Identifying the policies that work best against child marriage: Empowerment of girls is the key

It is now a year since the UN set its new Sustainable Development Goals to try to make the world a better place. They include 17 goals and a massive 169 targets on subjects like disease, education and governance. But some people like Bjorn Lomborg are saying that there are just too many and they are too broad, and left like that will never achieve anything. Is he right? Is there a better way to make the world better and stop some countries lagging behind?

COPENHAGEN – Where should the global community focus its attention over the next 15 years? Health, nutrition, and education may seem like obvious choices; more surprisingly, there is a strong case for making broadband access a top priority. Consider this simple fact: Tripling mobile Internet access over the next 15 years could make the developing world $22 trillion richer. Such improvement in the lives and earning potential of poor people could indirectly help with the other challenges; after all, more prosperous people tend to be healthier, better fed, and more highly educated.

In Haiti, about ninety percent of children are estimated to be in primary school. That is a real achievement compared to 20 years ago. But evidence shows that it is not enough to ensure that children are in the classroom. For real benefits, children need to engage in real learning when they are at school.

Improving the quality of education and retention of students to the end of primary school and beyond poses a challenge for Haiti. New research for the project Haiti Priorise examines responses.