Global IssuesToday, around 21,000 children died around the world. This daily tragedy, from poverty and other preventable causes, rarely makes headline news.
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World
Turning the Tide on Tuberculosis: Ensuring Access, Treatment, and Prevention for All Communities
- Inter Press Service
Williamsburg, VA, USA, Mar 21 (IPS) - Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the aerophilic intracellular obligate pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a globally endemic bacterial infection transmitted person-to-person through airborne droplets. Although fully preventable and curable, TB remains a persistent global health challenge and is projected to be a leading infectious disease by 2025.
The Toll of Mental Health in Conflict Areas
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 21 (IPS) - Over the past two decades, conversations surrounding mental wellness have entered the cultural consciousness in the western world. Despite this, these topics receive far less media exposure in the Global South, particularly in areas that have been entrenched in warfare, where the onset of harmful mental health conditions are prevalent.
Food Security and Water, a Priority for Border Towns in Central America
- Inter Press Service
CANDELARIA DE LA FRONTERA, El Salvador, Mar 21 (IPS) - The hope of Salvadoran Cristian Castillo to harvest tomatoes in a municipality of the Central American Dry Corridor hung by a thread when his well, which he used to irrigate his crops, dried up. However, his enthusiasm returned when a regional project taught him how to harvest rainwater for when the rains begin in May.
A Weapon in the Fight for Water Security: Preserving the Glaciers
- Inter Press Service
PRETORIA, South Africa, Mar 21 (IPS) - World Water Day, celebrated on March 22 every year, raises awareness about the importance of water and advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme for 2025 focuses on glaciers — those grandiose ice masses that are a crucial part of the world's water resources.
Glaciers Of The SADC Region – A Wake-Up Call For Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa, Mar 21 (IPS) - World Water Day calls us all to promote the essential element of life: water. But we must also look this year at the rapidly vanishing sources of freshwater that we depend on, especially glaciers. Although glaciers may be remote for many of us, they are an essential component of the water cycle, nourishing rivers and lakes that are important for millions of people around the world. As precious resources with sources under threat, glaciers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are an area of focus.
How Rare Rhino, Tiger Conservation Has Locked Out Indigenous Communities
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Mar 21 (IPS) - While a local community prides itself on caring for a sensitive biodiverse region, and despite centuries-long stewardship of the Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the authorities rebuff—sometimes aggressively—their attempts to remain involved.
Award Winning Women Goat Herders in Chile Confront Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
OVALLE, Chile, Mar 21 (IPS) - Chile's goat tradition began in 1544. Now, despite a prolonged drought, the women herders are adapting it to climate change and producing award-winning cheese.Women goat herders in the municipality of Ovalle, in northern Chile, are confronting climate change by defending their heritage through improvements in the quality and variety of their products, which has led some to win international awards for their cheeses.
How Aid Cuts Will Shatter Global Water and Sanitation Progress
- Inter Press Service
BRIGHTON, UK, Mar 21 (IPS) - The principle of leaving no one behind is central to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The progress toward achieving SDG 6, which aims to ensure universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030 is increasingly under threat with recent development funding cuts posing a significant barrier.
UNICEF condemns looting of lifesaving supplies for children in Sudan
- UN News
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday strongly condemned the looting of vital humanitarian supplies from Al Bashair Hospital in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, warning that the theft puts thousands of malnourished children and mothers at risk.
‘The poison of racism continues to infect our world’, Guterres warns on International Day
- UN News
The United Nations commemorated the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Friday, calling on the global community to uphold its shared responsibility to combat racism in all its forms.
- More stories…
Climate
Food Security and Water, a Priority for Border Towns in Central America
- Inter Press Service
CANDELARIA DE LA FRONTERA, El Salvador, Mar 21 (IPS) - The hope of Salvadoran Cristian Castillo to harvest tomatoes in a municipality of the Central American Dry Corridor hung by a thread when his well, which he used to irrigate his crops, dried up. However, his enthusiasm returned when a regional project taught him how to harvest rainwater for when the rains begin in May.
