Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming seen as the technology of the future, something speculative, experimental or confined to advanced economies. But the role of AI in developing nations today is already shaping decisions that affect food security, public health and poverty reduction. Far from the abstract, these systems are becoming deeply embedded in the daily work of governments, humanitarian agencies and farmers responding to real-world crises.
The question is no longer whether AI will influence development, but how and under what conditions it can support, rather than undermine, human well-being.
Predicting Hunger Before It Becomes Famine
One of the most consequential uses of AI in developing nations is in forecasting food insecurity. Historically, famine response has been reactive: aid arrives after a visible crisis, often too late to prevent mass suffering. AI-driven early warning systems aim to change that.
The World Bank developed the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM) in collaboration with the United Nations (U.N.) and the World Food Programme (WFP). It uses machine learning models to forecast food insecurity months in advance by integrating satellite imagery, climate indicators, market prices, conflict data and household surveys. Complementing this effort is HungerMap LIVE, a real-time food security monitoring platform developed by WFP.
HungerMap LIVE is currently used across Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Bangladesh. The platform integrates mobile phone surveys, remote sensing and predictive analytics to produce continuously updated risk assessments. These systems directly inform when and where resources are deployed, enabling earlier cash transfers, targeted food assistance and preventative interventions.
Evidence from WFP and the World Bank shows that anticipatory action is both more humane and more cost-effective than emergency response after crisis onset.
AI on the Farm: Empowering Smallholder Farmers
Agriculture remains the primary livelihood for hundreds of millions of people in developing nations. Yet smallholder farmers often lack timely agronomic expertise. AI is beginning to close that gap.
In Kenya and across East Africa, the PlantVillage Nuru app uses smartphone-based computer vision to diagnose crop diseases in real time. Designed to operate offline, Nuru enables farmers to identify threats such as cassava mosaic disease and fall armyworm by photographing affected plants. Research published by Penn State University and FAO partners shows that early detection through AI-based diagnostics significantly reduces crop losses and improves smallholder resilience.
Still, limitations remain. Unequal smartphone access, language localization challenges and the need for contextual agronomic knowledge highlight that AI tools must be embedded within broader agricultural support systems, not treated as standalone fixes.
Expanding Health Care Access Through AI Screening
In health care, AI’s most immediate promise lies in early detection, particularly in regions where trained specialists are scarce. In India, the health-tech company Niramai has developed Thermalytix. This AI-based breast cancer screening system uses thermal imaging rather than mammography.
The technology is portable, radiation-free and significantly lower-cost, making it viable for rural clinics and mobile health camps. Clinical studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals show that Thermalytix demonstrates high sensitivity in detecting early-stage breast cancer, particularly among younger women. Importantly, though the system is designed to assist clinicians, not replace them, it reinforces AI’s role as decision-support rather than autonomous authority.
How Institutions Are Integrating AI
AI adoption in developing nations is not happening in isolation. Major institutions, including the World Bank, WFP, FAO, UNICEF and national ministries, are integrating AI into policy planning, service delivery and crisis response. This integration involves building a larger infrastructure for data models and storage, training local staff, establishing accountability mechanisms and partnering with local organizations.
The Risks Beneath the Promise
Despite its potential, AI, while still in its development stages, raises serious concerns. Predictive models are only as good as the data they rely on. In many developing regions, data is incomplete, uneven or biased.
U.N. reports warn that algorithmic bias, financial incentives and extractive data practices can entrench inequality and potentially harm individuals if governance safeguards are absent. The U.N. Technology and Innovation Report 2025 warns that up to 40% of global jobs could be affected by AI, with economies that rely on low-cost labor potentially losing their competitive edge. There is also the risk of over-reliance on algorithmic forecasts, in which predictive outputs are treated as objective truth rather than probabilistic guidance, sidelining local knowledge and accountability.
Recognizing these risks, international bodies and governments are developing safeguards. UNESCO’s Ethics of Artificial Intelligence framework emphasizes human rights, transparency, accountability and data sovereignty. Similarly, UNICEF’s Guidance on AI and Children focuses on protecting children and vulnerable populations from harm, surveillance and exclusion resulting from AI’s prevalence.
Meanwhile, multiple developing nations are drafting national AI strategies to align technological deployment with development priorities rather than external commercial interests.
AI as Development Infrastructure
AI will not end poverty or hunger on its own. But when treated as infrastructure rather than innovation, embedded in institutions, guided by ethics and grounded in local realities, it can meaningfully improve how societies anticipate crises, allocate resources and expand access to essential services. The role of AI in developing nations will not be decided by algorithms alone, but by governance choices: who designs these systems, who controls the data and whose lives they are built to improve.
