“Exploited and mistreated”: South Asia’s all-female health workers fight for recognition
From India to Pakistan and Nepal, thousands of low-paid rural community health workers are demanding higher wages and labour rights. ANNIE BANERJI, ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM and AADESH SUBEDI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report…
South Asia home to world’s highest number of child brides – UN
New Delhi, IndiaReuters South Asia is home to highest number of child brides in the world as increased financial pressures and school closures due to COVID-19 forced families to marry off their young daughters, according to new estimates released by UNICEF on Wednesday. There were 290 million child brides in the region, accounting for 45 […]
Heightened vulnerability: South Asia’s poorest city dwellers bear brunt of worsening floods
ATHAR PARVAIZ, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on fears marginalised city dwellers across South Asia face even harsher threats ahead as rains becomes more erratic and intense…
Incomes dip for South Asia’s women home workers as heat rises
Chennai, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation Rising heat and heavier rains across South Asia, as the planet warms, are forcing home-based women workers to cut down on hours as their houses get hotter or are flooded often, resulting in a loss of income they cannot afford, researchers said on Thursday. In a survey of 202 women in […]
Wow!: Homestays open doors to financial freedom for women in South Asia
ANNIE BANERJI and ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, report on how homestay schemes are broadening the horizons of women…
Remote learning is setting back millions of South Asian children – UNICEF
New Delhi, IndiaReuters Hundreds of millions of children in South Asian are suffering because their schools have been closed because of the coronavirus but they lack online devices and connections for remote learning, UNICEF said on Thursday. Authorities should prioritise the safe reopening of schools because even before the pandemic, almost 60 per cent of children […]
Quick facts – Grief and neglect: 10 factory disasters in South Asia
New Delhi, IndiaThomson Reuters Foundation A massive fire raged through a juice-making factory in Bangladesh on Friday, killing at least 52 workers as the flames forced many of them to jump from upper floors. Many others were feared trapped in the fire, which broke out on the ground floor of a six-storey building late on […]
Fund nature protection now or face huge losses, says World Bank
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation The global economy faces annual losses of $US2.7 trillion by 2030 if ecological tipping points are reached and countries fail to invest more in protecting and restoring nature, the World Bank said on Thursday, calling for a greener COVID-19 recovery. In its first Economic Case for Nature report, the bank […]
“Cooling gap” widens, despite rising heat, as pandemic hikes poverty
London, UKThomson Reuters Foundation Rising poverty, as the coronavirus pandemic slows economies, means an extra 50 million people this year may struggle without air conditioners, fans or other cooling devices needed to keep them healthy and productive, researchers warned Wednesday. As governments see their budgets squeezed, some will lack cash to expand access to electricity, […]
South Asia surpasses grim milestone of 15 million COVID-19 cases: Reuters tally
Reuters Coronavirus infections in the South Asia sub-region surpassed the grim milestone of 15 million on Saturday, a Reuters tally shows, led by India’s record daily infections and vaccine shortages. South Asia – India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka – accounts for 11 per cent of global cases and almost six per […]