A Weapon in the Fight for Water Security: Preserving the Glaciers
- Inter Press Service
PRETORIA, South Africa, Mar 21 (IPS) - World Water Day, celebrated on March 22 every year, raises awareness about the importance of water and advocates for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme for 2025 focuses on glaciers — those grandiose ice masses that are a crucial part of the world's water resources.
Glaciers Of The SADC Region – A Wake-Up Call For Climate Action
- Inter Press Service
BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa, Mar 21 (IPS) - World Water Day calls us all to promote the essential element of life: water. But we must also look this year at the rapidly vanishing sources of freshwater that we depend on, especially glaciers. Although glaciers may be remote for many of us, they are an essential component of the water cycle, nourishing rivers and lakes that are important for millions of people around the world. As precious resources with sources under threat, glaciers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region are an area of focus.
How Rare Rhino, Tiger Conservation Has Locked Out Indigenous Communities
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Mar 21 (IPS) - While a local community prides itself on caring for a sensitive biodiverse region, and despite centuries-long stewardship of the Kaziranga, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the authorities rebuff—sometimes aggressively—their attempts to remain involved.
Award Winning Women Goat Herders in Chile Confront Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
OVALLE, Chile, Mar 21 (IPS) - Chile's goat tradition began in 1544. Now, despite a prolonged drought, the women herders are adapting it to climate change and producing award-winning cheese.Women goat herders in the municipality of Ovalle, in northern Chile, are confronting climate change by defending their heritage through improvements in the quality and variety of their products, which has led some to win international awards for their cheeses.
WORLD WATER DAY LIVE: ‘A cold hard truth’
- UN News
Melting glaciers, climate crises and access to clean water are some of the messages emerging ahead of World Water Day and the first ever World Day for Glaciers. Join us for live coverage of events at UN Headquarters in New York, Paris and around the world on the 2025 theme of preserving glaciers. UN News app users can follow here.
Civil Society: The Last Line of Defence in a World of Cascading Crises
- Inter Press Service
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay / LONDON, Mar 20 (IPS) - In a world of overlapping crises, from brutal conflicts and democratic regression to climate breakdown and astronomic levels of economic inequality, one vital force stands as a shield and solution: civil society. This is the sobering but ultimately hopeful message of CIVICUS’s 14th annual State of Civil Society Report, which provides a wide-ranging civil society perspective on the state of the world as it stands in early 2025.
International Day of Forests: ‘Now is the time for decisive, collaborative action’
- Inter Press Service
SRINAGAR, Mar 20 (IPS) - The Forest Declaration Assessment Partners have called for urgent reforms to the international financial system to halt deforestation and protect biodiversity. It has also pitched for redirecting the public subsidies to mitigate the direct and indirect environmental risks from both public and private finance.
WHO give clean bill of health to cities taking action on preventable diseases
- UN News
Three cities that share a healthy vision for their residents won UN World Health Organization awards on Thursday for their smoke-free parks, clean air initiatives and obesity-busting school lunch initiatives.
End of eternal ice: Many glaciers will not survive this century, climate scientists say
- UN News
Glaciers in many regions will not survive the 21st century if they keep melting at the current rate, potentially jeopardising hundreds of millions of people living downstream, UN climate experts said on the first World Day for Glaciers.
- More stories…
Health
Turning the Tide on Tuberculosis: Ensuring Access, Treatment, and Prevention for All Communities
- Inter Press Service
Williamsburg, VA, USA, Mar 21 (IPS) - Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the aerophilic intracellular obligate pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a globally endemic bacterial infection transmitted person-to-person through airborne droplets. Although fully preventable and curable, TB remains a persistent global health challenge and is projected to be a leading infectious disease by 2025.
The Toll of Mental Health in Conflict Areas
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 21 (IPS) - Over the past two decades, conversations surrounding mental wellness have entered the cultural consciousness in the western world. Despite this, these topics receive far less media exposure in the Global South, particularly in areas that have been entrenched in warfare, where the onset of harmful mental health conditions are prevalent.
How Aid Cuts Will Shatter Global Water and Sanitation Progress
- Inter Press Service
BRIGHTON, UK, Mar 21 (IPS) - The principle of leaving no one behind is central to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The progress toward achieving SDG 6, which aims to ensure universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030 is increasingly under threat with recent development funding cuts posing a significant barrier.
