Aid & Development

Data on soil pollution is a 'state secret' in China and receives much less attention than the issues of air and water quality. But ChinaDialogue has an interesting three part series on the victims of China's soil pollution crisis. Excellent read-out of the sexual violence in conflict summit, co-

Poor Numbers: How we are misled by African development statistics and what to do about It. A new book from Morten Jarven whose research shows how the statistical capacities of sub-Saharan African economies have fallen into disarray.  Scarce resources are  being misapplied and development policy

ICYMI: Australia's Foreign Minister addressed the National Press Club with a major new announcement about Australia's aid program — or was it?  Both the Lowy Institute's Annmaree O'Keeffe  and Stephen Howes & Joel Negin agree it's not new, but certainly worth further analysis. There are over

WhyDev presents its World Cup of Human Development. Compare your favourite teams in the 'Global Development World Cup' interactive. And want to learn more about Brazil? This World Without Poverty site has some great info, videos and other links. A new female entrepreneurship index has some

Catch up on news, commentary & analysis from the Pacific island region. Proposed constitutional changes for Papua New Guinea are raising concerns that they are a means of entrenching the position of the government and reducing parliamentary oversight of the executive. A provocative photographic

'The mosquitoes are smart. We have to be smarter'. Snappy video from the Gates Foundation on anti-malarial work in Africa. 64% of voters support Budget cuts to aid? So says a new media poll. Read Ashlee Betterridge's analysis of the figures on DevPolicy. ODI have collected into one place on their

This week, the Melanesia Program team is in Port Moresby for the 'PNG New Voices' event. So this week's links are focused on PNG. The Lowy Institute's Melanesia Program, in partnership with the PNG National Research Institute, has launched its Australia-PNG network, aimed at fostering people-to-

10 things to know about EU aid. Look out for number 8: five areas where development policy goes beyond aid. (h/t ODI.) 'Leaders fiddle while the world burns'. A candid interview with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. Mapping development finance in Africa: the African Development Bank and

Signs of restlessness in the PNG political landscape. A cabinet reshuffle appears imminent, with Ben Micah tipped to become the new deputy prime minister. Meanwhile, four members of the Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party have resigned in order to remain in government rather than move to the cross-

New research from the Center for International Forestry Research on the Africa-China timber trade highlights the array of actors involved and the implications for policy. Three long views on life with rising seas. Budget 2014: the end of an aid era? Lowy Institute analysts Jenny Hayward-Jones,

So here I am at the budget lockup, deep in the bowels of Treasury, with the idea of getting a much-anticipated preview of the Foreign Affairs and Trade budget for this, the Coalition Government's first federal budget. Only, there is no Portfolio Budget Statement for the Foreign Affairs and Trade

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has wrapped up his eight day visit to Africa, his first visit as premier and his first foreign visit this year. Commentators (and African leaders) expect to see big announcements whenever a Chinese leader is in town. So what has this trip revealed? Here are some of the

The Abbott Government will next week bring down its first aid budget, a budget which itself will contain two interesting firsts: it is the first since the integration of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) with AusAID, and the first since the transition of the very expensive Regional

It was all a trick. A simple scam played on a clueless tabloid media to sell more books. And didn't they oblige! As soon as Bob Carr's Diary of a Foreign Minister hit the shelves, they searched the book for scandal, and found a man apparently addicted to perks and privilege. The Daily Telegraph

As there were no 'Aid and development links' last week (Easter Monday), we have an extended offering today: Oxfam research raises significant questions about the impact of a public-private partnership to provide a national referral hospital in Lesotho. Using a strengths-based approach for

The issue of labour migration and seasonal work is back on the agenda of Pacific island governments and donor agencies. Pacific population is increasing by 177,100 each year and at the present rate the region's population will double in the next 36 years. Disaggregating those statistics makes the

On 5 April, the Solomon Islands was hit by extreme flooding, killing 23 people and leaving an estimated 50,000–60,000 people homeless. Lowy Institute Melanesia experts Jenny Hayward Jones and Tess Newton-Cain got together earlier this week to discuss the impact of Australia's $3 million

'You're just not that vulnerable enough'. An interesting piece on refugees and urban displacement in Libya. US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is looking into pro-democracy programs carried out by USAID. Humanitarian news agency IRIN looks vulnerable because it's losing UN funding. 'The

In what will come as a surprise to many, the OECD's 2013 aid figures reveal that foreign aid (ODA) from governments is actually increasing. This is despite ongoing budgetary constraints in many countries. After two years of decline, foreign aid rose 6.1% in real terms in 2013 to reach its highest

In the wake of the Abbott Government's unforeseen but momentous decision last year to integrate the Australia's foreign aid agency, AusAID, into DFAT, the federal parliamentary committee system seems to have been enlisted by government and opposition to debate the aid policy gap. In early December

Are the BRICS challenging or converging with the international development system? New paper from IDS. An important piece via the Developmental Leadership Program about how a focus on climate change adaptation may actually serve to undermine women's security in the Pacific. Only about 18% of

Technological innovations are increasingly being used in disaster response. But they can present their own challenges: here's 5 best practices to keep in mind (HT @whydev). On 'Development Drums', Owen Barder talks with Nina Munk about her new book The Idealist, about about Jeffrey Sachs and the

After much speculation, many sleepless nights and seemingly endless rumour mongering, the leader of the opposition in Vanuatu , Ham Lini, last week withdrew a motion of no confidence in the government led by Moana Carcasses Kalosil. The 'no confidence' dance is well rehearsed in Vanuatu