– Matt Irwin
Matt is based in Brooklyn, NY, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.
Photo: Pixabay
How OCHA Plans To Tackle the Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar
Setting Out the Humanitarian Crisis in Myanmar
Myanmar has endured escalating internal armed conflict since 2021, with hostilities between the Myanmar Armed Forces and nonstate armed groups driving unprecedented humanitarian need. As of November 2025, 3.6 million people are internally displaced, the highest figure ever recorded in the country, including 1.7 million living in the most severely affected regions of the Northeast, Rakhine and the Southeast. In the first half of 2025, Myanmar ranked second globally for conflict intensity.
It was the fourth most dangerous country for civilians, with more than half the population exposed to violence. This protracted crisis was further intensified by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake on 28 March 2025, the world’s largest since 2023. The disaster claimed 5,400 lives, injured thousands and caused an estimated $11 billion in economic losses.
Ten months on, recovery efforts continue amid severe economic decline, with inflation reaching 31% in the 2025–26 financial year. Economic disruption and insecurity have sharply reduced access to food. By late 2025, more than 12 million people faced acute food insecurity, including one million at emergency levels, placing Myanmar among the world’s most severe hunger hotspots and underscoring the urgent need for international humanitarian support.
OCHA’s Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Myanmar
The Myanmar 2026 HNRP asserts that 16.2 million people (including 8.4 million women and five million children) need humanitarian assistance. While the HNRP for the previous year included the entire population, funding shortfalls and operational constraints have led the 2026 plan to adopt a tier-based approach to humanitarian assistance. Myanmar’s population is divided into people in need, people targeted and people prioritized.
Within this system, humanitarian needs are organized across nine clusters of concern, including access to shelter, health care and protection. An individual’s classification is determined by the cumulative severity of their situation across these clusters. This approach identifies 2.6 million people requiring prioritized humanitarian assistance and 4.9 million people to be targeted.
As specified by OCHA, this system was designed to guide the HNRP’s priorities while ensuring that targeted assistance “remains realistic and feasible.” In strategic terms, the HNRP operates around two primary objectives: saving lives and alleviating suffering and protecting safety and rights. The former seeks to reduce crisis-related morbidity and mortality, while the latter aims to restore safety and reinstate lost rights.
Central to achieving these goals is a locally led response strategy, described as the “backbone” of the operation. By placing local actors at the center of decision-making and implementation, OCHA aims to strengthen local leadership, foster equitable partnerships and promote direct access to resources at the community level. Particular emphasis is placed on reaching populations in hard-to-access, conflict-affected areas, requiring innovative and adaptable operational approaches.
To manage these challenges safely, the HNRP places strong emphasis on risk-informed planning, including the use of the U.N.’s INFORM Risk Index to assess operational hazards.
Funding and Resource Allocation
The Myanmar HNRP 2026 uses an activity-based costing model to ensure donor funds are allocated as efficiently as possible. Each humanitarian cluster calculates an average cost per person based on specific activities, resulting in a combined cost of approximately $182 per person assisted. This approach allows funding to be directly linked to measurable outcomes.
However, OCHA highlights that soaring inflation, rising fuel and food prices and the continued devaluation of the Myanmar kyat have significantly increased the cost of delivering aid. To account for this, clusters have applied inflation projections to their budgets, ensuring funding levels reflect on-the-ground realities. Overall, the plan appeals for $890 million, with $521 million prioritized for the most urgent life-saving assistance.
This underscores the critical role of international donors in sustaining humanitarian operations and preventing further deterioration in conditions for millions of vulnerable people.
Conclusion
The convergence of armed conflict, economic collapse and the aftermath of a major natural disaster defines the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar in 2026. OCHA’s HNRP outlines a targeted, locally led and cost-conscious strategy to address these challenges. However, its success ultimately depends on sustained international funding and political commitment.
Without adequate support, the gap between humanitarian needs and available assistance will continue to widen, placing millions of lives at further risk.
– Andrew Geddes
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Reduction 2025: Top 10 Landmark Achievements
Top 10 Landmark Achievements
Looking Ahead
These poverty reduction 2025 achievements highlight steady progress toward improving living conditions worldwide. From expanded access to basic services to peace initiatives and innovation, these efforts demonstrate that targeted solutions can create lasting change. Together, they show continued momentum in the global fight against poverty.
