Despite promises by G8 leaders to prioritise food security, the World Food Programme is in trouble with its budget for 2009. Cuts in school feeding programmes highlight the contrast with school meals provided in richer countries.
Sri Lanka finesses its IMF loan
Over the last year the Sri Lankan government has upset UN agencies, outraged human rights groups and insulted European ministers. Why has the IMF agreed to a $2.6 billion loan facility?
Shipping emissions inflated by Cape route
Can the International Maritime Organization be taken seriously by climate change negotiators when its ships choose to sail from Europe around the Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Suez Canal?
Media ignores Millennium Development Goals report
The outcome of the G8 summit was disappointing for poverty reduction and climate change. Perhaps we are to blame for not drawing more attention to the annual progress report on the Millennium Development Goals published in advance of the summit.
Wimbledon roof snubs index insurance
The new sliding roof over the Wimbledon Centre Court represents an extreme and expensive example of adapting to climate uncertainties. Low cost index insurance is a valuable tool for poor farmers but can it work if climate becomes even less predictable?
UK climate projections betray Copenhagen agenda
The new UK climate projections published by the Met Office Hadley Centre are a valuable risk management tool for policymakers. But they also speak volumes about the global failure to protect poor countries from climate change.
Children’s rights mirror the global divide
Laws to protect children from sexual abuse in the UK are advanced and actively implemented. The absence of such laws in many developing countries is a major concern to human rights campaigners.
Digital learning and global poverty
School textbooks are history, says Arnold Schwarzenegger. That’s good news for publishers such as OneWorld but do youngsters have adequate concentration spans in the online environment?
Time to burst Dambisa’s bubble
Critics of Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid are missing the point. Worse still, by conducting the debate on her territory, they provide fodder for the anti-aid media circus and damage prospects for the Copenhagen climate change negotiations.
Assorted omens for Copenhagen climate agreement
The mood of last week’s World Business Summit on Climate Change was positive that climate negotiators will reach agreement in Copenhagen in December. But US Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, appears to be in hasty retreat from election promises.