Sweet Hope to End Bitter Pills for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis

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Health

Rallying call to end TB by 2030. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

BULAWAYO, Jul 15 2025 (IPS) – Every day, Yondela Kolweni has to hold down her son, who screams and fights when it is time for his daily life-saving TB tablets—a painful reminder of her battle with the world’s top infectious killer disease.

“It is a fight I win feeling awful about what I have to do,” says Kolweni (30), a Cape Town resident and a TB survivor. “The tablets are bitter, and he spits them out most of the time, and that reminds me of the time I had to take the same pills.”

Kolweni’s five-year-old son is battling Multidrug Resistant TB (MDR TB), a vicious form of TB that is rising among children globally.

The global burden of MDR-TB among children and adolescents has increased from 1990 to 2019, particularly in regions with lower social and economic development levels, according to a recent study. In addition, the top three highest incidence rates of MDR TB in 2019 were recorded in Southern sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and South Asia, while the top three highest rates of deaths in the same period were recorded in Southern, Central, and Eastern sub-Saharan Africa.

South Africa is one of 30 countries that account for 80 percent of all TB cases in the world and has the most cases of drug-resistant TB.

A Bitter Pill to Swallow

Kolweni’s son was diagnosed with MDR-TB five years ago, having tested positive for TB which has affected his grandmother and his mother. He was immediately on treatment, a drug cocktail that included moxifloxacin—a pill not for the yellow-livered.

“There were two medications he had to take, and there was one specifically, the yellow one, that he did not like, and with the color he knew what it was,” Kolweni told IPS in an interview, explaining a daily battle to get her son to take his meds.

It was down to a fight. She crushed the tablets, mixed them with a bit of water, and fed them through a syringe.

“We would sometimes hold him or wrap a towel around him so that we could feed him the medication, but he would still spit it out, which meant he was not taking the dosage he was meant to take,” said Kolweni. “We then came up with the idea to put his tablets in his yogurt, but that technique did not work because, being a smart kid, he took the bait but would soon spit out the medication.”

Moxifloxacin, an exceptionally bitter medicine, is one of the key drugs in the new all-oral treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB). The treatment is a combination of the drugs Bedaquiline, Pretomanid, Linezolid and Moxifloxacin, known as BPaLM. The BPaLM regimen is specially formulated for children but is a bitter pill to swallow.

Sweet Medicine

But there is sweet hope. A new study, by Stellenbosch University and the TB Alliance, found that sweet, bitter-masked versions of Moxifloxacin significantly improve kids’ willingness to take the drug—easing the burden on parents and boosting treatment adherence.

Two formulations of moxifloxacin have been identified by children as tasting better than new generic versions of products currently on the market.

The results from the ChilPref ML study—a Unitaid-funded effort sponsored and led by Stellenbosch University in collaboration with TB Alliance—will help improve MDR TB treatment and adherence in children.

Dr. Graeme Hoddinott, of Stellenbosch University and the principal investigator of the study, notes that children cannot be treated in a humane manner for drug-resistant TB if the medicines taste so terrible that children refuse them or must be forced to take them.

Children diagnosed with drug-sensitive TB have good outcomes even within the four months because there is usually one tablet given, and there is a child-friendly formulation that dissolves easily to be given on a spoon or in a syringe, Hoddinott said. However, for drug-resistant TB, the situation is complicated. Most drugs for MDR TB are no longer used because of their toxicity and have been replaced by new drugs.

MDR-TB drugs are not child-friendly, Hoddinott admits. The active ingredient that kills TB in Moxifloxacin makes the pills incredibly bad tasting for children who have to take the medication daily for between six and nine months in cases of MDR TB.

“These drugs are incredibly bad tasting; they are genuinely awful to a point where adults who have been on extended TB treatment have been unable to administer the same drugs to their children because the smell evokes the time when they were sick,” Hoddinott told IPS. “It is a trauma to administer such bad-tasting drugs to a child, both for the parent and the child, particularly for the young children.”

