Family Law Reforms Are Needed to Advance Gender Equality

On September 16, at the lead-up to the 81st UN General Assembly, Equality in Family Law (GCEFL), Equality Now, TrustLaw, and the World Bank Group convened in New York City for the event titled The Gender Equality Dividend: Investing in Women’s Economic Prosperity Through Family Law Reform. Hosted by APCO, the event introduced new data on barriers to family law reform and highlighted strategies to help the international community maximize women’s economic participation.

Outpacing Foreign Aid, Migrant Remittances Are a Lifeline Ensuring Families Are Fed and Healthy, Says IFAD

Migrants now send home more money than foreign aid, and this is pulling rural families out of poverty, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

African Farmers Demand Affordable Finance as Governments Fall Short on Funding

Agriculture remains underfunded in Africa as governments struggle to deliver on decades-old promises to dedicate 10% of national income to agriculture.

Killing of Environmental Defenders Reflects Power Struggle Over World’s Resources

At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed around the world in 2025 while protecting forests, rivers, farmland and Indigenous territories, according to a new report by Global Witness that warns violence against activists remains widespread even as recorded killings have declined from previous years.

What’s Special About Negotiating Agreements for Mining Critical Minerals?

“Critical minerals” are critical in the eyes of firms and governments in industrialized countries because they are indispensable for products such as modern automobiles, AI, computers, drones, and many other consumer and defense products.

Global Survey Finds Deep Crisis of Trust as Majority Say Economic System Favours the Rich

An international survey released by Earth4All has found a growing crisis of trust in governments, widespread anger over inequality, and strong public support for major economic reforms, suggesting that many people across the world believe current political and economic systems are failing to serve ordinary citizens.

Investment in Irrigation Systems Is Vital in Preparing for the Next Climate Shock

When the African continent experiences erratic rains, crops fail, leaving millions of people facing hunger.

Lawmakers Need to Grapple With the ‘Human Story’ of the Aged, Youth, Women and Girls when Making Policy

"As parliamentarians, we should understand that behind every demographic indicator is a human story,” Kamikawa Yoko, MP Japan and Chair of AFPPD, reminded lawmakers in her opening address to the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) annual conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Development Goals Falter as Civil Society Is Shut Out

When the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) ended in New York in July, it took two recorded votes for states to pass a ministerial declaration that, until recently, would have been adopted without controversy. Uruguay, speaking for the Group of 77 developing countries plus China, pushed through the deletion of a reference to the agreement reached at the COP28 climate summit. Israel forced a vote on a paragraph about self-determination for people under occupation. Russia dissociated itself from the passage on peace and security. The wrangling revealed the extent to which the consensus that in 2015 saw all 193 UN states agree the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a common blueprint to end poverty, tackle climate change and build accountable institutions by 2030 – has been eroded.

How Saving Cattle in Zimbabwe is Saving Its Lions

A 12-year-old male lion slipped out of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park one winter morning and killed a 7-year-old boy in a village it wandered into.

FAO and the Global South: Advancing Agrifood Transformation through South-South and Triangular Cooperation

The world’s agrifood systems are under mounting pressure from economic uncertainty, climate change and persistent inequalities. Farmers, rural communities and the most vulnerable are bearing the heaviest burden. We must act faster and scale practical, proven solutions.

What 1.5°C Overshoot Means for Small Islands

The world is now expected to breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit that small island states have spent years defending as a threshold for survival.

UNGA 81: A United Nations at a Turning Point

The 81st session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA81) opens tomorrow at a particularly important moment for multilateralism. The UN80 reform initiative has entered what the Secretary-General describes as a decisive phase. Member States are selecting the next Secretary-General. The 2030 Agenda is entering its final four years, while conversations about what should follow it are beginning.

Nuclear Victims’ Experiences Must Be at the Heart of Global Efforts for Assistance and Remediation

More and more, global disarmament discussions are encompassing the humanitarian and environmental impacts of the testing and use of nuclear weapons, as it becomes clear that the legacy of nuclear weapons leaves its mark on multiple generations.

Africa’s Rangelands Are the Frontline of Resilience – COP17 Showed Why

Across the Kenya-Tanzania rangelands, communities have long understood a reality that the global community is increasingly recognising: healthy rangelands support livelihoods, wildlife, water resources and local economies. They are among Africa's most important natural assets and a foundation for resilience in a changing climate.

Nepalese Experts, Victims Contemplate the Future After the Flood

That day, Subash Tamang was mining sand along the banks of the Trishuli River near the Trishuli Hydropower Project, working alongside his wife, brother, sister-in-law, and two other family members. Suddenly, he noticed water gushing down from above the hydropower site. His first thought was that the dam had burst.

Strengthen Africa’s Seed Systems as El Niño Threat Becomes Reality Again

As climate disasters frequent across the African continent, governments have been promoting climate-smart innovations, including the development of drought-resistant crops.

Families in Desperate Search for Victims of the ‘Himalayan Tsunami’ in Nepal

On Sunday afternoon, Mingma Tamang, 29, rushed into the TU Teaching Hospital’s emergency ward, where a rescue team had just brought in an injured person in the Rasuwa flash flood – but she soon left grim-faced.

Deadly Flash Floods in Nepal Kill Hundreds and Leave Over 4,200 Missing

On the morning of August 26, an unprecedented series of flash floods struck Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, causing immense destruction, killing hundreds of civilians and leaving thousands missing. Entire neighborhoods have been buried underwater and beneath mud as the Nepalese government and humanitarian organizations rush to provide emergency assistance.

Africa’s Pastoralists Need More Than COP17’s $1.2 billion Rangelands Pledge

When the rains fail across Tanzania’s northern Maasai Steppe, herders drive their cattle farther in search of pasture and water.

Beyond the Horizon: Raising a Generation to Protect the Blue Pacific

For generations, Pacific children have grown up with the ocean as part of everyday life. It is where families fish, where stories are passed down, where livelihoods begin and where cultures are rooted.