Germany pushes development for upcoming G20 summit
The German government has expanded the agenda of next month’s G-20 Summit to include development issues that go well beyond the usual subject matter when the world’s richest countries meet. Climate change, global health, partnerships with African countries and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will be up for discussion as Germany chairs the meeting […]
G20 Africa summit seeks greater private investment in Africa
Germany is used its G20 presidency to call on governments and business to boost private investment in Africa, during a two-day conference with leaders from the continent in Berlin this week. Read more.
Germany’s ‘Marshall Plan with Africa’
A proposal from Germany’s development ministry stands to rewrite the country’s — and possibly the G20’s — aid relationship with Africa. The so-called Marshall Plan with Africa would prioritize encouraging private investment on the continent, possibly while reducing or shifting official development assistance. Read more.
HIV, family planning groups grapple with new WHO guidelines on popular contraceptive
The World Health Organization’s reclassification last month of progestogen-only injectable contraceptives has triggered a critical debate in the family planning community over how to manage the potential link between higher rates of HIV acquisition and one of the most popular birth control methods in many at-risk communities. Read more.
Civil society groups set advocacy targets for AIIB
Just over a year since the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank launched, civil society groups across Europe and Asia say their initial wariness toward the bank has deepened. CSOs are concerned about both the way the China-backed bank has rolled out key initial policies and what is actually included in those documents. Read more.
Insecurity jeopardizes South Sudan famine relief
In the wake of the United Nation’s declaration of famine in parts of war-torn South Sudan, humanitarian agencies are scrambling to deliver emergency assistance for the 100,000 people currently facing starvation and the more than 1 million more who are on the brink of it. These efforts could be stymied, however, if access issues in […]
Somali refugees under pressure to repatriate after U.S. ban
A U.S. executive order pausing the refugee program and barring nationals from seven countries from entering the United States for 90 days could endanger thousands of Somalis who had been cleared for resettlement, aid agencies and humanitarian workers warn. Read more.
A new platform for smallholder farmers
Digital technology has long been touted as the key to helping smallholder farmers around the world overcome barriers that have kept them trapped in poverty, though initial innovations did not always deliver on this promise. Now developers of digital tools for agriculture are trying to refine their offerings, focusing on products that farmers want to […]
In an apparent crackdown, Tanzania government raids NGO meeting on reproductive rights
Mysterious visitors started drifting in on the second morning of a mid-December training for Tanzanian reproductive health providers. First, organizers said, a woman entered the conference room of the Dar es Salaam hotel, announced herself as a BBC journalist and took a seat. Then unidentified men started coming and going. “It should have been a […]
Health is on the G20’s agenda. Now what?
Concerns over disease outbreaks — and the threat they pose to international security — will for the first time feature prominently on the agenda of the upcoming Group of 20 summit. A coalition of development and relief agencies is using the opportunity to push global leaders for stronger commitments to improve health systems in some […]