27 October 2008

This month's research highlights

Research highlights from id21 this month

Maternal and child health: meeting MDGs 4 and 5

Rural women still denied access to land and credit

Is social protection the best way forward?

Tourism: more harm than good?

id21 insights #75

Rethinking sexuality and policy

Natural Resources Highlights #7

The latest issues of id21 natural resources highlights now available

 

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Maternal and child health: meeting MDGs 4 and 5

September 2008's high level event on the Millennium Development Goals at United Nations headquarters reaffirmed that, despite plausible achievements in preventing maternal and childhood illness and mortality in many developing countries, overall access to comprehensive health care for mothers and children is largely insufficient in the majority of the 68 countries, where 97 percent of global mother and child deaths occur.

Rural women still denied access to land and credit

In many countries, most subsistence farming is done by women. Women produce between 60 and 80 percent of food grown in developing countries. Interventions must recognise that legal, economic and cultural restrictions continue to deny women access to land, training, credit and appropriate technologies.

Is social protection the best way forward?

Industrialised countries have social security systems in place to help low income earners cope with sudden changes in their lives. Social protection is becoming more popular in low-income countries. Food aid, cash transfer and asset transfers, for example, are seen as effective in fighting poverty.

Tourism: more harm than good?

Tourism boosts economic development in many developing countries through contributions to Gross Domestic Product, export earnings, tax revenues and service charges. But there are concerns about how much of this money reaches the poorest people in a country, and whether tourism actually causes them more harm than good.

Making urban development sustainable

More people are moving to cities and slums are growing. Lack of opportunities in rural areas are driving more families to the cities. Traditional government planning practices cannot solve the problems associated with rapid urbanisation. Officials must recognise the city's natural assets, create efficient water, energy and transport infrastructure and protect its citizens

id21 insights #75

Rethinking sexuality and policy

What do sexuality and policy have to do with each other? Is not sexuality personal, private, and more to do with your body than your politics? Of course on one level it is. However, if we consider our sexual relations in a little more depth, we discover that the terms for them are set by policies and politics, including social norms and gender dynamics, national policies and international relations.

Natural Resources Highlights #7

The latest issues of id21 natural resources highlights are now available on the following themes:

  • Agriculture
  • Conservation
  • Fisheries
  • Forestry
  • Land
  • Rural livelihoods
  • Water

You can download these issues as PDFs from the id21 website.