The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) is a USAID-funded project that compiles data and warns of impending food insecurity in almost 40 countries around the world. The eyes of the world are on South Sudan right now after famine was declared on February 20. The threat of famine also looms in Somalia, Yemen,…
What is “secure enough” tenure? The concept of “secure enough” tenure has been discussed in the context of humanitarian and post-disaster programming and increasingly through donor initiatives. In our new paper, we adopt the following definition of secure enough tenure, established by USAID: “[T]he benchmark of tenure security [is] when rights to land and natural…
What is cross-sectoral democracy, rights, and governance (DRG) programming and why is it important? Cross-sectoral DRG programming recognizes that development issues are not single-sector problems — they overlap with other sectors; exist in a political context; and are as much, and often more, about power and relationships as they are about technical solutions. Solving a…
Climate information services (CIS) is the new acronym on the block in the global environment and climate resilience community. The Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) is the leading international advocate and authority on CIS. It was established in 2009 as a result of a U.N. initiative to support integrated international efforts for the development…
This blog post originally appeared on the HRH2030 program website. When we think about gender and human resources for health (HRH), we typically think about the challenges women face to fully participate in the workforce. Are women able to enter pre-service education institutions — and complete their courses of study — at the same rate…
The number of displaced persons in the world has reached historic highs, with one out of every four school-aged children living in countries affected by conflict and crisis, where access to education is frequently a challenge. The International Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) states that “funding for education response should be given equal priority…
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, “Be Bold for Change,” conjures up images of making big strides for women’s equality. While big actions, such as the recent women’s marches around the world, are a highly visible call for equality, the smaller bold actions are just as important, if not more important, to advance…
Successful and sustainable gender-sensitive policies in education that promote equity require commitment from all stakeholders of the education ecosystem within a country context. Without incorporating commitment, understanding, and partnership into the development of gender-sensitive policies, there is no guarantee that program initiatives will be sustained after the project lifecycle. Often, even though gender policies might…
Why is social inclusion important for the development of Vietnam? Though Vietnam has made significant progress in achieving the key targets of the Millennium Development Goals and has confirmed its strong commitment to implement the Sustainable Development Goals framework, the challenges toward vulnerable groups such as the poor, women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and…
After setting the global development agenda in 2000 with the Millennium Development Goals, the United Nations highlighted the need to focus on enhancing economic growth through sustainable and meaningful work in its 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Today, the UN calls for the “promotion of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for…
Anne Spahr is the chief of party of the USAID-funded Asia and Middle East Economic Growth (AMEG) Best Practices Project. She is a micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) finance and business development specialist with more than 10 years of experience working with farmers, fishers, and small business owners in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and…
Improving government accountability has been a goal of democracy programming in the development world for years. Practitioners of governance reform have tended to pursue increased accountability by focusing on two individual factors of the equation: transparency, by opening up government decision-making processes and increasing access to information; and participation, by increasing citizens’ voices through strengthened…