The ChilPref study recruited just under 100 healthy children, ages 5–17, from two diverse settings in South Africa. The children evaluated flavor blends using a ‘swish and spit’ taste panel—tasting the medicine, which was dissolved in water, and then spitting it out without ingesting any of it.

Each child participant ranked the flavor blends among the three from each manufacturer and also rated the taste, smell and other characteristics of each. For moxifloxacin, there was a clear, strong preference for the new flavor blends (“bitter masker” and orange for Macleods, and strawberry and raspberry and tutti frutti for Micro Labs) over the existing commercially available flavors for both manufacturers. For Linezolid, there was no preference between the flavor blends.

“Ensuring children have access to effective and palatable TB treatments is a crucial step in improving adherence and treatment outcomes,” said Koteswara Rao Inabathina, one of the study’s authors and CMC Project Manager at TB Alliance.

“Through close collaboration with manufacturers, we have addressed critical unmet needs by developing practical solutions that make available and effective drug-resistant TB treatments not only accessible but also palatable and acceptable for children.”

The results of the ChilPref study showed that children preferred two new flavor blends of moxifloxacin, produced by Macleods Pharmaceuticals, India, and Micro Labs Pharmaceuticals, India. The results were communicated to the manufacturers, who are already updating their products.

“We are not surprised that a lot of kids did not like any of the tastings because we knew that they were horrible taste-wise, but we got a very clear signal for both manufacturers that the flavor blends we recommended were more preferred,” Hoddinott said. “We changed which flavor was going to market with relatively simple research.”

Dr. Cherise Scott, Senior Technical Manager at Unitaid, said the easier it was for children to take their medicines regularly, the more likely they were to complete their treatment successfully.

“We will not allow children to be neglected in global health responses simply because their needs are more complex.”

A Promising Treatment for MDR TB

As multi-drug-resistant TB transmission increases among children and adolescents, the development of new treatments is imperative, Hoddinott explained.

Moxifloxacin may also be increasingly used in the future for the treatment of drug-susceptible TB, which affects an estimated 1.2 million children globally each year.

Drug-resistant TB, has previously been one of the most difficult diseases to manage because of limited child-friendly treatment options, but scientists have made strides in developing new treatments for children, explains Dr. Anthony Garcia-Prats, one of the study authors and an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Now we are making sure that these medicines are appropriate for children, starting with an aspect that children and parents say is critical: taste,” Garcia-Prats said in a statement.

The new treatment is given when TB is either resistant to rifampicin, a critical first-line drug, or rifampicin and isoniazid, another first-line drug combination. These resistant strains are collectively referred to as RR/MDR-TB.

Annually there are an estimated 32,000 new cases of RR/MDR-TB among children 14 years and under—a population that is extremely sensitive to the taste of medicine, according to researchers.

This discovery could help improve adherence to TB medication and move a step closer towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 to end TB by 2030.

“It is not a silver bullet,” Hoddinott cautions. “It does not solve everything, as people affected by TB still face many other challenges, and even the preferred flavor blends still do not taste nice. But, as part of the overall fight against TB in children, it’s an important step.”

Kolweni welcomes the development of masked TB medication.

“My experience with TB medication was not nice, and for children it is worse, and I think flavored tablets would make it easy for children to take, like  Gummies,” she said. “Every child loves flavors; even a suspension would be nice. My son would love it, and I will have no trouble getting him to take his medicine.”

Note: This article is brought to you by IPS Noram, in collaboration with INPS Japan and Soka Gakkai International, in consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Man, Sea, Algae: HOMO SARGASSUM’s Stirring Critique of Human Culpability in the Caribbean

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Arts

“Plastic Ocean” by Alejandro Duràn, one of the artworks previously on display in the UN lobby. Credit: Jennifer Levine/IPS

“Plastic Ocean” by Alejandro Duràn, one of the artworks previously on display in the UN lobby. Credit: Jennifer Levine/IPS

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 14 2025 (IPS) – The United Nations’ HOMO SARGASSUM exhibition served as a public immersion into the marine world and called upon viewers to take action in the face of the climate crisis, specifically regarding invasive species and water pollution.

