New UN initiative for e-Learning

On December 6, sixteen UN agencies agreed to establish a new e-Learning initiative called UNeLearn, which was launched in Berlin (at the Online Educa Conference) on the same day.
According to a UNEP press release, UNeLearn will consist of “a UN-wide network on technology supported learning to share information and expertise“. It will also form [...]

COULD PET-BOTTLES SAVE LIVES IN CHOLERA SUFFERING ZIMBABWE?

In Zimbabwe tens of thousands of people are dying or getting seriously ill. The cholera epidemic is caused by unclean drinking water. The diminished access to clean drinking water has forced people to drink contaminated water. There is a simple method to make infected water drinkable which could be used on household basis. And it’s [...]

40 million more people pushed into hunger this year, FAO reports

According to estimates from Food and Agrictulture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 40 million more people have been pushed into hunger this year, which makes the overall number of undernourished people in the world 963 million. The reasons behind this dramatic rise are many, but one explanation might be the ongoing financial crisis, which [...]

President of Liberia awarded FAO Medal

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state, has received the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Ceres Medal for her contribution to food security and agricultural development.
Liberia has, according to FAO, recognized that agricultural improvement is key when it comes to national development, and even though the agricultural sector [...]

Measuring good governance in Africa

Mo Ibrahim is a British national with roots in Sudan, who started his career with the mobile-phone company Celtel to work exclusively in Africa. Doing business on the African continent taught Ibrahim that two things were vital for Africa’s success: good governance and accountable institutions.
As his company grew, Ibrahim’s vision of a better Africa [...]