UNICEF condemns looting of lifesaving supplies for children in Sudan
- UN News
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday strongly condemned the looting of vital humanitarian supplies from Al Bashair Hospital in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, warning that the theft puts thousands of malnourished children and mothers at risk.
Israel Ends Ceasefire in Gaza as Strikes Resume
- Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Mar 20 (IPS) - On March 18, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched an attack on the Gaza Strip, effectively terminating the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement. This comes after a pause in ceasefire operations when Israel continued its blockade on humanitarian aid in the enclave and demanded the release of additional hostages.
WHO give clean bill of health to cities taking action on preventable diseases
- UN News
Three cities that share a healthy vision for their residents won UN World Health Organization awards on Thursday for their smoke-free parks, clean air initiatives and obesity-busting school lunch initiatives.
New Survey: US Funding Freeze Triggers Global Crisis in Human Rights and Democracy
- Inter Press Service
THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Mar 19 (IPS) - A new survey carried out by the EU System for an Enabling Environment (EU SEE) network exposes the impact of the US funding freeze on civil society organisations (CSOs) in over 50 countries. With 67% of surveyed organisations directly impacted and 40% of them losing between 25-50% of their budgets, the abrupt halt in funding is disrupting critical human rights, democracy, gender equality and health programs, leaving vulnerable communities without essential support.
Epilepsy Patients in Africa Fight Stigma and Neglect
- Inter Press Service
BENIN, Nigeria, Mar 19 (IPS) - When Angela Asemota’s son began having seizures at six years old in 1996, people gossiped that he was possessed by evil spirits, leading her to seek healing from native healers and religious clerics. He underwent several traditional rituals and drank various concoctions, but the seizures persisted. It was not until his fourth year in secondary school in 2004 that she took him to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with epilepsy and began taking medication.
When Ethnic Violence Turns Women Against Women
- Inter Press Service
NEW DELHI, Mar 18 (IPS) - For Kikim*, it was the ides of May, instead of March, that was, in one sense, her undoing. She was looking forward to welcoming her baby, her first. But life took an unexpected turn, and things changed within a split second.
FAO warns of ‘unprecedented’ avian flu spread, in call for global action
- UN News
The rapid spread of the highly infectious avian flu virus H5N1 has reached an “unprecedented” scale, wiping out hundreds of millions of birds worldwide and increasingly spilling over into mammals, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday.
- More stories…
Economy
Food Security and Water, a Priority for Border Towns in Central America
- Inter Press Service
CANDELARIA DE LA FRONTERA, El Salvador, Mar 21 (IPS) - The hope of Salvadoran Cristian Castillo to harvest tomatoes in a municipality of the Central American Dry Corridor hung by a thread when his well, which he used to irrigate his crops, dried up. However, his enthusiasm returned when a regional project taught him how to harvest rainwater for when the rains begin in May.
Award Winning Women Goat Herders in Chile Confront Climate Change
- Inter Press Service
OVALLE, Chile, Mar 21 (IPS) - Chile's goat tradition began in 1544. Now, despite a prolonged drought, the women herders are adapting it to climate change and producing award-winning cheese.Women goat herders in the municipality of Ovalle, in northern Chile, are confronting climate change by defending their heritage through improvements in the quality and variety of their products, which has led some to win international awards for their cheeses.
Civil Society: The Last Line of Defence in a World of Cascading Crises
- Inter Press Service
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay / LONDON, Mar 20 (IPS) - In a world of overlapping crises, from brutal conflicts and democratic regression to climate breakdown and astronomic levels of economic inequality, one vital force stands as a shield and solution: civil society. This is the sobering but ultimately hopeful message of CIVICUS’s 14th annual State of Civil Society Report, which provides a wide-ranging civil society perspective on the state of the world as it stands in early 2025.
International Day of Forests: ‘Now is the time for decisive, collaborative action’
- Inter Press Service
SRINAGAR, Mar 20 (IPS) - The Forest Declaration Assessment Partners have called for urgent reforms to the international financial system to halt deforestation and protect biodiversity. It has also pitched for redirecting the public subsidies to mitigate the direct and indirect environmental risks from both public and private finance.
