BOGOTÁ — U.N. Women has long been a leader in the promotion of women’s rights in Colombia. The organization has introduced innovative initiatives to include women in the response to the decades-long armed conflict. The programs created by UN Women have started a national dialogue about women’s struggles in Colombia and have provided practical measures that fight gender-based violence and low female participation in political decision-making. Women’s Rights Included in Colombia’s Peace Treaty The civil conflict in Colombia has lasted 53 years and left approximately 250,000 citizens dead and millions displaced. In June 2016, the Colombian government, led by President…
Author: Katherine Parks
Katherine Parks
Katherine writes for The Borgen Project from New York City, NY. Her academic interests include the political economy with a focus on socioeconomic inequality in the US. Katherine studied art history at the Sorbonne in Paris for a semester.
SUKHBAATAR — Of the 3 million people living in Mongolia, an estimated 30 percent live as nomads. Nomadic children in Mongolia face unusual barriers to early childhood education including limited access to educational materials and traditional schools. A program funded, and managed, with a $2.5 million grant from the World Bank’s Japan Social Development Fund aims to improve nomadic children’s access to education and learning achievements. Mongolia provides free, mandatory education for all children age 6 and older. However, there is a large discrepancy between school enrollment rates of urban Mongolian children and of rural Mongolian children. While urban schools…
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa consistentowy ranks as one of the countries with the lowest quality public schools despite spending six percent of its GDP — more than any other African country — on education. An innovative network of private schools called SPARK schools aims to reform education in South Africa by offering working-class families a high-quality, affordable alternative to public education. In 2011-2012, the World Economic Forum ranked the quality of education in South Africa 133rd out of 142 surveyed countries. According to The Economist, 27 percent of sixth-year students in South Africa lack basic literacy skills. Comparatively, 19 percent of…
Bihar — In rural India, only 55 percent of households have access to electricity. The Rockefeller Foundation aims to connect these underserved citizens to sustainable energy sources through their Smart Power For Rural Development initiative. By widening the availability of electricity in India, The Rockefeller Foundation will create new economic opportunities for poor, rural communities. Globally, 1.2 billion people – including 237 million people in India – have limited or no access to electricity. Even areas classified as “electrified” still have large numbers of individual households that live without service. Additionally, existing electricity connections to poor, rural villages are often…
NEW YORK CITY — The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call upon governments and businesses to promote measures that deliver universal peace and prosperity. Private sector involvement in achieving the SDGs is imperative, as businesses can offer both financing and flexibility in enacting the goals. More than 9,000 companies globally have already signed the U.N. Global Compact — a list of 10 principles that encourage sustainable business behaviour. The SDGs are good for business The Sustainable Development Goals benefit business — adherence to the goals increases corporate security and resilience. Companies that align with the national interest are more likely…
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Fiscal Year 2018 budget proposed by the Trump Administration includes $25.4 billion for foreign assistance programs. The budget cuts funding to USAID and the State Department by up to 30 percent and proposes combining the two entities into one agency. This budget cut could severely impair the two agencies’ ability to finance foreign aid in 2018. The planned $25.4 billion budget for foreign aid in 2018 spending will be split between nine categories: Peace and security ($7.7 billion) Health ($6.9 billion) Humanitarian assistance ($5.3 billion) Democracy, human rights and governance ($1.6 billion) Program management ($1.4…
SEATTLE — The Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new partnership project at the 2017 African Green Revolution Forum. The Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation (PIATA) will provide up to $280 million to stimulate agricultural development in at least 11 African countries. PIATA advocates for increased linkages between small farmers and agribusiness to create economic opportunity. Sub-Saharan African farmers are among the most impoverished populations on the continent thanks to the slow growth of the agricultural sector. Africa’s exploding population rate further exacerbates resource deficits and contributes…
BEIRUT — All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development utilizes new technology to increase literacy. The initiative estimates that 250 million children around the world are not learning basic literacy skills. All Children Reading is a public-private partnership developed by World Vision, USAID and the Australian government. The initiative partners with organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Intel and Arizona State University to promote literacy through technology. All Children Reading manages 44 individual projects running in different developing countries around the world. All Children Reading is one of USAID’s Grand Challenges for Development initiatives. The challenges embrace…
HAMBURG — The World Bank has launched its first facility to promote women-led enterprises, the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). The program, headed by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, aims to break down barriers for women-run businesses in developing countries. The initiative plans to mobilize more than $1 billion to support women entrepreneurs in World Bank-supported countries. Worldwide, only 30 percent of formal businesses are owned by women. Additionally, women-run businesses overwhelmingly belong to the retail and service sectors. These industries traditionally have lower profit margins and less opportunity for growth and advancement. Approximately 70 percent of women-owned small-…
KIGALI, RWANDA — Zipline, Inc. commenced drone delivery in Rwanda in October 2016. The fixed-wing drone fleet delivers blood ordered with a text message to remote medical facilities across the country. The groundbreaking venture means Rwanda is the first country in the world to use drone technology to save lives. The project is the product of a partnership between the Rwandan government and Zipline, Inc., a robotics company based in Silicon Valley, California. Zipline has teamed up with the UPS Foundation and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance to fund and develop the initiative. The venture is paid for by Rwanda’s health…