Development & Aid

UAE Raising Awareness About the Impact of Climate Change

By Rabiya Jaffery
The Middle East, due to its geographical location, is particularly prone to the impacts of climate change.Longer droughts, more frequent and intense heatwaves, and higher temperatures in the summer are expected to to become increasingly prevalent throughout the Middle East - from Sana’a to Jeddah to Dubai to Tehran.

Women as Liberia’s Guardians of Peace

By Franck Kuwonu, Africa Renewal
Not long ago, images of child soldiers and the nation of Liberia were wedded in the minds of the international community. The country was struggling to end a horrific civil war, but military efforts were going nowhere.

Africa Remains Resolute Heading to COP 24

By Friday Phiri
In December 2015, nations of the world took a giant step to combat climate change through the landmark Paris Agreement. But African experts who met in Nairobi, Kenya at last week’s Seventh Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA VII) say the rise of far-right wing and nationalist movements in the West are threatening the collapse of the agreement.

Is There a Remittance Trap?

By Ralph Chami, Ekkehard Ernst, Connel Fullenkamp, and Anne Oeking
Workers’ remittances—the money migrants send home to their families—command the attention of economists and policymakers because of their potential to improve the lives of millions of people.

Africa Must Increase Spending on Health Care, Education & Modern Contraception

By Marie Rose Nguini Effa
One of the main challenges which we are facing across Africa today is the imperative to empower its largest ever young population and to provide them with opportunities to realise their full potential.

UN Vote on Palestine a Humiliating Defeat for US & its Envoy

By Thalif Deen
Nikky Haley, the vociferously anti-Palestine US Ambassador to the United Nations, warned member states last year she will “take down names” of those who vote against American interests in the world body—perhaps with the implicit threat of cutting US aid to countries that refuse to play ball with the diplomatically-reckless Trump administration.

For the Survival of the Nile and its People

By Maged Srour
Running through eleven countries for 6,853 kilometres, the Nile is a lifeline for nearly half a billion people. But the river itself has been a source of tension and even conflict for countries and territories that lie along it and there have been rumours of “possible war for the Nile” for years now. While to date there has been no outbreak of irreversible tension, experts say that because of increasing changes in the climate a shared agreement needs to be reached on the redistribution of water soon.

Parliamentarians to Assess Population & Development Funding 24 Years After Historic Conference

By Thalif Deen
When international parliamentarians-– both from the developed and developing world— meet in Canada next week, the primary focus would be to assess the implementation of a landmark Programme of Action (PoA) on population and development adopted at a ground breaking UN conference, led by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), held in Cairo back in 1994.

Developing Countries Losing Out To Digital Giants

By Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Anis Chowdhury
A new United Nations report warns that the potential benefits to developing countries of digital technologies are likely to be lost to a small number of successful first movers who have established digital monopolies.

Caribbean Nations Pay Steep Price for Climate Change Caused by Others

By Daniel Gutman
Although their contribution to global warming is negligible, Caribbean nations are bearing the brunt of its impact. Climate phenomena are so devastating that countries are beginning to prepare not so much to adapt to the new reality, but to get their economies back on their feet periodically.

UN Secretary-General: About 820 Million People Still Suffer From Hunger

By António Guterres
In our world of plenty, one person in nine does not have enough to eat.  About 820 million people still suffer from hunger.

Q&A: Using Data to Predict Internal Displacement Trends

By Carmen Arroyo
This year the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) noted that 2017 saw the highest number of displacements associated with conflict in a decade-11.8 million people. But this is not a situation that is going to be resolved any time soon, says the organisation which has been reporting on displacements since 1998.

Water: a Private Privilege, not a Community Resource

By Shekhar Kapur
Water is becoming a private privilege rather than a community resource. It is also one of the world’s most precious resources. As vital to the survival of the human species as the air that we breathe.

The Earthquake in Indonesia: How Collaboration Impacts the Global Water Crisis

By George C. Greene, IV
On Friday, September 28, the world first heard the devastating news out of Indonesia that a 7.5 magnitude earthquake had struck the island of Sulawesi. The quake caused substantial soil liquefaction — where the earth literally turned to liquid and started to flow — with entire homes sinking into the ground. It also triggered a tsunami, confirmed to be as high as 23 feet, that devastated the coastal areas.

Zero Hunger: Our Actions Today Are Our Future Tomorrow

By José Graziano da Silva
Just three years ago, in September 2015, all United Nations Member States approved the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The eradication of hunger and all forms of malnutrition (Sustainable Development Goal number 2) was defined by world leaders as a cardinal objective of the Agenda, a sine qua non condition for a safer, fairer and more peaceful world.

True Cost of a Plate of Food Around the World

By Herve Verhoosel
How much would you expect to pay for the most basic plate of food? The kind of thing you might whip up at home – nothing fancy, just enough to fill you up and meet a third of today’s calorie needs. A soup, maybe, or a simple stew – some beans or lentils, a handful of rice, bread, or corn?

Sex Offender Registry is Not Enough to Curb Sexual Violence Against Women

By Elsa D'Silva and Quratulain Fatima
India recently launched a sex offender registry to deter sex offenders from perpetrating crimes against women and children by indicating that the government is keeping track of them. The personal details of 440,000 sex offenders who have been convicted for various crimes like “eve-teasing”, child sexual abuse, rape and gang rape will be registered in this database and accessible to law enforcement.

A New IFC Vision for Greening Banks in Emerging Markets

By Philippe Le Houérou
The International Finance Corporation is rapidly greening its portfolio.This past fiscal year, 36 percent of our own accounts and mobilization supported climate-smart projects — up from 12 percent a decade ago. Since May, we have been applying a carbon price to all project finance investments in the cement, chemicals, and thermal power sectors, at $40-80 per metric ton.

Rural Migration: An Opportunity, Not A Challenge

By Tharanga Yakupitiyage
While it can be a challenging issue, migration must be seen as an opportunity and be met with sound, coherent policies that neither stem nor promote the phenomenon.

Women & Youth Key to Achieving Agenda 2030 in South-South Cooperation

By Siddharth Chatterjee
By 2050 Africa will have 830 million young people. Many countries in the global south, India included are seeing a youth(men and women) bulge. To reap a demographic dividend countries in the global south need to share and exchange knowledge to leapfrog socio-economic transformation.

World Food Day: World Hunger is on the Rise Again

By IPS World Desk
According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 820 million people are currently suffering from chronic undernourishment across the globe. The reasons for the surge are complex, but are attributed to increasing conflict, economic slowdowns and the rise in extreme weather events related to climate change.
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