Opinion

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?

Discrimination has been described by Latin Americans as a severe issue – over 70% feel it holds them back in their day to day lives. Colombian women in particular have expressed anger over the prejudices held towards them; “as soon as we say we are from Colombia, people immediately associate us with prostitutes, and do not respect us,” complains Alba.

By Joel Obengo 

Kenya, endowed with plethora of cultural riches,heritages,history, customs and traditions has various instruments that can be used to influence and win the hearts and minds of foreign nationals to help support Kenya’s policies, values and demonstrations in regional, continental and global affairs.

DFID’s termination and merger of the development agenda within the foreign office will imply that the agenda is relegated to a secondary position within a broader foreign policy framework. This will mean that the stock of institutional knowledge and experience, accumulated and perfected over the years by DFID will come to a disastrous end.

By Sayed Jalal Of course there used to be occasional rape cases in Afghanistan, but the recent trends, in a very ugly and overt way, reveal the darker side of a traditional patriarchal society. These trends also tell us that social morality is in sharp decline. From juvenile rapes by Mullas (Religious scholar) in mosques (Masjid), to rape of daughters by fathers and animal rapes.

By Joel Obengo 

Eastern European countries should be encouraged to play a greater role in regional leadership and conflict resolution. Such an initiative could have positive outcomes such as helping strengthen diplomatic partnerships between the US and the regional governments.

By Hriday Ch. Sarma Intra-regional integration in the Fergana Valley will greatly reduce the risk of inter-state conflicts, and enable Central Asian states to take optimal advantage of trade ties along the (New) Silk Roads.

By Claire Veale On Sunday 12 Oct 2014, Bolivians voted to re-elect Evo Morales Ayma, Bolivia’s incumbent president, with an overwhelming 60%. Morales has indeed...

By Edvin Arnby Machata The task for civil servants and development professionals cannot be to find a magic bullet solution – because no such solutions exist. The question is rather one of how to establish continuous mechanisms with which problems can be detected, analysed, and solved.

By Aparna Patankar "Strong education systems are the foundations upon which we can build the structures and programs to eradicate poverty"