Poverty & MDGs Archives

Stateless in Nepal

Around 4.3 million of Nepal’s 27 million population lack citizenship documents, rendering them stateless, says a report by the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD), which works to promote and protect the interests of Nepali women.

Women Turn Potatoes into Gold in Zimbabwe’s Cities

By Jeffrey Moyo

Shyline Chipfika, 26, is one of thousands of Zimbabwean women in urban centres who have struck gold by growing potatoes. And a lot of their success has to do with an import ban.

Dangerous Combo: Violence in Pregnancy and HIV in South Africa

By Alisa Hatfield

When Phumzile Khoza* came to the central Johannesburg antenatal clinic on a chilly day in August 2013, she was feeling on edge. Not about the medical procedures – she already had two children – but about talking to the nurse.

Sun Shines on Forest Women

By Stella Paul

Chintapakka Jambulamma, 34, looks admiringly at a solar dryer. It’s the prized possession of the Advitalli Tribal Women’s Co-operative Society- a collective of women entrepreneurs that she leads.

Women Still Walk Two Steps Behind in Arab World

By Thalif Deen

In much of the Arab world, women's participation in the labour force is the lowest in the world, according to the United Nations, while women in politics are a rare breed both in the Middle East and North Africa.

Duelling U.S. Budgets Herald Showdown over Poverty

By Bryant Harris

U.S. President Barack Obama released a 3.9-trillion-dollar budget proposal for the coming fiscal year, shaping an ideological battle over the role of government in reducing poverty that will likely define the coming election year.

Kyrgyzstan Coal Wars Stymie Critical Industry

By EurasiaNet Correspondents

Kara-Keche, a sprawling deposit containing about 430 million tonnes of coal in mountainous Naryn Province, is a key asset for Kyrgyzstan’s struggling economy.

Costa Rican Farmers Become Climate Change Acrobats

By Diego Arguedas Ortiz

José Alberto Chacón traverses the winding path across his small farm on the slopes of the Irazú volcano, in Costa Rica, which meanders because he has designed it to prevent rain from washing away nutrients from the soil.

Labour Anger Simmers in Cambodia

By Michelle Tolson

An uneasy calm prevails in Cambodia after the government crackdown on protests by garment workers in January. With public gatherings banned and charges framed against 23 union leaders and activists, labour discontent may not be spilling on to the streets, but it is simmering.

Vegetable Gardens Ease Poverty in El Salvador

By Edgardo Ayala and Tomás Andréu

Vegetable growing is flourishing in Cuscatlán, the smallest department in the tiny country of El Salvador, with the help of a national programme to promote family agriculture and lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.

OP-ED: The Care Imperative

By John Hendra and Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona

As the debate about a future global development agenda to succeed the Millennium Development Goals in 2015 gathers pace, there is broad agreement that gender equality and women’s empowerment are crucial components.

An Equal Share of Wealth Equals Lasting Peace in CAR

By Matthew Newsome

While wrangling over Central African Republic’s (CAR) wealth in natural resources played a role in the country's crisis, its future peace and stability still partly depends on a solution that factors in how to equitably distribute its national wealth.

Arab NGOs Warn IMF Against Sharp Cuts to Subsidies

By Jim Lobe

Civil society activists from five Arab countries are urging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ease pressure on their governments to reduce food and fuel subsidies until stronger social-protection schemes and other basic reforms are implemented.

Ghana’s Small Women’s Savings Groups Have Big Impact

By Albert Oppong-Ansah

Dunwaa Soayare, 45, a smallholder farmer, widow and mother of five had the sort of economic profile that meant she was denied access to credit from Ghana’s mainstream banking institutions.

Rich Railroad Brings Few Opportunities in Brazil

By Mario Osava

The Carajás railroad, regarded as the most efficient in Brazil, runs a loss-making passenger service for the benefit of the population. But this does little to make amends for its original sin: it was created to export minerals and crosses an area of chronic poverty.

Economic Reforms Needed for Peace in South Sudan

By Charlton Doki

Gatmai Deng lost three family members in the violence that erupted in South Sudan on Dec. 15 and lasted until the end of January. And he blames their deaths on the government’s failure to use the country’s vast oil revenues to create a better life for its almost 11 million people.

Casting Call for Kenya’s ‘Briefcase’ NGOs

By Miriam Gathigah

Ben Okoth, 45, was born and raised in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa, situated just outside of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. Over the years, he has encountered many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to improve the plight of the poor who live here.