NYTimes: Carving a Legacy of Giving (to His Party, Too) – Bill Clinton conducted a six-day tour to South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda in July, in an effort to provide a “group of donors and aides . . . a firsthand look at the philanthropic work that has consumed most of his post-presidential energy.” Clinton’s visit touched on Africa’s food shortage, waterborne disease, the AIDS epidemic and the famine in Somalia. (Amy Chozick)
Christian Science Monitor: Six solutions to lifting the world’s farm workers out of poverty – Agriculture employs more than one billion people worldwide, yet agricultural workers are “among the most socially vulnerable; the least organized in trade unions; [and] employed under the poorest health, safety, and environmental conditions.” By supporting organized labor, including women in agricultural development, and supporting universal education, we can simultaneously “promote sustainable agriculture and international development.” (Catherine Ward)
VOA: Polio on Rise in Nigeria, Insecurity to Blame - The Council on Foreign Relations reports that the Boko Haram insurgency in northern Nigeria is contributing to the increasing presence of polio in Nigeria and that securing the area is a necessary part of the solution. Nigeria has 77 new cases of polio so far this year, a near 25 percent increase compared to last year. While the vaccine for polio is available in northern Nigeria, families often refuse it as a result of a mistrust of Western pharmaceutical companies. (Heather Murdock)
Devex: Swift action needed to combat rising food prices – World Bank President Jim Yong Kim warned last week that “shark spikes in food prices are endangering the health and well-being of millions of people,” particularly in Africa and the Middle East. Severe droughts in the U.S., Brazil, Russia and Ukraine have resulted in lower grain yields and high prices. Aid agencies funded through voluntary contributions like the WFP may not be able to acquire the necessary food for aid as the prices rise. (Amy Lieberman)
