Delegates attend the sixth GEF Assembly (Source: VNA) Da Nang (VNA) – Canada has committed aid worth over 228 million USD for fiscal years 2018–2019 through 2022–2023 to the seventh replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to advance climate action in developing countries. The pledge was made by Canadian Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau at the sixth GEF Assembly which is being held in Vietnam’s Da Nang city on June 27-28. Developing countries constantly face impacts of climate change, with women and children facing disproportionate challenges. Collaboration and partnerships between governments, global institutions, non-governmental and local organisations, as well as the private sector are key to moving forward on climate action. Therefore, Canada is committed to these efforts to empower the most at-risk communities to better adapt and mitigate the harmful impacts of a changing climate. Through the GEF, the country has … [Read more...] about Canada supports climate action in developing countries
Globalization in developing countries
Women in developed countries more educated than men, but still earn less: OECD
Women in developed countries are now more educated than men, yet they still earn less, are poorly represented in politics, and less likely to join the top ranks in business or become an entrepreneur, a global think-tank said on Wednesday. From Canada, Japan, Norway to Australia, young women on average earn almost 15 percent less than men, even though they are more educated, said the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The gender pay gap has remained stubbornly consistent over the past decade despite better policies for working parents, transparency in workplace pay gaps, and quota systems to boost the number of women on boards and senior roles, OECD said. "Every country faces its own obstacles to reaching gender equality, and to make a real difference we must change public policies in tandem with stereotypes, attitudes and behaviors," Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD said in a statement. Having to stall careers after childbirth due … [Read more...] about Women in developed countries more educated than men, but still earn less: OECD
GM crops needed in developing countries
GM crops needed in developing countries Ngoc Hung By Ngoc Hung - The Saigon Times Daily MANILA - Developing countries are being put under pressure of growing more genetically-modified (GM) crops as to deal with problems related to water shortage and the increase of weeds and pests, experts said at a conference in Philippine capital Manila on Tuesday. Representatives of countries and territories taking part in the biotechnology conference, including Thailand, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, South Korea, Pakistan and the Philippines, said that although GM crops are facing objections from farmers in their countries, such crops would prevail in the long run. It is because problems related to weeds and pest control along with low crop yields have forced developing economies to resort to GM crops en masse to avoid dependence on imported food products, speakers said at the conference organized by Singapore-based Croplife Asia, a non-profit organization specializing in … [Read more...] about GM crops needed in developing countries
Viettel expands in developing countries
Viettel expands in developing countries Van Oanh By Van Oanh - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – Vietnam’s telecom group Viettel has obtained a license to provide mobile services in the African country of Burundi, one of world’s poorest nations with an average gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around US$200 annually. Le Dang Dung, deputy general director of Viettel, told the Daily that Burundi has a population of over 10 million, of which around 10% use mobile services. Therefore, Viettel has seen an opportunity to invest in the market. The group is preparing to set up Viettel Burundi Company and expand its business network in the country. Viettel has seen many investment opportunities in Africa. It has plans to expand its business to three new markets every year, raising revenue from the global market to 20-30% of total revenue of the group in 2020, Dung said. Before entering Burundi, Viettel got the nod to provide services in Timor Leste, Peru, Cameroon, … [Read more...] about Viettel expands in developing countries
Drug-resistant TB spreading fast in poorer countries
Health officials gathered in Beijing on April 2 warned against deadly strains of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), which are spreading fastest in developing countries due to the lack of appropriate facilities to tackle the disease. More than half of all the new cases of TB are resistant to multiple drug treatment right from the start, and not as a direct result of substandard care, warned General Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Margaret Chan. “The alarm bells are ringing. This tells us that resistant strains are now circulating in the general population and spreading widely in a growing pool of latent infections,” he said. According to the WHO, of 9 million new TB cases annually, about 490,000 are multiple-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and about 40,000 are extensively drug resistance (XDR-TB) based on 2006 data. People with XDR-TB, which has appeared in 55 countries, have few treatment options and death rates are high. The spread of those strains could … [Read more...] about Drug-resistant TB spreading fast in poorer countries