International Development Posts
Conversations in Development: Improving Health in Kenya’s Urban Slums
Poverty, poor health and overcrowding are some of the many challenges facing communities in Kenya's urban slums, or informal settlements.
Mandela and a New Generation of African Voices
These fellows are 11 young African men and women from 10 different countries across the continent. They are trailblazers in their fields—entrepreneurs, doctors, community leaders, academics, and educators passionate about a range of issues: medicine, HIV/AIDS, gender equality, public health, civil unrest, climate change, and poverty.
Looking in Switzerland for the Answers to Financial Risk in Economic Development
When you look at mining, logging, and large-scale agriculture in the developing world, an unfortunate set of numbers leap out. Because these industries need land that is mostly inhabited, contested ownership of rural, forest, and dryland areas directly affects the livelihoods of more than two billion people.
Conversations in Development: A Young Zambian Woman on the Value of Education
In Zambia, a country where only 21 percent of girls and 27 percent of boys attend high school, student Patricia Nanyangwe discusses her family, her aspirations and the critical role of education in her community. With the help of the African Education Program, a nonprofit founded by Burnesser Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza, Patricia and hundreds of other Zambian students are getting the support they need to excel in high school and beyond.
Introducing Conversations in Development
BurnessGlobal introduces a new monthly series called Conversations in Development to feature interviews with fascinating people we have known or worked with over our 20+ years in the development space.
Building Capacity…In Developing Stories That Grab Reporters
We all know that building capacity in the developing world—whether by providing technical training to laboratory staff or equipping a clinical trial site with a reliable power source or setting up financial management systems—is a worthy endeavor. But is it newsworthy? Especially when you don’t give concrete examples of how you’re helping people help themselves? The answer, all too often, is “no.”
Progress in East Africa as Farmers Begin Adapting to Changing Weather
In a year when abnormal weather has wreaked havoc on farmers around the globe—from record drought in the U.S. to the failed monsoon in India—new research recently published by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) shows that smallholder farmers across East Africa have started to adapt to the changing climate.
Bamboo Charcoal: A Sustainable Energy Source for Africa
When we think of bamboo, we rarely think of Africa. Though most of us know the plant as panda food or as the backdrop of Chinese movies like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, it is also a source of alternative energy that can combat soil degradation and massive deforestation in Africa.
Insurance Payouts Help Herders Rebuild After Massive Livestock Losses
Around 650 herders in Northern Kenya signed up for insurance policies to protect them and their livestock investments from drought losses. At a time when global attention for the worst drought in half a century has waned, nearly all were compensated.
Who Are You Going to Call? M-Kilimo
In Kenya, the M-Kilimo helpline has given agricultural advice to nearly 25,000 farmers during its 18- month pilot phase. The project, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the GSMA and managed by KenCall in Nairobi, uses a mobile helpline to provide thousands of small holder farmers in Kenya with specific, timely and accurate information, as well as tips to help increase their incomes and farm productivity.