For the past month, an art exhibition entitled HOMO SARGASSUM took up residence in the New York headquarters lobby in connection to World Ocean Month and the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. Organized by the Tout-Monde Art Foundation. In its final week on display, visitors walked through the various projected films, sculptures and photographs. The exhibit closed on July 11.

The work is described as an immersive multisensorial art and science exhibition intended to bring together various experts in science, scholarship and creativity from the Caribbean to share their perspectives on the prevalent environmental and social issue. The exhibit is primarily an introspective study of sargassum, a type of seaweed or algae commonly found on the coast of the Americas and in the Caribbean.

Sargassum, which has proliferated significantly in recent years due to pollution and chemical fertilizer, releases toxic gases that harm nearby residents in water and on land. Animals struggle to survive, and humans experience respiratory failures and burns. This algae has inspired fear since Christopher Columbus recorded his crew’s sighting of the plant. Sargassum has also become a symbol recently for climate change in the Caribbean as well as the coexisting nature of marine and human life.

Co-curator and executive and artistic director of the Tout-Monde Art Foundation Vanessa Selk described the exhibit as a journey rather than a singular experience. She said, “Much like sargassum migrating through the Atlantic Ocean, we encounter natural and human-made challenges such as pandemics, pollutants and hurricanes. This narrative of the global ecological crisis, reflected in silent floating algae, warns us to change our existing paradigms and consider ourselves as one with our environment.”

Billy Gerard Frank, one of the featured artists in HOMO SARGASSUM, echoes this sentiment.

Frank created a mixed-media piece entitled “Poetics of Relation and Entanglement” with a painting featuring Columbus’ archival notes and sargassum pigment, as well as a film he shot on the island of Carriacou. The film centered on a large metal tank surrounded by sargassum, which had washed on shore and rusted onto the massive object. He specifically shot the film around the sargassum and the tank, an eyesore for the locals who used the beach and a barrier to boats trying to leave. Growing up in Grenada, Frank recalls sargassum as a mild inconvenience but explained how it has become more prevalent due to climate change.

However, only in recent years has conversation around sargassum shifted towards the impact of climate change and geographical inequities, like, as Frank noted, how smaller islands that produce significantly lower levels of pollution are the worst affected by climate change through natural disasters.

He referenced the recent Hurricane Beryl, a Category 5 storm that “completely devastated” islands like Carriacou. His inclusion of Columbus’ notes brings a decolonial perspective: the threats Caribbean islands face from mounting climate change are exacerbated by their history of occupation, mostly from European colonial powers. In a global organization like the UN where historical, geographical and environmental context is key to making any decision, such an interdisciplinary perspective is key.

From countless gifts from member states to various donations, the UN has been an artistic hub since its inception. As both a tourist attraction and space of work for international diplomats, the UN is a particularly ripe space for more radical, political art—notably Guernica, a tapestry based on a Picasso painting portraying the Spanish Civil War—due to its broad audience.

Speaking to IPS, Frank shared how influential art has been in political, social and intellectual movements, saying, “historically…creators, writers, and artists have been able to forge ahead and create new spaces…it gives us some hope that our work and the calling are even more important.”

Frank also told IPS how important it was for him to have the work featured at the UN.

“Because the UN is also a site of consternation right now, specifically with everything that’s happening globally. And in fact, that’s the space where this type of work should be, where there should be more conversation, and a space in which it could create a critical dialogue amongst people who work there, but also the public facing that too.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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The Risks Artificial Intelligence Pose for the Global South

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Artificial Intelligence

UN Secretary General António Guterres addresses the session “Strengthening multilateralism, economic - financial affairs and artificial intelligence” on July 6 at the 17th summit of BRICS in Rio de Janeiro. For the first time ever, artificial intelligence was a major topic of concern at the BRICS summit. Credit: UN Photo/Ana Carolina Fernandes

UN Secretary General António Guterres addresses the session “Strengthening multilateralism, economic – financial affairs and artificial intelligence” on July 6 at the 17th summit of BRICS in Rio de Janeiro. For the first time ever, artificial intelligence was a major topic of concern at the BRICS summit. Credit: UN Photo/Ana Carolina Fernandes

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 14 2025 (IPS) – Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly developing and leaving its mark across the globe. Yet the implementation of AI risks widening the gap between the Global North and South.

