In this article and podcast [29 mins], ABC’s Future Tense takes a closer look at the future of aid, as countries dedicate increasing portions of their aid budgets to refugee processing at home and military and security-related programs abroad, and new players enter the global aid scene.
In the last fortnightly links, we included an article examining the issue of global corporate abuses. Since then, the 2016 Australian Fashion Report [pdf] was launched by Baptist World Aid Australia, highlighting the ethical performance of major clothing retailers.
An Indonesian dentist, Dr Hotlin Ompusunggu, cleverly harnessed the power of incentives in order to help communities in Borneo resist illegal logging of the rainforest, resulting in win-win benefits.
Though a year has passed since the devastating earthquakes in Nepal took place, the reconstruction effort remains far off track. This Buzzfeed News longread by Anup Kaphle spells out some of the complications and frustrations, exacerbated for those living in remote areas. As Ruth Margalit notes in Harpers Magazine, the continuing fuel crisis, the consequence of an unofficial trade blockade by India, is making matters that much more difficult.
And lastly, PBS Newshour reports on the viability of “water ATMs” — machines that purify water and dispense it via prepaid card swipes — to overcome India’s ageing and overburdened water infrastructure.