– Maya Hollick
Photo: Pexels
Education in India: Access, Challenges and the Path Forward
In India, an estimated 1.17 million children aren’t attending school as of 2025. The lack of educational access stems from various reasons, including the uncertainty of the job market after graduating. Unemployment rates for Indian college graduates are staggeringly high. One graduate’s perspective attempts to shed light on this issue and the education system in India as a whole.
Who Has Access to Education in India?
Despite the challenging job market, education in India remains a powerful tool for combating poverty and inequality. Education and poverty are closely linked. Education helps reduce poverty by creating job opportunities and driving economic growth, while poverty limits access to education by restricting resources and opportunities for low-income individuals.
A family isn’t likely to prioritize the education of their children if they are forced to choose between putting food on the table and purchasing school supplies. These children face fewer opportunities in life than their peers and much higher chances of lifelong poverty. Children belonging to marginalized groups are more likely to face educational adversity.
Socioeconomic status, gender and residing in rural areas have been proven to negatively affect education levels. Due to cultural expectations of household chores and marriage, nearly 30% of girls in India do not finish their elementary education. Teacher shortages and a lack of an updated and usable facility to hold classes affect those in less-populated areas.
Yet, this problem is not limited to adolescents, as more than 19% of adults are illiterate.
Education and the Workforce
Though education in India is of high quality for those who can access it, a degree does not guarantee employment. In fact, 13.4% of college graduates struggle to find jobs that offer fair wages. More than half of unemployed young people are educated, some holding multiple degrees.
An estimated seven million jobs will need to be created over the next decade to meet the demands of India’s growing workforce. The bleak outlook of post-graduate employment, often earning as little as $2.40 per day, discourages many students from continuing their education.
Making Education Accessible
Many organizations are making efforts to make education more accessible to all. The issue of children facing barriers to education isn’t solved in its entirety. However, these acts are a step in the right direction and offer thousands of children opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise had.
Final Remarks
Working to solve India’s job crisis will work in tandem with increasing education rates; if pursuing education and degrees results in higher-paying jobs, then more individuals and families will prioritize education. With the growing use of AI, many entry-level positions once available to new graduates are no longer accessible.
To address this issue, school curricula are beginning to shift toward incorporating skills such as digital science, robotics, data science and applied AI to better prepare students for the workforce. Education is an incredible tool that opens doors for many people. It can continue to change lives and create a lasting impact, regardless of an individual’s country of residence.
– Sydney Uhl
Photo: Pixabay
Maternal Health Programs in Egypt Are Reducing Poverty
Health expenses contribute significantly to poverty in Egypt, especially for women in low-income and rural households. The lack of timely prenatal and delivery care that many pregnant women face often causes families to incur emergency medical costs that push them into debt or force them to delay treatment.
Improving maternal health helps avoid these financial shocks. Complications and out-of-pocket spending are reduced, allowing women to remain economically stable and active after childbirth.
Egypt’s Maternal and Neonatal Health Strategy
Through its Maternal and Neonatal Health Strategy, the Egyptian government has prioritized maternal health nationwide. This initiative focuses on expanding access to prenatal, delivery and postnatal services. The strategy emphasizes care through family health units, which serve as the primary point of contact for women during pregnancy.
By strengthening central care facilities, the government has increased early detection of pregnancy-related risks and improved referral systems for high-risk cases, particularly in underserved areas.
Egypt’s national “100 Million Healthy Lives” initiative has also contributed to improved maternal health outcomes. The campaign expanded nationwide screenings and referral services, enabling health workers to identify pregnancy-related risks earlier and direct women to appropriate care.
Early detection reduces the likelihood of costly complications during childbirth, helping families avoid emergency expenses that often deepen poverty.
International organizations play a key role in strengthening Egypt’s maternal health system. Programs supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) focus on improving antenatal care coverage, increasing skilled birth attendance and expanding postnatal follow-up services.
These programs prioritize vulnerable populations, including women in rural areas and low-income households, by improving service quality and reducing financial barriers to care.
Improved Maternal Health Reduces Poverty Risks
Evidence indicates that women with access to adequate maternal care face lower health-related financial risks and improved long-term economic outcomes. Healthy pregnancies and safe deliveries reduce income loss, support women’s participation in the workforce and improve child health outcomes. Overall, these outcomes strengthen household economic stability for low-income families.
Maternal health programs are an effective poverty reduction tool, as they reduce medical costs and help prevent long-term disability.
Despite progress, challenges remain. Access to quality maternal health care is limited by regional disparities and workforce shortages. Addressing uneven access to health facilities and staffing gaps will require sustained investment from the government and international partners.