It is projected that the AI market’s global revenue will increase by 19.6 percent each year. By 2030, AI could contribute USD 15.7 trillion to the global economy. However, the increases to nations’ GDP will be unequally dispersed, with North America and China experiencing the most gains while the Global South gains far less.

The risks of AI to the Global South

Due to smaller capacities to fund research, development and implementation, fewer countries in the Global South are adopting AI technology. Access to affordable AI compute to train AI models is one of the AI field’s greatest barriers to entry in the Global South, according to the 2024 UN report, “Governing AI for Humanity.”

Further, AI is designed to create profitable market extraction that does not benefit the global majority, according to Vilas Dhar, President and Trustee of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. As countries in the Global North are AI’s primary investors, it is being developed to address their needs.

“The result is a quiet erosion of political and economic autonomy,” he said. “Without deliberate intervention, AI risks becoming a mechanism for reinforcing historical patterns of exploitation through technical means. It also risks losing the incredible value of diverse, globally minded inputs into designing our collective AI future.”

Across the world, people risk losing their jobs to AI, but many countries in the Global South are reliant on labor intensive industries, and AI poses a greater threat to increasing unemployment and poverty. Particularly children, women, youths, people with disabilities, older workers, creatives and people with jobs susceptible to automation are at risk.

According to Daron Acemoglu, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, labor-replacing AI poses a greater threat to workers in the developing world, as capital-intensive technology may not be useful in these nations where oftentimes capital is scarce and labor is abundant and cheap. Technology that prioritizes labor-intensive production is better suited to their comparative advantage.

“Because advanced economies have no reason to invest in such labor-intensive technologies, the trajectory of technological change will increasingly disfavor poor countries,” he said.

If these trends continue, these nations will experience increased unemployment and fall behind in the deployment of capital-intensive AI, due to limited financial resources and digital skill sets. More AI policies and guidelines, as well as education on data privacy and algorithmic bias, could assist in reducing this inequality.

Evidently, AI threatens to widen the gap between the Global North and South, as AI capacities are consolidated within a small group of institutions and regions. In Dhar’s view, AI will need to be designed to serve people and problems rather than be focused on profit maximization.

“If left unaddressed, this imbalance will cement a way of thinking about the world that mirrors the development of the Internet or social media – a process we do not want to replicate,” Dhar said.

Opportunities of the new technology

But the development of AI also poses opportunities for the Global South.

AI could design context-specific systems for local areas in the Global South that are not just based on the Global North, according to Dhar. “It can unlock new models of inclusion and resilience,” he said.

For example, AI could aid farmers in decision-making by informing them of weather and drought predictions using geospatial intelligence, as well as of marketing price information. AI could also help train farmers and other producers. It can also be used to improve education and healthcare in nations where these are major issues harming their populations and stunting development.

Acemoglu said that AI should be developed to complement rather than replace human labor for these benefits to become possible. “That will require forward-looking leadership on the part of policymakers,” he said.

AI in conflict

AI is also starting to make an appearance in conflict. In Ukraine, autonomous drones are being used, which are capable of tracking and engaging enemies, as well as BAD.2 model robot dogs, which are ground drones that can survey areas for enemies. Autonomous machine guns are also used, in which AI helps spot and target enemies.

The use of AI in conflict poses an ethical dilemma. AI could protect human lives on one side of the conflict but pose a great threat to the lives on the other end of the battlefield. This also raises the question of whether AI should be given the power to engage in harm.

But perhaps the use of AI can reduce the number of people engaging in conflicts harming developing countries and move these people to other sectors where they can realize more potential and aid their country’s economic development.

What international frameworks should do

Clear international frameworks must be established to prevent a rise in inequality and a greater gap between the Global North and South.

For the first time ever, AI was a major topic of discussion at the 17th BRICS summit, which serves as a coordination forum for nations from the Global South, in Rio de Janeiro. BRICS member countries signed the Leaders’ Declaration on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence, which presents guidelines to ensure AI is developed and used responsibly to advance sustainability and inclusive growth.

