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Friday, June 12, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Economy & Trade
What Hungary’s New Pro-Democracy Government Means For Rule of Law
Péter Magyar, leader of the pro-democratic centre-right Tisza Party, which recently swept into power on an unstoppable wave of hope for change, has now been sworn into office as Hungary’s new Prime Minister.
The Tale of Three Countries: Policy Independence Matters for Development
The Republic of Korea (Korea), Vietnam and Bangladesh are on three different rungs of the development ladder. While Korea is a member of the rich nations’ club, i.e., the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Bangladesh is still a least developed country (LDC); and Vietnam is in the middle.
Food Systems and Policies Undermining Food Security
Transnational agribusinesses increasingly shape food policies worldwide. Claiming to best address recent food security concerns, they seek to profit more from innovations in food production, processing, and distribution.
PHILIPPINES: ‘A Protest Is One Day, but Organising Is the Thousands of Conversations That Make That Day Possible’
CIVICUS discusses Gen Z-led protests in the Philippines with Charles Zander, a 17-year-old climate justice activist from Bohol and youth campaigner for Greenpeace Philippines.
Want to Feed the World? Invest in Food Systems
As the global target to eliminate hunger by 2030 is fast slipping out of reach, investing in how the world feeds itself is the only way to ensure progress.
Before the Flood, Jannat Carried Books. After the Flood, She Carried Dirty Dishes
When catastrophic floods swept through the Haor wetlands of Sunamganj in 2022, they destroyed far more than homes and crops. They shattered childhoods.
Cleaning Up the Fields: Across Africa and Asia GEF is Helping Farmers Rewrite Their Pesticide Story
For decades, pesticides have been a quiet pillar of Malawi’s agriculture, guarding crops against pests, improving yields, and sustaining millions of livelihoods. But beneath this success story lay a troubling reality: weak regulation, unsafe handling practices, and growing threats to human health and the environment.
Keep Inputs Moving to Keep Food Affordable
Across Europe, winter wheat is already in the ground. What farmers apply in the coming weeks will determine the size of this year’s harvest. Those decisions are now being made under a sudden surge in costs that did not exist when seeds went in.
VENEZUELA: ‘The Credit Goes to Detainees’ Families, Human Rights Organisations and the International Community’
CIVICUS discusses the status of political prisoners in Venezuela with Manuel Virgüez, director of Movimiento Vinotinto, a Venezuelan human rights organisation that works for citizen empowerment, democracy and justice.
Pacific Ocean Under Pressure — Now a Region Finally Armed With Evidence
For generations, Pacific people have understood the ocean not as a resource but as identity, sustenance, and survival. Today, that relationship is being tested in ways science is only just beginning to fully capture.
African Countries Up Efforts to Tax High-Income Individuals
African countries are exploring ways to tax high-earning individuals as the continent seeks to expand its revenue collection amid what experts say is a growing gulf between rich and poor.
World Press Freedom Day, 2026
On May 3rd, the world marks World Press Freedom Day - a United Nations observance dedicated to the fundamental principles of press freedom.
Famine in South Sudan Projected to Worsen Without Humanitarian Intervention
In 2026, the humanitarian situation in South Sudan has taken a considerable turn for the worse, with widespread food shortages, ongoing disruptions to food production systems, and rising rates of malnutrition affecting over half of the population. Compounded by the vast scale of needs and an overwhelming lack of access to basic services, humanitarian experts warn that nationwide levels of hunger are projected to worsen to catastrophic levels if urgent intervention is not secured.
Press Freedom: A Story of Lives Lost, Budgets Slashed, Status Eroded
Press freedom is on the retreat across much of the world. As documented by recent global surveys authored by the UN and media institutes, the erosion of an independent, fearless and diversified press is a trend that has worsened for well over a decade.
Clean Energy, Digital Technologies Are Coming at a Human Cost, UN Report Warns
A newly released United Nations report has raised urgent concerns that the world’s push toward clean energy and digital technologies is driving a hidden crisis in some of the planet’s most vulnerable regions, where mining for critical minerals is depleting water supplies, damaging health, and deepening inequality.
BULGARIA: ‘We Protested Against a Whole System of Corrupt Governance and State Capture’
CIVICUS discusses Bulgaria’s Gen Z-led protests with Aleksandar Tanev, founder of Students Against the Mafia, an informal student organisation that took part in mass protests against corruption and state capture.
The War in Iran Isn’t Just Raising Food Prices — It’s Revealing Who Really Sets Them
As the United States and Israel’s 2026 attack on Iran remains on pause, most eyes have fixed on oil. Tankers reroute around the Strait of Hormuz, oil benchmarks climb, and insurance costs spike. But while the headlines focus on energy, warning signs are already flashing from the food commodities markets.
Climate-Driven Disruptions to Education in Africa Raise Protection Risks for Millions of Children
The escalating global climate crisis has led to an increase in the frequency of climate-induced natural disasters, affecting millions worldwide. As governments struggle to keep up due to persistent funding shortfalls and inadequate preparedness and response mechanisms, education systems in Eastern and Southern Africa continue to deteriorate, pushing millions of children into displacement and poverty, further deepening long-term inequalities.
Pacific Islanders Combat Mercury Poisoning of the Environment
It is an invisible contaminant that has been found in fisheries, an essential part of the food chain for many Pacific Islanders. Mercury, emitted from fossil fuel power generation and other industrial processes around the world, has now penetrated marine ecosystems in the Pacific Islands with detrimental consequences for people’s health and wellbeing.
Seychelles’ Blue Bond: Turning Ocean Vision into Action
As the world prepares for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) meeting in Samarkand next month, Seychelles’ pioneering blue bond offers a compelling lesson in practical ocean finance.
Corruption in Bangladesh: Will Development Partners Remain Complicit?
Bangladesh remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Its corruption perception index (CPI) score, 24, is 18 points below the global average score of 42, and 21 points lower than the Asia-Pacific region’s average of 45. One of the main sources of corruption is over-priced aid-funded projects as they lack competitive bidding. Projects funded through Government-to-Government deals drive up costs by more than 400% compared to more transparent alternatives, and around 35% of project costs are lost to corruption and inefficiency.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Trade has historically been a geopolitical tool, creating significant economic imbalances in developing countries. However, many countries in East Asia and Latin America have been able to alleviate poverty due to increasing trade. Tackling poverty has proven to be much harder in low income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America, and their dismal trade performance is one important reason for that. They remain at the margins of world trade and indeed of the world economy. These articles are aimed at informing readers about the complexities of trade and its varying effects on development, with a special focus on the consequences of the global economic crisis, the potential of fair trade and the gender implications of trade policies.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
