Top stories from DAWNS Digest
UN Sets Goal to End Open Defecation by 2025...The MDG target of providing basic sanitation will probably not be reached, but the UN is going all in. “It is time to talk about open defecation,” said U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, “and to discuss the facts, the consequences and the solutions.” And it is time to talk about the many countries around the world where community members, local leaders and politicians are taking positive action to end this practice, he added. According to the United Nations, about 82 percent of the 1.1 billion people practising open defecation live in just 10 countries: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Niger, Nepal, China and Mozambique. By 2025, the practice of open defecation must be totally eliminated, the United Nations has vowed. (IPS http://bit.ly/RCpGlW)
Obama Proposes 5 billion in Counter-Terrorism Aid for Africa...In his big foreign policy address to West Point graduates, President Obama unveiled a new policy initiative to train security forces in frontline states, and singled out the Sahel. ““Today, as part of this effort, I am calling on Congress to support a new Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund of up to $5 billion, which will allow us to train, build capacity and facilitate partner countries on the front lines,” Obama said. “These resources will give us flexibility to fulfill different missions, including training security forces in Yemen who’ve gone on the offensive against al-Qaeda, supporting a multinational force to keep the peace in Somalia, working with European allies to train a functioning security force and border patrol in Libya, and facilitating French operations in Mali.” (WaPo http://wapo.st/RCob78)
Image via A Better Toilet
