The Blue Tech Challenge is launched, and other news (25 Sep 2018)

From a fund for sustainable ocean management to achieving the SDGs in Bangladesh

Every Tuesday we highlight some of the international development stories from across the globe that have caught our attention.

  • The ‘Blue Tech Challenge’ has been launched by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to fund up to $2 million for proposals for business models that contribute to the sustainable management of oceans. Read more in The Guyana Chronicle.
  • Workshops were held on ways to empower residents of the Niger Delta region, and reduce human trafficking, as part of Market Development in Niger Delta II. The aim of the programme is to use market systems to raise the incomes of more than 150,000 people, half of whom are women. Read more in the Guardian (Nigeria).
  • Devastating flooding in Kerala has shown, again, that more preparation is needed to combat the impact of floods. Forecasting has become more accurate, but dams and blocked waterways must be optimised, and the Indian people need access to more education, argue G. Anand and A.J. James. Read more in The Hindu.
  • The socioeconomic landscape of Bangladesh has changed for the better over the past decade, and the country has made significant progress towards the SDGs. Now, a new financing strategy is needed to complete the goals. Read more in The Financial Express (Bangladesh).
  • Ghana is on track for achieving universal health coverage by 2020, but modifications are needed in the country’s National Health Insurance Scheme, the direct of policy planning monitoring and evaluation division of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Koku Awoonor, has said. Read more in News Ghana.
  • There now more than 100 bamboo farms in Myanmar, as interest in the business increases. Local bamboo often doesn’t meet the quality standards needed for international export, and a meeting of business organisations looked at ways to increase sustainable and inclusive growth of the industry. Read more in Myanmar Times.
  • Australia and New Zealand are the highest-ranked non-European nations on the Commitment to Development Index, but Australia is held back by its poor performance in tackling the effects of climate change. Read more in the Fiji Times.