Free societies are good for business says UN rights chief, wrapping up visit to Kyrgyzstan
- UN News
Respect for human rights is not only a moral obligation but a necessity for economic stability, the UN’s top human rights official said on Thursday, during a visit to the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan.
Argentina is Experiencing an Oil Boom, with Bright Spots and Shadows
- Inter Press Service
BUENOS AIRES, Mar 19 (IPS) - For about three years now, Argentines have been hearing almost every month that oil production is breaking new records. Looking ahead, the country is projected to become a major global supplier of what remains the most sought-after energy source.
Pioneering Sustainable Energy Solutions in Africa
- Inter Press Service
LONDON, Mar 18 (IPS) - The 12th Sankalp Africa Summit, held on Feb 26-27 in Nairobi, brought together a pivotal cohort of start-up innovators, investors, entrepreneurs and policymakers to accelerate the innovation needed to enhance Africa’s energy transition.
Funding Disruptions Are a Systemic Failure – Philanthropy Must Do What’s Right and Support Local Leadership
- Inter Press Service
SORIA, Spain, Mar 17 (IPS) - The slashing of US aid funding by Donald Trump and Elon Musk, and cuts or planned cuts in international support by several European states, threaten to cut off the oxygen supply to a civil society already in a critical condition. At CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance, activists and grassroots groups have shared with us time and again that shifting and volatile donor priorities are one of the top funding challenges they face, alongside limited resources for strategy and restricted funding.
Papua New Guinea: Years of Environmental Clean Up Ahead Following New Report on Abandoned Bougainville Mine
- Inter Press Service
LONDON, Mar 17 (IPS) - Local communities are finally witnessing progress in their mission for justice, 36 years after the Panguna copper mine in Papua New Guinea's Autonomous Region of Bougainville became the centre of landowner grievances about environmental damage.
WTO: Standing Tall as the Winds Howl
- Inter Press Service
BRUSSELS/ GENEVA, Mar 17 (IPS) - Winds are also changing in trade policy. As they get rougher and more unpredictable, the much-criticised multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has so far proved surprisingly resilient. Paradoxically, Donald Trump’s tariff policy could actually strengthen the WTO.
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Issues in depth
Latest
Action on climate change is cheaper than inaction
Many are afraid that tackling climate change is going to be too costly. But increasingly, studies are showing action will not just be cheaper than inaction, but could actually result in economic, environmental and even health benefits, while improving sustainability.
Read “Action on climate change is cheaper than inaction” to learn more.
Climate Change and Global Warming Introduction
The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing.
Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.
This section looks at what causes climate change, what the impacts are and where scientific consensus currently is.
Read “Climate Change and Global Warming Introduction” to learn more.
COP20—Lima Climate Conference
An overview of the Climate Change Conference (also known as COP 20), held in Lima, Peru in December 2014.
While it seemed like it was a successful meeting, because developing nations were committed to drawing up their own plans for emissions reductions for the first time, a number of important issues were left undecided such as how financing would work.
This page is an overview of the Lima Climate conference.
Read “COP20—Lima Climate Conference” to learn more.
Ebola Outbreak in West Africa
An overview of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa that has been described by the World Health Organization as the largest, most severe and most complex outbreak in the history of the disease.
The epidemic began at the end of 2013, in Guinea. From there it spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal. Many of the affected countries face enormous challenges in stopping its spread and providing care for all patients.
Thousands of people have died and many are at risk as the fatality rate from this virus is very high. As the crisis worsens, as well as the enormous health challenges involved, the social and economic consequences may set these countries back, reversing some gains a number of these countries have made in recent years.
Read “Ebola Outbreak in West Africa” to learn more.
Foreign Aid for Development Assistance
In 1970, the world’s rich countries agreed to give 0.7% of their gross national income as official international development aid, annually.
Since that time, billions have certainly been given each year, but rarely have the rich nations actually met their promised target.
For example, the US is often the largest donor in dollar terms, but ranks amongst the lowest in terms of meeting the stated 0.7% target.
