Canada

Ottawa, Canada, July 12, 2010 – The Think Tank Initiative has selected 28 think tanks, or independent policy research institutions, in Latin America and South Asia to receive a total of US$35 million to strengthen their roles as influential players in national policymaking.

Peru's Minister of Finance and the Economy implements the policy advice she once gave to politicians.

Ottawa, July 12 – The Think Tank Initiative has selected 16 think tanks, or independent policy research institutions, in South Asia to receive a total of US$21 million to strengthen their roles as influential players in national policymaking.

Mexico- DDT use was eliminated with no increase in malaria, Guatemala - Chagas disease has been addressed through improvements to house construction, Amazon - Mercury poisoning was halted, by finding alternatives to the slash and burn agriculture, Malawi - Children’s health has been improved by growing legumes instead of corn.

Partners in Health (PIH), Canada’s IDRC and the I-TECH program (University of Washington), is working with the Haitian Ministry of Health to support the strengthening of Electronic Medical Records interoperability in Haiti.

Canada’s International Development Research Centre will collaborate with the Next Einstein Initiative as part of a $20 million investment by the Government of Canada in building science and technology capacity in Africa.

Rethinking land management techniques to mitigate the effects of weather-related disasters

The Board of Governors of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has written to us expressing views on the matter of IDRC Board Chairman Barbara McDougall’s overlapping membership on the Board of Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITC), which came to an end in March 2010.

Indigenous people in western Kenya have relied on the mystical abilities of the Nganyi rainmakers to predict the weather for generations.

Pakistan has achieved some economic success – mainly in agriculture and industry – despite recurring political instability since the country’s independence in 1947.

Nurturing research in times of turmoil is key to transforming societies

On May 13, 1970, the International Development Research Centre Act received royal assent, passing unanimously through Canada’s Parliament.

This article first appeared on TheMarkNews.com, a daily online Canadian forum of news and commentary.

Andy Knight wins Trailblazer award and Denis Desautels is appointed Chair of Accounting Council

IDRC is the Government of Canada’s lead for its new $225 million Development Innovation Fund, an initiative aimed at bringing together Canadian and developing-country scientists, and the private sector, to tackle persistent health challenges facing poor countries.

Early signs of a sustainable African green revolution

Mongolia — an isolated country sandwiched between Siberia and China — has become a pioneer in using the Internet as a tool for development, through a lasting partnership with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) that continues today.

The stories presented in Success Stories in Asian Aquaculture reflect the unique nature of Asian aquaculture, providing first-time insight into how and why it has become so successful.

For most of the 2,000 people who had to abandon their homes, fish farming turned misfortune into opportunity.

The Flood Hazard Research Centre (FHRC) has won one of the first ALINe Farmer Voice awards for its work with more than 200 community-based organizations (CBOs) improving floodplain management in Bangladesh.

An IDRC-supported fund in Lebanon has helped 123 Palestinian women obtain a university degree and an escape from poverty.

In the last two decades, decentralization of power and responsibilities from national to local levels has changed the face of governments around the globe. It has also given women new opportunities to participate in local politics and decision-making.

A website is helping Southeast Asian women earn an income and balance their work and home lives. Called eHomemakers, it is Southeast Asia’s only community network that promotes the use of information and communication technologies to telework and run small home businesses.

In southwestern Morocco, research to conserve and develop a valuable but threatened forest resource – argan trees – has helped to dramatically boost the income of Berber women.

The telecentre.org Foundation which improves the social and economic impact of grassroots telecentres around the world is pleased to announce that it has officially opened its doors today in the Philippines.

While only six decades old, federalism in India faces many of the same challenges as its more-established Canadian and American counterparts. Equalization, off-shore resource revenues, the environment, and urbanization are leading issues confronting the world’s largest federation.

PRESS RELEASE - Singapore, March 2, 2010 -- Close to 60 leading experts from Southeast Asia gathered for a two-day conference in Hanoi last week to discuss and present strong evidence on how environmental economics research has made an impact on development in the region.

The widespread practice of external intervention aimed at building “sustainable peace” within societies ravaged by war and violence has been a striking feature of the post-Cold War era.

Canada is in a serious competition for election to the Security Council in October this year. But the Security Council — and the global environment — have changed dramatically in the decade since Canada was last elected.