After String of Disasters, Aid Organizations Struggle to Meet Demands – The high number of natural disasters this year have overwhelmed many relief organizations, and while donors were eager to donate following the earthquake in Haiti, the famine in the Horn of Africa has not attracted as much funding. Daniel Wordsworth of the American Refugee Committee believes that donors “don’t believe that . . . change is possible there or that their money, or their resources … will actually translate into something different on the ground.” (PBS NewsHour)
Congo tense as election results expected, with some fleeing, others hoarding food – As votes are counted in Congo’s presidential elections, “many fear a return to violence in the showdown between the country’s 40-year-old president , [Joseph Kabila], who controls the army, and Congo’s 78-year-old opposition leader, [Etienne Tshisekedi], who controls the street.” With Kabila currently in the lead, residents in the capital are stocking up on food and supplies, while others are fleeing the region. (AP)
Water Dilemma – A recent study from the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research indicates that “the developing world’s largest river basins have the water resources to accommodate a doubling of food production this century.” Dr. Simon Cook of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture explains that it is water management, and not water scarcity, that is encumbering agricultural development. (WSJ, Peter Guest)
Unlocking Africa’s Energy Potential – The lack of a substantial energy infrastructure and comprehensive grid connections in Africa makes the continent “a blank canvas” for renewable technologies like wind and solar. Renewable energy would be much cheaper than the decentralized diesel generators that many Africans currently rely on, yet the installation of a renewable energy grid would “require new cross-border collaboration between African governments, multilateral institutions and industry” that could serve as a model for the rest of the world. (WSJ, Andrea Chipman)
Fake malaria drugs a growing problem: experts – Fake and poor quality malaria drugs are increasing resistance in regions of southeast Asia, causing some US experts to call for tighter regulations. In “addition to tougher regulations, researchers need to focus on developing new drugs against malaria, and consider making sure they cannot be sold or distributed as monotherapies.” (AFP, Kerry Sheridan)