Furthermore, aid has often come with a price of its own for the developing nations. Common criticisms, for many years, of foreign aid, have included the following:
- Aid is often wasted on conditions that the recipient must use overpriced goods and services from donor countries
- Most aid does not actually go to the poorest who would need it the most
- Aid amounts are dwarfed by rich country protectionism that denies market access for poor country products while rich nations use aid as a lever to open poor country markets to their products
- Large projects or massive grand strategies often fail to help the vulnerable; money can often be embezzled away.
This article explores who has benefited most from this aid, the recipients or the donors.
Read “Foreign Aid for Development Assistance” to learn more.
Nature and Animal Conservation
Preserving species and their habitats is important for ecosystems to self-sustain themselves.
Yet, the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other challenges are making conservation a struggle.
Read “Nature and Animal Conservation” to learn more.
Most Popular
Poverty Facts and Stats
Most of humanity lives on just a few dollars a day. Whether you live in the wealthiest nations in the world or the poorest, you will see high levels of inequality.
The poorest people will also have less access to health, education and other services. Problems of hunger, malnutrition and disease afflict the poorest in society. The poorest are also typically marginalized from society and have little representation or voice in public and political debates, making it even harder to escape poverty.
By contrast, the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to benefit from economic or political policies. The amount the world spends on military, financial bailouts and other areas that benefit the wealthy, compared to the amount spent to address the daily crisis of poverty and related problems are often staggering.
Some facts and figures on poverty presented in this page are eye-openers, to say the least.
Read “Poverty Facts and Stats” to learn more.
Global Financial Crisis
Following a period of economic boom, a financial bubble — global in scope — burst, even causing some of the world’s largest financial institutions have collapsed. With the resulting recession, many governments of the wealthiest nations in the world have resorted to extensive bail-out and rescue packages for the remaining large banks and financial institutions while imposing harsh austerity measures on themselves.
Some of the bail-outs have also led to charges of hypocrisy due to the apparent socializing of the costs while privatizing the profits.
Furthermore, the institutions being rescued are typically the ones got the world into this trouble in the first place. For smaller businesses and poorer people, such options for bail out and rescue are rarely available when they find themselves in crisis.
Plummeting stock markets at one point wiped out 33% of the value of companies, $14.5 trillion. Taxpayers bailed out their banks and financial institutions with large amounts of money. US taxpayers alone have spent some $9.7 trillion in bailout packages and plans. The UK and other European countries have also spent some $2 trillion on rescues and bailout packages. More is expected. Much more.
Such numbers, made quickly available, are enough to wipe many individual’s mortgages, or clear out third world debt many times over. Even the high military spending figures are dwarfed by the bailout plans to date.
This problem could have been averted (in theory) as people had been pointing to these issues for decades. However, during boom, very few want to hear such pessimism. Does this crisis spell an end to the careless forms of banking and finance and will it herald a better economic age, or are we just doomed to keep forgetting history and repeat these mistakes in the future? Signs are not encouraging as rich nations are resisting meaningful reform…
Read “Global Financial Crisis” to learn more.
Causes of Poverty
Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed.
Read “Causes of Poverty” to learn more.
Climate Change and Global Warming
The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.
This section explores some of the effects of climate change. It also attempts to provide insights into what governments, companies, international institutions, and other organizations are attempting to do about this issue, as well as the challenges they face. Some of the major conferences in recent years are also discussed.
Read “Climate Change and Global Warming” to learn more.
Environmental Issues
Environmental issues are also a major global issue. Humans depend on a sustainable and healthy environment, and yet we have damaged the environment in numerous ways. This section introduces other issues including biodiversity, climate change, animal and nature conservation, population, genetically modified food, sustainable development, and more.
Read “Environmental Issues” to learn more.
Racism
Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. This article explores racism from around the world.
Read “Racism” to learn more.
Topical
Global Financial Crisis
Following a period of economic boom, a financial bubble — global in scope — burst, even causing some of the world’s largest financial institutions have collapsed. With the resulting recession, many governments of the wealthiest nations in the world have resorted to extensive bail-out and rescue packages for the remaining large banks and financial institutions while imposing harsh austerity measures on themselves.
Some of the bail-outs have also led to charges of hypocrisy due to the apparent socializing of the costs while privatizing the profits.
Furthermore, the institutions being rescued are typically the ones got the world into this trouble in the first place. For smaller businesses and poorer people, such options for bail out and rescue are rarely available when they find themselves in crisis.
