CNS: August 2024

Feminist world-building: Creative energies, collective journeys

watch the video | listen to podcast | हिन्दी

... So goes the theme of the 4th Asia Pacific Feminist Forum (APFF) which will be held in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand next month. This theme is a pointer towards channelising the energies of people of all genders who work to defend human rights and promote gender equality to collectively resist the patriarchal, militarised and greed-driven world we are living in, and envisioning a feminist world order.

This special Podcast features Dr Po-Lin Chan, Regional Advisor (HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections - STIs) at World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office, and Dr Ishwar Gilada, who is a part of Organising Committee of 25th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) and Governing Council of International AIDS Society (IAS). They were in conversation with CNS Founder Executive Director and Managing Editor Shobha Shukla in Munich Germany. CNS is among the official media partners of AIDS 2024.

Opening and closing instrumental piano music is played by Ms Reya Iyer Shukla from UK.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, TuneIn, Podtail, BluBrry, Himalaya, ListenNotes, American Podcasts, CastBox FM, Ivy FM, Player FM, iVoox, and other podcast streaming platforms.

This special Podcast features leaders from 2024 Asia Pacific Feminist Forum #APFF4 (Chiang Mai, Thailand: 12-14 September 2024). The theme of APFF4 is "Feminist world-building: Creative energies, collective journeys." Panelists include: Abia Akram, a disability rights activist and the founder and CEO of the National Forum of Women with Disabilities in Pakistan; Eni Lestari, a migrant rights activist and the Chairperson of International Migrants Alliance; Ivy Josiah, a women's rights activist who has led Malaysia’s Women’s Aid Organisation for 20 years as its Past President and Executive Director. They are in conversation with CNS founder Executive Director and feminist leader Shobha Shukla.

For more information on APFF4, click here.
Opening and closing instrumental piano music is played by a 7 years old feminist Ms Tara Iyer Shukla from UK.

Listen to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube Podcasts, TuneIn, Podtail, BluBrry, ListenNotes, American Podcasts, CastBox FM, Ivy FM, Player FM, iVoox, and other podcast streaming platforms.

Transformative empowerment is mostly not given by ‘experts from the outside,’ but happens when the most affected people themselves rise to take back power to transform their lives and wellbeing. “When we put people first, then we cannot just address one or two issues they face,” rightly says Amrita Sarkar of India HIV/AIDS Alliance who has worked on a range of issues related to transgender people since last 23 years.

Call to register

The United Nations General Assembly will convene a High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) for the second time during its 79th session in New York on 26th September 2024. The theme of the meeting is “Investing in the present and securing our future together: Accelerating multi-sectoral global, regional and national actions to address Antimicrobial Resistance.”

Reaching the unreached migrants in unorganised workforce with health services

According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment of Government of India, the workers in the unorganised sector constitute about 93% of the total workforce in the country. A lot of them are informal migrant workers who live in difficult conditions and are most likely to be left behind when it comes to accessing healthcare and social protection services.

AIDS-related deaths have declined worldwide except in Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. The latest data from joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released last month shows that as compared to 2010, AIDS-related deaths have declined globally by more than half (51%) by 2023 but increased by 34.4% in Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.

"No one is safe until everyone is safe," said Dr Umesh Dahal, Director General, Department of Livestock Services, Government of Nepal. He was referring to antimicrobial resistance or drug resistance when microbes (such as bacteria, virus, fungi or parasites) stop responding to medicines – which makes diseases difficult (or impossible) to treat.

When countries are unable to repay debts, domestic financing for health, education or social protection gets slashed which disproportionately affects the already impoverished and marginalised communities in the Global South. Richer nations and financial institutions of the Global North have relentlessly imposed neoliberal policies that force Global South countries to prioritise debt repayment over human rights (or risk debt default) through a mix of regressive anti-people taxation, privatisation of public services, deregulation and cuts on public spending that undermine essential services guaranteed under international and national laws.

"Even the healthiest amongst us could face a life-threatening situation through a minor injury, routine surgery, or common lung infection, if antimicrobials fail,” said Dr Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative to Nepal. “For those with pre-existing conditions like cancers, HIV, or diabetes, an untreatable infection can become an unexpected and deadly adversary.”

While community-led organisations are playing a critical role in the people-centred delivery of HIV prevention, care and treatment services, financial sustainability often becomes a major roadblock for them. Social entrepreneurship could be an innovative business model to generate revenue and keep them afloat, despite shrinking donor funding. Apart from creating financial stability, social enterprises also impact innovative HIV prevention, treatment and care models, new partnerships with the private sector, and increased inclusion for gender diverse people.

South Asia regional media workshop to combat AMR to take place in Kathmandu

Health TV Online, Nepal

Health TV Online, Kathmandu- Nepal is gearing up to host the first South Asia Regional Media Workshop to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) on August 7th in Kathmandu. Recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the foremost global public health and development threats, AMR poses significant risks to the South Asia region.