Humanitarian Aid

Reliance on quality produce from Africa prompted Albert Heijn to undertake aid projects. Photo: Erik Mandell for MercyCorps

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Aid for profit? Dutch supermarket giant says ‘sure’

A Dutch company looks to combine international aid with corporate profit, according to allAfrica.com.

Critics say developed countries have broken promises for international aid. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/5491899695/">UK Department for International Development (flickr)</a>

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As international aid patterns shift, microfinance picks up the slack

With cause for concern about the future of international aid amid the financial crisis faced by rich countries, some developing nations find microfinance playing an increasing role in fueling local growth.

Aid can restore dignity by providing choices. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps

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Alternatives to food aid can transform economies for good

Food aid can fill bellies, but countries hit by famine need choices, not handouts. Two new alternatives can solve longer-term problems by letting victims choose how aid gets used.

First, cash voucher programs give people choice.

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Five years of microlending in less than five minutes (video)

Check out what over five years of Kiva microlending looks like:

Community members in Indonesia were asked to rank their own need, resulting in much higher satisfaction in aid programs. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/5639866380/sizes/m/in/photostream/">CIFOR (flickr)</a>

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Hot new trick for identifying the poor: Letting neighbors rank each other

Sometimes social scientists measure wealth and poverty by earnings; other times by assets. But the truth is, most people use a much simpler approach. They compare themselves to their neighbors.

The Invisible Problem. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/carljones/2632941483/in/photostream">carl.jones (flickr)</a>

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The invisible problem in global development

The world is facing a "global human rights emergency in mental health," says the World Health Organization (WHO) via the Guardian. It's a quiet crisis keeping millions out of the global marketplace.

Lionel Messi, considered the world's top football player at the moment, takes aim at more than just the back of the net. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34103436@N06/3176052482/">prettyfriendship (flickr)</a>

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FC Barcelona Takes a Shot at Polio Eradication

Many of us dream of bending it like Beckham. But star-quality soccer — football, to most of its 250 million players worldwide — is almost impossible without a healthy childhood.

Is cold, hard cash more or less helpful to those in need than conditional aid? Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtyerse/3954240271/">jtyerse (flickr)</a>

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Taking Away Conditions for Aid: Innovative or Counterproductive?

Economics is about choices. What I spend money on is what I value most, because it comes at the cost of something else. People are rational, and thus make rational decisions—right?

With new border policies, humanitarian aid cargo may finally be allowed into Gaza. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/theroadtothehorizon/3247861870/">Peter Casier (flickr)</a>

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Gaza's Precious Seventh Border

Derar Mohamed, our blogger from Gaza, writes on the economic and social issues facing the Middle East today.

In post-earthquake Haiti, members of the Bohoc community rehabilitate and widen a road. Photo: Lisa Hoashi/Mercy Corps.

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Post-Disaster Economies: Putting the Pieces Back Together, Better

In minutes, everything was gone.

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Tips from Ashoka's Top Social Entrepreneurs

One room, packed with 1,000 bustling social entrepreneurs, is bound to muster innovative ideas to change the world. It’s the Ashoka Changemakers association that makes it possible.

A father with his child in Bali. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jedavillabali/5011303336/">Jeda Villa Bali (flickr)</a>

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Absent Dads: Men find little support in world's antipoverty agenda

The UN has pledged to promote gender equality. So why are social development initiatives ignoring men?

While corn is not native to Malawi, it has become the country's staple crop. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nglklm/5081662199/">Nathan Laurell (flickr)</a>

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The Successes (and Failures) of Seed Subsidies in Malawi

Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life; if you give a family seeds, do you feed them forever?

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Staging a Sit-in to Demand a Future in Assam

Last May, about 40 teens showed up at Mercy Corps' India office in Assam to stage a sit-in. They had hired a truck to take them from their homes surrounding the Maud Tea Estate to Mercy Corps' Assam office...not an easy drive.