HAITI: Haphazard Aid Hindering Long-Term Recovery

That Haiti will not recover from the trauma of 2010 for many years is an unfortunate but understood fact. More disturbing, according to a new analysis, is that aspects of current aid efforts are undermining Haiti's ability to begin the reconstruction process and develop a strong, functional state infrastructure.

Q&A: “Transparency Helps Ensure Donors’ Promises Are Met”

This past September, world leaders meeting at the United Nations vowed to spend $40 billion over the next five years to save the lives of more than 16 million women and children dying of deadly diseases or lack of medical care, particularly during and after pregnancy.

India-EU Deal Threatens Mom-and-Pop Retail

Retail giants pushing the European Union-India free trade deal promise consumers a "new and dynamic retail experience" but ignore the fate of India’s "mom-and-pop" stores and some 40 million people they employ.

NGOs Want Reforms Tied to New World Bank Funding

With the World Bank expected to announce a new funding package for the world's poorest countries Wednesday, NGOs are making a last-minute appeal to donor countries to use their leverage to compel reforms at the institution.

Q&A: Revitalising Agriculture Starts in a Small Field

In countries around the world, small farmers are trapped in a vicious circle - hard-pressed governments don't invest enough money in local agriculture, and local producers find themselves driven off their lands and into urban slums, where they sink even deeper into poverty.

Despite Setbacks, Africa Seen as Key Player in Future

As the international community commemorated Africa Industrialisation Day last week, United Nations officials expressed mixed emotions about a beleaguered continent plagued by a rash of political, economic and military crises.

World’s Poorest Nations See a Glimmer of Hope

When the U.N. General Assembly recognised a special category of member states ranked as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) back in 1971, there were only 25 which qualified for the dubious distinction of being the "poorest of the world's poor".

Funding Cuts on Horizon for Global Health, AIDS

Over the past several years, the number of people needing treatment for HIV/AIDS has risen, but so has the amount of funding for the treatment and prevention of the disease. The United States has been at the forefront of that funding, but with the new emphasis in Washington on reducing government spending that may be about to change.

Vaccines Make Gradual Headway Against Child Pneumonia

It had seemed her kids had the flu or a cold. But when it got worse, she took little Abigail to hospital. It was already too late; Abigail died in her mother's arms.

Math Doesn’t Add Up to Keep School Doors Open

As donors meet this week to allocate funds for global education, advocates warn that diminished support has forced many poor countries to consider closing schools and sacking teachers.

U.S. Aid Shift Envisions Path to Self-Sufficiency

As part of a more general promise of reform to U.S. development policy, the U.S. Agency for International Development is poised to fundamentally alter the way it tackles poverty overseas.

World Bank Extends Food Crisis Fund

Amidst fears of a recurring food crisis, the World Bank has reactivated its Global Food Crisis Response Programme (GFRP), dedicating up to 760 million dollars to countries at risk of food price volatility.

Ending Africa’s Hunger Means Listening to Farmers

Africa is hungry - 240 million people are undernourished. Now, for the first-time, small African farmers have been properly consulted on how to solve the problem of feeding sub-Saharan Africa. Their answers appear to directly repudiate a massive international effort to launch an African Green Revolution funded in large part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

U.N. to Focus on Poorest of the World’s Poor

The United Nations, which is planning to hold a major international conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs) next year, has been put on notice: if the mounting social and economic problems of poorer nations are not resolved, "There will be no peace and stability in the world."

World Bank Pressured over Record Fossil Fuels Lending

With new figures showing a record amount of World Bank funding for projects relying on coal power and other fossil fuels, the issue of reforming the institution's energy lending was once again a hot topic at the World Bank and IMF annual meetings, which concluded over the weekend.

DEVELOPMENT: Obama Lays Out Vision, Details Still Blurry

Following U.S. President Barack Obama's introduction of his long-awaited Global Development Policy at the United Nations on Wednesday, exactly one year after he told member states that he would return with a plan to make the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) a reality, questions remain over how it will be executed.

$40 Billion for Women and Children, Millions of Lives at Stake

As a three-day anti-poverty talkfest drew to a close Wednesday, the United Nations shifted its focus from the poor and the hungry to two of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society: women and children.

DEVELOPMENT: A Fat Cat Tax for Lean Times

As world leaders convened Monday for the first day of a summit dedicated to resuscitate efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the question of how to finance countries' acceleration efforts looms large.

DEVELOPMENT: U.N. Chief Looks Beyond 2015 Deadline

As more than 140 world leaders began a three-day anti-poverty summit meeting Monday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon looked far beyond the 2015 deadline for sustainable development the world is desperately in need of.

South Urged not to Replicate Old, Unequal Models

South-South cooperation is set to be a key issue during the three-day summit beginning today that will bring together some 140 world leaders to reaffirm their commitment to achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

DEVELOPMENT: Bridging the Chasm Between Rhetoric and Reality

On the eve of Monday's highly-anticipated U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Summit in which world leaders will gather here to reaffirm their commitment to the eight goals, civil society remains deeply sceptical.