The latest issue of the Developments magazine has
a feature on "smart aid," highlighting five areas of focus to make development aid more effective.
1. Educated Girls Change Worlds
With 75 million children still not going to school, more focus must be placed on education, especially for girls, who make up the majority of that figure.
2. Water and Sanitation Life Savers
With 2.5 billion people with no access to basic sanitation and 884 million with no access to safe water, more must be done to provide these basic human rights to people.
3. Small Loans Big Results
Small loans change lives, particularly for women, leading to better nutrition, health and education for millions of families.
4. Killer Diseases on the Run
Preventable diseases such as malaria must be eradicated. Healthy people are better able to work, go to school and contribute to the economy.
5. Research Drives Development
More research must be focused on the poor. Currently, only 10% of the global spend on health research looks at issues affecting the poorest (90%) of the world’s population.