A severe storm on 31 December struck 90 sites across Aleppo, Idleb, and Al-Hasakeh governorates in Syria, affecting more than 150,000 people. Humanitarian partners reported that two infants died from extreme cold in northern Idleb. Approximately 5,000 shelters were fully or partially damaged, leaving families exposed to freezing temperatures and increasing the risk of hypothermia… [Read More]
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Promoting Inclusive Access and Equality Across the Philippines
For millions of Filipinos, reliable internet access is essential for education, services, and livelihoods. However, many communities, particularly in remote, disaster-prone, and underserved areas, continue to face connectivity gaps. Renewed collaboration across the Philippines is working to make digital access a public good, strengthening resilience, expanding opportunities, and ensuring that no one is left offline… [Read More]
Republic of Korea Supports WFP’s Emergency Cash Aid for Cyclone-Hit Families in Sri Lanka
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed a contribution of USD 500,000 from the Government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to provide urgent cash assistance to families affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka. This funding will support the government’s ongoing relief efforts and enable WFP to deliver cash transfers to nearly… [Read More]
Collaborative Child Protection Research: Lessons from Practitioners and Researchers Across Nations
Child protection research traditionally relies on an “outside–inside” model, where researchers design studies remotely and practitioners are only involved in supporting roles alongside their existing workloads. This separation often leads to delays, low participation, and disengagement. Two recent studies, one in the UK and one in Portugal, demonstrate the benefits of embedding practitioners as genuine… [Read More]
Early Lessons on Interdisciplinary Collaboration from the Net Positive Centre
The Net Positive Centre has spent its first year exploring how to create truly interdisciplinary research at the intersection of climate change and health. Addressing these complex challenges requires more than just bringing different disciplines together; it demands genuine integration of knowledge, methods, and perspectives. Climate change and health are deeply interconnected, influenced by environmental,… [Read More]
Menstrual Hygiene Health Education: Empowering Girls and Breaking Stigmas
Menstrual hygiene health education is a vital tool for empowering girls, promoting health, and challenging deeply rooted social taboos. Beyond teaching the biological process of menstruation, it provides girls with the knowledge and confidence to manage their periods safely and with dignity. Proper education reduces health risks such as infections and reproductive issues, while also… [Read More]
Child Protection Policy in India: Legal Provisions, Challenges, and Ways Forward
Child protection policies in India are crucial for ensuring the safety, rights, and overall well-being of every child. These policies provide a framework to prevent abuse, exploitation, neglect, and other forms of harm, creating an environment that supports healthy growth and development. Organizations like CRY India work closely with families, communities, and government initiatives to… [Read More]
Top 5 Ways Extracurricular Activities Support Girls’ Growth and Learning
Extracurricular activities play a transformative role in the lives of girls, particularly in communities facing systemic challenges. These activities go beyond traditional academics, offering platforms for self-expression, skill development, and confidence-building. Far from distracting from studies, extracurricular engagement enhances academic performance by fostering better time management, focus, and school involvement. In addition, such activities promote… [Read More]
The Importance of Supporting Children’s Mental Health in Rural India
Children’s mental health is a critical aspect of overall well-being and development, particularly in rural India, where unique challenges exacerbate the risks of anxiety, depression, behavioral disorders, and PTSD. Lack of awareness, cultural stigma, and limited access to mental health resources often prevent early detection and treatment. Untreated mental health issues can negatively impact education,… [Read More]
Digital Classrooms: How Technology Is Reducing the Rural–Urban Education Divide
Education is a cornerstone of child development, yet a significant divide exists between urban and rural areas in India. While urban children benefit from well-equipped schools, trained teachers, and additional learning resources, many rural children face limited access to quality education, fewer teaching staff, inadequate learning materials, and minimal exposure to technology. This disparity affects… [Read More]
From Goats to Bytes: A Rural Community’s Digital Transformation Journey
Access to digital technology and the Internet plays a crucial role in strengthening educational skills, yet rural communities often face persistent barriers such as geographic isolation, limited infrastructure, cultural factors, and socioeconomic constraints that widen the digital divide. To address these challenges, the Mawingu Foundation has partnered with the pastoral community of Il-Ngwesi in Kenya… [Read More]
Six Lessons from Internet Governance Forums Shaping the Future of the Internet
