Opinion

Safeguarding religious sites

The UN General Assembly has voted to adopt a resolution protecting religious sites. Recent conflicts in Iraq and Syria have seen vast swathes of religious heritage (including mosques, churches, shrines and temples) intentionally targeted and destroyed. However, this is not a new phenomenon and...

Sofya Shahab

Strengthening responses to epidemics

The Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) has played a key role in the global response to epidemics over recent years. A partnership between the Institute of Development Studies, Anthrologica and The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, SSHAP provides vital insights in...

Energising renewable electricity procurement in Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s electricity coverage and per capita consumption are among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa – only 44 per cent of over 110 million Ethiopians have access to electricity. Yet Ethiopia aims to reach 100 per cent energy access by 2030 and meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal:...

Seife Ayele & 2 others

Linking demography with conflict, labour markets, and climate change

High population growth, as witnessed in many sub-Saharan African countries, has major implications on development outcomes. Three reports from the IDS-led Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development Programme (K4D) show this by looking at the implications for conflict, climate change, and...

Evert-jan Quak

The rich people’s virus? Latest reflections from Zimbabwe

Ian Scoones

Coercive consent? Unlocking the truth behind ‘disappearing’ women in Pakistan

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Pakistani Minorities began its Inquiry into Forced Conversions and Forced Marriages of Religious Minority Girls this week through a series of (closed) hearings with activists and families who have been directly affected. Research undertaken by CREID...

Mariz Tadros

Covid-19 gendered exposure and perceptions in Pakistan

The lived experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic are starkly divided along gender lines, and the pandemic has already exacerbated gender inequalities within the home and in the labour market across countries. To understand the gendered impacts and experiences of the pandemic in urban Pakistan and...

Ali Cheema & 2 others

Accountability in the face of trolls: lessons from Mexico

Open Societies, Tax, and the British Aid Programme

Mick Moore & 2 others

Can South Africa help find a way out of Zimbabwe’s on-going crises?

Ian Scoones

We must go beyond drugs and therapies to overcome neglected diseases

In a world focused on stopping Covid-19, I’ve watched as many of the diseases already largely ignored by governments and scientists have been pushed further into the shadows. This is despite the fact that they kill, disable, disfigure and debilitate hundreds of millions of the most...

Silencing social media weakens accountability to poor and marginalised

State-citizen interactions are moving online, even in fragile, conflict and violence-affected settings, with people using social media platforms to enhance accountability relations. This helps raise the issues and voices of the poorest and more marginalised segments of the population. But will a...

Miguel Loureiro & 4 others