The turmoil in Egypt raises endless questions about accountability. To name a few: Is it possible for a dictator to be accountable to his people? What responsibility do Egypt’s allies have for holding him accountable? Are the massive public demonstrations currently on display doing any more for accountability than the previous status quo? Any leadership […]
The return of former president Jean-Claude Duvalier was a shock to Haiti, both in terms of surprise as well as the frisson that it sent through much of the population. Associated by some with a time of stability, “Baby Doc” Duvalier was more commonly known for the brutal legacy he continued in his father’s footsteps. […]
This week, the president of Tunisia, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, fled the country amid massive demonstrations against his administration’s authoritarianism and corruption. It was a success for those who believe that corruption should not be tolerated and corrupt officials should be driven from power. While the protests began after a single jobless youth set himself […]
Beginning this week, Odwalla plans to donate 10 cents from every purchase of Mango Tango Smoothies to the Haiti relief effort. The money is intended to promote training and better market access for Haiti’s mango farmers. “With the one-year anniversary of the earthquake upon us, we wanted to renew our commitment to the important reconstruction […]
Interesting op-ed today in the Huffington Post concerning the new Congress and its plans for USAID. As an excerpt, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FLA), the incoming Republican chairwoman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, made it clear that cuts are coming in foreign aid budgets. She adds, “We must shift our foreign aid focus from […]
If I had to pick a phrase to describe the Global Health arena in 2010, I would choose “2 steps forward, 1 step back”. With tightened purse strings, public health programs had hands tied in many ways; but on the research front, some of the breakthroughs were mind-blowing. All in all, it was a year […]
It’s difficult to assess the impact of development aid in 2010- there has been a lot going on. The Millennium Development Goal summit yielded little, except further confirmation that China and India have been the driving forces behind the majority of progress toward what MDGs may be achievable, and much of Sub-Saharan Africa has fallen, […]
This just in from my colleague at PRI’s The World – a series called “Rationing Health: Who Lives? Who Decides?”, airing on public radio and online starting tomorrow. The series takes a look at four countries where different approaches to the distribution of healthcare have led to ethical dilemmas, including: South Africa – Rationing by Committee […]
The latest Wikileaks revelations are too extensive for any single person to have yet sifted through, and they pertain to so many aspects of foreign policy that it is difficult to know where to focus. Here are some of the highlights related to corruption. In the category of “I knew just as much simply by […]
Europe and Africa: a partnership of equals? The UN launches a $678 million appeal for humanitarian aid in Afghanistan What the average American thinks we spend on foreign aid And, since everyone seems be talking about it, the SNL (read: Andy Samberg) take on world history Enjoy! As soon as finals give me some time […]
I’ve just returned from a drumming ceremony commemorating World AIDS Day 2010. In my more jaded moments, it’s easy to dismiss these sorts of days as attempts by silos of the public health community to get their share of the limelight. But for those living with HIV and on the front lines of the fight, […]
This month was the biannual International Anti-Corruption Conference, which took place this year in Bangkok. The conference is an opportunity for a large portion of the world’s people who are thinking about corruption to get together, share ideas, learn what’s new, and of course schmooze (a bit). The theme of the conference this year was […]
Ushahidi, which means “testimony” in Swahili, is a website that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Ushahidi’s roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis. The website was used to map incidents of violence and peace […]
The United States federal court convicted two Liberian men on Tuesday of conspiring to steal more than $1.4 million in U.S. aid from World Vision. Prosecutors said the two Liberians had sold nearly all of World Vision’s food aid; auditors said a third of it was allocated to towns that did not exist.