The declaration called on members of the UN to promote including emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) and the Global South in decision-making regarding AI.

“New technologies must operate under a governance model that is fair, inclusive, and equitable. The development of AI must not become a privilege for a handful of countries, nor a tool of manipulation in the hands of millionaires,” Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said at the summit.

However, the UN report “Governing AI for Humanity” found that 118 countries, most of which are in the Global South, were not part of a sample of non-UN AI governance initiatives, while seven countries, all of which are in the Global North, were included in all initiatives.

According to Dhar, global governance must create a more equitable distribution of power that entails sharing ownership and embedding the Global South at every level of institutions, agreements and investments, rather than simply for consultation. These nations must also be aided in building capacity, sharing infrastructure, scientific discovery and participation in creating global frameworks, he said.

In his remarks at the BRICS summit, UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his concern over the weaponization of AI and stressed the importance of AI governance that is focused on equity. He said in order for this to be done, the current “multipolar world” must be addressed.

“We cannot govern AI effectively—and fairly—without confronting deeper, structural imbalances in our global system,” Guterres said.

Dhar emphasized that the inclusion of every person in the conversation on AI is crucial to creating legitimate global technological governance.

The future of AI is being negotiated with immediacy and urgency,” Dhar said. “Whether it becomes a force for collective progress or a new vector for inequality depends on who is empowered to shape it.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Conflict, Climate Change Push Migrants in Yemen to Return to Their Home Countries

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Humanitarian Emergencies

People in Yemen impacted by war and climate shocks receive aid from the IOM. Photo credit: Majed Mohammed/IOM Yemen

People in Yemen impacted by war and climate shocks receive aid from the IOM. Photo credit: Majed Mohammed/IOM Yemen

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 13 2025 (IPS) – Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, driven by conflict, economic collapse and climate shocks, leaves migrants desperate to return to their home countries.

In March 2025, the Global Data Institute Displacement Tracking Matrix recorded that 1,234 non-Yemeni migrants left the country.

Once a critical transit and destination point, Yemen is unable to support incoming asylum seekers. Yemenis are struggling to survive amidst a decade-long conflict and worsening climate change impacts. Over 4.8 million people are internally displaced, and 20 million rely on aid.

Most migrants come from Ethiopia and Somalia, searching for safety or work in the Gulf countries. However, many become stranded in Yemen due to the harsh conditions and abuse.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that in 2024, around 60,900 migrants arrived in Yemen with no means to survive. Subsequently, they are exposed to severe protection risks, including physical and sexual violence, exploitation, abduction, detention, and debt bondage.

“With limited humanitarian resources and few service providers on the ground, migrants often suffer from hunger, untreated medical conditions, and lack of shelter. Many are stranded without access to even the most basic services,” said the IOM to IPS.

“Meanwhile, public hostility toward migrants has increased, as they are increasingly viewed as competing with vulnerable Yemeni populations for scarce assistance. The ongoing conflict in Yemen further compounds these vulnerabilities, with migrants caught in airstrikes, exposed to explosive ordnance, and lacking access to safety.”

Women and girls are the most vulnerable group of migrants traveling through Yemen. They are disproportionately threatened with gender-based and sexual abuse.

“I’ve been beaten, detained, and exploited in Yemen,” said a 24-year-old Ethiopian woman to IOM. “Most nights, I went hungry. After everything that happened to me, I am happy to go back to my home and family.”

Severe climate impacts also make it increasingly difficult for both migrants and Yemenis to access food and water. Around 17.1 million Yemenis are struggling with food insecurity, and climate-related issues are only exacerbating this crisis.

The June 2025 Migration, Environment, and Climate Change (MECC) Country Report on Yemen by the IOM says that Yemen is the 12th most water-scarce country in the world. This significantly influences food insecurity, as rising temperatures caused by climate change create unpredictable rainfall.

In some areas, severe droughts are turning fertile farmland into arid deserts, forcing farmers to plant new crops or move in search of better conditions. Meanwhile, in other communities, heavy rain is sparking extreme flooding. Impacted areas are decimated by soil erosion and disease from contaminated water.

