8th March 2017 London, UK
I am always dubious about so-called silver bullets that allegedly solve a host of problems. “Life can’t be that simple,” I think. “Surely there must be a catch?” But there is one step that would improve countless lives — and make the world an infinitely better place — if only every government summoned the will […]
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21st December 2016 London, UK
Asma Mohamed Omar Korsi is a businesswoman in Darfur. She proudly smiles as she overlooks her growing business. Years of hard work have paid off and enabled her to expand her small millet enterprise to include an array of different food items in the bustling central market of Geneina town. Asma, 50, has raised her […]
Read more on A New Start for Asma: A Story of Hope through UK Assistance for Food and Livelihoods in Conflict-Affected Darfur | Reply (2)
20th April 2016 New Delhi, India
I was privileged to attend the dissemination event of DFID’s CRISSA (Climate Research and Information Services in South Asia) programme which remains close to my heart due to my role in programme managing it during my short stint with the DFID’s South Asia Research Hub in 2012-13. As I spent two full days sitting back […]
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1st September 2015
There is plenty of bad news about. But let’s also celebrate the success stories. One such has been the partnership between the UK’s principal Catholic charities from the Caritas Internationalis family and the British government in their joint efforts to maximise funds raised by British donors to support projects benefiting some of the world’s poorest people. […]
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1st January 2015
Half a million South Sudanese refugees who have fled the continuing fighting in #SouthSudan have settled in #Ethiopia, #Kenya and #Uganda. Among them, more than 190,000 refugees have arrived in Ethiopia alone, almost all of them in #Gambella region, since conflict broke out in December 2013. Continuing insecurity and logistical constraints due to heavy rains […]
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7th November 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
The Lebanese spend more on education than anything but food, more per capita than any other country. It’s a downpayment of hope in Lebanon’s future. In schools as on the borders and checkpoints, the UK stands beside Lebanon with actions not words. The UK is now Lebanon’s main education partner, through four gamechanging programmes. For […]
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4th October 2014
Her Royal Highness (HRH) the Princess Royal spent three days in Ethiopia last week – her fourth visit to the country, the first having been in 1974. And once again HRH made a considerable impact, visiting not just Addis Ababa but also projects in Adama and South Sudanese refugees in Gambella. HRH was here primarily […]
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17th April 2014 Washington DC, USA
I’ve been getting into Twitter in the last couple of weeks. I know I’m only five years later than everyone else, but I’m loving the new insights and the quirkiness of it all. Two things were “trending” on my Twitter timeline recently that, seemingly unrelated, made me reflect on the incentives shaping donor effectiveness. The […]
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12th March 2014 Washington DC, USA
Africa has had a “bad start” to 2014. Or so I keep hearing. But I wonder, how does a whole continent have a bad start? Do a billion people collectively have a bad day? What people usually mean is that Africa has experienced a lot of violence this year. No denying that. Horrific atrocities in […]
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21st February 2014 Washington DC, USA
Satellites, open data, crowdsourcing – these are some of the hottest buzzwords in the tech industry right now. But these innovations aren’t just limited to Silicon Valley and start-ups – they have come to dominate much of our everyday lives. Each time we open apps like Yelp and Foursquare to find the closest Starbucks or […]
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