Rules imposed after 9/11 and still on the books are getting in the way of delivering aid to conflict zones. In countries like Yemen and Syria, it could mean the difference between life and death.
No need for a bank: Just a smartphone and a blockchain.
Houman Haddad/UN World Food Program
Susan Appe, Binghamton University, State University of New York
With steep budget cuts looming, a growing number of tiny volunteer-driven organizations are delivering aid on their own. Will the Trump administration inspire even more small-scale global giving?
The government-funded International Republican Institute, a nonprofit, supports democratic efforts like this voter education campaign in Burma.
International Republican Institute
U.S. democracy assistance is not perfect. But drastic cuts to that slice of the federal budget would sever a lifeline to pro-democracy activists around the world.
If implemented, President Trump’s proposed foreign aid cuts would have many repercussions.
Kendra Helmer/USAID
As President Trump puts U.S. foreign aid on the chopping block, few Americans know much about it. Perhaps even fewer realize that the U.S. lags behind its peers on this front.
Women in rural Malawi, outside an AIDS hospital. AIDS was the first of the ‘new’ pandemic threats, after bird flu.
Author provided.
An active outbreak of a type of bird flu in China raises concerns about worldwide pandemics. Ebola and Zika viruses still threaten. Here’s why this is not the time to cut funding.
A camp for people affected by malnutrition in Eritrea.
A photo smuggled out of Eritrea by the Freedom Friday network.
Martin Plaut, School of Advanced Study, University of London
Eritreans are at risk of severe malnutrition – but aid agencies struggle to access those in need.
Was World Vision Australia chief advocate Tim Costello right to say that Australia’s foreign aid spending was at its highest under Menzies, at 0.5% of gross national income?
AAP Image/Royal Australian Air Force, CPL Jessica de Rouw
Donald J. Trump is the new man in charge of the US, and Africa seems to have little cause for celebration. But what does the new Commander-in-Chief really think of the continent?
Donald Trump has promised to make America great again.
Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
The Global Trends report provides a useful starting point to reflect on what’s in store for Africa over the next five years. And how the continent should think about responding to its challenges.
U.S. Marines in Honduras in July 2016.
Wikimedia Commons
Violence, poverty and oppression in Honduras are causing thousands to flee to the US. Will Trump own the role of US foreign policy in creating these problems?
Burundian refugees fleeing conflict at home gather on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Kigoma region in western Tanzania.
Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
The initiative to establish an African Humanitarian Agency is a welcome one. But political, technical and financial support will matter. This will require the AU to take a pragmatic approach. Can it?
Soft power, getting softer?
DFID - UK Department for International Development/flickr.com
For a global audience, the movie ‘A United Kingdom’ provides a topical account of race relations. The love story is likely to revitalize the popular viewpoint of Botswana as a national success story.
Humanitarian crises across the globe are often in unreachable and volatile places.
Reuters/Khaled Abdullah
Getting assistance to populations in need demands new ways of doing development that are smarter, faster and more efficient.
Kenyan civil society activists protest against the extrajudicial killing of a human rights lawyer and his client. Restrictions against NGOs have intensified.
Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
The government of Uhuru Kenyatta may wish to reconsider its repeated attacks against NGOs. The country as a whole is likely to benefit if the government softens its stance.
Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann launched an assault on Labor’s spending promises.
Treasurer's Office
Consider this statement from Treasurer Scott Morrison about the alleged financial “black hole” in Labor’s program. “The worst case scenario is $67 billion. Best case scenario is a $32 billion black hole…