World Bank sounds alarm on “historical reversal” of development for poorest nations
Washington DC, US Reuters Half of the world’s 75 poorest countries are experiencing a widening income gap with the wealthiest economies for the first time this century in a historical reversal of development, the World Bank said in a report on Monday. The differential between per capita income growth in the poorest countries and the […]
Global child mortality rates dropped in 2022 but progress slow, UN says
London, UK Reuters The number of children globally who died before their fifth birthday dropped to a record low of 4.9 million in 2022, but that still represents one death every six seconds, according to new United Nations estimates. While the mortality rate for under-5s has roughly halved since 2000, the world is still behind […]
World Bank, Gates, UN pledge close to $US600 million to end cervical cancer
London, UK Reuters Global health donors pledged nearly $US600 million towards eliminating cervical cancer on Tuesday, at the first global forum dedicated to fighting the disease. The World Bank, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UN children’s agency UNICEF said in a joint statement that the funding would go towards expanding access to […]
World Bank poised to host climate loss and damage fund, despite concerns
Reuters Countries moved a step closer on Saturday to getting a fund off the ground to help poor states damaged by climate disasters, despite reservations from developing nations and the United States. The deal to create a “loss and damage” fund was hailed as a breakthrough for developing country negotiators at United Nations climate talks […]
Niger junta says it will not back down despite “inhumane” sanctions
Niamey, Niger/Abuja, NigeriaReuters The self-declared new leader of Niger on Wednesday said the junta would not bow to pressure to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, intensifying a standoff with the West African bloc which has threatened to intervene after last week’s coup. The Economic Community of West African States has imposed sanctions on Niger and […]
Paris finance summit breaks new ground in climate, poverty fight
Barcelona, SpainThomson Reuters Foundation A new patchwork of pledges from the world’s biggest development lenders, set to release hundreds of billions of dollars for poorer nations, has raised hopes the financial floodgates are finally starting to open in tackling climate change and poverty. Last week’s “Summit for a New Global Financing Pact” in Paris – […]
Ukraine targets initial $US40 billion for ‘Green Marshall Plan’
London, UKReuters War-torn Ukraine is seeking up to $US40 billion to fund the first part of a “Green Marshall Plan” to rebuild its economy, a senior Ukrainian government official told Reuters ahead of a summit this week. Politicians and financiers will discuss the country’s short-term funding issues as well as look at long-term reconstruction efforts […]
Flood response: In Pakistan, homes get green, disaster-resilient redesign
As Pakistan tries to rebuild better after devastating floods, cheap, natural and easy-to-construct homes may be one answer. ZOFEEN T EBRAHIM, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Global migration to grow, needs better management, says World Bank
Washington DC, US Reuters Rapid aging of both wealthy and middle-income countries will make their economies increasingly dependent on migration from poorer countries, and the process needs to be better managed, the World Bank said on Tuesday. The bank’s latest World Development Report said that about 184 million people across the world now live in […]
Essay: Billions still lack access to safe drinking water – this is a global human rights catastrophe
TAHSEEN JAFRY, director of the Mary Robinson Centre for Climate Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University, says that, alarmingly, there are more people now without access to clean water than there were three decades ago…