Education

In 2017, $146 billion was spent on aid and development. Even this large sum remains a fraction of what would be needed to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Yet, despite the scarce resources, there is surprisingly little discussion about setting priorities in development spending.

Han pasado tres años desde que los líderes mundiales adoptaron la Agenda 2030 para el Desarrollo Sostenible con 169 objetivos que deben alcanzarse para transformar el planeta y aún estamos muy por detrás de lograr los nobles objetivos de reducir la pobreza, aumentar la prosperidad, proteger el planeta y promover la paz.

Christiana Figueres, the former United Nations official responsible for the 2015 Paris climate agreement, has a startling vision for restaurants of the future: anyone who wants a steak should be banished. “How about restaurants in 10-15 years start treating carnivores the same way that smokers are treated?” Figueres suggested during a recent conference. “If they want to eat meat, they can do it outside the restaurant.”

À la loterie de la vie, naître femme dans un pays pauvre vous expose à un double handicap. Dans les pays pauvres, le nombre de personnes pauvres est plus important chez les femmes que dans tout autre groupe démographique, et les femmes y sont aussi en moins bonne santé, ont plus difficilement accès à l’éducation, et ont plus de chance d’être victimes de violences.

It’s very easy to form the view that the modern world is coming apart. We are constantly confronted with an onslaught of negativity: frightening headlines, alarming research findings, and miserable statistics.

There are indeed many things on the planet that we should be greatly concerned about. But fixating on horror stories means that we miss the bigger picture.

Early childhood programmes have long been shown to create improvements that last a lifetime. Whether by instilling good habits or by encouraging a passion for learning, early exposure to learning cuts drop-out rates in later schooling, and generates measurable improvements to the productivity and income of adults.

El Día de la Tierra es una idea noble para garantizar que apreciamos y mejoramos nuestro medio ambiente. Pero tenemos que asegurarnos de que no sea solo simbolismo y gestos para sentirnos bien. Debemos centrarnos en las cuestiones medioambientales más importantes y no solo en las que reciben más atención. https://www.milenio.com/opinion/bjorn-lomborg/columna-bjorn-lomborg/una-celebracion-eficaz-para-el-dia-de-la-tierra

When India found itself at the 103rd position in the recent World Economic Forum ranking of 130 nations on the preparedness of talent, it was just another indication of the skills challenge. In just five years, the government’s skill gap analysis report estimates that an extra 40 crore workers need to be skilled, reskilled or upskilled. The current official estimate is that slightly more than half a crore people are being trained annually.

Despite significant progress against child marriage, it remains a huge challenge. Last year 320 lakh girls under 18 were married according to UNICEF estimates.

The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling criminalising sex with a minor even within marriage forms part of a solid legal framework. But global experience shows that laws alone are not enough to entirely change practices and mores. New economic analysis can help speed progress.

Freezing temperatures in the U.S. Northeast have pushed up heating costs, creating serious stress for many Americans. Although the rich world’s energy poor are largely forgotten in discussions about climate policies, they bear an unfair burden for well-meaning proposals. That reality is being laid bare this icy winter as energy and electricity prices surge.