Welcome to Panos London's magazine, reporting on development issues that are often neglected by mainstream media. Through our global team of local journalists we seek out the views of people on the edges of society and offer you fresh perspectives.
Pakistan floods: what the future holds
Wild at heart in South Africa's tea country
A simple vision: to light up Africa
Female migrants' isolation heightens HIV risk
Moralising fails to curb teen pregnancies
Make Poverty History 'Africanized' poverty
News: 6 September 2010
UN to meet on new food crisis
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has called on policy makers to meet in Rome on 24 September to discuss a recent increase in food prices around the world. Russia's decision on Thursday to extend a ban on grain exports renewed fears of a new global food price crisis that could spark unrest. In Mozambique police were deployed on Monday across the capital Maputo to prevent new protests over rising food prices. Last week violent riots broke out in the city leaving ten people dead, according to news agency AFP. Meanwhile, the Cameroonian government warned last week that it would shut down businesses that were illegally raising food prices amid fears that recent market price hikes could trigger unrest.
Sudan names northerner to lead referendum committee
Government officials from north and south Sudan have agreed to appoint a former diplomat from north Sudan as secretary general of a committee overseeing a referendum on independence. The BBC reported on Saturday that Mohamed Osman al-Nijoumi was chosen unanimously to take up the post, ending a standoff between Sudan's ruling National Congress party (NCP) and the southern Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM). The poll, set for January, will determine whether South Sudan should secede. Meanwhile, at least 43 people have been killed in recent outbreaks of violence in the conflict-ridden Darfur region. A spokesman for the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in the country (UNAMID) said that six people died on Friday in clashes in the Hamidia refugee camp.
Erratic rains threaten food security, say water experts
Water experts warned on Monday that increasingly unpredictable rainfall related to climate change is threatening agriculture and food security, especially in Africa and Asia. A new report by The International Water Management Institute urges policymakers and farmers to make agriculture less dependent on rainfall by diversifying sources of water. In sub-Saharan Africa 94 per cent of agriculture is still reliant on rainfall, according to the report. The researchers believe that up to 499 million people in Africa and India alone could benefit from improvements in agricultural water management. They also recommend that governments take an integrated approach to tackling the problem by combining large and small scale water storage systems, rather than relying on single solutions such as big dams.
Africa lags behind on broadband access
A new United Nations report reveals that Africa significantly lags behind the rest of the world in providing affordable broadband access to its population. The UN released new statistics last Thursday revealing a global disparity in fixed broadband access and cost ahead of this month's review of the Millennium Development Goals in New York. It found that the Central African Republic has the most expensive fixed broadband connection in the world, costing nearly 40 times the country's average monthly income. Ethiopia, Malawi, Guinea and Niger were also among the top five most expensive countries for a fixed broadband connection. Affordable access to communications technology is one of the targets envisaged by the Millennium Development Goals.
Funding gap threaten HIV vaginal gel studies
The United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) has warned that a shortfall in funding is harming the development of a vaginal microbicide gel that could protect women from HIV infections. The US newspaper The New York Times reported on Friday that only 58 per cent of a 100 million US dollar appeal to fund research has been pledged. The money is not enough to pay for even one of two studies deemed necessary to confirm a successful South African trial of the gel, according to the report. In July news that the vaginal microbicide gel had significantly reduced the risk of HIV infections in women by 39 per cent after a three-year trial in South Africa was hailed as a breakthrough. The NYT quoted experts who blamed shifting global health priorities for the funding gap.
Public health misspending increases child deaths
A leading charity warned on Monday that misspending of public health funds is hampering the fight against child mortality in developing countries. Save the Children's new report is published ahead of a United Nations summit later this month that will review progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The report claims that four million child deaths could be prevented by 2020 if public health spending was aimed at benefiting the poor rather than the rich in the 42 developing countries which account for 90 per cent of all under-five mortality. The report predicts that 75 per cent of the countries with the highest child mortality rates will fail to meet the UN's target by 2015.
Meet our journalists
Machrine Birungi
“I wanted to tell stories that are ignored or invisible to Uganda's media”
Your say
Sebabatso“It is sad that although this disease has been in Lesotho for so many years, people are still misinformed about it”
Latest journalism:
- Afghanistan
- Songs of freedom
- Bangladesh
- Like ducks to water
- Brazil
- Brazil's media agenda: whose news is it anyway?
- India
- A dangerous junkyard
- Zimbabwe
- Why the truth about Zimbabwe is so hard to tell
Your say:
Our values:
All our work is informed by a set of core values:
- inclusive
- empowering
- balanced
- diverse
- illuminating
Panos London
9 White Lion Street
London N1 9PD
United Kingdom
+44 (0)20 7278 1111
info@panos.org.uk
Registered charity 297366