Navigation path
Additional tools
Why we are helping in North Korea
Monday, July 4th, 2011
You may have seen on the news today that the European Commission is giving food aid in North Korea.
It was not an easy decision. In a country that is almost entirely sealed off from the outside world we wanted to answer two important questions: first, is this a real humanitarian crisis? And if we were to give food aid, would it really reach the people who need it?
To answer these questions, I sent a team of humanitarian experts to North Korea in June. Read the full entry
Number of views: 4263
The 1000 day battle against child malnutrition
Friday, September 24th, 2010
Science tells us that the first 1000 days of a baby’s life are critical for its future. Good nutrition during these early days makes a huge difference to a child’s mental and physical health. In my part of the world access to food and health care is a birthright, but for millions of children born in poor countries it is not. This is what the 1000 days partnership to reduce child under-nutrition aims to change.
Joining this partnership was the most important goal of my trip to New York during the United Nations General Assembly. On September 21, a high level event “1000 Days: Change a Life, Change the Future – Partnering to Reduce Child Under-nutrition” co-hosted by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and the Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martins, brought together more than a hundred leaders from governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. Read the full entry
Number of views: 2554
I arrive in Nyala after a day in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital and most prosperous city. The contrast is so dramatic that it is hard to believe we are still in the same country. Khartoum, the city where the Blue and White Nile meet, is booming — oil revenues fuel construction everywhere. It is a capital of a middle income country and only the occasional donkey on the busy streets reminds of Sudan’s rural soul.
Nyala, in the South of Darfur, has none of Khartoum’s glamour. It is visibly poor, with mostly unpaved streets, lots of mud houses and frequent electric power failures. But Nyala is well off compared to the camps, hosting millions of internally displaced and refugees across Darfur. Power cuts don’t exist there for a simple reason – there is no power to cut. Read the full entry
Number of views: 1476
