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Add to Preferred SourcesHalf a year since the devastating earthquake, Gates Foundation & 50 global health and development projects and July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector.
Half a year since devastating earthquake – More than 3.5 million remain without a home
On February 6 two large-scale earthquakes hit near the Türkiye-Syrian border drawing headlines across the globe as the deadliest in modern times, striking in communities where millions had already been displaced by the decade-long crisis in Syria. While the earthquake is no longer in the public eye, thousands of families remain with nowhere to go and unable to resume their lives.
In Türkiye more than three million women, men, and children are without a home. Half of them continue to live in spontaneous settlements, such as tents and abandoned buildings, as they face challenges to access rental arrangements, repairing their homes, and uncertain relocation assistance. Although the government, United Nations, Turkish and international NGOs are providing help, the scale of destruction means it will take years, if not decades, to rebuild communities across the country and give people back their homes, their education, their livelihoods, and their dignity.
“There are several additional risks for people living in spontaneous settlements, including gender-based violence, children working rather than getting an education, and a lack of access to services – including a lack of water in many sites which means diseases can easily spread. The scale of the challenge seems to be increasing. So far, The Danish Refugee Council has established presence in seven of these sights, providing protection,” says Mohannad Othman, Country Director of Türkiye.
Gates Foundation selects nearly 50 global health and development projects that will contribute to shaping equitable access to AI
Following an overwhelming response to its most recent Grand Challenges request for proposals, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a group of nearly 50 grant recipients who are developing global health and development solutions for their communities using AI-enabled large language models (LLMs). Guided by the goal of reducing global inequity, the call for proposals specifically targeted researchers and innovators in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Responsible and safe use of AI-driven LLM technology has the potential to help solve some of the world’s toughest health and development challenges. However, for these models to be useful in LMICs, researchers in LMICs need to participate in the design, application, and testing of this technology as it rapidly evolves. A robust evidence base will fill gaps in access and our knowledge about the application of such tools to address problems across LMICs in an equitable way.
Copernicus confirms July 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded
The global average temperature for July 2023 is confirmed to be the highest on record for any month. The month was 0.72°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average for July, and 0.33°C warmer than the previous warmest month, July 2019.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air temperature, sea ice cover, and hydrological variables. This month’s highlights about sea surface temperature are also included in this press release. All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft, and weather stations around the world.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
The importance of candidate experience in recruitment
The aid sector often attracts extraordinary candidates who are eager to make the world a better place to be. But sometimes, the talent that can make this change happen has to get through a bureaucratic recruitment machine, often relying on protocols, papers, and merit review committees. Thus, hiring organizations often face the dilemma of attracting top talent while remaining compliant with sometimes burdensome internal procedures. How can they mitigate these to ensure the best candidate experience in order to keep the talent in their teams?
Women in South Africa face twin crises of violence and financial exclusion
South Africa must make a concerted effort to achieve gender equality and ensure decent work and economic growth for women who make up just over half of its 60.6 million population.
As the country commemorates its 28th Women’s Day, data shows the uphill battle that women continue to face both in terms of personal safety and closing the wage gap.
Thousands will suffer and die as a result of UK foreign aid cuts
A British parliamentary committee has warned that thousands of women in developing nations will die in pregnancy and childbirth and close to a million people will be left without healthcare thanks to recent cuts in Official Development Assistance (ODA).
With more than £900 million slashed from this year’s ODA budget, countries in extreme crisis such as Afghanistan and Yemen will see a drop in British aid by as much as 76%, leaving nearly a million women and children without critical health care. The report also warned that 27,000 children in South Sudan suffering from acute malnutrition will no longer receive any form of aid from Britain. Furthermore, an estimated 1,531 women will die during childbirth this year, while some 200,000 women will die due to unsafe abortions as result of British foreign aid spending cuts.
Here’s what else has happened
EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) starts strategic cooperation with PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest systemically important (nationalized in 2016), by issuing €60 million of the risk-sharing instrument to support €240 million of newly originated loans to agribusiness and other critical industries in Ukraine.
Hawaii: Thousands have been evacuated, and more are left without power after wildfires exploded in parts of the Hawaiian islands. In Maui, mandatory evacuations are in place in Lahaina, and winds are driven by powerful Hurricane Dora, roaring through the Pacific more than 700 miles south of the Hawaiian islands. A Maui County official reported that six people have died because of the fires. A U.S. Coast Guard water rescue of 12 people off the coast of Lahaina took place, as people jumped into the water to flee the flames.
Italy: EU and its member states must take responsibility and prevent migrant deaths at sea by improving search and rescue efforts in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, Save the Children said after three deadly shipwrecks over the past week.
Lebanon: Inflation, dollarisation of food prices, and insufficient humanitarian assistance are contributing to Lebanon’s food insecurity, the Norwegian Refugee Council has said.
WFP and Government of Zimbabwe: The Government of Zimbabwe and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have signed a Letter of Understanding (LoU) to formalize their collaboration on improving food systems and reforming the Social Protection System in Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is responding to flash floods in Bangladesh that have displaced over 15,000 Rohingya refugees and 300,000 members of the local communities in Cox’s Bazar.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples: On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, 9 August 2023, Indigenous peoples’ organizations and trade unions, highlight the extreme forms of discrimination faced by native groups.
Reports
New report highlights more trade restrictive measures in APEC region
Commercial trade in the APEC region recovered to USD 4.9 trillion in 2022, albeit lower than the projected value of USD 5.4 trillion in 2022 had there been no pandemic, according to a new report by the APEC Policy Support Unit, warning member economies of rising trade-restrictive measures.
Events
The First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit
📅 17 – 18 August 2023
Gujarat, India
The First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit will take place on 17 and 18 August 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. It will be held alongside the G20 health ministerial meeting, to mobilize political commitment and evidence-based action on traditional medicine, which is a first port of call for millions of people worldwide to address their health and well-being needs.