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Analysis: Why Nuclear Power Is Moving Back Into the Global Development Agenda
Nuclear power is moving back into the development-finance debate as the IAEA and World Bank Group deepen cooperation on reliable, low-carbon electricity. The shift comes as emerging economies face rising power demand, widening investment needs and growing pressure to expand energy access without locking in higher emissions.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Global
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Research: Microplastic Pollution Can Fuel Rise in Antibiotic Resistance
Plastic pollution and drug-resistant infections are usually regarded as separate global crises. But emerging research suggests links between them: Microplastic particles in the environment are colonized by bacteria, and those bacteria develop antibiotic resistance at an unprecedented rate.
- Categories
- Health Care, WASH
- Region
- Global
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Mastering the Art of Stewardship: Why Building Operational Sovereignty — Not Simply Navigating Funding Cuts — Will Define Africa’s Healthcare Future
In response to drastic cuts in global health financing, African governments are increasingly seeking greater health sovereignty — i.e., the ability to manage their health systems without structural dependence on external actors. But according to Scott Dubin at Logistics Marketplace, limited fiscal space is complicating their efforts to replace the often-fragmented and overlapping support structures that have long been provided by multilateral health funds, international NGOs and other outside entities. He explores how Africa's movement toward health sovereignty is revealing deeper capacity gaps in the continent's health systems, and proposes seven practical ways governments can effectively steward the markets and systems that support public health delivery.
- Categories
- Health Care
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Namibia Draws a Line as Starlink Faces Fresh Regulatory Roadblock
Southern African nation reinforces local ownership rules, delaying Elon Musk’s satellite internet ambitions and highlighting a broader debate over foreign investment in Africa’s telecom sector.
- Categories
- Technology, Telecommunications
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: New Echelon Insights Survey Commissioned by Rockefeller Foundation: Most Americans Back Foreign Aid a Year After USAID’s End
A majority (54%) across the political spectrum remains favorable toward foreign aid a year after USAID's dismantlement, and 8 in 10 say the path forward is to reform and strengthen foreign aid — not eliminate it.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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World Bank Backs Cambodia’s $115-Million Clean Energy Push, Flags Environmental Risks
The program will be implemented nationwide, covering both urban and rural areas, including Phnom Penh and the eastern provinces.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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IFC Backs CrossBoundary Access with US $10 Million Equity Investment
This investment supports the continued construction and expansion of CrossBoundary Access’s portfolio of distributed renewable energy assets, including mini-grids, battery-as-a-service (BaaS), and adjacent technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Energy, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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After the Grant Ends: Why Rural Water Utilities Fail — And What We Learned from Building One
For decades, rural water projects in low- and middle-income countries have followed a familiar pattern: Infrastructure is built, communities are trained, a ribbon is cut — and within a few years, the system stops working. After leading the early operations of Max TapWater, a social enterprise providing piped water in rural Bangladesh, Saif Islam identified a fundamental reason for these failures: Investment continues to prioritize capital infrastructure over the operational and maintenance budget needed to sustain it. He explores this challenge, and shares other lessons he has learned about how rural water facilities can sustain operations beyond the grant period.
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