trade restrictions can limit these opportunities and exacerbate existing gender disparities.

Fears about trade restrictions and breakdowns in global supply chains lead some countries to shift policies toward self-sufficiency, focusing on meeting the basic needs of production locally. While it’s easy to see the advantages of an approach like this in terms of control and protecting farmers at home, it is often a struggle for countries to efficiently produce such a wide range of food products domestically due to constraints including weather patterns and arable land, which can result in less varied diets and increased malnutrition.

The FAO suggests conceptualizing food self-sufficiency along a continuum. Others have described an optimal approach as a balanced one, embracing open trade while also enhancing domestic production by diversifying supply sources, investing in resilient agricultural practices, and fostering international cooperation to ensure stable and affordable food supplies.

Ultimately, while trade restrictions are often implemented with protective intentions, they can have adverse effects on food and nutrition security. They can increase food prices, disrupt supply chains, and disproportionately impact vulnerable populations.

To ensure equitable access to nutritious food for healthy populations both home and abroad, policymakers should carefully consider the broader implications of trade measures and strive for solutions that encourage both global cooperation and domestic resilience.

Matt Freeman is Executive Director of Stronger Foundations for Nutrition.

IPS UN Bureau

 

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Explosions during a rally held by a rebel group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed at least 11 people and injured around 60 others.

Videos show chaotic scenes with bodies on the streets in Bukavu, a city recently captured by the rebels.

The 14-year-old from London brought a case against his parents after being sent to school in Ghana.