With so much news on political infighting and royal departures, it’s easy to miss some crucial stories that highlight key global issues and show progress on Global Goals. So we’ve rounded up six underreported stories that you might have missed in January, including Gavi’s anniversary, the potential of Fitbits to track infectious disease outbreaks, and new efforts to tackle corruption.
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, turns 20
World leaders recently gathered for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Among...
Aid and Development
Isabel dos Santos is Africa’s richest woman, worth an estimated $3 billion. She has amassed a global empire of businesses, luxury apartments, and artwork, and built a reputation as a self-made woman who succeeded through hard work and determination.
But new reporting by investigative journalists has revealed she may have used secrecy and her government connections to help amass her fortune. Those connections included her father, who was president of Angola for 38 years until he stepped down in 2017....
It’s that time of year again. The world’s most powerful leaders will soon be making their way to Davos for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting, where they will spend a week in their mountain conclave discussing the world’s problems.
Those problems are mounting up. The Iran crisis has prompted renewed questions about peace, security and stability in the world’s most volatile region. The bushfires in Australia provide a daily reminder of our failure to respond adequately to the...
The word “scary” likely brings to mind creepy creatures, spooky specters, masked murderers, or any number of iconic horror images. But “global development” likely isn’t the first scary thing that enters your mind.
While it won’t be the topic of the next big horror movie, some of the challenges facing development can be truly horrifying. From extreme poverty, to gender equality, to corruption, these issues affect millions of people worldwide. Even the most vicious, havoc-wreaking creature of the night wouldn’t...
HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria don’t just cause illness and deaths around the world, they decrease productivity and increase the risk of poverty in the communities and countries affected. Loss of income and the cost of healthcare have dramatic effects on the individual, as well as their family and community.
Here’s what you need to know about these three diseases:
HIV/AIDS
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) attacks and destroys the body’s immune cells making it difficult for the body to fight off...
Written by Zori, ONE Youth Ambassador, Belgium
Being a Youth Ambassador (YA) has really put things into perspective for me. In June, I was able to attend the European Development Days (EDDs), one of Europe’s largest development summits organised by the European Commission, in Brussels.
ONE Youth Ambassadors at the 2019 EDDs.
The European Development Days
At the EDDs, ONE had an interactive stand staffed with enthusiastic Youth Ambassadors and activities like virtual reality glasses, a photo booth, quizzes and educational games. The...
The talented and ambitious from every corner of the globe were recently in Bonn, Germany, for the annual UN SDG Action Awards. The awards are a celebration of the campaigners who have been taking real action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UN SDG Action Awards recognises individuals, civil society organisations, subnational governments, foundations, networks, and private sector leaders from across the globe with the most innovative, impactful and transformative initiatives that are building a global movement of...
This story was originally reported by Megan Rowling and edited by Laurie Goering for the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
People are gaining access to electricity at a faster pace as governments ramp up efforts in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Kenya – but the prospects for many African countries remain gloomy, international agencies said on Wednesday.
Globally, those living without electricity dropped to about 840 million in 2017 from 1 billion in 2016, said a report tracking progress towards a global goal on...
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is among the top 5 most dangerous places to be born in the world: one in every fourteen children will die before reaching the age of one.
Glorie Sibamona is hoping that her newborn baby girl will beat those odds. And thanks to the innovative financing model of the Global Financing Facility (GFF), her chances are improving.
The GFF was set up in 2015 to increase funding to improve maternal and child health and end...
What does your future hold? University, your own business, fame and fortune? Whatever your hopes, you will not have imagined a future in which you got married off as a child, were denied an education, or infected with HIV by a husband that’s twice your age. But this is the reality for millions of girls living in extreme poverty. And it’s time to call it out for what it is: Sexist.
Nowhere on earth do girls and women have the...