In The News

Items taken for granted in one country can be a life-changing force in poor nations. After learning that almost one third of the world’s population lacks access to lighting, Mark Bent, a former foreign-service officer, arranged design of a solar flashlight, manufacturing in China and distribution of more than 30,000 units to Africans in refugee camps and rural villages. The flashlights allow...

Analysts often categorize the violence in Darfur as a conflict between the nomadic Arabs and agricultural Africans of Western Sudan. The victims of the violence, however, belie an overly simplistic division. Intermarriage, commerce and other contacts have long entwined identity throughout the region, but drought, land shortages and government support for the Janjaweed militias, which are guilty...

Water is a limited resource – and cities in short supply are not acting quickly enough to conserve supplies and prepare for the future. Nairobi, the name of which refers to “place of cool waters,” is one example. Currently, water supply meets only about 70 percent of demand, and yet the government confronts many challenges in achieving reform: Poverty prevents many residents from paying the high...