Latest Post

Voices of Change from Southern Madagascar

Poor people in southern Madagascar have recently had the chance to speak to a global audience about their lives and the rapid changes they are coping with. Climate change and chronic food insecurity have been compounded in recent years by a large-scale mining project run by Rio Tinto / QMM. The mine has restricted their access to fishing waters and forest, and rice production has been erratic due to changing patterns of rain fall. Families face significant challenges in adapting to this myriad of change. A recent Andrew Lees Trust / Panos project has enabled women and men from four effected communities to talk about these changes without intermediaries. In Pushed to the Edge, they describe what has changed for them and why, and what they feel can be done to harness the positive impacts some of these changes might bring about.

Featured Post

This is a blog about development happenings around the world, with a particular focus on local communities and the people affected by development actors and actions. The blog is authored by people associated with the Development Studies Program at the Australian National University.

Asides

• Interesting new Oxfam paper, Money for Nothing: Three ways the G20 could deliver up to $280 billion for poor countries. #
• Great TED.com talk by William Kamkwamba from Malawi on building a windmill for his family when he was 14. Wired article here and William's blog here. #
• Interesting opinion piece in the New York Times about Obama's mother's work as an anthropologist in Central Java. #
• Check out this TED talk by engineer Michael Pritchard, who invented a portable water filter that filters down to 15 nanometers. While the initial cost looks high (over $100), running costs are only .5c per day. The comments and discussion that follow the video are interesting. #
• RegNet Seminar: 'Addressing Gender Health Inequalities in Timor-Leste: Governance Reform and The Right to Health'. Ms Clíonadh O'Keeffe, PhD Candidate, Global Women's Studies, School of Political Science and Sociology, National University of Ireland, Galway. Venue: Coombs Extension Lecture Theatre (Building 8, room 1.04) Date: Tuesday, 28 July 2009 Time: 12.30pm - 1.30pm Abstract Progress in overcoming health inequalities experienced by women in post conflict Timor-Leste has been undermined by the failure of governance to attach sufficient weight to equality. To address this, the paper proposes the *Right to Health* framework which has marginalised groups, participation and accountability as its principle concerns and demands for structures and processes of accountability that are accessible, transparent, and that empower citizens to participate in planning, implementation and monitoring of their health care. The proposition is timely given the current context of governance reforms that *will not only make service delivery more effective, but also increase participation of all people in government work* (Minister Leite 19/02/2009). However building meaningful participation of all actors is an enormously difficult process, particularly in post-conflict environments. The paper teases out and highlights the potential of the framework for East Timorese women*s participation in local health governance specifically the proposed municipalities structures at district level. Ms Clíonadh O'Keeffe, PhD Candidate, Global Women's Studies, School of Political Science and Sociology, National University of Ireland, Galway Clíonadh O* Keeffe is a first year doctoral candidate in the School of Political Science and Sociology, National University of Ireland, Galway. The title of her research project is *Women*s Health, Multilevel Governance and Human Rights in Post Conflict Timor Leste: A Case Study in Engendering Transition*. She is particularly interested in the impacts of governance reform on East Timorese women*s sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) and the extent to which the current processes of decentralization taking place in Timor Leste help or hinder the realization of those rights. She holds a Masters degree in Gender and Development from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) University of Sussex, UK. Clíonadh has worked in Timor-Leste in 2000-2002 and 2007 as a UNV with UNTAET and UNMIT and with Irish Aid. She currently works as the coordinator of DERN, an Irish Aid funded Development Education and Research Network in the School of Political Science and Sociology, National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). Prior to joining NUIG she worked as a community development worker in the west of Ireland for almost ten years. The main focus of her work has been to support the realization of marginalized Traveller women*s right to health where she coordinated a rural health project and later a primary health care project within in a rights based non-governmental community organization. #