Looking Ahead
Maternal health programs play a critical role in reducing poverty in Egypt by protecting women and families from preventable health costs and economic shocks. Continued investment in maternal health services, particularly for vulnerable communities, can further strengthen economic resilience and support long-term development.
– Hana Abulkheir
Photo: Flickr
Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future
Belize’s 2021 “Blue Bond” is a landmark debt-for-nature swap that may finally spell freedom from foreign debt entrapment and the revival of a degenerated sovereign economy.
The Problem & The Financial Innovation
For years, Belize’s economy struggled with unsustainable public debt, which reached 127% of GDP in 2020. In an agonizing retelling of a story unfolding in countless nations across the developing world, the cost of servicing this debt drained resources from critical needs, including the stability of Belize’s vital coastal communities. As a result, virtually every major district was plundered deeper into destitution, with an average 10% increase in poverty rates from 2009 to 2018 and increases as high as 22% in the coastal district of Toledo, where poverty rates reached 82%.
The breakthrough came in a deal which The Nature Conservancy (TNC) brokered. It bought back Belize’s old, expensive debt and replaced it with a new, cheaper “Blue Loan.” The terms of the agreement stipulated that Belize was legally obligated to redirect a portion of its debt savings—an estimated BZ$360 million over 20 years—into a dedicated conservation fund. This money went into the newly created, independently managed Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future (BFSF). In effect, the deal not only alleviated a noteworthy portion of Belize’s debt obligation but also contained an internal mechanism that operates to develop Belize’s economic self-sufficiency and by extension, its means of independently repaying its remaining debts, ensuring the Blue Bond’s success.
Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future: The Impact
The BFSF, established as the vessel for this investment stream, is a private conservation trust fund which a board with a non-governmental majority governs. Its mission is to mobilize investment for the responsible development of Belize’s coastal resources. In its first three years, the BFSF has committed BZ$25.8 million for projects, disbursing BZ$7.2 million directly to non-government partners and BZ$8.1 million to government programs. The Fund’s strategy focuses on thematic pillars like Sustainable Fisheries and Blue Business Innovation, making it clear that the Blue Bond’s success is contingent upon poverty alleviation of coastal communities.
From Finance to Livelihoods
The true measure of the Blue Bond’s success is in the projects it enables, which build economic capacity within communities dependent on functioning marine ecosystems
A principle imperative of the agreement is revitalizing the coastal foundation of the “blue economy’s”. Through its Community Grants program, the BFSF provides direct funding to local fisher groups like The Chunox Fishermen Association, which received a grant to construct a community building and train members in entrepreneurship to launch micro-businesses, according to the 2024 report. Similarly, the Shark Fishers Association received funds to train junior fishers in sustainable practices and international compliance.
Beyond fishing, grants also help with seed diversification and sow complexity into the coastal economy. One project trained tour guides in marine ecology to build a skilled workforce for sustainable tourism, while another explores creating a sustainable seaweed farming industry, according to the 2024 report.
For broader impact, the BFSF makes strategic allocations to government agencies. The largest is a BZ$3.04 million grant to the Belize Fisheries Department to strengthen fisheries governance and enforce policies for ecological conservation, according to the 2024 report.
This funding also directly supports national initiatives like the Oceans Economy and Trade Strategies (OETS) project, which aims to improve fishers’ livelihoods by promoting sustainable harvests and adding value to seafood. By resourcing the government’s own poverty-reduction strategies, the Blue Bond mechanism amplifies its reach to raise incomes for thousands.
The Bigger Picture
The Belize Blue Bond’s legacy is unfolding on multiple fronts. The deal has already helped Belize expand its marine biodiversity protection zones to 25% of its ocean space, contributing to a cautiously hopeful improvement in the health of the Mesoamerican Reef.
Financially, analysts hail the deal’s “credible climate conservation commitments” as an important evolution in green finance, creating a binding link between debt relief and on-the-ground investment. Indeed, this robust structure has already served as a blueprint for similar swaps in Barbados, Ecuador, and Gabon
Belize’s model demonstrates that solving a national debt crisis goes hand in hand with investing in local economic livelihoods. By legally mandating that debt savings flow into a community-focused trust fund, it turns a macroeconomic problem into a microeconomic solution. The Blue Bond is now saving the ocean itself while funding a sustainable future for the people who live beside it. For other nations navigating the concatenating perils of a public debt crisis and disaster vulnerability, Belize offers a powerful precedent: with innovative structuring, the tools of global finance can help build resilience from the bottom up, proving that economic stability and poverty reduction can stem from the same source.
