Kenya tops world in growth in new electricity connections
8/7/2021: The latest progress report on the Sustainable Development Goal for energy finds that Kenya has increased access to electricity faster than other countries. This outcome stems from Kenya’s last-mile connectivity programme, targeting rural areas.
Source: The East African
Sustainable development report shows devastating impact of COVID
6/7/2021: The world was not on track to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals before COVID-19 struck, and now the challenge has been magnified many times over, according to a new flagship UN report. In addition to almost four million deaths due to the coronavirus, between 119-124 million people have been pushed back into poverty and chronic hunger.
Source: UN News
Billions risk being without access to clean water by 2030
1/7/2021: Latest global data from the World Health Organization and UN Children’s Fund reveals that access to safely managed drinking water at home increased only from 70 to 74 per cent between 2016 and 2020. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of universal coverage by 2030 will require a quadrupling of the current rate of progress.
Source: UN News
Reflections on humanitarian affairs by outgoing UN "relief chief"
16/6/2021: Mark Lowcock reflects on his four years as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. His greatest single concern is whether the world can find a set of arrangements for geopolitical collaboration necessary to manage the really big crises.
Source: UN News
Palm oil: What’s the big deal?
16/6/2021: Palm oil has become an ingredient in so many of our daily staples. But more than 90% of palm oil is produced in the regions of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, where the land being cleared is tropical rainforests. Is this as bad as we are led to believe?
Source: DW
Beijing wants more children, but only a certain kind
15/6/2021: The Chinese government has announced that it will allow all couples to have three children, an increase from two. But one-child, two-child or three-child policies are all the same. All are infringements on women’s reproductive rights: treating human beings as instruments of achieving the goals of the state.
Source: The Interpreter
ICC: New chief prosecutor divides opinions in Africa
15/6/2021: Karim Khan, the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, is taking up his mandate at a critical moment. In the 18 years of the Court's existence, prosecutors have managed to secure just five significant convictions.
Source: DW
Achieving universal access to electricity by 2030 is off track
7/6/2021: During the last decade, the number of people without electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa actually increased, despite falling elsewhere. According to the latest Energy Progress Report, an estimated 660 million people will still lack access to electricity in 2030, most of them in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the Global Goal to ensure universal access by that date.
Source: The World Bank
Sanctions: What are they good for?
4/6/2021: How to confront rogue regimes, such as Belarus and Myanmar, has long vexed governments that wish to safeguard rules-based relations and free trade. Sanctions are a popular option but are not a panacea to the world's problems. Like war, sanctions can lead to unintended consequences and collateral damage.
Source: DW
Southeast Asian states reject UN call for Myanmar arms embargo
29/5/2021: Nine Southeast Asian nations have proposed watering down a UN General Assembly draft resolution on Myanmar, removing a call for an arms embargo, in a bid to win the unanimous support of the 193-member body. The vote planned for last week was postponed at the last minute.
Source: CNA