Tag Archives: MDGs

The MDGs: human rights in small doses?

Posted in: Human Rights | February 13, 2013 at 6:00 pm , by Gregory Pellechi

Good Ol' Gurban Berdimuhamedov aka Berdy aka Big Berdy aka Big Bird

This is the last post in our MDG-themed week. WhyDev Editor, Gregory Pellechi, has been thinking about the MDGs of late and got to wondering whether or not human rights is an integral part of them or not. He's looking for your answers....

MDG 5a: An update on maternal mortality

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Health | February 12, 2013 at 8:00 am , by Mike Miesen

2 comments

With two years left, it is highly unlikely that Millennium Development Goal 5a will be met worldwide. In our second post this week on the MDGs, Mike Miesen weighs in with some simple solutions....

Goals are good, but do the MDGs need to be simplified?

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Alternatives in development | February 11, 2013 at 4:00 pm , by Scott Weathers

7 comments

This week we present three posts around the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are eight MDGs that need to be met by 2015. Given the unlikely even that all will be met, Scott Weathers suggests we condense the MDGs into something simpler....

How would you make aid and development better?

Posted in: Alternatives in development, Disability, Microfinance, Poverty | August 1, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Weh Yeoh

17 comments

In this post, Weh Yeoh responds to a call out from AidSpeak, the blog of the Humanitarian Social Network known as AidSource. The guys recently asked writers to talk about how they would improve aid and development. This is by no means an exhaustive list (that would involve a word...

Why is volunteerism so widely maligned?

Posted in: Ethics in development | May 17, 2012 at 10:00 pm , by Sarah Huxley

4 comments

Why is volunteerism underestimated in development? Sarah Huxley provides her thoughts after attending the launch of the first United Nations Volunteers report on the state of volunteerism, and reflects on what is holding back the role of volunteerism in development....

The end of aid through trade?

Posted in: Foreign Aid, Trade | April 30, 2012 at 12:35 am , by Sarah Chambers

One comment

In light of the improved economic performance of developing countries, should there be a shift in the debate to be more focused on how the global community achieves the end of aid? Sarah Chambers argues that yes, we need to start talking about the next step beyond aid, and that...

Literacy in development: economics and social sciences converge, uneasily (part 1)

Posted in: Education | March 2, 2012 at 11:12 pm , by Alex Grey

4 comments

Literacy is not a set of skills independently learned regardless of social and cultural context, nor is it simply synonymous with schooling. In part 1 of a three-part series, Alex Grey argues that unless ethnographic understandings inform literacy campaigns and other development projects, they are likely to be less successful...

What would the Father of Modern Education do to fix our education problems?

Posted in: Education | February 16, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Brendan Rigby

4 comments

REMIX! Last year, a high-level meeting of ECOSOC unanimously adopted a declaration noting the importance of moving beyond MDG 2 in favour of a more holistic and inclusive vision of education systems. Although this is a welcome and important acknowledgement, inclusive and holistic education is not a new or original...

Sharing is caring: why handing out money is a good practice

Posted in: Alternatives in development | September 15, 2011 at 5:36 am , by Brendan Rigby

3 comments

In this cross-post with the Post Growth Institute, and to celebrate Free Money Day, Brendan thinks about how the concept of access has come to shape not only our economies, but also our education. But, most importantly, take some cash, go outside, give it out and take about how not...

This aid cut is the deepest

Posted in: Foreign Aid | February 8, 2011 at 2:00 pm , by Brendan Rigby

6 comments

Australian Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, today announced AUS$2 billion of spending cuts, including the $448 million earmarked for a secondary school construction program in Indonesia. Although there was a backlash to this proposal before it was announced, is there any merit to it in the context of Australia's aid review?...

Open submission to the AusAid review

Posted in: Foreign Aid | January 28, 2011 at 7:00 am , by Sam Porter

25 comments

AusAid, the Australian aid agency is currently conducting an enquiry into its $4.3 Billion per year aid program. The enquiry is taking public submissions, which will close on February 7th. In this debate, Sam opens to floor to your ideas, questions and suggestions, which he will include in his official...

Bricks and mortar (or why Kanye West is right)

Posted in: Education | January 21, 2011 at 7:15 am , by Brendan Rigby

3 comments

Recently, Australian government has allocated some $222 million of its $500 million education aid for Indonesia for the construction of 2,000 secondary schools. This aid package of $500 million represents that largest single allocation by the Australian government to any single country. In this article, Brendan explores aid for education,...

The future of education: MDGs, academic standards & human rights

Posted in: Education | August 19, 2010 at 11:00 am , by Brendan Rigby

4 comments

In the lead up to the MDG review summit this September, there is an urgent need to review not only the MDGs but the standards, quality and approaches of education. In this short comment, Brendan argues for the need to move beyond enrolment and primary schooling, and begin to address...