On Friday August 10, the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) released the first ever U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence Globally, including their implementation plans. An accompanying Executive Order issued by President Obama was also released, directing all relevant agencies to implement this strategy. These efforts highlight the United States' commitment to preventing and responding to gender-based violence around the world.

Gender-based violence knows no bounds... more »

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Japan recently donated US$8 million for the drilling of 200 boreholes in Luapula Province. According to Japan's Ambassador Akio Egawa, "the gesture is aimed at supplementing Government efforts to provide clean drinking water". One though has to question the value for money of these boreholes at that price. Unless of course it is the usual aid mirage : large figure quote but small amount actually given.

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A few weeks back, I had the privilege of attending a remarkable event where I witnessed teams from many nations come together to put their bodies and minds to the test, competing against one another in a series of athletic events to see who would emerge as the true champion. I wasn't at the London Olympics; I was in the middle of Tolemaida, Colombia at the Ninth Annual Fuerzas Comando exercise, a competition featuring special operations forces from 21 countries, and came to face-off with elite military forces from across the Western Hemisphere.

Around the world, Foreign Policy Advisors (POLADs) -- diplomats assigned to serve as advisors to U.S. military commanders in the United States and overseas -- have become a key element in forging "whole of government" solutions and approaches that ...

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Yesterday, Sweden announced that it was suspending aid to Rwanda. Their aid was $32 million last year, which would come on top of the aid that the Netherlands ($6 million), the African Development Bank ($38 million), Germany ($26 million over next five years), the United Kingdom (up to $50 million), and the United States ($200,000). That's a total of $152 million. There are now suggestions that even the World Bank and the European Union, who give large amounts of aid to Rwanda, are reviewing their portfolios.

But the key word here should be: "suspended." With the exception of the US, which was legally forced to cut a symbolic amount of military aid, all these donors have frozen aid while they wait to see what Rwanda's response will be to allegations of support to the M23. After several ...

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This article was originally published here on ForeignAffairs.com on Monday, August 13, 2012.  Over the weekend, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi...

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2012 has been a bad year for gun violence in the United States. Yesterday, Thomas Caffall, apparently distraught about being evicted from him home in College Station, Texas, shot and killed a Brazos County constable and a bystander. Earlier this month, white supremacist Wade Michael Page entered a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and [...]

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Since my last post focused on the need to listen this one will justify this approach a little more in case you're not yet convinced. Being at the TEDxRhodesU event recently reminded me of the time I spent consulting for an ISP on a project with The University of Ghana Legon (UGL) in 2008. Both [...]

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AT THE start of August, a gathering of Somali leaders in Mogadishu, their country's capital, backed a new constitution, paving the way for a new government to be sworn in on the 20th. The vote came shortly after two bombers tried to attack the meeting, so it is not surprising that concerns over the country's fragile recovery focus mainly on politics and security. But Somalia faces another sort of power struggle which may be just as big a brake on development.

The country's lack of electricity has long been a problem. After 20 years of war laid waste to much of the place's infrastructure, it was the private sector that stepped in. A study by the World Bank in 2004, when warlords held sway in most of Somalia, found that local entrepreneurs had discovered a way of getting round the dire lack ...

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Depuis les événements du mois de mars 2012, la situation dans le nord Mali continue a se détériorer. Depuis que les rebelles du Nord ont pris le contrôle des principales villes, la région est coupée des liens avec le reste du pays. Des milliers de personnes ont dû fuir pour trouver refuge dans le sud du Mali ou dans les pays voisins. Les denrées alimentaires sont rares, les terres abandonnées et on prévoit une crise acridienne dans la zone mettant encore plus à risque les récoltes.

Le FIDA est une des seules agences de développement qui s'est dédiée constamment à la coopération dans le Nord du Mali, et ce depuis les années 1990. Depuis lors, le FIDA a ...

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Even though the London Olympics have concluded, we invite you to join us in continuing the spirit of the Games by joining 2012 Hours Against Hate, a campaign for global tolerance. Supported by Secretary Clinton, 2012 Hours Against Hate invites people to stop hate and bigotry by volunteering an hour or more of their time for someone who does not look, live, or pray like them. Carry on the Olympic spirit in your own community through actions that promote tolerance and mutual understanding, one hour at a time.

Here are 12 ways you can dedicate hours against hate:

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Yesterday, Sweden announced that it was suspending aid to Rwanda. Their aid was $32 million last year, which would come on top of the aid that the Netherlands ($6 million), the African Development Bank ($38 million), Germany ($26 million over next five years), the United Kingdom (up to $50 million), and the United States ($200,000). That's a total of $152 million. There are now suggestions that even the World Bank and the European Union, who give large amounts of aid to Rwanda, are reviewing their portfolios.

But the key word here should be: "suspended." With the exception of the US, which was legally forced to cut a symbolic amount of military aid, all these donors have frozen aid while they wait to see what Rwanda's response will be to allegations of support to the M23. After several ...

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I just finished reading a phenomenal book. Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back, was co-authored by my good friend Andrew Zolli of PopTech fame and his won-derful colleague Ann Marie Healey. I could easily write several dozen blog posts on this brilliant book. Consider ... Continue reading →

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