Development

As the Arab Spring is turning to its second (and harder) phase of conducting elections and forming legitimate transitional government, the need for an economic strategy is becoming painfully apparent.  The people, who marched on the streets demanding political freedom, were also demonstrating for economic freedom and the general improvement of their future economic prospects.  […]

Thursday, December 1, was World AIDS Day.  Each year, people gather worldwide to remember those lost to or affected by HIV/AIDS and to raise awareness.  It’s also a time to reflect on what’s been accomplished and what remains to be done, and the day serves as a time for politicians, celebrities, implementers, and activists to […]

It is December and that means holiday parties and awards for most companies, organizations and government departments. So here is a little award of my own. Two of Transparency International’s (TI) biggest reports were recently released. The first is the 2011 Bribe Payer’s Index (BPI). The 2011 BPI ranks 28 of the world’s largest economies […]

Although global health in 2011 was overshadowed by the economic recession and related budget cuts by donor countries, there were a few rays of hope to be found.  Much progress has been made in combating some global epidemics and more attention has been paid to others.  Innovations in global health, from simple solutions to harnessing […]

Ever since the people of the Arab world, from Iran to Morocco, started rising up against their authoritarian and dictatorial regimes demanding accountability and representation, a lot has been said about the perils and obstacles of their undertaking.  From historical and cultural legacies, to economic and political shortcomings, nothing looms as a larger obstacle than […]

Tomorrow (November 12) is World Pneumonia Day.  Although it seems that there’s a commemorative event almost every day to increase awareness about various illnesses or health issues, pneumonia is one that the world should remember and take action on.  Pneumonia is currently the number one killer of children worldwide, more than HIV/AIDS, malaria, and measles […]

  This week, UNAIDS has launched a new project to work with young people for a youth-centered HIV strategy.  Scientists are moving into the next stages of deploying genetically-modified mosquitoes to combat insect-borne diseases like dengue, and concerns about the risks of bioengineering have been raised.  The G-20 Summit in Cannes could not get out […]

Monday was World Polio Day, and there was much to celebrate: as of now, the world has seen a 99% reduction in polio cases. That’s incredible news.  We have reached a point where polio could be wholly eradicated in less than five years.  Isn’t it nice to hear that it is possible to successfully combat […]

Back in mid-February, amid the optimism of the immediate post-Mubarak era, I wrote a blog post exploring the future of philanthropy and the NGO sector in Egypt, noting that the field had been developing quite rapidly despite a restrictive operating environment. I speculated that if regulatory interference from the Ministry of Social Solidarity receded, the future […]

There are exciting new developments in the fight against malaria. More attention must be paid to mental illness around the world. Finally, a community-based program out of Senegal is stamping out female genital cutting, and the model should be developed to be scalable and replicable for areas where the practice endures. Malaria Developments: As fellow […]

Every day across the globe children die from preventable diseases.  One of the biggest and most preventable killers is malaria.  Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.  According to the World Malaria Report 2010, there were 225 million cases of malaria and an […]

Earlier this month, a study published in The Lancet discussed findings that hormonal contraceptives doubled the risk of HIV infection and transmission.  The study examined 3,790 sero-discordant heterosexual couples (meaning that one of the two has HIV) in seven African countries.  Some of the women were using hormonal contraceptives, mostly injectable (such as Depo-Provera) but […]