Past Forums

Climate Change
Disability & Development
Food & Nutrition
Gender Equality
Human Rights
International Development
Water & Sanitation
Global Health
 

Climate Change

In countries all over the world, people living in poverty are already suffering from the effects of climate change. Extreme weather and an increase in natural disasters are jeopardising the ability of poor communities to grow crops, access water, and house and feed themselves. It is the poor who are the least able to protect themselves and the most likely to suffer from climate disasters. They are the most vulnerable to disease and are more likely to have to leave their homes in search of water during droughts or to escape flooding.

Climate change is not simply an environmental problem, but a fundamental development problem. There is widespread agreement that climate change has been caused by the past development of today’s rich countries. Unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut drastically, climate-related poverty will be exacerbated.


Can the developing world survive Climate Change?
Wednesday, 30 July 2008, Melbourne VIC

Carbon Trading Exposed: the impacts of carbon trading on the world's poor.
Wednesday, 15 July 2009, Adelaide SA

The Human Face of Climate Change
Thursday, 20 August 2009, Sydney NSW  

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Disability & Development

Poor people are disproportionately disabled, and people with disabilities are disproportionately poor." – Robert Holzmann, Director of the World Bank's Social Protection Department, 2001.

People with a disability are among the poorest of the poor, while people living in poverty are more at risk of becoming disabled. Of the 600 million people with a disability worldwide, about 450 million live in the developing world. Of the one billion people living on under $1 per day, 260 million have a disability.
Some 150 million children with a disability lack access to child care services, schools, recreation and other social services, and are likely to remain illiterate and untrained. Disabled women and girls face triple discrimination because they are female, carry impairment and are amongst the poorest of the poor. Disability and poverty reinforce one another, intensifying marginalisation and insecurity.

Inclusion: World Development & Disability
Tuesday, 7 April 2009, Melbourne VIC 

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Food & Nutrition

Almost one billion people don't get enough food to eat. When crops fail due to weather or disease poor rural communities, who have no other resources to pay for food, go hungry. Another major cause of hunger is conflict. Wars destroy agricultural fields, kill farmers and displace millions of people around the world.

This means less food is produced and families who flee and become refugees lose their incomes and livelihoods. In regions like southern Africa, food production is being affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic, which has left many farmers sick and unable to grow food. The Global Food Crisis brought other major causes of hunger into sharp focus. These include climate change, and a rapid rise in food prices linked to high oil prices, increased biofuel production and export restrictions.


Is food only for those who can affort it?
Tuesday 3rd March 2009, Geelong VIC

We all need food - but do we all get it?
Tuesday 3rd March 2009, Geelong VIC

Will the world be able to feed itself in 2050?
Wednesday, 10 September 2008, Adelaide SA
 

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Gender Equality

Gender equality is a key ingredient in reducing poverty and is a basic human right. Gender inequality restricts a country's economic growth, yet currently:

• 500,000 women die each year from complications during pregnancy – 99% of them in developing countries.
• Two-thirds of the 800 million people in the world who lack basic literacy skills are female.
• Women hold just 3% of seats in the parliaments of the Pacific Islands, 19% in East Asia.

When women and men have relative equality economies grow faster, children's health improves and there is less corruption. Investment in women's and girls' education and health yields some of the highest returns of all development investments, including reduced rates of maternal mortality, better educated and healthier children, and increased household incomes. Gender equality means access to economic resources, participation and leadership in decision making, respect for the human rights of women, and an increased capacity to tackle gender inequalities.

What needs to change for women to get a fair go?
Wednesday, 6 August 2008, Sydney NSW

Women of the world
Sunday, 8 March 2009, Adelaide SA

How women can change the world
Wednesday, 10 March 2010, Melbourne VIC

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Global Health

Too many people in developing countries suffer from debilitating diseases that are preventable.
Investing in health helps lay the groundwork for skilled and productive societies, and ensures that the poor can expand their range of choices, improve their opportunities and living standards.
Despite advances in the availability of health care, technology and medicine in many developing countries, there are a number of areas – such as women's and children's health, domestic violence, HIV and AIDS, malaria and the quality of health education – in which progress is either often slow or negative and the need for action is compelling.

• Half the world’s population is at risk from malaria
• 33 million people live with HIV
• In developing countries, less than 50% of people have access to adequate sanitation facilities