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 …
With all the media's attention focussed on Libya and other Middle Eastern countries, you might have noticed Afghanistan has slightly fallen off the media radar recently. That's not necessarily a bad thing – it means those of us who work …
Most week days, I wake up at around 6.30am to go for a run, do some yoga or go to the gym. It makes me feel alive and ready for the day, and I am usually more productive and focused …
A number of you have asked me in comments on my blog about how we involve local communities in our roads programmes. And I'm overdue to tell you about my recent field visit, which I mentioned in my blog on …
I live in Scotland. A lot of people are often surprised at that. They’re also often surprised to hear that DFID has a large office in Scotland, just on the outskirts of Glasgow. From my desk on the top floor …
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 …
Hi – my name's Francesca, and I've just arrived in Afghanistan to work for DFID. Over the coming months, I want to share with you my thoughts on the country, on our work here and most importantly - what life is …
One of last week's editions of the Financial Times featured an article by John Kay, a top UK economist, saying that "clarity of thought and clarity of expression tend to go together". And he's right – presenting complexity in a …
I've been working with two of our Asian country offices this week – Vietnam and Indonesia – helping them focus their programmes on low-carbon and climate-resilient growth. Travelling back and forth to the offices, I've noticed some sharp contrasts between …
I’ve been a Senior Economist in DFID for just over a month. Many friends and colleagues are excited about my new role…even people I don’t know that well. My first challenge has been giving a clear answer to the question “what …
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