The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
The majority were in Asia, where 19 million were displaced by floods, storms and earthquakes, according to the report from the International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Typhoon Haiyan caused the largest displacement, with 4.1 million people leaving their homes in the Philippines, a million more …
Encouraging people to abandon their cars and use public transport or walk or cycle around cities offers the "least pain, most gain" way to cut air pollution from traffic by 2050, a new international study said on Wednesday. The report, by the University of California and the Institute for Transportation …
Kathleen Holloway and David Henry evaluate whether countries that report having implemented WHO essential medicines policies have higher quality use of medicines.
One in every nine persons in the world goes hungry says this UN State of Food Insecurity Report released on 16 September 2014. It has been jointly drafted by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme …
Global food security must address the dual challenges of closing yield gaps (i.e., actual vs. potential yield) while improving environmental sustainability. Nutrient balance is essential for achieving global food security. Historical (in distinct “Eras” from late 1800s to 2012) and geographical (in United States vs. remainder of World) changes in …
The number and extent of roads will expand dramatically this century. Globally, at least 25 million kilometres of new roads are anticipated by 2050; a 60% increase in the total length of roads over that in 2010. Nine-tenths of all road construction is expected to occur in developing nations, including …
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges the world faces today. It affects all aspects of the development agenda, from poverty eradication to health care, to economic growth and disaster risk reduction. Meanwhile, the success of global action on climate change will depend on the development path taken …
Approximately 2.8 billion people cook with solid fuels. Research has focused on the health impacts of indoor exposure to fine particulate pollution. Here, for the 2010 Global Burden of Disease project (GBD 2010), we evaluate the impact of household cooking with solid fuels on regional population-weighted ambient PM2.5 pollution (APM2.5). …
The top leaders of China and India aren’t planning to attend this month’s United Nations summit on climate change, signaling tepid support for a global pact to cut greenhouse gases among two of the largest emitters. President Xi Jinping of China and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have told UN …
By 2050, around 70% of the world's population of 9,2 billion people is expected to live in an urban environment. Especially in developing countries this increasing population and expanding cities pose great challenges with respect to access to clean drinking water, sanitation, waste water treatment and protection against floods. On …
The Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA) and partners have launched a manual for dealing with uncertainty under climate change by applying climate-informed decision-making to water resource management, project design and risk evaluation. ‘Beyond Downscaling: A Bottom-Up Approach to Climate Adaptation for Water Resources Management' is the result of two …
A third of the world's population uses solid fuel derived from plant material (biomass) or coal for cooking, heating, or lighting. These fuels are smoky, often used in an open fire or simple stove with incomplete combustion, and result in a large amount of household air pollution when smoke is …
Global consumption of meat needs to fall - to ensure future demand for food can be met and to help protect the environment - a study says. Research from Cambridge and Aberdeen universities estimates greenhouse gases from food production will go up 80% if meat and dairy consumption continues to …
The first edition of REthinking Energy, the flagship series from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), analyses the transformation of the global power sector while reviewing progress in the transition to a sustainable energy future. An alignment of economic forces, global population growth, the threat of climate change and rapid …
This handbook provides local policy makers and other interested readers with an overview of climate and carbon finance mechanisms, both existing and in development, and their relevance to the urban context. It has been prepared in response to a recognised need for a user-friendly guide to such mechanisms, their potential …
This paper assesses the scale of the potential co-benefits for residents of developing countries of protecting forest ecosystems in order to mitigate climate change. The objective is to improve understanding among development practitioners of the ways in which services provided by forest ecosystems can also make important contributions to achieving …
Stop Pesticide Poisonings depicts why a growing number of individuals and organisations no longer believe that training can achieve so called safe use of hazardous pesticides. Instead, many bodies call for a progressive ban of hazardous pesticides and support a systematic phase-in of agro-ecological approaches to produce food and fibre …
Runaway growth in the emission of greenhouse gases is swamping all political efforts to deal with the problem, raising the risk of 'severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts' over the coming decades, according to a draft of a major new UN report. Global warming is already cutting grain production by several …
The world is headed "down a dangerous path" with disruption of the food system possible within a decade as climate change undermines nations' ability to feed themselves, according to a senior World Bank official. Rising urban populations are contributing to expanded demand for meat, adding to nutrition shortages for the …
New roads long enough to girdle the Earth 600 times are expected to be built by 2050 and better planning is needed to protect the environment while also raising food production, a study showed on Wednesday. The study in the journal Nature showed that roads can aid farmers, especially in …