“Areas that used to experience heavy rainfall have now suffered from drought, and farmers have to adapt to this drought by either planting drought-resistant crops, changing their livelihoods, or migrating to another location. And some areas used to suffer from drought but now experience heavy rainfall, where the intensity of rainfall has led to the emergence of new diseases brought by floods,” said an official in the General Authority for Environmental Protection responsible for planning and information to the IOM.

Together, brutal conflict and a lack of access to vital necessities significantly limit migrants’ ability to return to their home countries. The IOM reported that in 2020, around 18,200 people risked their lives traveling by sea. Overcrowded vessels traversing rough waters often capsize, killing dozens on board.

For others, their journey back home leads them through heavily war-inflicted areas. Without proper assistance, migrants are left to navigate through dangerous frontlines, risking death from armed violence and landmines.

However, programs like the IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) aim to facilitate migrants’ safe return home. VHR is one of the only solutions for stranded migrants to voluntarily return in a safe and dignified manner.

So far, the IOM has helped 66 migrants safely return this year. This is a significant drop compared to the 5,200 individuals returned in 2024.

“IOM provides lifesaving protection and health service through Migrant Response Points (MRPs) in Aden, Sanaa and Marib and Community-based Care centers in Aden and Sanaa, as well as through mobile teams along the migratory routes funded by ECHO and UK FCDO,” said the IOM to IPS. “Since 2015, IOM has been facilitating Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) as the only viable solution for stranded migrants who wish to return home voluntarily, safely, and with dignity.”

The IOM is backed by numerous groups such as the European Union, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), the US State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, and the governments of Germany, France, Norway, and Finland. Unfortunately, despite widespread support for the program, more donations are urgently needed. The IOM is struggling to help migrants due to significant funding cuts.

“As migration flows continue to surge, the demand for safe and dignified return options for migrants has reached critical levels,” said Matt Huber, IOM’s former Chief of Mission in Yemen. “Without immediate funding support, the continuity of this vital programme is at risk, leaving thousands of vulnerable migrants stranded in precarious conditions with many experiencing serious protection violations.”

IPS UN Bureau Report

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Bonn Climate Talks: Why World Needs to go Further, Faster, and Fairer

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Climate Change

The June Climate Talks, SB62 under the UNFCCC, in Bonn 16-26 June, Photo Credit: UN Climate Chang/Lara Murillo

The June Climate Talks, SB62 under the UNFCCC, in Bonn 16-26 June, Photo Credit: UN Climate Chang/Lara Murillo

SRINAGAR & BONN, Jul 11 2025 (IPS) – This 62nd meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) from June 16 to 26, 2025 revealed the persistent complexities and political tensions that continue to challenge multilateral climate governance. 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened its 62nd meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB62) from June 16 to 26, 2025 – a critical juncture in the global climate negotiation process ahead of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) set for November in Belém, Brazil.

Often referred to as a “mini-COP”, SB62 serves as a mid-year platform where negotiators and technical experts advance discussions on implementing the Paris Agreement and lay the groundwork for decisions at the COP.

While some progress was made on adaptation and procedural issues, key areas such as climate finance, technology, and scientific assessments remained contentious. Interviews with climate experts Jennifer Chow of the Environmental Defence Fund and Meredith Ryder-Rude shed light on systemic challenges within the UNFCCC process and offered insights into pathways for more effective climate action.

Jennifer Chow of the Environmental Defense Fund

Jennifer Chow of the Environmental Defense Fund

Deadlock That Foreshadowed the Tense and Fractious Atmosphere

The Bonn conference brought together government delegations, UN agencies, intergovernmental organisations, Indigenous and youth representatives, and civil society observers. The Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) focused on operational matters including finance, capacity-building, and gender equality, while the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) addressed scientific guidance and technical issues such as carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Brazil, as COP30 host, fielded the largest delegation with 173 provisional attendees, signalling its intent to influence the upcoming COP agenda. The Brazilian COP presidency outlined three priorities: reinforcing multilateralism, connecting climate regime outcomes with people’s everyday lives, and accelerating Paris Agreement implementation through institutional reforms.

