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By Nurith Aizenman | April 19, 2024 | Photo: ullstein bild/Getty Images
To understand why, Alex de Waal, a social scientist at Tufts University who specializes in famines, says you need to go back to an episode that sparked modern study of the subject: The moment at the end of World War II when Allied forces liberated the concentration camps that the Nazis had set up to exterminate Jews and kill millions of others. The survivors of these camps were emaciated. “American and British soldiers rushed to feed [them],” says de Waal. “Then had seen to their dismay that many of them actually perished.”
By Gabrielle Emanuel | March 13, 2024 | Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
For the first time on record, the number of children worldwide who died before their 5th birthday has dipped below 5 million. In 2022, 4.9 million young children died – that’s fewer than half the number who died in 2000. Some countries, including Malawi, Rwanda, Cambodia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan, have done even better, reducing their country’s numbers by more than 75%. “This is historic. This is very positive. However, on the discouraging side, we need to accelerate efforts,” Fogstad said, noting that 4.9 million is a monumental number of deaths and these children primarily died from preventable and treatable conditions.
By Thomas Bwire | March 9, 2024
It’s the day after International Women’s Day. On March 8 each year, the United Nations declares a special day to pay tribute to the accomplishments of women, to express how much they are valued and to press for gender equality.
In the wake of the celebrations and demonstrations held on this day, life goes on for women around the world. We interviewed women in Kibera, the Nairobi neighborhood that locals refer to as the largest “slum” in Kenya, to get a glimpse of their routines, their challenges, their sources of joy and strength. Their lives are a reminder of the challenges women face — and how they persevere.
By worldFish | January 21, 2022
One of the best parts of working in the aquatic foods sector is the few times each week when I come across another exciting innovation or technology that’s been developed for the sector or has applications for it. This list is long and varied—from varieties of fish that are more affordable and nutritious for low-income countries to produce and consume, to rapid diagnostic kits for identifying and tracking fish diseases, to nutrient-packed fish-based products for children, and digital sensors for tracking fisheries to avoid their depletion—it is often the case that for every major problem in the sector, multiple solutions have been developed and tested.
By MaryEllen Kennedy Duckett | Photo: Ynn Johnson
In much of the world, the face of farming is female. Globally, reports the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the majority of economically active women in the least-developed countries work in agriculture. And, according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture (the latest data available), 30 percent of farmers in the U.S. are women. The problem? Gender-specific obstacles—such as lack of access to land, financing, markets, agricultural training and education, suitable working conditions, and equal treatment—put female farmers at a significant disadvantage before they ever plow a field or sow a seed.
By Kristen Evans and Iliana Monterroso | August 23, 2021
In forest and natural resource management, it seems like we are seeing multi-stakeholder forums (MSFs) everywhere, from climate change finance to local land use decision-making. MSFs aspire to be spaces for engaging diverse groups in policymaking, decision-making, and consultations through meetings, workshops, and events. However, evidence shows that women are often left out of discussions around forest or land use issues under the presumption that this is men’s domain. This means that, at best, MSFs’ decisions and discussions may not reflect women’s priorities, and, at worst, that MSFs reinforce existing gender inequalities.
