Action needed to help drought-stricken small farmers in Africa
A massive drought that has devastated huge swaths of southern and eastern Africa is putting nearly 14 million people at risk of hunger. This is a humanitarian emergency demanding immediate action. But while short-term action to address current food needs is critical, the international community must also take ambitious action to support smallholder farmers in […]
Canada’s diplomatic brass: too white, too male
The Prime Minister is a feminist and there is gender parity in cabinet, but Canada’s foreign service still has a long way to go. Sources say that the foreign service has negative gaps in regards to the number of women it employs, as well as aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities. According to a public […]
Move nutrition to the forefront of global health
One of the leading causes of disease and death is hunger, a hunger that is not always immediately recognizable. A diet lacking in essential nutrients can cause a hidden hunger that is evidenced by a range of indicators, including wasting (low weight for height) and stunting (low height for age). Even obesity can be an indicator of nutrient deficiency. […]
Canada should make education a core theme in aid policy
No nation will achieve gender equality without quality education. Economic development and education similarly go hand in hand, as does educating a nation and ensuring healthcare for all its citizens. In fact, name a worthy, large-scale goal—poverty reduction, peaceful coexistence, good governance – and you’ll find a well-established link between the ability to attain it […]
The case of a 25-year-old refugee camp
Twenty-five years ago a piece of hot, dusty countryside in northeastern Kenya became home to refugees fleeing conflict in Somalia. A generation later, the camps of Dadaab continue with an uncertain future for residents. Children have been born here who now have kids of their own. It is the third-largest population centre in Kenya and a […]
Time to take the high road for humanity
TORONTO—Médecins Sans Frontières’ recent decision to pull out of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) has certainly garnered much public attention. The agency pulled away from the summit on the premise that the inaugural gathering would “not address the weaknesses in humanitarian action and emergency response, particularly in conflict areas or epidemic situations.” This was unquestionably, […]
Periods: A nuisance for some, life-limiting for others
OTTAWA—The subject is still so taboo, it’s rarely discussed. And yet every day, more than 800 million women and girls around the world have their periods. In countries like Canada, they put up with the pain and inconvenience, often wishing it were no longer a subject considered too embarrassing to discuss in public. But for […]
The next frontier of conflict minerals: South America
In the last decade, columbite-tantalite (coltan) has been a source of global controversy as a strategic resource illegally exported from conflict-ridden Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries, relabelled, and sold to major high-tech manufacturers around the world. A similar trend is now happening with Venezuela’s coltan, reportedly smuggled to Brazil, the second-largest exporter of […]
Stakes high at world conference on women
The secret to achieving the world we want is not so secret after all: invest in women and girls, create more equitable societies, and everybody wins. The fact remains though that if you are a woman or a child in a developing country today, your odds of dying from a simple, preventable cause are significantly […]
Foreign-aid policy review launches, outcome expected in fall
“Women, women, women.” International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau (Compton-Stanstead, Que.) has declared the focus of her portfolio loud and clear. It will be a highlight of the foreign aid policy review she’s undertaking over the next two months, which, after months of anticipation, was finally officially launched on May 18. It’s the first policy review to happen […]