Yet the meeting’s opening was marked by a two-day delay in adopting the agenda, largely due to disagreements over including discussions on developed countries’ finance obligations under Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement. This early procedural deadlock foreshadowed the tense and fractious atmosphere permeating the conference.

How Scientific Discussions Remained Politically Sensitive

Adaptation emerged as a focal point, with negotiators agreeing on a refined list of global adaptation indicators, including measures related to access to financing — a key demand from developing countries. Steps were also taken toward transitioning the Adaptation Fund to operate exclusively under the Paris Agreement framework and clarifying loss and damage reporting procedures.

Nonetheless, the broader finance discussions exposed deep divides. The collective quantified goal (NCQG) of USD 300 billion, established at COP29 in Baku, continues to be a source of dissatisfaction, especially among developing nations seeking more predictable and adequate funding. These finance issues cut across multiple agenda items, influencing adaptation, transparency, and just transition talks.

Scientific discussions remained politically sensitive. Although the parties agreed to “take note” of recent scientific reports from the World Meteorological Organisation, stronger language expressing concern about current warming trends was blocked by some countries. This reflected ongoing sensitivity around acknowledging the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit.

Streamlining, Trust, and Effective Finance Delivery

In an exclusive interview with Inter Press Service, Jennifer Chow, Senior Director for Climate-Resilient Food Systems at the Environmental Defense Fund, highlighted structural challenges impeding UNFCCC efficiency and effectiveness:

“As is true for other multilateral processes, it is nearly impossible to address a growing list of issues efficiently without a concerted effort to prioritise, simplify approaches, and partner with others who may not require budgetary support. I think this is more pertinent to focus on than funding fluctuations.”

Chow claimed that the proliferation of agenda items and ballooning delegation sizes have complicated negotiations. “There are too many agenda items—and delegations have ballooned as a result. The secretariat and bureau could closely examine the COP, CMA, and SB agendas, propose streamlining, and develop a list of agenda items to sunset over the next two years, as some issues may no longer require negotiation. In some areas, constituted bodies can take up the work. Closing agenda items does not have to equal a lack of ambition.”

She also pointed to the trust deficit within the process.

“We can focus on giving more time for areas of convergence and less ‘unlimited’ time on issues where there is no consensus. Additionally, we need to give more leadership roles to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). We have conflated progress review and rule-making, and renegotiating matters that were already agreed upon can erode trust.”

On countries’ climate plans, Chow stressed the need to prioritise implementation. “A plan is a plan. Evidence of implementation and progress towards 2030 commitments should be highlighted just as much as new 2035 commitments. Let’s not lose sight of the critical decade and sprint to 2030. Stronger implementation now will result in more ambitious plans later.”

Environmental Defense Fund's expert Meredith Ryder-Rude

Environmental Defense Fund’s expert Meredith Ryder-Rude

Meredith Ryder-Rude, also from the Environmental Defense Fund, shed light on the reasons behind stalled adaptation finance negotiations and the challenges of ensuring funds reach vulnerable communities.

“The recent negotiations stalled because the sticking point has historically been disagreement over which funding sources can be ‘counted’ towards adaptation finance goals. There is no disagreement over the urgent need for dramatically higher adaptation finance, but political and ideological differences remain over what types of funding from developed countries are truly delivering adaptation outcomes.”

She explained the complexity of adaptation finance integration.

“Guidance directs countries to mainstream adaptation in development, economic, and financial planning. Given distrust between parties and the severe impacts and costs involved, finding middle ground is difficult. Developed country budgets are tight, and those controlling funds are often not closely involved in climate discussions or understanding of multilateral climate funds, creating a big gap to bridge.”

On improving the effectiveness of finance delivery, Ryder-Rude highlighted the importance of capacity building in recipient countries. “One of the most critical ways to ensure climate finance reaches vulnerable communities effectively is increasing absorptive and financial management capacity at the local level. Funding levels have remained largely static for decades. We focus much on unlocking more funding—the supply side—but more attention is needed on the demand side.”

