Let’s Talk About Sex – and Why Power Matters

Every year on World Population Day (July 11), UNFPA receives queries from journalists about the total number of people around the world. Numbers are indeed important because they help governments develop policies that respond to evolving needs for services such as education and health.

Drought, Disease and War Hit Global Agriculture, Says U.N.

The United Nations has warned of drought, disease and war preventing farmers from producing enough food for millions of people across Africa and other regions, leading to the need for major aid operations.

A Lifelong Battle Against the “Disease of Silence”

Yohei Sasakawa has dedicated half of his 80 years of life to combating the "disease of silence" and is still fighting the battle, as president of the Nippon Foundation and World Health Organisation (WHO) goodwill ambassador for elimination of leprosy, formally known as Hansen's Disease.

Africa’s Megacities a Magnet for Investors

Megacities, cities with a population of at least 10 million, are sprouting everywhere in Africa. Cairo in Egypt, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Lagos in Nigeria are already megacities, while Luanda in Angola, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Johannesburg in South Africa will attain the status by 2030, according the United Nations.

Of Leaders Then and Now

Richard Dossevi parks his motorcycle taxi on one of the busiest street corners in Cotonou, Benin's commercial capital, to wait for commuters amid the summer heat.

Solar Collectors and Solidarity Change Lives in Argentina

"This is the best thing ever invented for the poor," says Emanuel del Monte, pointing to a tank covered in black tarps protruding from the roof of his house. It forms part of a system built mostly from waste materials, which heats water through solar energy and is improving lives in Argentina.

We Can Get the 2030 Agenda Back on Track – With More Empowered, Inclusive, & Equal Partnerships

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, universally adopted in 2015, is a plan to create a better and more sustainable future for all in just 15 years, through 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs). It sounds implausible.

Africa’s Free Trade Area Misses Nigeria

When Africa’s free trade area launches on 7 July, a key player will be missing. However, Victor Adetula, head of research at Nordic Africa Institute (NAI) in Sweden, predicts that Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria, will gradually open up and join the project.

Zero Population Growth vs Population Control

Knowledge is power, but with the caveat that said knowledge is based in fact. Otherwise, it’s misinformation.

Chilean Schools Recycle Greywater to Combat Drought

Children from the neighboring municipalities of Ovalle and Río Hurtado in northern Chile are harvesting rain and recycling greywater in their schools to irrigate fruit trees and vegetable gardens, in an initiative aimed at combating the shortage of water in this semi-arid region.

Paraguay Moves Towards Sustainable Commodities

The statistics are alarming. By 2050, the world will require an estimated 60 percent growth in agricultural production to meet the food demand of a population of close to 9 billion people.

Unseen and Unsafe: Violence Against Women within Migrant Families

Refugee and migrant women often face inescapable violence in the home. And the potential for intimate forms of violence is exacerbated by humanitarian crises and job insecurity.

Kenya’s March Towards Demographic Dividend with Investments in Health Sector Partnering with The Netherlands

Demographic dividend is a term which is increasingly preoccupying discussions among development economists and the donor community in general in Kenya. The term refers to countries with the greatest demographic opportunity for development and those that are ushering in a period in which the working-age population has good health, quality education, decent employment and a lower proportion of young dependents. Smaller numbers of children per household generally lead to larger investments per child, more freedom for women to enter the formal workforce and more household savings for old age. When this happens, the national economic payoff can be substantial, and this is the demographic dividend.

Is there a Co-Relation Between Human Development & SDGs?

“People are the real wealth of nations,” began the first Human Development Report (HDR). That 1990 report marked a turning point in the global development debate.

India’s Criminal Justice System is Failing Victims of Sexual Violence

Early in 2018, India was shaken by the horrific details surrounding the abduction, gang rape, and murder of an 8-year-old girl in Kathua, a district in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Women’s Rights are Key in Slowing Down Population

The increase in world population by 2 billion in the next 30 years will present a serious global challenge especially if we do not find new paradigms of development thought and renewed global political leadership.

Partnering for Youth in Central Asia

Young people around the world are facing increasingly insurmountable, persistent barriers as they try to achieve their full potential and secure a prosperous future. However, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific have already begun working to ensure that no one is left behind.

World’s Poorest Nations Weighed Down by Fastest Growing Populations

With a new report projecting a rise in population, specifically in Asia and Africa, the United Nations has warned that continued rapid population growth presents enormous challenges for sustainable development in the world’s 134 developing nations.

Low-Income Countries Pay Over 20 Times More for Generic Drugs

A recently-released report by the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) shows that generic drugs, like omeprazole (used to treat heartburn), can cost 20-30 times more in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.

Patriotism versus Hope: Eritreans Wrestle with Leaving Home or Remaining

Most media narratives about Eritrea suggest an endless stream of young people fleeing the country, who couldn’t wait to escape. But the reality is far different and more nuanced—both when it comes to those who have left, and those who chose to remain.

Poor Outlook for HIV-positive Children in Pakistan

Over 785 people have been diagnosed with HIV in Larkana, Pakistan. 82% of those individuals are children, and only half are receiving the treatment they need.