November 26, 2009

International Day for the Elimination of violence against Women

25 Novembre- International Day for the elimination of violence against women. A FAO initiative.
http://www.fao.org/gender/en/

Numerous studies underscore the social costs of rural women's lack of education and assets, linking it directly to high rates of undernutrition, infant mortality and - in some countries - HIV/AIDS infection, dislocation of family's authority and violence.

November 20, 2009

Israel's Eye from Zion restores sight in developing countries- A MASHAV-Eues From Zion initiative


Giving the gift of sight: A non-profit with zero overhead, Israel's Eye from Zion is restoring sight to hundreds of people in developing countries.

Eye from Zion grew out of the vision of Israeli businessman Nati Marcus. Since its founding about three years ago, it has grown into a core group comprising five or six influential Israelis like Hessel. With their help, through missions undertaken by dozens of Israeli doctors who donate their time and expertise, Eye from Zion has restored sight to hundreds of people. With an industry standard tool called a Phaco machine, the Israeli eye doctors use sound waves to blast out a cataract, breaking it into pieces and then sucking it out. Most of the patients who arrive at the mobile clinic are nearly or completely blind in both eyes.

Key OECD anti-corruption documents

Corruption is one of the top-10 issues in the developing world. Look at what OECD is doing in matters of anti-corruption. All you want to know on the fight against corruption, from the OECD's website.
http://www.oecd.org/document/42/0,3343,en_2649_37447_41799402_1_1_1_1,00.html

November 13, 2009

Brazil to learn water saving from Israel for Rio 2016


A delegation of senior Brazilian officials is slated to arrive in Israel in order to assess the knowledge and technological solutions Israel can offer them in their conservation efforts.

The Brazilian delegation will include 10 government ministers from various areas in the country and representatives from the country's largest water companies.

From YNET, Nov. 12. by Yael Darel

Protecting the Environment During Armed Conflict


This is an impressive document by UNEP, the UN program for environment (and not only because of its 82 pages...) about environement and armed conflicts. It more generally deals with issues as development and armed conflicts and the incidence of wars, from a legal point of view, on development and environment. Very interesting.

November 10, 2009

Africa blocs draft giant free trade roadmap

from REUTERS Africa. The roadmap would bring together 26 states, from South Africa to Egypt.


"Three African trade blocs that have agreed to form a free trade area covering more than half a billion people created a long overdue roadmap on Monday.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), East African Community (EAC) and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) agreed to the plan in October 2008, but the roadmap was due to have been completed six months later.
"Almost half of Africa is part of this grand free trade area," EAC Secretary-General Juma Mwapachu told reporters after a meeting of trade bloc officials in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
He said the unpublished roadmap was a major achievement".

read the article:
http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE5A80PU20091109?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Climate change will increase food insecurity


From the friends of FAO program.


"Imagine the year 2050. Wheat prices have increased by over 90 percent , child undernutrition has increased by 20 percent and crop yields continue to decrease due to lack of water. These are just some of the ominous predictions from a new study that finds climate change could have negative consequences for agricultural productivity and human well-being if action isn’t taken.
The study, released this month by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), is the first study that models crop growth under climate change with insights from a detailed agriculture model. The model’s results shows how vulnerable agriculture is to climate change: changing precipitation patterns will cause more crop failures and higher temperatures will increase the number of weeds and pests and reduce crop yields. Combined with an increasing world population, unchecked climate change will continue to increase food insecurity, especially in the developing world".

November 7, 2009

War against hunger, global warming can be won on farmlands – UN report

UN NEWS CENTER, from a report released by FAO on Nov. 4.
"Agriculture has the potential to play a critical role in slashing global emissions, with around 70 percent of the possibility of alleviating the effect of climate change coming from developing countries", FAO said.

Religion’s Role in the Climate Challenge

A very interesting issue: the role of religions in climate deterioration. An article By Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times.

"Much of the discourse over climate has been focused on gigatons of gases, megawatt hours of electricity, miles per gallon or details of diplomatic accords or legislation. But Olav Kjorven, an assistant secretary general at the United Nations involved with the meeting, spent the last year visiting religious orders around the world to see what faiths could bring to the climate table".

New climate change treaty could be ready in 2010, U.N. official says

from Al Goodman, CNN- a post by the WFP friends website. Nov.6.
A new international treaty to combat climate change will not be ready when 40 world leaders meet next month in Copenhagen but may be finished next year, a top United Nations official said Friday in Barcelona.
"What we will need after Copenhagen is a little time," said Yvo de Boer, head of the United Nations climate change secretariat. "I don't know how much time to turn that operational language into a treaty, if that is what governments decide."

November 4, 2009

International Conference of Women Leaders to be held in Haifa, Israel


The UN Assistant Secretary General on Gender Issues, and about 50 high level representatives from around the world will attend the international conference from November 8-12.

About 50 participants - including women at the highest levels from about 30 countries around the world - among them government ministers, members of parliament, and holders of senior positions in civil society and academia will be arrive for the 26th biennial International Women's Leadership Conference to be held at the Golda Meir Mount Carmel International Training Center (MCTC) on 8-12 November 2009. Moreover, participants at the conference will include experts from around the world, researchers in socio-economic fields, and representatives of UN agencies and various international and regional organizations.
This year's international conference will be devoted to The Global Financial Crisis - Implications for Women. It will be hosted in cooperation with the UN Assistant Secretary General on Gender Issues, Ms. Rachel Mayanja, and is under the auspices of MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Deliberations will focus on gender issues and the impact of the current financial crisis on all aspects of society, and on the involvement of women in decision-making processes. Thousands of leaders from around the world have attended these conferences thus far. The concluding declarations of the conferences constitute a platform for plans of action in social and economic fields in various countries.

November 3, 2009

World Bank Day @ mHealth Summit - Aftermath


Further to our prevous post... definitly, a very interesting issue.

"mHealth - as a reminder - is defined as the “delivery of health care services via mobile communication devices” as it was also stated during the event.
The general consensus at the event was that mHealth has really great potentials, especially in developing countries. Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Worl Bank Vice-President for the Africa Region already used strong words during the opening of the event - Africa can’t let this unique possibility mHealth and ICTs offer pass by.
In the first sessions of the event, the potential of mHealth was emphasised and the commitment of all the participating countries was underligned. Several projects were presented and the effects of mHealth systems were introduced - but only on an anecdotal base. The need to focus on the patient to create succesful solutions was stressed". by ICT4D website.

November 1, 2009

A Debate on the Public Role of Religion and its Social and Gender Implications

An article from the website of the UN Research Institute for Social Development.

"In feminist, as in mainstream, thinking, there has been a reassessment of the relationship between religion and politics. For much of the twentieth century, it was assumed that religion was at odds with gender equality, and campaigners for women’s rights looked to the spread of secular principles and attitudes as an important engine of change. But the notion that secularism, understood as the complete separation of politics from religion, is the precondition for progressive politics has been challenged by critics of the secularization thesis, including José Casanova. Specifically within feminism, it has been challenged by the importance attached to women’s agency, and the need to respect the choices of religious as well as non-religious women."