– Georgio Moussa
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Role of AI in Developing Nations
The question is no longer whether AI will influence development, but how and under what conditions it can support, rather than undermine, human well-being.
Predicting Hunger Before It Becomes Famine
One of the most consequential uses of AI in developing nations is in forecasting food insecurity. Historically, famine response has been reactive: aid arrives after a visible crisis, often too late to prevent mass suffering. AI-driven early warning systems aim to change that.
The World Bank developed the Famine Action Mechanism (FAM) in collaboration with the United Nations (U.N.) and the World Food Programme (WFP). It uses machine learning models to forecast food insecurity months in advance by integrating satellite imagery, climate indicators, market prices, conflict data and household surveys. Complementing this effort is HungerMap LIVE, a real-time food security monitoring platform developed by WFP.
HungerMap LIVE is currently used across Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Bangladesh. The platform integrates mobile phone surveys, remote sensing and predictive analytics to produce continuously updated risk assessments. These systems directly inform when and where resources are deployed, enabling earlier cash transfers, targeted food assistance and preventative interventions.
Evidence from WFP and the World Bank shows that anticipatory action is both more humane and more cost-effective than emergency response after crisis onset.
AI on the Farm: Empowering Smallholder Farmers
Agriculture remains the primary livelihood for hundreds of millions of people in developing nations. Yet smallholder farmers often lack timely agronomic expertise. AI is beginning to close that gap.
In Kenya and across East Africa, the PlantVillage Nuru app uses smartphone-based computer vision to diagnose crop diseases in real time. Designed to operate offline, Nuru enables farmers to identify threats such as cassava mosaic disease and fall armyworm by photographing affected plants. Research published by Penn State University and FAO partners shows that early detection through AI-based diagnostics significantly reduces crop losses and improves smallholder resilience.
Still, limitations remain. Unequal smartphone access, language localization challenges and the need for contextual agronomic knowledge highlight that AI tools must be embedded within broader agricultural support systems, not treated as standalone fixes.
Expanding Health Care Access Through AI Screening
In health care, AI’s most immediate promise lies in early detection, particularly in regions where trained specialists are scarce. In India, the health-tech company Niramai has developed Thermalytix. This AI-based breast cancer screening system uses thermal imaging rather than mammography.
The technology is portable, radiation-free and significantly lower-cost, making it viable for rural clinics and mobile health camps. Clinical studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals show that Thermalytix demonstrates high sensitivity in detecting early-stage breast cancer, particularly among younger women. Importantly, though the system is designed to assist clinicians, not replace them, it reinforces AI’s role as decision-support rather than autonomous authority.
How Institutions Are Integrating AI
AI adoption in developing nations is not happening in isolation. Major institutions, including the World Bank, WFP, FAO, UNICEF and national ministries, are integrating AI into policy planning, service delivery and crisis response. This integration involves building a larger infrastructure for data models and storage, training local staff, establishing accountability mechanisms and partnering with local organizations.
The Risks Beneath the Promise
Despite its potential, AI, while still in its development stages, raises serious concerns. Predictive models are only as good as the data they rely on. In many developing regions, data is incomplete, uneven or biased.
U.N. reports warn that algorithmic bias, financial incentives and extractive data practices can entrench inequality and potentially harm individuals if governance safeguards are absent. The U.N. Technology and Innovation Report 2025 warns that up to 40% of global jobs could be affected by AI, with economies that rely on low-cost labor potentially losing their competitive edge. There is also the risk of over-reliance on algorithmic forecasts, in which predictive outputs are treated as objective truth rather than probabilistic guidance, sidelining local knowledge and accountability.
Recognizing these risks, international bodies and governments are developing safeguards. UNESCO’s Ethics of Artificial Intelligence framework emphasizes human rights, transparency, accountability and data sovereignty. Similarly, UNICEF’s Guidance on AI and Children focuses on protecting children and vulnerable populations from harm, surveillance and exclusion resulting from AI’s prevalence.
Meanwhile, multiple developing nations are drafting national AI strategies to align technological deployment with development priorities rather than external commercial interests.
AI as Development Infrastructure
AI will not end poverty or hunger on its own. But when treated as infrastructure rather than innovation, embedded in institutions, guided by ethics and grounded in local realities, it can meaningfully improve how societies anticipate crises, allocate resources and expand access to essential services. The role of AI in developing nations will not be decided by algorithms alone, but by governance choices: who designs these systems, who controls the data and whose lives they are built to improve.