She pointed to promising models emerging from developing countries. “National-level organisations serve as aggregators managing multimillion-dollar grants from multilaterals and disbursing smaller grants to local community groups. They mentor these groups to increase independence and ability to manage larger sums over time. Eventually, local organisations can manage funding directly with donors. We need more small grant programmes, more national aggregators familiar with local contexts, and generally more trusting, flexible financing—especially for adaptation.”

Empowering most vulnerable remains critical to the UNFCCC’s future effectiveness

Meanwhile, with the world approaching the COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the outcomes of SB62 reveal both the urgency and difficulty of advancing ambitious climate action. Key issues expected to dominate the COP agenda include operationalising the new collective quantified goal for climate finance, finalising rules for carbon markets under Article 6, and translating adaptation frameworks into real-world support.

Countries were expected to submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aligned with the 1.5°C target; however, nearly 95 percent missed the informal February 2025 deadline, raising concerns about political will and transparency.

Brazil’s presidency faces scrutiny over inclusiveness and transparency, especially regarding its proposed Circle of Finance Ministers tasked with developing a new climate finance roadmap. Questions about Belém’s capacity to host an effective COP add another layer of complexity.

Geopolitical challenges—including the notable absence of a formal U.S. delegation due to previous administration policies—further underscore the fragility of global climate leadership. In this context, rebuilding trust, streamlining negotiating processes, and empowering the most vulnerable remain critical to the UNFCCC’s future effectiveness.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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UN Funding Crisis Threatens Work of Human Rights Council

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Opinion

The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe, and for addressing situations of human rights violations, and making recommendations on them, according to the UN. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

NEW YORK / GENEVA, Jul 11 2025 (IPS) – The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has expressed concern at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ announcement that certain activities mandated by the council cannot be delivered due to a lack of funding. The council has sought clarity on why certain activities had been singled out.

Among the activities the commissioner says can’t be delivered is the commission of inquiry on grave abuses in Eastern Congo, an important initiative created—at least on paper—at an emergency session of the HRC in February in response to an appeal by Congolese, regional, and international rights groups.

The establishment of the commission offered a glimmer of hope in the face of grave and ongoing atrocities in the region, and it was hoped it might be an important step toward ending the cycle of abuse and impunity and delivering justice and reparations for victims and survivors.

It is not only the activities highlighted by the commissioner that are impacted by the funding crisis, however. Virtually all the HRC’s work has been affected, with investigations into rights abuses—for example in Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine—reportedly operating at approximately 30-60 percent of capacity.

In discussions about the proposed cuts, several states—notably those credibly accused of rights abuses—have sought to use the financial crisis as cover to attack the council’s country-focused investigative mandates or undermine the Office of the High Commissioner’s broader work and independence. For example, Eritrea invoked the crisis in its ultimately unsuccessful effort to end council scrutiny of its own dismal rights record.

Amid discussions on the current crisis, there has been little reflection among states on how the UN got into this mess. States failing to pay their membership contributions, or failing to pay on time, has compounded the chronic underfunding of the UN’s human rights pillar over decades.

The United States’ failure to pay virtually anything at the moment, followed by China’s late payments, bear the greatest responsibility for the current financial shortfall given their contributions account for nearly half of the UN’s budget.

But they are not alone: 79 countries reportedly still haven’t paid their fees for 2025 (expected in February). Among those that haven’t yet paid this year are Eritrea, Iran, Cuba, Russia, and others that have used the crisis to take aim at the council’s country mandates or to undermine the work or independence of the high commissioner’s office.

Rather than seeking to meddle in the office’s work or reduce the HRC’s scrutiny of crises, states should work with the UN to ensure funds are available for at least partial delivery of all activities they mandate through the council, particularly in emergencies.

Urgent investigations into situations of mass atrocities are key tools for prevention, protection, and supporting access to justice. They cannot wait until the financial crisis blows over.

Lucy McKernan is United Nations Deputy Director, Advocacy, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Hilary Power is UN Geneva Director, HRW

IPS UN Bureau

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