I am in the continuing process of collecting information and interviews regarding the Post-2015 Agenda. Given the importance of the Millennium Development Goals, what follows will have a significant impact on the trajectory of international development. The most significant effort has been launched through a partnership between the ONE Campaign, UNDP and the Overseas Development Institute.

The short version is that the groups are coming together to survey people around the world as a way to understand what the world's poor want and develop a more bottom-up set of goals. "We should proactively be asking about their concerns, priorities and aspirations. And listening intently to their responses. By giving them a seat at the table, they can speak up for themselves, determine their own futures, ...

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A reworking on the Our Father appears at the end of a brilliant piece of satire on how to give foreign aid by Elnathan John for Nigerian newspaper the Daily Times.

THE AID PRAYER Our Fathers who art in Europe (and America)

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I wrote this originally for the PSI Impact Blog.

Cambodia transformed from a country shouldering a remarkably high TB rate 20 years ago to a nation experiencing rapid declines in the number of TB cases. By implementing WHO-recommended services such as Directly Observed Therapy - Short Course (DOTS), Cambodia has witnessed clases decline by 45% from 2002 to 2011. Health centers providing DOTS services grew from 60 to 1000 in only five years. "Cambodia changed a health crisis into an opportunity," says Dr Ikushi Onozaki, from WHO's Stop TB Department in WHO article.

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The following post was written for the PSI Impact blog.

As the world nears eradicating polio, Nigeria stands as one of the few countries that remain polio endemic. The first three-quarters of 2012 saw three times more cases as opposed to the same period last year. While efforts focus on ridding the country of polio, a series of obstacles still stand in the way.

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The Political Action Committee supporting Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) released an attack video on West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin (D). The video takes a hard-line stance on foreign aid that is espoused by Sen Paul and his father Rep Ron Paul (R-TX). In short, the argument is that Sen Machin supports foreign aid to countries that are not appreciative of the aid they receive.

The scenes move back and forth from riots to Sen Manchin in congress. The voice over punctuates the dichotomy by telling viewers that Sen Manchin is supportive of the riots because he agreed to send foreign aid to Egypt, Libya and Pakistan. The story builds from riots in Egypts, to the arrest of the doctor who supported the fake vaccination campaign in Pakistan, to the riots in Libya that led to the death of ...

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When discussing the nature of the M23 rebellion in the DRC, it makes perfect sense to talk to a journalist who just made a trip to Goma. At least that is what is acceptable for the Daily Best. VICE Magazine editor Thomas Morton recently visited the DRC and sat down to talk with Tony Dokoupil of the Daily Beast to explain why the M23 rebels are a greater concern than the LRA.

Setting aside the problems with even discussing which rebel group is worse, could the Daily Beast have possibly brought in an expert on the region to discuss the situation? There weren't any other journalists who are actually based in the region available to join the conversation? The answer, to the Daily Beast, appears to be no. Unfortunately, a conversation about a problem that does in fact deserve more attention is ...

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Unilever and the Millennium Village Project unveiled a new partnership today to mark the 5th Global Handwashing day. The partnership aims to reduce diarrhoeal diseases by improving hygiene in MVP villages in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.

"Diarrhoea and pneumonia are the two leading causes of under-5 deaths, accounting for around 30% of children's deaths globally - more than two million lives lost each year. More than 80% of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Addressing these challenges through improved hygiene is a vital and effective step towards saving lives and achieving the global Millennium Development Goal to reduce the child mortality rate by two-thirds by 2015," said Jeff Sachs.

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The George Mason University economics duo of Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok may be best known for their economics blog, Marginal Revolution. The two Economists stand at the forefront of innovating how the discipline of economics is learned and shared. They blog at at relentless pace with little or no financial gain, a rather curious pursuit by men steeped in economic theory. However, the site has grown to become one of the more popular blogs with over 50 million visits to date.

Cowen's book The Great Stagnation represented another step towards experimentation. The 128 page book was published in electronic form first and came in at a reasonable price of $3.99. The duo took it further with the recent launch of Marginal Revolution University. The aim of MRU is to make education, better, cheap ...

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Celebrities do not necessarily run good aid/relief organizations.

Even skilled volunteers are not the best answer.

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It was the opportunity that Hussein Kurji always wanted, but he was not prepared. A conference in South Africa invited attendees to pitch an idea for a television show. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Hus turned to notebook where he scribbled down an idea from a few years ago: a dysfunctional NGO.

The native Kenyan went to Australia in order to study digital media. He returned home in 2009, unsure if it was the right decision. Radio dominates as the main media form in Kenya, but television is growing at a rapid pace. A survey in 2011 by Ipsos Synovate found that roughly half of all Kenyans watched television within the past week. The average viewers spent 26 hours a week watching television generally in the evenings to watch the news and soap operas.

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