Thanks for stopping by. This DFID Bloggers site is now closed and will no longer be updated regularly. However, all the blogs that appeared here will be archived if you want to look back at any of our posts. Why …
Recently I was in Helmand to help roll-out a programme on DFID's Bilateral Aid Review. As you might know from reading my last blog, my role here is to roll out key services for the Afghan population in the provinces, …
...is the biggest slum in Africa, home to thousands of people living in Nairobi and, for one week, me. Photo: Sven Torfinn / Panos Kibera is a place that is...
I’ve just finished reading "When a Billion Chinese Jump" by Jonathan Watts. It took me a while – it's a pretty huge book, with copious notes to flick back and forth to. But I am glad I got there. Yes, …
Today, as many of you will know from the huge number of amazing events taking place around the world, is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Women's issues might not be the first thing you think about when you …
A hundred years ago today, women across the world took a historic step on the long road to equality. The first ever International Women's Day was called to draw attention to the unacceptable and often dangerous working conditions that so …
An estimated 25% of Zimbabwean children are 'vulnerable' in development speak. That means they are defined as 'likely to experience a range of deprivations that inhibit their chances to survive to adulthood and fulfil their inherent potential'. Vulnerability and HIV/AIDS are …
There's nothing quite like a drive in the country to understand the scale of a country's development needs. Whether in an armoured vehicle back in Helmand, on a field trip in Zambia in a previous role to see what scope …
The Department for International Development is already the most respected of the country-to-country development agencies. But in the past it has been distracted by extraneous domestic political interests. In Andrew Mitchell, the department has a Secretary of State who is …
It's a big week of change for DFID this week. Despite apparently being in the "sexiest" department in Whitehall (according to the London Evening Standard at least!) we're all actually reeling from the news that our fantastic Permanent Secretary Minouche Shafik …
Over the last decade an increasingly influential independent annual report releases what is in effect the world's 'scorecard on education'. Like a student who awaits their end of year grades with trepidation, those that follow education development await the 1st March …
