DEVELOPMENT: For-Profit Seeds Hurting Farmers, Biodiversity

Large biotechnology firms are not only depriving poor farmers of inputs essential for their livelihoods, but are also pushing up food prices, according to a new U.N. report.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Africa Readies United Front for Crucial Copenhagen Talks

As African leaders meet in Ethiopia to discuss the devastating impacts of climate change, the United Nations has released a report warning that the economically-troubled continent will be one of the hardest hit by the ravages of global warming.

AGRICULTURE-COTE D’IVOIRE: Small-scale Pineapple Growers Want More Support

Karim Diabaté, looks questioningly at his vast 20 hectare pineapple plantation in Bonoua in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire. "I'm asking myself if if I'll get the money I need for in time for the inputs I need and keep my plants going."

WATER-MOZAMBIQUE: Remote Villages Out of Sight, Out of Mind?

"This is where we get our water from," says a villager on the footpath leading out of Mcondece. Branches and other debris float on the surface of the sluggish, murky brown creek.

HEALTH: One in Five Infants Still Lacks Essential Vaccines

A record 106 million infants were vaccinated in 2008 - the highest rate of immunisation ever - according to a report released Wednesday in Washington, but NGOs are calling for an increase in funding to fill the gap affecting the world's poorest nations and communities.

PERU: On Track to Meeting Poverty Reduction Target

Peru is only one percentage point away from halving the proportion of its people living in extreme poverty, one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by the international community in 2000, according to a United Nations report.

HEALTH: EU Blocking Medicines for the Poor

The European Union is intercepting big shipments of medicines on their way to poorer countries, according to a new report published Tuesday.

LATIN AMERICA: Poor Response to Global Call Against Poverty

The creative approach of using football matches, student gatherings, shows or events indirectly related to the issue of poverty enabled Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) activists to reach a wide variety of audiences in Latin America with their message.

DEVELOPMENT: Is It Time to Plan Another U.N. Population Meet?

When the United Nations commemorated the 15th anniversary of the 1994 landmark conference on population and development (ICPD) last week, one of the questions lingering in the minds of many seemed obvious: is it time to plan another major conference on population?

NICARAGUA: Young People Exiled by Poverty

If they could, about 60 percent of Nicaraguans under 30 would go to live abroad, according to studies on migration, which find that the country's chronic poverty is the main reason for wanting to migrate.

DEVELOPMENT: Anti-Poverty Fight Needs More Than Money

"Investing in children and securing their rights is one of the surest ways to ending poverty," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told 1,500 students at the United Nations International School in New York City Friday as part of the Stand Up Take Action Campaign organised by the U.N. Millennium Campaign.

PHILIPPINES: Long Way to Go in Fight Against Poverty

"It’s very difficult," says Joseph, 39, who has lived with his wife and three children in central Manila’s Rizal Park for the past six months after their home, a squat built on government-owned land, was demolished. "There are many people who are experiencing a lot of hardship here," he adds.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Taking Forests into Account

What role can forests play in the fight against climate change? What impact do tree plantations have? What effect will the bioenergy craze have on forests? These are some of the questions that experts, government officials and business leaders from around the world will try to answer next week in Argentina.

DEVELOPMENT: More Than a Billion Going Hungry

The global economic crisis has led to an historic increase in hunger and undernourishment in the world's poorest countries, with broad consequences for political security and stability, according to two reports released for World Food Day, observed Friday.

AGRICULTURE-MOZAMBIQUE: Anti-Poverty Campaign Targets Candidates

Antonio Machava is standing by the gate of his farm listening to election campaigners. The group of young people says their party will fight for a law to protect small farmers and create conditions for them to prosper.

VENEZUELA: Indigenous People Killed, Injured in Land Dispute

Two members of the Yukpa indigenous community in Venezuela were killed and others were injured in a firefight between supporters and detractors of a government initiative to distribute land to the ethnic group at the northwest tip of Venezuela, where the Yukpa are caught up in a long-running conflict over land with ranchers and mining companies.

ECONOMY: ‘It’s Smart to Invest in Girls’

Sending more girls to school may help poor countries get out of the economic slump faster, the NGO Plan International says in a new report. Just a one percent rise in the number of girls attending secondary school boosts a country's annual per capita income growth by 0.3 percent.

WATER-ZIMBABWE
: New Wells Protect Environment, Build Peace

Twenty years ago, Isaac Chidavaenzi would worry when his neighbours set up vegetable gardens on river banks, trying to get closer to water sources. The number of gardens on the rivers' banks has now decreased, but Chidavaenzi is even more worried.

URUGUAY: Prison Without Bars Offers True Rehabilitation

Fabián Rodríguez has two years to go on a long sentence for robbery. After spending time in three overcrowded maximum security prisons in Uruguay, he finally landed in a rehabilitation centre where work and respect are central pillars. Now he runs a bakery which supplies 200 inmates as well as the guards.

DEVELOPMENT: A 'Great Persuasion' Gets Under Way

They are calling it 'The Great Persuasion' in Britain as millions prepare around the world to stand up for action against poverty.

AFRICA: Uneven Progress on Development Goals

The Millennium Goals cannot be achieved at the United Nations. The U.N. can create a platform for governments to make commitments but cannot force compliance by member states.