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USAID reform is moving in right direction

Noting USAID on Wednesday released USAID Forward, "a progress report on its three-year-old reform effort ... which in the words of Administrator Rajiv Shah has the ultimate goal of putting 'ourselves out of business,'" Bill Lane, the director of International Governmental Affairs for Caterpillar, and Carolyn Miles, president and CEO of Save the Children -- co-presidents of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition -- write in The Hill's "Congress Blog," "We applaud the goals of USAID Forward to modernize and strengthen U.S. development programs, and while every indicator in the report is not perfect, the reforms are moving in the right direction."

27 Mar 2013

Benefits are not evenly distributed for men and women in workplace, research shows

Having more authority in the workplace comes with many rewards - including greater forms of job control and higher earnings. However, according to new research out of the University of Toronto, the benefits are not evenly distributed for women and men.

27 Mar 2013

Human rights leaders ask BRICS countries to press Syria for unfettered humanitarian aid access

"Human rights activists from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are appealing to their leaders to use their influence to press Syria to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to U.N. agencies," the Associated Press reports.

27 Mar 2013

Canadian International Development Agency eliminated, its functions merged with foreign affairs and trade department

"The Canadian International Development Agency will be eliminated and its functions merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, according to the 2013 budget, a surprise move that will more closely align development assistance with Canada's trade and foreign policy objectives," the Globe and Mail reports.

27 Mar 2013

USAID blog examines water management issues in the Middle East

The first three entries of a four-part series, titled "USAID in the Middle East," have been published in the agency's "IMPACTblog."

26 Mar 2013

IPS examines first USAID progress report, released last week

"The United States' main foreign assistance agency is getting widespread plaudits for new data on a series of internal reforms aimed at aid improvement, but some development experts are pointing to a persistent opaqueness from the agency," Inter Press Service reports.

26 Mar 2013

Study shows gay parents are judged more negatively than straight parents

Is there a double standard for gay parents? A new study published this month by a Binghamton University research team suggests that gay parents are being judged more harshly than straight parents.

26 Mar 2013

Opinion pieces recognize World Water Day 2013

World Water Day is recognized on March 22 to raise awareness of water and sanitation issues worldwide. This year also marks the International Year of Water Cooperation, according to the World Water Day website (3/22).

25 Mar 2013

International support rising for adopting universal water security

Amid changing weather and water patterns worldwide and forecasts of more severe transformations to come, calls have been growing for the UN Security Council to include water issues on its agenda.

25 Mar 2013

IRIN examines impact of drone warfare on humanitarian aid

"In places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, strikes by unmanned planes are increasingly affecting humanitarian operations, aid workers say, necessitating a greater discussion by humanitarians on how to deal with the impact and a greater focus by U.S. policymakers on how to mitigate it," IRIN reports in an article examining how drone warfare is impacting humanitarian aid.

22 Mar 2013

Humanitarian situation worsening in Syria, U.N., U.S. officials tell Senate

"The top United Nations refugee official has warned that Syria's worsening humanitarian crisis risks overwhelming the international community's capacity to respond, and that some aid agencies could run out of money for relief activities as early as the end of this month," the U.N. News Centre reports.

22 Mar 2013

U.S. continues to respond to Syrian crisis

Noting "[t]he two-year anniversary of the Syria uprising coincides with another dark milestone: over one million refugees have fled Syria," Anne Richard, assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration, writes in the State Department's "DipNote" blog, "This escalating crisis ... is challenging all of us to do more. We must ensure more life-saving assistance reaches people who need it."

21 Mar 2013

U.N. food agencies welcome Pope Francis's commitment to helping poor, hungry

"United Nations officials [on Tuesday] welcomed Pope Francis' public commitment to support those who live in poverty and suffer from hunger, and expressed their readiness to work with the new leader of the Catholic Church on these issues," the U.N. News Centre reports (3/19).

21 Mar 2013

U.S. foreign aid system needs 'overhaul' to better foster development

"In practice, the foreign aid system, and in particular, the U.S. Agency for International Development, work very well in accomplishing what Washington politicians want them to do," Charles Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America Foundation, writes in Bloomberg Businessweek's "Small World" blog.

21 Mar 2013

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah publishes annual letter

USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on Tuesday published his 2013 annual letter. "Today, I am pleased to share with you our third annual letter about the work our Agency does around the world to help answer President Obama's call," he writes in the letter, available on the USAID webpage.

21 Mar 2013

IRIN examines issues surrounding implementation of national drought policies

"There is quite a leap to be made between a country's declared intent to draw up a drought policy and actually making it happen on the ground," according to "several participants at the recent High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy in Geneva," IRIN reports.

21 Mar 2013

Blog examines survival of Feed the Future initiative under sequestration

"While the [Feed the Future] program took a few years to get off the ground, and is probably not all that well known to the public, it is a favorite of USAID Administrator Raj Shah -- and also a go-to program budget hawks now want to cut back," development blogger Tom Murphy writes in the Humanosphere blog, noting the "House Budget Committee recommended to cut Feed the Future entirely last year."

21 Mar 2013

India's federal cabinet approves food security bill; Parliament to debate proposal

"India approved changes to a bill that grants the nation's poor the right to buy food grains at subsidized rates, meeting a pledge by the ruling Congress party to spread the benefits of growth before elections due next year," Bloomberg reports (Parija/Mishra, 3/20).

21 Mar 2013

Researchers develop dune infiltration system to treat coastal stormwater runoff for fecal bacteria

When it rains, untreated stormwater can sweep pollutants into coastal waters, potentially endangering public health. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed low-cost filtration systems that are concealed beneath sand dunes and filter out most of the bacteria that can lead to beach closures.

21 Mar 2013

Report says 75% of Asia-Pacific emerging economies facing water crises

"About 75 percent of emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region suffer from low levels of water security, with millions still living without safe water supplies and sanitation facilities, according to a study" published last week, SciDev.Net reports.

20 Mar 2013