The Internet underpins modern life by enabling access to education, healthcare, commerce, and civic participation, raising critical questions about how it is governed and who ensures it remains open, secure, and inclusive. The Internet Governance Forum (IGF), convened by the United Nations, addresses these questions by providing a global, multistakeholder platform where governments, civil society,… [Read More]
Scaling Sustainable Practices to Build Resilient Agrifood Systems
The agriculture sector is a cornerstone of Kenya’s economy, contributing about 20 percent of GDP and providing livelihoods for more than 40 percent of the population, including over 70 percent of rural households. Beyond Kenya, agriculture underpins food security, employment, and economic growth across Africa. However, agrifood systems are under increasing strain from climate change,… [Read More]
Aid Organizations Condemn Israel’s Move to Block NGOs from Gaza Amid Worsening Winter Conditions
Senior United Nations officials and humanitarian leaders have urged Israel to reverse plans to withhold registration from more than three dozen international NGOs operating in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, warning that the move would critically undermine life-saving aid at a time of extreme humanitarian need. Israel says 37 NGOs failed to meet new… [Read More]
How Solar-Powered Boreholes Are Transforming Water Access in Drought-Affected Somalia
At least 23,000 people in Somalia have gained access to safe drinking water following the completion of two new solar-powered boreholes in Awrboogays in Sanag and Bacadwyen in Galkayo. Handed over to local communities, the boreholes mark the first phase of a broader initiative to improve water access in four drought-affected districts, with a long-term… [Read More]
Bangladesh Takes Key Steps Toward Developing Its First Climate Finance Strategy
Bangladesh has taken a significant step toward developing its first National Climate Finance Strategy, aimed at closing the gap between ambitious climate commitments and the financing required to protect vulnerable communities. Through nationwide consultations held between November and December 2025, led by the Finance Division with technical support from UNDP and financing from Agence Française… [Read More]
WHO-Supported Training Enhances Indonesia’s National Diphtheria Laboratory Skills
From 27–30 October 2025, Jakarta, Indonesia, hosted a four-day laboratory training workshop aimed at strengthening the national capacity for the timely detection and confirmation of diphtheria cases. Eighteen laboratory professionals from across Indonesia participated in the program, which focused on enhancing skills necessary for rapid diagnosis to support outbreak prevention and public health response. Diphtheria… [Read More]
National PRET Exercise Strengthens Indonesia’s Pandemic Readiness
The Government of Indonesia, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), conducted a national Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats (PRET) table-top exercise (TTX) from 24–26 September 2025. The exercise brought together 44 institutions and 65 participants from national and subnational levels to test whole-of-government coordination across the five PRET pillars: emergency coordination, collaborative… [Read More]
Private Finance for Sustainable Development: Preparing for Uncertain Times
In 2018, Vietnam launched its first industrial-scale solar power plant on 300 hectares of hard-to-farm land in the country’s poorest province. With initial donor support of about $20 million from Switzerland and others, the project attracted an additional $147 million in private investment, supplying electricity to 200,000 homes and cutting 240,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions… [Read More]
Student Activists Remain in Custody as India’s Top Court Rejects Bail
India’s Supreme Court on January 5 denied bail to prominent student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been held without trial for over five years. While the court granted bail to five others arrested in the same case, it held that Khalid and Imam were on a “qualitatively different footing,” justifying their continued… [Read More]
The Impact of Clean Water on African Children: Health, Education, and a Brighter Future
Bread and Water for Africa®’s WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) program is making a transformative impact across sub-Saharan Africa by providing communities with access to clean water, reliable sanitation facilities, and essential hygiene education. These efforts protect students from infectious diseases while enabling them to focus on learning and overall well-being. Access to safe water… [Read More]
Africa’s Start-Up Funding in 2025: Reasons Behind the Decline
Africa’s start-up funding showed a slowdown in 2025, with investors increasingly concentrating capital at the seed and early stages amid rising market uncertainty. According to the African Private Capital Association (AVCA), venture capital activity in the nine months to September 30, 2025, was heavily focused on early growth phases, while late-stage activity was extremely limited,… [Read More]
School Meals Transform Health, Learning, and Futures in Bhutan
In the remote highlands of Sakteng, Bhutan, the National School Feeding Programme is transforming schools into vital community hubs that nourish children and support local livelihoods. For families in eastern Bhutan, where nomadic Brokpa traditions and limited access to basic services make life challenging, schools are more than educational spaces—they provide nutrition, safety, and a… [Read More]
