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Development Debates

A series of guest blogs from the leading voices in aid and poverty reduction. Please note, the views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of DFID or have the support of the British Government.

Diary of an ICS volunteer: host families, hard work and hot chai

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Asia, Development Debates, Economic Development, Girls & Women, International Citizen Service
International Citizen Service volunteer Vix in her sari

Romana was a young girl when her family told her she was getting married. This is not unusual in Bangladesh; according to UNICEF, nearly two-thirds of girls are married before the age of 18 and more than a quarter of …

Civil Society Partnership Review: weekly focus on effective civil society

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Africa, Asia, Development Debates, Other

Following on from last week’s blog, we want to hear from you on the first line of enquiry as part of the Civil Society Partnership Review. This week we’re focusing on the effective civil society strand. This focuses on two …

Providing opportunities to young people with disabilities in the workplace

I really enjoyed meeting Peter and Tom, who are with us as part of Leonard Cheshire’s Change 100 internship programme. I was inspired by their obvious passion and commitment to DFID’s work. It was great to talk to young people …

One year on from the Girl Summit: are we any closer to ending child marriage?

Annet, 17-years-old, Western Uganda: "I have been out of school for over a year now. I was here at home doing nothing so one of the evenings I met a man who promised to provide for me. A few weeks later I was pregnant and I went to live with him.” Picture: Rebecca Vassie/Girls Not Brides. All rights reserved.

Working on a taboo subject can be isolating and demoralising and, as evidenced by the experience of some Girls Not Brides members focused on ending child marriage within their communities, even life-threatening. Until a few years ago, child marriage was such …

The education glass is half full

Julia Gillard meets children at the GS Rwamiko School in Rwanda

2015 is a year of decision for global education — specifically, access to quality education by children in the world’s poorest and most conflict-ravaged countries.  Fifteen years ago, at the United Nations, the world came together to establish the Millennium Development …

How is Ebola affecting FGM in Sierra Leone?

The UK is working with the UN, the World Health Organisation and the wider international community to combat Ebola. Picture: Save the Children

The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Sierra Leone is shrouded in great secrecy and mysticism. It usually takes the form of removal of the clitoris, sometimes using razor blades, penknives and even broken glass. It is at the …

Girls can drive development

Girls participate in a mentoring session in Niamey, part of the Action for Adolescent Girls initiative, in June 2014. Picture: UNFPA/Satvika Chalasani

Adolescent girls can play an enormous role in bringing about sustainable development. But for too long their rights and potential have been overlooked by world leaders, and this has held back development and equality. At last international momentum is building …

On World TB Day, new clinical trials offer hope against drug-resistant TB

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Development Debates, Health
DFID has been visionary in supporting a wave of clinical trials, which can help provide the tools to tackle drug-resistant TB.

In advance of World TB Day, a global clinical trial has begun to test a new regimen for tuberculosis (TB), which shows particular promise for improving treatment of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). The trial will be conducted at 50 sites in …

We cannot end FGM without supporting survivors

Pictures of girls at Samburu Girls Foundation in Kenya

We often associate FGM with the harmful physical effects suffered by more than 125 million women worldwide. There is much less awareness about the psychological effects that can haunt a woman throughout her lifetime. I know from experience that sometimes …

Ending female genital cutting in our lifetime

A declaration being read at the abandonment ceremony in Mali last year. Picture: Orchid Project

“I feel more and more that I am no longer alone and that the entire world is supporting me.” – Mah Cissé A year ago, 14 communities in Bamako, Mali, declared an end to Female Genital Cutting (FGC). Mah Cissé, …