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Aid & development links: World Vision strife, cash transfers deliver, refugee insights and more

Aid & development links: World Vision strife, cash transfers deliver, refugee insights and more
Published 8 Aug 2016   Follow @jonathan_pryke

  • Australia’s DFAT has suspended funding of World Vision Programs in Palestine, after its country head was charged by Israel over allegations of diverting funds to Hamas. World Vision has welcomed the suspension but remains 'mystified' by the charges.
  • The Guardian has an interview with Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.
  • Following recent reports of underspending in the New Zealand aid program, the NZ government moved to dispel any confusion about how the budgeting process works. The authors of the original report have responded, arguing that the situation for NZ’s aid isn’t as rosy as the government claims.
  • The Overseas Development Institute has released a new and comprehensive report into the evidence of cash transfers, showing them to be a powerful development policy instrument. Those that are time poor could take a look at the policy brief summary.
  • This American Life has sent a team of four to look at refugee camps in Greece. The first couple of hour-long podcasts are naturally fantastic, as is the interactive map on the American Life website.
  • With the Olympics now in full swing, the Refugee Olympic Team (or #TeamRefugee) has been gaining headlines around the world. Vox does a good job of  explaining why the team is significant. Here is one of the team members' stories.
  • The RSA has created an excellent animation of a recent presentation from Ha-Joon Chan explaining why every single person can and should get their heads around basic economics, showing how it’s not as difficult as everyone thinks. It’s definitely worth a watch.



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