- MIT and Harvard economists have debunked the claim that aid funded welfare programs in developing countries make people lazy. Vox has a good summary.
- Devpolicy has posted the second in a two part series looking at Australian development NGO expenditure, which I have co-authored. In this post we look at how individual NGOs have changed their expenditure over time.
- The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is partnering with the UK for a £1billion malaria fund and with Silicon Valley heavyweights Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos on a clean energy fund.
- Last week aid worker Steve Dennis won a case against his former employer, the Norwegian Refugee Council, for 'gross negligence' after he was kidnapped on the job in 2012. The Guardian takes a look at what impact this landmark decision will have on the humanitarian sector, with Aidspeak describing it as a ‘game-changer’.
- Also last week, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made waves when he pledged $1 billion of Australia’s existing aid program to climate change initiatives over the next five years. That equates to roughly 5% of Australia’s total aid spending over that period. It is not clear if this funding will be redirected from other areas of the aid program or will come out of existing aid funding already going to adaptation and mitigation projects in the region.
- On the eve of a five day tour to Africa by Chinese President Xi Jinping, The Washington Post reported African countries that receive Chinese aid tend to become more violent.
- Sticking with The Washington Post, a few weeks ago it took a look at new research asking whether a Western education leads to leaders in developing nations launching more democratic reforms. The answer is yes, providing further justification for scholarship programs funded through aid (h/t Devpolicy).
- Meanwhile, a new report from the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission shows that donations to development NGOs in Australia made up about 12% of all charitable donations in 2014, while Fairfax media asks the question 'How generous are Australians really?'
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Alex Prolmos
