Housing the homeless in Bangladesh, and other news (21 Aug 2018)

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

• In Bangladesh, two-room flats will be provided for homeless people in urban and coastal areas. The scheme, under the name ‘National Urban Poverty Reduction’, is funded by the Government of Bangladesh with assistance from DFID and UNDP, and will be completed by the end of 2023. Read more in The Daily Observer (Bangladesh).

• Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of International Development, has emphasised the importance of involving African women in decision-making processes about advancement for women and girls in Africa. In a meeting with Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the African Development Bank, they shared a common vision of women as “agents of change” rather than “mere beneficiaries”. Read more in the Sierra Leone Telegraph.

• DFID have announced £50 million of funding to a six-year family planning programme in Malawi, using the name Tsogolo Langa, which translates as ‘my future’. Among other targets, the programme should prevent 6,000 maternal deaths. Read more in Nyasa Times.

• Up to 34% of workers’ minimum wage is being spent on breastmilk substitutes in Nigeria. This observation was party of a media dialogue for World Breastfeeding Month, organised by the Jigawa Primary Health Care Development Agency alongside UNICEF, Bauchi Field office, and DFID. Read more in Vanguard (Nigeria).

• The NGO WaterAid has called for the media to give more prominence to water, sanitation, and hygiene issues in Nigeria, to draw further attention of the government. Read more in Vanguard (Nigeria).

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