With famine declared in parts of South Sudan, and looming in Somalia, Nigeria and Yemen, Ben Quinn reported on the complex and innovative aid operations under way to save millions of lives. Agencies say that the difference between success and failure of the far-reaching food distribution drive hinges on whether donors will stump up the more than $5.6bn (£4.5bn) needed to tackle food insecurity in the four countries.
And tributes poured in for data guru and development champion Hans Rosling, who died aged 68. Ann Linstrand, head of the vaccine unit at Sweden’s public health agency, remembered him as a kind and constantly curious genius who touched countless lives with his virtuosity for bringing figures to life, encouraging people around the world to engage with facts about population, global health and inequality that might otherwise have passed them by.
Elsewhere on the site
MSF inquiry indicates Russia was behind hospital bombing in Syria
UK to host summit seeking extra funds for family planning
Sexual abuse and corporal punishment ‘widespread’ in Tanzania’s schools
Irish trawler owners deny trafficking and employment offences
David Miliband: aid is failing to keep pace with humanitarian crises
UN accused of failing Afghan refugees ‘forced’ to return home from Pakistan
How long can Ethiopia’s state of emergency keep the lid on anger?
EU pledges €225m rescue package for the Gambia as new democracy dawns
In depth
Amazon rainforest’s final frontier under threat from oil and soya
Childhoods lost: disabilities and seizures blight India’s endosulfan pesticide victims
Toby Lanzer: ‘Donors are stretched – there are more mega crises than ever’
Egypt’s Nubians fight for ancestral land earmarked for mega-project
Safe toilets help flush out disease in Cambodia’s floating communities
Yemen’s food crisis: ‘We die either from the bombing or the hunger’
Opinion
Aidan McQuade: Ending the Dubs scheme will put child refugees at the mercy of traffickers
Ivan Lewis: The UK’s aid commitments are under threat. It’s time to defend them
Stephen O’Brien: Syria’s plight must not be allowed to slip from the world’s conscience
Multimedia
Roving clinics tackle TB among Myanmar’s poorest people – in pictures
Ugandans give warm welcome to South Sudanese fleeing violence – in pictures
What you said
On Ann Lindstrand’s piece Hans Rosling: ‘A kind and constantly curious genius’, Jonniestewpot wrote:
He seemed to come from nowhere only a few years ago but was instantly like someone you had watched all of your life as he was so comfortable in explaining stats that offered a positive and optimistic vision of the world we live in. His generous, rational spirit will be sadly missed.
Top tweets
Hans Rosling passionately argued for a fact-based worldview, and was a brilliant communicator of data. A sad day. https://t.co/UxApxWkGEt
— Steve Franconeri (@SteveFranconeri) February 8, 2017
Highlight from the blogosphere
For the Overseas Development Institute, Kate Bird writes on how the SDGs risk losing momentum in 2017 – to stay on track we need to focus on what works. ODI’s Development Progress initiative looked at more than 50 cases across Africa, Asia and Latin America where progress was faster than expected, and Bird talks about the lessons learned on what worked and what got in the way.
And finally
Poverty matters will return in two weeks with another roundup of the latest news and comment. In the meantime, keep up to date on the Global development website. On Twitter, follow @gdndevelopment and the team – @LizFordGuardian, @BenQuinn75 and @karenmcveigh1 – and join Global development on Facebook.
