Access to safe drinking water requires increased investment
24/10/2022: The State of the World’s Drinking Water report notes that over 2 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water in the past two decades. However, one-quarter of the world’s population has been left behind and governments must dramatically increase political commitment and quadruple investment in drinking water.
Source: World Health Organization
Forest Declaration Assessment: are we on track for 2030?
24/10/2022: To be on course to halt deforestation completely by 2030, a 10 percent annual reduction is needed. In 2021, loss of irreplaceable primary tropical forest decreased by only 3.1 percent.
Source: Forest Declaration Assessment
Global leaders commit $2.6 billion to end polio
18/10/2022: Global leaders have confirmed $2.6 billion in funding toward the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s 2022-2026 Strategy. There is concern about recent detections of polio in previously polio-free countries.
Source: World Health Organization
Famine should not exist in 2022
17/10/2022: The past four rainy seasons in Somalia have failed to materialise. The UN predicts more than 300,000 people will be in famine by December, despite global commitments to never let the 2011 famine happen again.
Source: The Conversation
Fuel subsidy cuts won’t scratch Indonesian president
19/10/2022: Indonesia has remained stable in the weeks following an unpopular cut to the government’s fuel subsidy. As with all fuel subsidies, a large share of the benefits go to the middle-class. Poorer Indonesians would be better protected through targeted economic relief.
Source: East Asia Forum
The 20th Party Congress is another step in Xi’s rise
16/10/2022: The 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is scheduled to confirm Xi Jinping as China’s leader for a third term. By steering China back towards a system of one-man rule, echoing that of Maoist China or Russia under Vladimir Putin, Xi risks replicating all of their governance failures as well.
Source: East Asia Forum
Time is running out for decisions on debt relief
19/10/2022: Senior managers from the UN Development Programme warn of a rapid deterioration of an already damaging debt crisis amongst low income countries. They argue that the international community has the resources to take action.
Source: Inter Press Service
Lifting 100 million out of poverty by 2025 still possible
17/10/2022: The latest update of the Multidimensional Poverty Index demonstrates that nearly twice as many people should be recognised as living in poverty compared with those assessed by the single monetary benchmark of $1.90 per day. It suggests that cutting-edge data and analytics can pinpoint the areas where spending will have the most impact.
Source: UN News
World Food Day amid a global food crisis
16/10/2022: World Food Day falls this year as the global food security outlook is bleak, driven by Covid-19, extreme weather events, and the war in Ukraine. Funding for social protection is essential to respect that access to adequate food is a basic human right.
Source: Human Rights Watch
African Union struggling to bring Ethiopian parties to talks
16/10/2022: The abrupt cancellation of planned peace talks between Ethiopia’s warring parties has raised questions on the capacity of the African Union. Questions have emerged a to whether parties and mediators, were adequately briefed in advance.
Source: The East African