– Matt Irwin
Photo: Pixabay
Hunger as a Political Tool: Food Insecurity in the DRC
The World Food Program (WFP) states that approximately 26.6 million people in the DRC will deal with acute food insecurity in early 2026, with about 4 million reaching IPC phase 4, which is the second-highest severity level before famine. This is not only a humanitarian crisis but a political and governance crisis. Violence interferes with farming and trade, displacement dismantles entire communities and minimal state protection means the civil population are left to fend for themselves.
Conflict, Displacement and Hunger
Ongoing conflict with the resurgence of the M23 armed group has accelerated this crisis. The renewed hostilities have created waves of displacement. The U.N. reports that about 500,000 people had to flee their homes in South Kivu since the resurgence, many of them now facing utter desperation without having reliable access to food.
Displaced households are typically dependent on unstable markets or humanitarian assistance, both of which are decreasing as insecurity and lack of sufficient funding constrain aid delivery.
Violence also hinders agriculture alone. Fields are untended when farmers flee and local food production stalls under the weight of insecurity. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as well as WFP show that conflict and increasing food prices have forced millions into acute food insecurity, even as access to markets deteriorates and essential goods are now unaffordable. Conflict has cut trade routes, transport is unsafe and families find themselves without food stocks and no income.
Shortages in Funding and Humanitarian Access
Clashes and insecurity also hinder humanitarian access. Airports in Goma and Bukavu have not been operating for several months, delaying aid deliveries to areas hit hardest. However, funding has not kept up with needs. The WFP states it faces a standstill of emergency food assistance in eastern regions without a substantial increase in funds as major donors scale back on budgets and redirect resources elsewhere. This blocks life-saving food distribution to millions who otherwise are unable to feed themselves.
Political Dimensions of Hunger
In this context, food insecurity in DRC begins to function as a political tool. Armed groups exert control over territory as well as resources, determining who has access to food and who goes hungry. Without effective state governance, civilians are at the mercy of whoever controls the territory. This dynamic not only increases suffering but also weakens trust in the Congolese administration’s ability to protect and provide for its citizens.
In addition, hunger fuels further displacement and instability. As rural households no longer have access to farmlands and markets, they have to move to urban settings or across borders, which are typically camps struggling with overdcrowding in dire conditions and resources are scarce. Data from the WFP shows that conflict-induced displacement continues to grow, exacerbating food needs and creating continuous cycles of vulnerability that are difficult to break.
Responses that Work and Their Limits
In spite of the gravity of the crisis, responses rooted in both humanitarian relief and long-term resilience are promising if properly supported and scaled.
Humanitarian agencies like the WFP are applying delivery mechanisms in order to get to isolated areas through food assistance, cash transfers and nutrition programs for children and pregnant women. In 2025, WFP provided millions with food and cash assistance. Although gaps in funding would also mean that the aid is insufficient
The FAO has highlighted the significance of investing in agriculture even in the midst of ongoing conflict. By supporting seed distribution and livestock, FAO will assist households to regain productive capacity once security permits. Resilience programs focus on sustainable livelihoods, which focus on the root causes of food insecurity and not just its symptoms.
Negotiating passage for aid delivery with M23 and other local armed groups can provide access for food to reach civilians in compromised areas where neither the government nor humanitarian personnel can freely enter. Though politically sensitive these negotiation mechanisms have allowed for life-saving assistance in other prolonged conflicts.
Conclusions
Aid operations will continue to struggle without political progress towards peace and improved security. Also, gaps in funding significantly hamper both emergency response and longer-term resilience building. Without new international support, eastern DRC could face a full breakdown of food assistance by early 2026.
However targeted, adaptive interventions can alleviate the worst impacts of hunger, particularly when paired with efforts to restore mobility, production in agriculture and civilian governance. In a conflict where hunger is intertwined with power and displacement, solutions must be humanitarian and political, aiming to safeguard lives now while working towards a more food-secure future.
– Gloria Bwenge
Photo: Flickr
Gift of the Givers: Response to the Flood in South Africa
The floods hit the northern provinces, particularly Limpopo and Mpumalanga, hardest, adding to the deadly pattern of floods that has plagued the country for years. Many residents remain missing, the floods have destroyed many communities and survivors are reluctant to leave their homes behind. However, the national disaster declaration enabled a coordinated disaster response to the flood in South Africa from the government and other organizations. These groups are working together to provide for both immediate humanitarian needs and long-term recovery for people and their homes.
Government Efforts
Before the national disaster declaration, multiple government officials personally assessed flood-affected areas alongside disaster management services.
