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International Women’s Day 2026 comes at a pivotal moment, highlighting both progress and setbacks in gender equality. While legal protections against domestic violence have expanded in many countries, women and girls worldwide continue to face systemic discrimination, limited legal rights, and increasing violations of their fundamental freedoms. The day underscores the urgent need to ensure… [Read More]

Around the world, millions of women and girls continue to face violence, discrimination, and systemic abuse. In many cases, legal systems fail to protect them, leaving survivors without recourse, while perpetrators go unpunished. Women are frequently denied equal pay, inheritance, and land rights, and even when laws exist, they often do not translate into real… [Read More]

Feminism is a dynamic and evolving movement without a formal rule book, hierarchy, or governing body. It takes diverse forms depending on historical and social contexts and is shaped by advocates, local leaders, and communities. While often referred to in the plural as “feminisms,” the movement shares a unifying goal: advancing equality for women and… [Read More]

Development today faces a paradox: those best positioned to address local challenges often receive the least support. Farmers adapting to climate shocks, women entrepreneurs sustaining fragile economies, youth innovators bridging digital gaps, municipal leaders managing constrained services, and civil society groups preventing conflict understand local contexts in ways external actors cannot. Yet they navigate scarce… [Read More]

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched a new online course titled Combined HIV Prevention with Emphasis on Oral and Long-Acting Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), hosted on the PAHO Virtual Campus for Public Health. The course is designed to strengthen the technical capacities of health personnel engaged in HIV response across the Americas, providing evidence-based… [Read More]

On 16 February 2026, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Mental Health, Wellness and Religious Affairs in Grenada, in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), held a meeting to advance planning for the country’s Biennial Work Plan (BWP) 2026–2027. The session brought together senior leadership from both ministries and PAHO technical… [Read More]

From 26 to 27 January 2026, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Wellness, Environment and Civil Service Affairs, hosted a training workshop in Antigua and Barbuda to strengthen disease monitoring using digital tools. The workshop was part of the Pandemic Fund project for Eastern Caribbean countries and aimed… [Read More]

The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), launched in 2010, is a cornerstone of the United States’ security strategy in the Caribbean. It channels U.S. funding, training, and technical expertise to 13 island and coastal nations to counter illicit trafficking, firearms smuggling, and transnational organized crime. The initiative positions the U.S. as a key security partner… [Read More]

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has launched the Energy Transition for Green Growth and Prosperity (ETGGP), a regional initiative aimed at supporting South-East Asian countries in achieving clean energy transitions while promoting growth, job creation, and social inclusion. The initiative aligns with ESCAP’s mandate to assist member… [Read More]

As Ghana prepares for its 2027 local elections, new research presented in Accra highlights that violence against women in politics remains a significant barrier to democratic participation at the local level. A roundtable jointly hosted by UNDP Ghana and the Nordic Africa Institute brought together researchers, policymakers, development partners, and diplomats to examine structural obstacles… [Read More]

The Central African Republic (CAR) is entering a “decisive period” following the country’s most extensive elections in history, according to the UN’s top envoy in CAR. The 28 December 2025 polls, which included presidential, legislative, regional and municipal elections—the first municipal votes since 1988—were conducted largely peacefully and securely across most of the country. Incumbent… [Read More]

Zimbabwe has rejected a proposed US health funding agreement worth $367 million over five years, citing concerns over data sovereignty and unequal benefit-sharing. The decision emerged after a leaked government memo from December indicated that President Emmerson Mnangagwa considered the arrangement “lopsided”. The deal would have supported key public health programmes, but Harare objected to… [Read More]

Tech-enabled startups and scale-ups across Africa are transforming sectors such as fintech and agriculture, contributing to innovation, job creation and economic development. However, as these companies move beyond their early stages, many face a significant financing challenge known as the “missing middle” — a gap between small microfinance loans and large-scale institutional debt. This shortage… [Read More]

Japan has committed 18 million kina (approximately US$4.2 million) to support Papua New Guinea’s efforts to strengthen its polio vaccination campaign and outbreak response. The funding comes as the country’s Health Ministry prepares to roll out a third round of immunisation aimed at curbing the spread of the virus and protecting vulnerable populations. The upcoming… [Read More]

Communities across the West of England are set to benefit from expanded support for locally led climate and nature initiatives, as six new organisations join the Community Climate & Nature Action Project. Over the next two years, residents in Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire will be supported to design and… [Read More]

More than 100 organisations, including major supermarkets, food businesses, investors, NGOs and academics, have united to call for the introduction of a landmark Good Food Bill. The campaign is being led by The Food Foundation, Sustain and Green Alliance, which have warned that the UK’s failing food system poses serious risks to national security and… [Read More]

Queensland-based startup Banksia Minerals is set to receive up to $5 million in funding to advance its copper production pilot project, aimed at strengthening Australia’s critical minerals capability and supporting the clean energy transition. The funding will help progress the company’s innovative processing technology and enhance domestic supply chains for critical energy minerals. Banksia has… [Read More]

At the 2026 Social Science and Humanities Ideas Festival launch held at Singapore Management University, Minister for Education Desmond Lee announced that $556 million will be allocated over five years from FY2026 to FY2030 to strengthen Singapore’s social science and humanities research ecosystem. This represents a 21% increase, or $99 million more, compared to the… [Read More]

The Scottish government, through Creative Scotland and the Scottish Futures Trust, has launched a new £400,000 pilot fund to help cultural and creative buildings across Scotland adapt to climate change. Supported by The National Lottery, the programme will provide grants of up to £80,000 per project, targeting 8–10 initiatives that address climate-related risks and ensure… [Read More]

Joaquín ‘Ximo’ Silvestre, a Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Alicante, and Sergey Mikhalovsky, co-founder of UK-based micro-SME ANAMAD, have spent nearly 25 years sharing a mission to remove harmful elements from both humans and the environment. Their work converged through EU funding via the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), enabling cross-border collaboration and… [Read More]

The transition from global climate commitments to actual financial mobilization remains one of the key challenges for achieving the 2030 Agenda. The Sevilla Commitment, adopted at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in June 2025, emphasized that bridging the financing gap is essential for progress. Translating this global mandate into actionable regional… [Read More]

Nearly 6.5 million people in Somalia are facing high levels of hunger, with over 1.8 million children at risk of acute malnutrition, as drought conditions continue to devastate the country, according to a report from the Somali government and UN agencies. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projects that a third of the population… [Read More]

The European Commission is set to launch the EastInvest Facility, a new initiative aimed at providing easier access to financing and advisory support for EU Member States bordering Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The facility forms a central part of the EU’s strategy for its eastern regions, adopted to help these territories address the economic and… [Read More]