Israel/ Palestine, refugee children arriving in Armenia and a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector.
Israel/ Palestine: UN urges parties to spare civilian lives
In Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, all parties must stop targeting civilians and Hamas and other armed groups must immediately release their hostages, UN rights chief Volker Türk said.
The High Commissioner said that he was “deeply shocked and appalled by allegations of summary executions of civilians, and, in some instances, horrifying mass killings by members of Palestinian armed groups”.
“It is horrific and deeply distressing to see images of those captured by Palestinian armed groups being ill-treated, as well as reports of killings and the desecration of their bodies. Civilians must never be used as bargaining chips,” he insisted.
Refugee children arriving in Armenia showing signs of severe psychological distress – UNICEF
Refugee children arriving in Armenia are showing signs of severe psychological distress, according to reports from UNICEF-supported social workers providing specialised care to children and families who have fled their homes in recent weeks.
Social workers operating in two safe spaces that UNICEF established with partners in Goris, which can serve up to 300 children daily have reported that children are dealing with intense feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear and anger, manifesting in nightmares, bedwetting, and inconsolable crying. Others have shut down and become detached, leaving them unable to express emotions or connect with the situation around them.
More than 30,000 ethnic Armenian children have arrived in Armenia since the escalation of hostilities in their home communities two weeks ago. In addition to displacement, children arriving in Armenia have not been able to access quality education continuously and have lived in an unsafe or insecure environment with families reporting the fear of attacks.
Devastating earthquake is another shock for Afghanistan
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook Herat province in western Afghanistan. After multiple aftershocks and a second earthquake of the same magnitude early on 11 October, the UN and the authorities are reporting between 1,000 and 3,000 deaths. These numbers are expected to rise in the next hours and days. In the village at the epicentre of the first earthquake, every single building has been flattened. Across the province, many families are sleeping out in the streets. Several hundred are reported missing, according to the UN.
Those affected by the disaster are still searching for relatives amidst the rubble and are seeking out assistance from aid agencies and authorities. According to the latest UN OCHA report, an estimated 12,110 people have been affected by the earthquake across five districts in Herat province.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Testimonials: A Feature of successful recruitment
Consider this, when you’re looking for a brand new car, do you take the time to read as much as you can about the myriad of models available on the market that the manufacturers publish or do you consult a friend or expert who you think has a better knowledge of cars?
What you probably do is both but the truth is that when someone offers proof that a product or service is truly worth investing in and will be of value, people feel more comfortable when making the decision to purchase.
Nowadays, the majority of clients will take time to research an organization before getting in touch. According to marketing studies, that research mainly tends to focus on what other customers have said about the company and this includes recruitment companies, such as DevelopmentAid Recruitment Solutions (DRS) too.
The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: Why should people continue to fight for this? | Experts’ Opinions
Nearly 20 natural disasters happen every day in the world which amounts to a staggering 6,800 events a year. Flooding, storms, earthquakes, wildfires, and tornadoes make the front pages in the majority of cases, but these are just a few of many. Today, on October 13th, we celebrate the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction which is an opportunity to recognize the progress made to prevent and reduce the risk of disasters and the loss of lives, livelihoods, and the damage to economies and basic infrastructure and is also an opportunity to pinpoint the critical areas that need to be addressed by further attention and effort. Let’s explore this topic by considering the views of various experts.
Why has poverty and income inequality in Uganda remained so high?
Since ancient times, trade has been one of the most important economic activities, driving development and progress. No wonder that nowadays it is not just perceived as a source of a country’s national income, it is also seen as an important development instrument for the least developed and poorest countries on the planet. ‘Aid for Trade’ is one of the programs that aims to boost commercial relations among nations in order to foster economic development and reduce poverty.
Here’s what else has happened
Gates Foundation: At the 2023 Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced new investments to advance access to mRNA research and vaccine manufacturing technology that will support low- and middle-income countries’ (LMICs) capacity to develop high-quality, lifesaving vaccines at scale.
Haiti: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Government of Haiti are appealing for USD 21 million to ensure better protection and shelter conditions for tens of thousands of people newly displaced by gang violence in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince since mid-August.
Chad: Eastern Chad is currently facing an unprecedented new influx of refugees and returnees from Sudan. On 15 April 2023, armed clashes broke out in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), forcing many families to leave their homes and seek refuge in neighbouring countries. From the very first weeks of the crisis, Acted intervened in Ouaddaï province, providing multi-sector humanitarian assistance to refugees and returnees. Six months on, the conflict continues to rage, and Acted keeps supporting those affected.
Crisis upon crisis: Afghanistan faces an escalating humanitarian crisis following a devastating series of earthquakes. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) urgently reiterates its call for immediate action and international support, emphasizing that an existing appeal for 120 million Swiss Francs remains critically underfunded, with only 36 percent raised.
Reports
Multiple crises impeding global efforts to tackle hunger – 2023 Global Hunger Index
Multiple overlapping crises are impeding global efforts to tackle hunger, according to the 2023 Global Hunger Index (GHI), which shows that hunger levels are at “serious” or “alarming” levels in 43 countries.
Multilateral development banks (MDBs) provide record climate finance of close to $61 billion for low and middle-income economies in 2022
A joint report by multilateral development banks published finds that MDB climate finance reached a record high in 2022. The announcement comes as delegates meet in Marrakesh, Morocco, for the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, where scaling up public climate finance, in particular for low and middle-income economies, is one of the items at the top of the agenda.
Events
Engaging with USAID – UK Partners Day
📅 23 October 2023 🕙 9:00 am to 4:30 pm (BST)
Join us for BEI’s Series of events engaging with USAID. We are delighted to be joined for a one-day event by 4 senior representatives from USAID as well as welcoming back Mike Shanley from Konektid International.
Our speakers will run 2 panel discussion in the morning followed by afternoon break-out sessions and 1-1 sessions which can be booked by members individually with each of the speakers.
Market Systems Symposium 2023
📅 14-16 November 2023
Cape Town, South Africa
Empower your market systems development practice with inspiration, innovation, and connection.
Get ready to be inspired, equipped, and connected like never before at Market Systems Symposium 2023! Engage with industry-leading experts in Market Systems Development from around the world as we explore cutting-edge research, innovative strategies, and real-world application in this dynamic and engaging forum.
Key Themes:
Given the significant impact of climate change, conflict and food insecurity on our world today, the core themes which we will be discussing, debating, collaborating, and innovating around at MSS2023 are:
- Climate Change & Adaptation
- Conflict-Affected Contexts
- Food Security and Food Systems
AidEx 2023 | The Global Humanitarian Aid Event
📅 25-26 October 2023
Palexpo, Geneva
The world’s leading humanitarian aid and disaster relief event – AidEx is featuring high-level conference sessions, workshops, discussion groups, impact sessions, case studies, relief and international development, and training programmes geared to solve the challenges in aid.
The main agenda theme of this year’s AidEx is ‘Addressing the forgotten crises – how can we manage and anticipate crises when so much of our focus is on Ukraine? The conference will shine a light on other crises that are obscured by the war in Europe and explore creative solutions to turn the tide on the crises that are not getting the attention they deserve.
AidEx is co-located with Development2030, bringing together global development actors to achieve the sustainable development goals. Together, both events will bring aid, relief and international development professionals all under the same roof to explore the latest innovations, meet new suppliers, share your experiences with your peers, build meaningful relationships and continue the conversation afterwards.
In 2022, 2800+ participants attended from 60+ countries including significant participation from UN agencies, the EU, Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, local and international NGOs, donors, foundations, private investors, government and the private sector.