Fortnightly links: UN woes, Latin American democracy, global health, migration and more…

In The New York Times Anthony Banbury writes passionately and in detail about the woes of the United Nations.

Democracy has spread across Latin America over the last three decades. Sadly, this Bloomberg Business Week piece suggests that efforts to ‘hack’ the democratic process have spread just as fast.

The Center for Global Development (CGD) this week launched the latest edition of Millions Saved — a collection of case studies highlighting what works in global health. Among the key lessons learned: “governments can do the job; aid helps.”

Sticking with global health, Dr Kamalini Lokuge reflects on her experience working with Médecins sans Frontières during the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak and the importance of health systems strengthening in this moving Canberra Times profile.

Ten years ago, Congolese courts ruled that victims of a mass rape were entitled to state compensation. Yet they have still received nothing. Lauren Wolfe, writing for Foreign Policy [registration required, 5 free articles per month], reports on the political and bureaucratic barriers that continue to pervert the course of justice for women in the DRC.

This write-up by Selam Gebrekidam for Reuters’ The Migration Machine sheds light on the complex networks driving — and funding — migration from countries like Eritrea to Europe and beyond, with many paying as much as eight times their country’s annual per capita income for passage to Europe.

Lastly, Liberia’s recent decision to subcontract its entire pre-primary and primary education system to US-based company Bridge International Academies (best known for their previous work in Kenya) has unsurprisingly sparked some backlash, including from UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education. Others argue the jury is still out on Liberia’s bold decision.

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Camilla Burkot

Camilla Burkot was a Research Officer at the Development Policy Centre, and Editor of the Devpolicy Blog, from 2015 to 2017. She has a background in social anthropology and holds a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, and has field experience in Eastern and Southern Africa, and PNG. She now works for the Burnet Institute.

Terence Wood

Terence Wood is a research fellow at the Development Policy Centre. His research focuses on political governance in Western Melanesia, and Australian and New Zealand aid.

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