Central African Republic in crisis, urgently needs aid –MSF

Three months after rebels seized power, Central African Republic (CAR) is in the grip of a humanitarian emergency and most of its people have no access to basic medical services because of insecurity and lack of funding, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Tuesday. (..) Even before the crisis, people’s access to food and healthcare was limited. Hunger levels in parts of the south and northwest of the country were above international emergency levels, according to surveys carried out by MSF in 2011. Since the fighting began in December 2012, food prices have soared, according to the World Food Programme.

What I've learnt: Ann Cairns

Today I'm working at MasterCard, which is a long way from a shrinking business. Innovation is important to us and we're currently working with the United Nations World Food Programme. They deal with 90 countries across the world, trying to get food to the people who need it the most. In only five per cent of the cases do they actually get money into people's hands so they can buy food. The rest of the time they're moving food around. We're developing what we call digital food, an electronic voucher system where the vouchers can be used in special World Food Programme approved shops to buy food.

UN Urging Nations to Accelerate Anti-Poverty Work

The world's nations will have to pick up the pace to meet some of their key anti-poverty targets set for 2015, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Monday at the outset of a monthlong session of the organization's main economic arm. (..) Some major areas will require vastly more effort, Ban told the U.N. Economic and Social Council, with many nations still struggling to make good on pledges such as cutting child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters. Other areas with lagging progress, he said, include protections for forests and fish stocks, universal access to antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV, primary education, sanitation and foreign aid.

The Humanitarian Toll Of Syria’s Conflict On Children

Prior to the crisis, Syrian society had already suffered from high poverty and unemployment that affected nutrition, education and health care. During the current crisis, this has sharply increased, and the poverty map has changed, where the number of poor and people in need increased in the most disputed and violent areas. (..) Recent reports issued by children’s right organizations indicate that nearly 2 million Syrian children suffer from malnutrition, given the scarcity of some food products and the spoilage of others, and the impact of the situation raging in the country on children’s health in particular — which is deteriorating in an unprecedented way.