CNN: Opinion: Who should set the world’s goals? – In the year 2000, world leaders agreed to the Millennium Development Goals, in which developing countries promised to at least halve extreme poverty, combat hunger and deaths from disease and other targets by 2015, and developed countries promised to aid them by dropping debts, increasing smart aid and reforming trade. As we approach 2015, can measure our success thus far and discuss what should be in the new goals. Jamie Drummond believes that we should start the process by polling the world’s poorest people, for whom the goals are designed. We can ask this community “what they want the goals to be and how they want to support the achievement of these goals.” (Jamie Drummond)
VOA: Waste Not, Want Not – This week marks World Water Week, and this year’s theme is Water and Food Security. Officials, policymakers and scientists will gather in Stockholm to discuss supply and demand and raise global awareness about the issue. The U.N. has found that by 2030 the global demand for water will outstrip supply by 40 percent.” But despite the “enormous waste of food and water . . . the know-how is available to ensure food and water security.” (Joe DeCapua)
Devex: A closer look at AfDP’s funding priorities on energy – The African Development Bank’s new policy and strategy calls for the Bank to be more selective in the types of energy projects it funds in an effort to “help boost the region’s energy sector.” The Bank aims to “improve access to reliable and affordable energy services, and encourage the use of clean energy.” (Ivy Mungcal)
Reuters: Cholera Risk in Storm-Hit Haiti – Tropical storm Isaac ripped through Haiti this weekend, killing at least four people and putting the island nation “at risk of a fresh cholera outbreak.” More than 7,500 people have died of cholera in Haiti since the water-borne disease first appeared in 2010. With the flooding left behind from Isaac, many are worried about public health emergencies like cholera, and clean water, food, safety and security are the top priorities of aid agencies in the region.