For example, Minister Willie Aucamp visited the closed Kruger National Park before confirming the establishment of SANParks’ Kruger Recovery Fund, which supports the park’s long-term sustainability through local and international donations. Public support for the fund has been widespread among individuals ranging from pensioners to youth.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Velenkosini Hlabisa emphasized the importance of decisive leadership in safeguarding lives and strengthening community resilience through the mobilization of adequate resources for both relief and recovery efforts. The government had previously set aside R20 million to rebuild infrastructure and offer assistance to impacted households following floods in 2011.
Now, officials estimate that R500 million is needed to rebuild the park. Search and rescue teams also coordinated with the National Disaster Management Institute and the South African Air Force, with approximately half a dozen South African military helicopters deployed to deliver emergency aid and locate stranded residents.
National Level
At the national level, the National Executive assumed primary responsibility for the coordinated disaster response to the flood in South Africa.
The government aims to strengthen disaster management structures, provide for basic survival needs, create contingency plans, submit progress reports to the National Disaster Management Center and ensure the growth of resilience.
The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has also assigned teams to assess water and dam monitoring equipment whenever a flood occurs. For example, dam safety specialists worked to prevent the collapse of local earthen dams and the development of future disasters.
At the community level, local radio stations utilized early warning systems in collaboration with risk management committees to spread critical information. However, rescue efforts were initially paralyzed due to a lack of resources and means of rescue.
The floods left many survivors homeless and afraid.
Gift of the Givers
Multiple organizations have previously aided South Africa during the aftermath of violent floods. For example, GlobalGiving project No. 55975 managed to raise $4,180 in 2022.
However, a key organization in the 2026 floods is Gift of the Givers. It delivered much-needed flood relief to affected households, including food, shelter, bedding and medical supplies, establishing a coordinated disaster response to the flood in South Africa with the government.
Gift of the Givers aims to assist in disaster responses, promote human development and address global hunger. During the floods, the organization visited 130 households in Mkondo, Mpumalanga and completed distributions with support from the Mkondo Disaster Team despite damaged roads and continuous rain.
The organization also supported search and rescue teams, disaster management and helicopter pilots by providing meals to ensure effective, sustained emergency responses.
Minister Hlabisa, Mpumalanga Premier Mandla Ndlovu and MEC Speed Mashilo acknowledged these efforts while assessing more than 1,000 households together.
Looking Ahead
First responders, disaster management teams, the police force, the National Defense Force and humanitarian organizations have been essential to restoring normality and infrastructure, according to government officials. While residents remain missing and many communities are still recovering, Gift of the Givers and the South African government have corroborated their efforts for a coordinated disaster response to the flood in South Africa.
– Cindy Nguyen
Photo: Flickr
Access to Clean Water in Chad and the Fight Against Poverty
The Water Crisis in Chad
Chad faces one of the most severe water scarcity situations in the world. Many rural areas lack reliable water sources, and residents often rely on contaminated rivers or ponds. According to UNICEF, less than half of Chad’s population has access to safe drinking water. This shortage leads to widespread waterborne diseases such as cholera, diarrhea and typhoid.
Factors Contributing to Water Scarcity
Several factors worsen the water crisis in Chad:
Health Impacts of Unsafe Water
Without access to clean water, children under five are especially vulnerable. Contaminated water contributes to high rates of malnutrition, stunting and preventable deaths. Women and girls often spend hours each day fetching water, which reduces time for education and work.
Solutions to Improve Access
Efforts to improve water access in Chad focus on both infrastructure and community programs:
Looking Ahead
Improving access to clean water in Chad is essential for health, education and economic growth. While challenges such as the changing climate, population growth and poor infrastructure remain, targeted solutions such as wells, filtration systems and hygiene education can make a meaningful difference.
– Nishanth Pothapragada
Photo: Flickr
Sustained Funding & Combating HIV/AIDS in Comoros
HIV/AIDS in Comoros: A Fragile Success
HIV prevalence in Comoros remains below 1%, one of the lowest rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This success is largely due to early prevention strategies, cultural factors and donor-supported health programs. However, limited domestic health financing means that HIV/AIDS services depend heavily on external support for antiretroviral treatment (ART), testing services and public awareness campaigns. Any reduction in funding risks service disruption, increased transmission and setbacks to national health goals. Donor-supported programs have included nationwide HIV awareness campaigns, voluntary counseling and testing services and integration of HIV services into primary health care, all of which have contributed to maintaining low prevalence levels. Here is why sustained funding matters.
