Sector News

PNG drought leads to increased family violence

Eric Tlozek, ABC Radio | 28 Mar, 2016

Aid groups say thousands of Papua New Guineans remain at risk of malnutrition and disease because of the lingering effects of drought.

PNG has been experiencing its most severe El Nino-induced drought in almost 20 years.

The food shortages caused by the drought have had another far reaching effect - increasing the amount of family violence.

Suu Kyi loyalist and friend elected Myanmar's president

Ester Htusan, AP | 16 Mar, 2016

Myanmar's parliament elected Htin Kyaw as the country's new president Tuesday in a watershed moment that ushers the longtime opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi into government after 54 years of direct or indirect military rule.

UN Women's head: 'Historic shift' needed to find concrete ways to end gender inequality

Liz Ford, The Guardian | 15 Mar, 2016

The resolve of world leaders to end gender inequality will be tested at this year’s Commission on the Status of Women, the head of UN Women told delegates during the opening session on Monday.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said the annual two-week meeting in New York would be critical in finding concrete ways to implement the ambitious sustainable development goals (SDGs), a blueprint for development to 2030 that member states adopted in September.

230 Indicators Approved for SDG Agenda

Casey Dunning, Cenber for Global Development | 15 Mar, 2016

The final piece of the puzzle is in place for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Last Friday, March 11, the United Nations Statistical Commission’s Interagency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) agreed on 230 individual indicators to monitor the 17 goals and 169 targets of the SDGs. We now have a complete picture of the SDG agenda for the next 15 years, right? Not quite.

Volunteering and the UN Sustainability Development Goals

Peter Devereux, Pro Bono Australia | 15 Mar, 2016

When people in Australia think of volunteering they may think of volunteering in their kid’s school tuck shop or helping with a local beach or river cleanup, supporting kids with disabilities. Increasingly people also think of the growing volumes of voluntourists volunteering as part of overseas holidays – doing some tree planting, working with disadvantaged youth or caring for turtles.

Achieving a larger Australian aid program will require broader budget changes

Garth Luke, DevPolicy Blog | 15 Mar, 2016

Readily available statistics on Australia’s aid program go back to 1971. Since that time no Australian government has ever increased aid as a share of GNI when Commonwealth net debt has been greater than 10% of GDP. In other words, it is very hard, perhaps impossible, to achieve growth in the aid program when the Commonwealth is seen to have significant debt.

Mental illness one of development's 'invisible crises', says IMC expert

Sam Jones, Guardian | 15 Mar, 2016

Dr Inka Weissbecker, International Medical Corps’ mental health and psychosocial adviser, recently received an email from a colleague working in South Sudan.

In it, the Ethiopian psychiatrist gave her an account of the violence that tore through the huge UN camp close to the northern town of Malakal in mid-February, leaving 18 people dead and thousands without shelter.
 

With Syria: The faces behind five years of crisis

Faces of Syria | 14 Mar, 2016

Five years ago, street protests in Syria began that would soon escalate into a devastating war. More than 250,000 people have died, 4.8 million people have fled the country and 6.6 million people are internally displaced.

Australian aid helps mend Fiji relations

AAP | 14 Mar, 2016

Despite recent fractured relations, Australia is proving itself to be a friend in need for Fiji.

Canberra has committed 1000 troops, its biggest ship (HMAS Canberra) and $15 million in aid to help storm-hit communities get back on their feet after the devastation caused by Cyclone Winston.

Do international NGOs still have the right to exist?

Deborah Doane, The Guardian | 14 Mar, 2016

It’s highly unlikely that corporate bosses regularly ask themselves if their businesses have a right to exist. Their goal is to sell stuff and make a profit. But if your goal is to alleviate poverty and human suffering – in the face of statistics showing mixed outcomes – is this, in fact, the most important question an International NGO can ask of themselves?