Why Peacebuilding is Part of the Sustainable Development Agenda

We tend not to worry when things are going well. If people can take care of their daily business and send their kids to school without fear of violence, resolve disputes through a functioning justice system when the need arises, express their views both in private discussions and in public processes, feel they can truly contribute to decisions that affect their lives, and know effective institutions are in place to deliver basic services to their families and communities without interruption or the need for bribes, chances are they will be broadly content with the way their society is managed.

Breastfeeding Saves Lives But Can’t Compete With Aggressive Marketing

Despite its many lifesaving benefits breastfeeding still struggles to compete with the marketing used by the multi-billion dollar baby formula industry, according to a new report published this week.

Nobel Laureates Join Forces for Food Security and Stability

"Where food security can be a force for stability, we have to look to food and agriculture as pathways to peace and security. This is a great challenge, but one that we can meet together as we embark on achieving the 2030 Development Agenda." These were the words of FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva as he discussed the interplays between food security and peace in New York last March.

Mass Migration, EU, European Nationalisms

We are dealing with mass migration, basically into EU, and European nationalisms, many in favor of exits from the EU. Why this mass migration, maybe to the point of Völkerwanderung, mainly into EU–but then what kind of EU–and why the European nationalisms now found one way or the other in many member states?

Hunger, a Matter of Global Security

Desperate, frustrated, and with little hope for the future, on 17h December 2010, the Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself in petrol and set himself alight. Thus began the popular revolution that toppled the dictatorship of Zine El AbidineBen Ali, in power since 1987, and with it a domino effect that spread across North Africa and the Middle East.

Biomass Could Help Power Africa’s Energy Transition

As fuel, firewood remains the dominant source of energy in Uganda. It has a long history of being unsustainably harvested, leading to severe depletion of the country’s forest cover. But with new technology, biomass is now cleaning up its act.

Kenyan Refugee Camp Closures will have Disastrous Consequences

The Kenyan government's decision to close its refugee camps will have disastrous consequences and must be reconsidered, international organisations have stated.

Refugees and Migrants: A Crisis of Solidarity

This September, the United Nations General Assembly will bring together world leaders to address one of the leading challenges of our time: responding to large movements of refugees and migrants.

Climate Change Leaves Kashmir’s Economy High and Dry

Trudging barefoot on his two-acre piece of land, 57-year-old Mukhtar Ahmad has little hope of growing any crops this year due to the sudden dry spell that has struck Kashmir’s winter.

UN Releases Plan to Increase Refugee Responsibility Sharing

The UN wants to create a new Global Compact to encourage countries to share the responsibility for hosting the 19 million refugees who have fled their home countries.

WFO Calls for Farmer-Centred Sustainable Development

Over 600 delegates representing at least 570 million farms scattered around the world gathered in Zambia from May 4-7 under the umbrella of the World Farmers' Organisation (WFO) to discuss climate change, land tenure, innovations and capacity building as four pillars on which to build agricultural development.

MSF Withdrawal Part of Ongoing Debate Over Humanitarian Aid

Aid organisations have differing views about the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) pulled out last week some still hope the Summit will help bring about much needed change.

Nobel Peace Laureates to Help Achieve Food Security

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) believes that ongoing military conflicts, which have also devastated agricultural crops and livestock, are one of the primary causes of food shortages in war zones in Africa and the Middle East.

Farmers Can Weather Climate Change – With Financing

Merian Kalala, a farmer in Solwezi, capital of the North-Western Province of Zambia, knows firsthand that climate change is posing massive problems for agricultural productivity.

No Farmers, No Food — True But Not Enough

Agriculture is the primary sector of all economies. It is the sector responsible for granting food and nutrition security to all human beings. Consequently it is responsible for social stability and health. And it provides work opportunities to families, men, women and youth, and largely contributes to the country Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Farmers Hold Keys to Ending Poverty, Hunger, FAO Says

With recent data showing that 793 million people still go to bed hungry, ending hunger and poverty in 15 years is the next development challenge that world leaders have set for themselves.

Seeking a New Farming Revolution

As the World Farmers' Organization meets for its annual conference in Zambia to promote policies that strengthen this critical sector, IPS looks at how farmers across the globe are tackling the interconnected challenges of climate change, market fluctuations, water and land management, and energy access.

A Region’s Eyes Turn to Healthy Nutrition

After its remarkable success in reducing hunger, Europe must now rise to the challenge of making sure food assures more than survival and furnishes healthy lives. As head of a global hunger-fighting organization, nothing gives me more satisfaction than to see a vast region of the world achieving food security for its people.

Is the System Broke or Broken?

Though the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit may seem timely, a debate ensues on an important question: is the world humanitarian system broke or broken?

World Celebrates 250 Years Since First Freedom of Information Act

Press freedom is not just a beautiful idea but a very concrete thing, included in the UN's Sustainable Development agenda which is meant to lead the humankind to sustainable development, UNESCO's director general, Irina Bokova, said at the opening of the World Press Freedom Day here Tuesday.

New Generation Aims to Plug Africa’s Research Deficit

The tonnes of uncollected garbage piling up on the streets of her home in Cairo was a brain wave for Sherien Elagroudy.