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Devex •

UN agencies embrace AI as budgets fall and staff demand rises

United Nations agencies are ramping up efforts to use artificial intelligence for day-to-day efficiency — and, increasingly, to support work in the field. It’s not only a race not to keep pace with advancements in AI, in many cases, but a bid to keep up with staff requests for new solutions amid tightening budgets and limited resources. In the last few years, dedicated AI teams have cropped up across many agencies, while existing IT and digital units pivoted to focus on the technology as guidanc...
Devex •

Is MrBeast a force for good in development — or a big problem?

When you think of key players in global development, MrBeast — the world’s richest YouTuber — probably isn’t who comes to mind. But increasingly, he’s become a major philanthropic player in his own right, giving away hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it in the global south, in an incredibly public way. And perhaps more important than that, his vast audience means that he’s influencing how a whole generation views aid.Since starting his own YouTube gaming channel in 2012 at the age of 13,...
Devex •

Staffing priorities for the Sudan humanitarian crisis

In April 2023, fighting broke out between Sudan’s Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, in the capital city of Khartoum. Almost two years later, as the conflict continues and has spread throughout the country, more than 8 million Sudanese are displaced internally, and around 25 million people need humanitarian assistance. According to aid organizations on the ground, reaching the populations most in need is a challenge. The bureaucracy around visas and permits for transport...
Devex •

Staffing priorities for the Gaza humanitarian crisis

The ongoing war in Gaza has resulted in a devastating loss of life, with at least 44,000 Palestinians killed, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The humanitarian affairs agency also reports that more than 100,000 people have been injured, and an estimated 1.9 million — nearly the entire population of 2.1 million — have been forcibly displaced.Many aid organizations have shifted their programming priorities and scaled up the delivery of services o...
Devex •

Bridging the cancer care gap: Funding solutions for LMICs

Despite being responsible for three-quarters of global deaths and placing a growing socioeconomic burden on governments worldwide, noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, continue to receive only around 1%-2% of global financing investment for health.Progress in closing the NCD funding gap has been limited, despite numerous high-level United Nations meetings on the issue, with the economic impact of COVID-19 further hindering efforts, said Cary Adams, CEO of the Union for International Cancer Control...
Devex •

DevExplains: Why the food crisis is worse for women and girls

Globally, women play a huge role in ensuring everyone has enough to eat — with responsibility for an estimated 90% of all food purchases and preparation — yet gender inequality means that they are more vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition. In times of crisis, it’s women who forgo the most meals. Between 2019 and 2021, the gender gap in food insecurity more than doubled from 49 million to 126 million, as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted livelihoods, income, and access to nutritious food for women....
the Guardian •

Ghana’s school on stilts: the floating village where teachers are too scared to go

In west Ghana, the village of Nzulezo perches above the dark water of Lake Tadane, backed by dense swampland. Built entirely on wooden stilts and platforms carved from raffia palms, the cluster of structures is home to more than 500 people, with two churches, a small guesthouse, a bar and primary school.

Nominated in 2000 for inclusion as a Unesco world heritage site, the village is on the bucket list of visitors to the west African country, curious about a unique way of life on the water. But
The New Humanitarian •

Melilla and Ceuta: What’s behind the deaths at Morocco’s land border with the EU?

Early on the morning of 24 June, around 2,000 asylum seekers and migrants – many from Sudan and South Sudan – attempted en masse to cross the border fence separating the Moroccan town of Nador from Spain’s North African exclave of Melilla.

Moroccan security forces responded by firing tear gas and wielding batons. According to government accounts, 23 asylum seekers and migrants were killed. Local human rights groups say the true toll may be as high as 37. Dozens more were injured.

Months later,
Devex •

In Greece, NGOs turn to games and play to treat refugee children's trauma

When children arrive at refugee camps in Greece — having fled difficult conditions and experienced trauma en route to Europe — many are already suffering mental health problems.

Once they arrive, abject living conditions in the camps can exacerbate that, triggering worrying behaviors, experts on the ground told Devex. An alarming number of children in the camps are expressing suicidal ideations or regressing as a result of their deteriorating mental health, they said.

In a country where there

The psychologists aboard Sicily's refugee ships

Since April, thousands of people on the move have passed through the commercial ships docked at Palermo on the Italian island of Sicily. The national authorities have repurposed these four ships — each one able to hold up to 700 people at a time — as quarantine centers for the newly arrived. Some have spent years making the arduous journey from sub-Saharan Africa to reach the Italian coast; others have come from Iraq, Iran, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
Devex •

Liberia mental health services 'overloaded' after lockdown, MSF says

Emma Smith is a Reporter at Devex. She covers all things related to careers and hiring in the global development community as well as mental health within the sector — from tips on supporting humanitarian staff to designing mental health programs for refugees. Emma has reported from key development hubs in Europe and co-produced Devex’s DevProWomen2030 podcast series. She holds a degree in journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University and a master's in media and international conflict. In additi
Devex •

The pandemic takes its toll on women and girls' mental health

Emma Smith is a Reporter at Devex. She covers all things related to careers and hiring in the global development community as well as mental health within the sector — from tips on supporting humanitarian staff to designing mental health programs for refugees. Emma has reported from key development hubs in Europe and co-produced Devex’s DevProWomen2030 podcast series. She holds a degree in journalism from Glasgow Caledonian University and a master's in media and international conflict. In additi
Devex •

NGOs accused of hiding misconduct behind gag orders

BARCELONA — Whistleblowers are raising concerns about the use of nondisclosure agreements within the global development and humanitarian sector, with some suggesting they are being used to suppress allegations of misconduct.

Also known as confidentiality or gag clauses, experts say they are becoming more common in employment contracts with development organizations, and are also sometimes used in termination settlements.

However, the secretive nature of such agreements — which prevents signato
Devex •

Dramatic rise in Kenya early pregnancies amid school closures, IRC data suggests

BARCELONA — The number of teenage pregnancies has increased dramatically in regions of northern Kenya as a result of recent school closures and lockdowns, according to new data from the International Rescue Committee.

In Turkana County, 558 adolescent pregnancies were reported between March and June — almost a threefold increase from the same period last year, the organization said.

The data, sent to Devex but not yet publicly available, is some of the first hard evidence that measures to slow

Barcelona-based journalist with an interest in global health, food security, migration, and women's rights, among other issues.

Bylines in Devex and work published in The New Humanitarian and The Guardian