Continuity of Treatment
HIV is a lifelong condition with no cure and requires continuous treatment with antiretroviral drugs to suppress the virus and protect the immune system. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), uninterrupted ART significantly reduces HIV-related deaths and prevents drug resistance. Funding interruptions can lead to medication shortages, treatment gaps and declining health outcomes. Sustained funding for HIV/AIDS in Comoros ensures consistent patient monitoring, reliable medication supply and effective long-term care.
In Comoros, antiretroviral treatments are largely financed internationally, particularly grants from the Global Fund. According to UNAIDS, this external supply creates challenges such as supply chain delays, limited laboratory capacity and difficulties to provide a consistent patient follow-up across the islands. Sustained funding for HIV/AIDS in Comoros ensures consistent patient monitoring, reliable medication supply and effective long-term care.
Prevention and Education
Prevention and education programs are critical to maintaining low HIV prevalence in Comoros. One major example is the national prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) program, supported by international partners such as UNICEF and WHO, which provides testing, treatment and counseling to pregnant women living with HIV; as a result, HIV prevalence among pregnant women stands at an exceptionally low level and infants born to HIV-positive mothers have consistently tested HIV-negative under this initiative.
Existing initiatives include community-based awareness campaigns supported by UNAIDS and the Global Fund, HIV testing and counseling services and outreach programs targeting young people and women. International assistance has supplied critical testing equipment and strengthened health worker training, helping expand access to HIV information and services. These programs promote safe practices, reduce stigma and encourage early testing. Long-term funding allows these initiatives to operate consistently and expand into underserved communities, particularly in rural areas.
Strengthening Health Systems
Efforts are underway to broaden health system improvements in Comoros. Investments have supported clinic infrastructure, trained health care workers and strengthened disease surveillance systems. However, challenges remain, including shortages of medical staff, limited laboratory capacity and unequal access to care between urban and rural regions. These weaknesses increase vulnerability to HIV transmission and hinder treatment access.
In Comoros, HIV/AIDS-related investments have contributed to improved primary health facilities and health worker training, but the country continues to face shortages of medical personnel and limited diagnostic infrastructure, particularly outside urban areas. According to the World Bank, stronger health systems improve economic resilience and reduce poverty in developing countries.
Solution in Action: The Global Fund
Established in 2002, the Global Fund has played a key role in supporting HIV/AIDS programs in Comoros. The Global Fund is one of the main external financiers of HIV/AIDS programs in Comoros, supporting HIV treatment and prevention efforts in collaboration with national health authorities. By financing antiretroviral therapy, HIV testing and health system strengthening, the organization has expanded access to essential services.
According to the Global Fund, its investments support the delivery of HIV services across the country, demonstrating how sustained international funding strengthens national health capacity. In 2023, countries supported by the Global Fund reported that approximately 25 million people were on antiretroviral therapy, and 53.8 million HIV tests were conducted through its investments, reaching millions with prevention services. While these figures reflect global outcomes, they illustrate the scale of support provided to countries like Comoros.
Poverty and HIV/AIDS in Comoros
Poverty remains a significant challenge in Comoros, where a large portion of the population lives below the national poverty line. Using the international poverty line of $3.65 per day, about 39.5% of Comorians lived in poverty in 2023, reflecting persistent economic hardship that constrains access to essential services like health care, education and transportation. In Comoros, long distances to health facilities, high out-of-pocket costs for care and shortages of trained health workers make it difficult for poor households to obtain HIV testing and treatment services, contributing to health inequalities. People living in poverty are also more vulnerable to poor health outcomes due to malnutrition and limited medical access. Addressing HIV/AIDS through sustained funding helps reduce these inequalities and supports broader poverty reduction efforts.
The Role of International Support
International support remains vital to sustaining HIV/AIDS programs. Comoros participates in regional HIV response efforts coordinated by UNAIDS and partners, such as Indian Ocean Island forum meetings aimed at strengthening prevention and treatment planning, demonstrating the active role of international support in shaping the country’s HIV strategy. Donor countries and multilateral institutions help bridge funding gaps while the government gradually strengthens domestic health financing. Sustained funding aligns with global commitments to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 and ensures that small island developing states like Comoros are not left behind.
Conclusion
The fight against HIV/AIDS in Comoros is about securing long-term public health and economic stability. Sustained funding ensures uninterrupted treatment, effective prevention strategies and stronger health systems. Programs supported by the Global Fund and other international partners show that long-term investment expands access to ART, increases testing in rural communities and reduces health disparities. With predictable and sustained funding, Comoros can continue to maintain low HIV prevalence, improve health outcomes and support sustainable development.
– Numahaiseta Sillah Tunkara
Photo: Flickr