Zenebe B. Uraguchi

The contribution of agriculture to the economy of Bangladesh is declining, but its role in poverty reduction – for income and employment generation – is still significant. Key services, mainly provided by public agricultural extension agencies, however, are either lacking or underperforming, failing to meet the demands of predominantly smallholder and poor farmers.

Young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) are losing hope and making drastic choices. Between 2006 and 2012, some 150,000 people left, mostly for the EU, the US and Australia. The reasons are much the same as for the more prominent exodus from Albania and Kosovo: an overall unemployment rate of 43% over the past five years.

Currently, about 73 million youth worldwide are looking for work. Those who succeed in finding employment are typically hired into low-skilled, low-productivity positions, often in the informal sector.

Super Typhoon Haiyan, locally know as Yolanda, struck Eastern Samar and Leyte in November 2013, affecting more than 14 million people. Large volumes of aid poured into the area right after the disaster. Now the emergency phase is over. Yet a number of international aid agencies continue providing direct assistance to the typhoon-affected communities.

Access to and use of enough and safe water enable poor women and men to lead a healthy life by improving the quality of drinking water and reducing water-borne diseases. Better functioning water treatment and safe storage system addresses unimproved water sources and unsafe or unreliable water supplies.