It turns out that microcredit is not just for developing small businesses and raising incoe levels. One of the major benefits of microcredit is the way it helps people survive emergencies and unexpected expenses. Far better to take a loan to cover medical bills, for example, than to kill an income-producing animal like a cow or sell necessary assets. However, microcredit isn’t the only solution to that kind of problem. Savings are equally – or more – effective in an emergency.
There is a stunning anti-UN protest underway in Columbo, Sri Lanka. Nationalist protesters led by a government official have blockaded scores of UN employees inside a UN compound. Outside, protestors have burned Ban Ki Moon in effigy.
Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) are one of the trickiest topics in global health. On the one hand, they are a popular, affordable option for women who are unable or unwilling to use conventional medical care. On the other hand, they are often untrained and may do more harm than good to mothers giving birth. Recent developments in Uganda make that dilemma very clear.
Agriculture researchers in Bangladesh have released a new report on climate change. They predict that if nothing is done, rice production will dramatically decline by 2050, just as the nation’s population is peaking. As a hot, low-lying, agricultural nation, Bangladesh is especially vulnerable to climate change.
For the past several months there has been an on going effort at the UN to combine four disparate UN agencies that deal with womens' and gender issues under the leadership of one single under-secretary general. Inside UN circles, this is clumsily referred to as the "Gender Entity" process. And at 3:30 this afternoon, the General Assembly unanimously voted to bring this effort to life.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cuts this video of the economist James Galbraith explaining how the financial crisis has effected levels of global inequality. Fascinating stuff.
The head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres headed to Kyrgyzstan this week to oversee the UN Refugee Agency's efforts there.
Sky News caught up with him yesterday.
In honor of Canada day, here is arguably the best classic rock song ever written about Canadian colonial history. Can't help but think the Acadians' plight might have been made easier should the international Organization for Migration or the UN Refugee Agency existed back in 1759.
I attended a panel at the New America Foundation yesterday that included James Traub (one of my favorite authors), Steve Clemons (a friend and former boss) and Pauline Baker of the Fund for Peace for a discussion of the Fund's 1 … 6 7 8