Global South Development Magazine

By Robin Smith Guatemala is on the brink of becoming another Columbia or Mexico, where military policing, guerrilla groups, and civilians have to battle it out for control. It is a battle without winners and where the average citizen is the one who suffers most. And I wonder, is there time for Guatemala to save itself?

By Lykke Andersen A lousy little loan, which seemed like a good idea at the time, doomed Micky to a life in extreme poverty and heavy indebtedness, while Savvy, who couldn’t get a loan, did very well. So, if you thought micro credit will help solve the problem of poverty, you might want to do a bit of math to understand the astonishing power of compound interest.

By Deanna Morris Microlending programs have been around for 25+ years and as new players have entered the market creating even more competition, interest rates still remain high, which begs the question: is increased competition spurring greed and encouraging investment in microfinance for the wrong reasons?

The Ministry of Health in Malawi has developed a radio drama serial to help tackle public health problems and promote better behaviour. Named Moyo ndi Mpamba!, the ‘edutainment’ radio drama programme combines the power of entertainment with education to address key issues of malaria, family and maternal planning, neonatal and child health, HIV and AIDS, water and sanitation.

The Dutch Agriculture Development and Trading Company (DADTCO) in collaboration with the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) have celebrated a major milestone in the successful commercialization of cassava at a ceremony at the site of the DADTCO factory in Inhambane, Mozambique. The governor of Inhambane and the Dutch ambassador to Mozambique, Ms. Frédérique de Man, were present at the ceremony.

“That’s not to say that microfinance won’t help the very poor, rather that there needs to be a recognition that microfinance isn’t the only thing that can work", argues Oxford Microfinance Initiative’s President Vicente Solera Deuchar.

By Nikola Jovanovic I asked myself so many times: Isn`t it already too much? Do we really need to go to wars after all these natural disasters? Haven’t floods, earthquakes and Tsunamis taken enough lives and added enough human suffering?

Free education is a concept that is only free on paper, but the reality is, education in Uganda and Kenya is expensive. There have been cases where students had to buy a bag of cement, toilet papers and brooms for their school. And in some cases students who fail to make book donations to school have been sent away.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is not officially at war, but for decades the ordinary Congolese haven't experienced an essence of peace either. After years of bloodshed and devastation, the DRC is staggering towards normalcy, but after brief intervals the country finds itself rebound into violent conflicts again and again.

"We never resorted to extremist tactics like kidnapping and killing innocent civilians; we had a very strict code of conduct that never allowed us to descend to the barbarity of the other side", says José Manuel Ramos-Horta, a freedom fighter, Timor-Leste's ex-president and a Nobel laureate.

The golden age of aid seems to be in jeopardy; perhaps what is needed is a revolution in the system of aid delivery. And what better country  to look to for revolutionary inspiration than Cuba?By taking a leaf out of Cuba’s book, the focus of the Western aid system could be shifted towards sustainability.

By Cucu Wesseh Aid being tied to the purchase of goods and services to the donor country increases overall costs by 25%. Moreover, most donors channel aid through NGOs from within their own countries. This has major consequences in ensuring sustainable development in the global South.