Plummeting stock markets at one point wiped out 33% of the value of companies, $14.5 trillion. Taxpayers bailed out their banks and financial institutions with large amounts of money. US taxpayers alone have spent some $9.7 trillion in bailout packages and plans. The UK and other European countries have also spent some $2 trillion on rescues and bailout packages. More is expected. Much more.
Such numbers, made quickly available, are enough to wipe many individual’s mortgages, or clear out third world debt many times over. Even the high military spending figures are dwarfed by the bailout plans to date.
This problem could have been averted (in theory) as people had been pointing to these issues for decades. However, during boom, very few want to hear such pessimism. Does this crisis spell an end to the careless forms of banking and finance and will it herald a better economic age, or are we just doomed to keep forgetting history and repeat these mistakes in the future? Signs are not encouraging as rich nations are resisting meaningful reform…
Read “Global Financial Crisis” to learn more.
Climate Change and Global Warming
The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.
This section explores some of the effects of climate change. It also attempts to provide insights into what governments, companies, international institutions, and other organizations are attempting to do about this issue, as well as the challenges they face. Some of the major conferences in recent years are also discussed.
Read “Climate Change and Global Warming” to learn more.
Food and Agriculture Issues
Food and agriculture goes to the heart of our civilizations. Religions, cultures and even modern civilization have food and agriculture at their core. For an issue that goes to the heart of humanity it also has its ugly side.
This issue explores topics ranging from the global food crisis of 2008, to issues of food aid, world hunger, food dumping and wasteful agriculture such as growing tobacco, sugar, beef, and more.
Read “Food and Agriculture Issues” to learn more.
Foreign Aid for Development Assistance
In 1970, the world’s rich countries agreed to give 0.7% of their gross national income as official international development aid, annually.
Since that time, billions have certainly been given each year, but rarely have the rich nations actually met their promised target.
For example, the US is often the largest donor in dollar terms, but ranks amongst the lowest in terms of meeting the stated 0.7% target.
Furthermore, aid has often come with a price of its own for the developing nations. Common criticisms, for many years, of foreign aid, have included the following:
- Aid is often wasted on conditions that the recipient must use overpriced goods and services from donor countries
- Most aid does not actually go to the poorest who would need it the most
- Aid amounts are dwarfed by rich country protectionism that denies market access for poor country products while rich nations use aid as a lever to open poor country markets to their products
- Large projects or massive grand strategies often fail to help the vulnerable; money can often be embezzled away.
This article explores who has benefited most from this aid, the recipients or the donors.
Read “Foreign Aid for Development Assistance” to learn more.
Tax Avoidance and Tax Havens; Undermining Democracy
Through tax havens, transfer pricing and many other policies — both legal and illegal — billions of dollars of tax are avoided. The much-needed money would helped developing (and developed) countries provide important social services for their populations.
Some tax avoidance, regardless of how morally objectionable it may be to some people, is perfectly legal, and the global super elite are able to hide away trillions of dollars, resulting in massive losses of tax revenues for cash-strapped governments who then burden ordinary citizens further with austerity measures during economic crisis, for example. Yet these super elite are often very influential in politics and business. In effect, they are able to undermine democracy and capitalism at the same time.
As the global financial crisis has affected many countries, tackling tax avoidance would help target those more likely to have contributed to the problem while avoid many unnecessary austerity measures that hit the poorest so hard. But despite rhetoric stating otherwise, it does not seem to high on the agenda of many governments as you might think.
Read “Tax Avoidance and Tax Havens; Undermining Democracy” to learn more.
World Military Spending
World military spending had reduced since the Cold War ended, but a few nations such as the US retain high level spending.
In recent years, global military expenditure has increased again and is now comparable to Cold War levels. Recent data shows global spending at over $1.7 trillion. 2012 saw the first dip in spending — only slightly —since 1998, in an otherwise rising trend.
The highest military spender is the US accounting for almost two-fifths of the world’s spending, more than the rest of the G7 (most economically advanced countries) combined, and more than all its potential enemies, combined.
Read “World Military Spending” to learn more.
“If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence.” — Bertrand Russell, Roads to Freedom