3.4 Billion People Left Behind: Interest Payments Now Outpace Education Spending in Half the World

Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt interest payments than on health or education. This marks a trembling indication that the United Nations’ promise for the 2030 Agenda could be slipping away.

NATO’s Trillion-dollar Gamble: The Dangers of Defence Without Accountability

Donald Trump’s bullying tactics ahead of NATO’s annual summit, held in The Hague in June, worked spectacularly. By threatening to redefine NATO’s article 5 – the collective defence provision that has anchored western security since 1949 – Trump won commitments from NATO allies to almost triple their defence spending to five per cent of GDP by 2035. European defence budgets will balloon from around US$500 billion to over US$1 trillion annually, essentially matching US spending levels.

#KeepHopeAlive Through Education

On the first International Day of Hope, we are all responsible to #KeepHopeAlive for the children impacted by the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Perhaps the strongest responsibilities lie with those entrusted to lead the world and make the right moral and legal choices. This is especially so today, when we have led the world into an abyss of excruciating pain for nearly a quarter of a billion innocent children now suffering brutal conflicts and violence, forced displacement and punishing climate disasters – without quality education.

Afghan Refugees Expelled from Iran and Exposed to Horrific Abuse

Since early June, Afghan refugees in Iran have endured increasingly harsh humanitarian conditions, with many being forced to repatriate under conditions that violate the principles of international humanitarian law. In 2025 alone, over one million refugees have returned to Afghanistan, further stretching the limited supply of resources amid a severe and multifaceted humanitarian crisis.

The New Silk Road of Central Asia: Landlocked Countries Now Connected

Once landlocked, now connected, the UN Global Compact has bridged the gap between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East: having many call it the “New Silk Road”.

WHO Launches Initiative to Tax Tobacco and Beverage Corporations to Boost Public Health

On July 2, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the “3 by 35” initiative in an effort to boost public health and limit global consumption of harmful substances. By urging international governments to implement taxes on tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, WHO seeks to reduce worldwide cases of noncommunicable disease amid heightened strains on global health systems and a shrinking supply of funding.

The Juggling of Aid: How WFP is Delivering More with Less

Serious-to-severe food insecurity has been widely felt among those living through the worst, protracted humanitarian crises. For organizations like the World Food Programme (WFP), they must work under the “relentless demand” for humanitarian aid, including food.

FFD4 Must Deliver for the World’s Most Vulnerable Nations

Five years from the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we face a development emergency. The promise to eradicate poverty, combat climate change, and build a sustainable future for all is slipping away. The SDG financing gap has ballooned to over $4 trillion annually—a crisis compounded by declining aid, rising trade barriers, and a fragile global economy.

Science Is Useless if No One Understands It

Despite delivering life-saving medicines, more nutritious crops, and transformative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), science remains widely misunderstood, polarizing, and underappreciated. Much of this, experts say, comes down to one persistent issue: poor communication.

The Young Nigerian Innovator Lighting Up Communities With Recycled Solar Innovation

When Stanley Anigbogu heard his name announced as the 2025 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year in London earlier in March, he could hardly believe it. He had not expected to win, especially among a pool of brilliant nominees from across the globe.

UN Drug Office Warns that Global Drug Crisis Will Intensify

Since 1989, the United Nations (UN) has recognized June 26 as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in an effort to raise awareness around the global drug problem and foster a more compassionate world, free of drug abuse. Through this year’s campaign, “Break the Cycle. #StopOrganizedCrime”, the UN underscores the importance of addressing the root causes of global drug abuse and illegal drug trading, and investing in reliable systems that prioritize prevention, education, and health.

A New Solar Power Plant Powers Progress in Zimbabwe’s Renewable Energy Sector

When load shedding was introduced over the past two years, Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa had to deal with learning disruptions worsened by the backup generators in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.

‘In the Face of Funding Cuts, Civil Society Has Taken a Leading Role in the Humanitarian Response’

 
CIVICUS discusses the closure of offices of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Mexico with members of Integral Human Rights In Action (DHIA), a Mexican civil society organisation (CSO) that promotes and defends human rights in contexts of mobility.

Time to Redesign Global Development Finance

Can the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) be a turning point? The stakes are high. The international financial system—so important to each and every one of us—feels out of reach and resistant to change, because it is deeply entrenched in unjust power imbalances that keep it in place. We deserve better.

Women in Afghanistan Face a Total Lack of Autonomy

Nearly four years ago, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and issued a series of edicts that significantly restricted women’s rights nationwide. This has resulted in a multifaceted humanitarian crisis, one marked by a notable decline in civic freedoms, stunted national development, and a widespread lack of basic services.

The Global Mental Health Crisis Surges Amid $200 Billion Funding Gap

Although access to mental health and psychosocial support services is considered a fundamental human right by the United Nations (UN), hundreds of millions of people experience limited or inadequate access to mental health and psychosocial support services.

Education Cannot Wait for the Children of Africa

As we commemorate International Day of the African Child, we honor the courage, resilience and dreams of millions of children and youth across Africa. Their potential is limitless, their right to a quality education is non-negotiable.

End Child Labour Forever through Education for All Children

As we mark today’s World Day Against Child Labour, we must confront an urgent global truth: over 160 million children around the world are engaged in child labour – many of them in the most dangerous, degrading and life-limiting conditions imaginable. These are children forced to work in fields, factories and conflict zones – deprived of their right to safety, to dignity and, above all, to an education.

‘The Regime Seeks to Consolidate Absolute Control by Eliminating All External Oversight’

 
CIVICUS discusses Nicaragua’s withdrawal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international organisations with Wisthon Noguera, an activist, student and deputy coordinator of the National Youth Platform of Nicaragua.

Rethinking Digital Platform Design: A Systems Approach

 
A better internet that supports democracy rather than undermines it is possible. In 2025, we stand at a crossroads in the digital era. Our platforms have become the new public squares, but rather than fostering democracy and dignity, many are optimized for manipulation, division, and profit. The Council on Technology and Social Cohesion's "Blueprint on Prosocial Tech Design Governance" offers a systems-level response to this crisis.

‘Despite Deep-rooted Prejudice Against Dalits, Encouraging Shifts Are Emerging among Young Urban People’

 
CIVICUS discusses the challenges facing Nepal’s Dalit community with Rup Sunar, chairperson of the Dignity Initiative, a Kathmandu-based research and advocacy organisation working to dismantle caste-based discrimination.