How Nepal can avoid the mistakes of Haiti, fighting violence against women in Brazil – and maternal healthcare
|
Version 0 of 1. Nepal is grappling with the aftermath of a second earthquake, just weeks after the 7.8-magnitude quake that killed 8,000 people and destroyed homes and livelihoods. As aid was rushed to the country after the first quake, Haitian aid worker Prospery Raymond warned organisations not to repeat the mistakes made in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Raymond called for acknowledgment of local NGOs, transparency of aid spending and a greater focus on the recovery process beyond the initial search and rescue efforts. Meanwhile, risk-management specialist Katie Peters emphasised the importance for Nepal to invest in “building back better” or risk more devastation in the future. You can also see some of the main appeals that have opened for Nepal quake survivors. Elsewhere on the site Opinion While legislative changes in Brazil have paved the way for ending violence against women, more needs to be done on the community level to change social norms, argues Melanie Hargreaves from Christian Aid. Hargreaves says that funding for women’s rights organisations is vital in challenging the view that violence against women is normal. Meanwhile, Meena Bhandari proclaims the power of radio in South Sudan, where a local radio project is helping to calm community tensions. Bhandari says Nile FM plays a critical role in providing people with the fair and accurate information they need. Multimedia Pictures: South Sudan: how conflict shapes life in local communities Pictures: Bringing phone reception to a remote mountain town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Podcast: Water and sanitation in health centres in Mali Video: Sierra Leone: ‘Schools are opening, but I can’t afford food or to pay the children’s school fees’ Video: Cutting risk of mother-to-baby transmission of HIV Take part As part of our coverage of the state of maternal health, we’re collecting stories of pregnancy and childbirth around the world. Did you or someone close to you give birth with health workers present? How far did you have to travel to get assistance? Did you receive pre- and post-natal care? What birth practices are specific to where you live? Tell us via the form in this article, or upload your story and photos to GuardianWitness, and your stories will help to complement our coverage. What you said: top reader comment On the piece Pakistan’s burqa-clad cartoon superhero makes foray into India, Gobinda Baruah wrote: It is good to see and feel the thaw between both the countries through films, cartoons and other forms of arts and sports at a time when we face each other as enemies on the borders. Hope we could live like two separated brothers living in each one’s house! Highlight from the blogosphere Overseas Development Institute: As countries get richer, junk food gets cheaper – and obesity rises And finally … Poverty matters will return in two weeks with another roundup of the latest news and comment. In the meantime, keep up to date on the Global Development website. Follow @gdndevelopment and the team – @swajones, @LizFordGuardian, @MarkC_Anderson and @CarlaOkai – on Twitter, and join Guardian Global Development on Facebook. |