Guardian: George Osborne declares ‘historic moment’ on UK aid target – Britain will meet its target to spend 0.7% of gross national income on aid this year, George Osborne, the chancellor, confirmed in his budget speech this morning. By doing so, the UK will become the first member of the G8 to meet the long-standing UN target. Britain is committing to the target despite austerity measures elsewhere. The Archbishop of York said that the UK had a “moral and social obligation to help eradicate the unnecessary suffering of others, and argued that it was a false choice to choose between international aid and tackling poverty in the UK.” (Mark Tran)
AllAfrica: Post-2015 Development Agenda Must Address Youth Issues – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Envoy on Youth, Ahmad Alhendawi, has stressed that the process of establishing a post-2015 development agenda must include youth input and participation to reflect the issues that concern them. With 1.2 billion young people globally – the largest ever population of young people – issues such as education and unemployment need to be addressed by policymakers. Mr. Alhendawi, who will work with different UN agencies to enhance their programs on youth, said that: “This is definitely an opportunity where young people can participate in setting the agenda, and then own this agenda by being equal partners in its implementation and evaluation.”
Huffington Post: How to Triple Food Production in Africa – The Agriculture and Food Security Center at the Earth Institute at Columbia University has worked over the past 11 years to improve rural livelihoods, human nutrition, and environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, corn yields have more than doubled in the Millennium Villages, lives are being saves with free distribution of mosquito bed nets and children are receiving free nutrition school meals. With many other initiatives such as USAID’s Feed the Future, food production is beginning to increase in Africa. The specter of massive hunger by a world population of 10 billion in 2050 is not as large as it once was. (Pedro A. Sanchez)
BBC: Zimbabwe approves new constitution - Zimbabwe’s new constitution was approved by an overwhelming majority in Saturday’s referendum, the electoral commission has said. The document, which will limit future presidents to two five-year terms, was backed by more than three million votes – nearly 95% of those who voted. It was supported by the countries’ two main political parties who have been in a power-sharing government since 2009. The constitution’s approval paves the way for elections later in the year.
