By Elliott Stein, ONE member, United Kingdom Graphic: weknowmemes.com Times have changed dramatically. We no longer sit in front of the television every evening and watch the news religiously. We don’t wait for each morning to arrive to eat breakfast while reading the newspaper. Nowadays, the combination of mobile devices and increasingly busy lives mean we digest our news on the go. People turn to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for news as it happens: you could go as far as to call it...
By Edwin Ikhuoria, Nigeria Country Representative, ONE A hospital in Lagos, Nigeria stocks up on Ebola supplies. Photo credit: Bryan Christensen/ CDC Nigeria’s response to the Ebola epidemic raging in West Africa has so far been robust and decisive – attracting commendations from several international partners. As of October 13, 2014, the World Health Organization declared Nigeria free of Ebola, a victory in a region where Ebola has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people. For a country to be declared Ebola-free, it must...
This is our 2014 list of shocking poverty facts. For the 2015 list, click here. Halloween, schmalloween. The most shocking things in life aren’t haunted houses or ghosts that go “BOO!” – it’s what’s happening right outside your window. I asked our policy team to share the most surprising, illuminating facts they’ve come across in global development. Here’s what they said: 1. More people have access to a mobile phone than a toilet 2. Every year, developing countries are robbed of more than $1 trillion that could...
Ever wondered where the profits from dodgy deals and crime end up? Here are 11 places that have been used to hide ill-gotten gains. As we launch a new campaign to stop the Trillion Dollar Scandal that deprives people in developing countries of more than $1 trillion each year, we’re digging into the web of secrecy that makes it all possible. Some were easy to find, but as you might expect others were tougher and took investigators years to track down. 1. 40...
By Melany Grout, Landesa The Girls Project, a partnership between the government of West Bengal and Landesa, aims to keep girls in school and reduce their vulnerability to child marriage. More than 40,000 girls are currently participating in the project, learning about their rights to own and inherit land and receiving training in intensive organic gardening skills during regular meetings led by the girls themselves with support from government rural health workers. Girls who participate in the program are more likely to stay in...
UPDATE: This post was updated on October 24, 2014 Click the infographic to enlarge.  1. Where is the recent Ebola outbreak? This map from World Health Organization and CNN puts the Ebola outbreak into context. Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone are the most affected countries, but a few cases have popped up in the US, Spain, Nigeria and Senegal.   2. What’s the background of the virus? A trackmap of Ebola, infographic by Africa Spring The virus was first discovered by an outbreak in 1976, which up until now has...
What does it mean to live without electricity? See how much electricity Americans use each day – and understand how crucial it is to our daily lives. Electricity is not a luxury, but a necessity, and all 7 billion humans should have access to it. Most people living in Africa use significantly less electricity in a year than the global average – and 7 out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa live without it every day. Here’s a list of 8...
How will you remember Nelson Mandela? There are many ways to commemorate the life and struggle of a remarkable man. We’ve come up with ten – but we’d like to hear what your plans are. Friday July 18 is Nelson Mandela International Day, launched by the UN and inspired by a call from the man himself for the next generation to take on the burden of leadership when he said “it is in your hands now”. 1. Do something! Continue Mandela’s fight for social...
By Lorriann Robinson, ONE UK Policy & Advocacy Manager Every year, more than 13 million girls marry before their 18th birthday. These girls overwhelmingly come from the world’s poorest countries, and are often the poorest girls within their communities. Early marriage is a complex problem, the root causes of which are many and varied. But poverty, and often extreme poverty, is an important piece of the jigsaw. It is both a cause and a consequence of early marriage. Arranging for their daughters to be...
Films are great. They can capture your imagination and educate you about issues you might not know much about. But the best thing about films is that they tell you a story. Sometimes it can be hard to really understand what discrimination, poverty or suffering are like when it doesn’t affect you personally. The journey a films takes you on can immerse you in other lives for a few hours and help you empathize with people you’ve never met. Films can...