The biggest Eldis features of 2015

From Global Goals to climate finance and the data revolution, we look back at some of our most popular features of the year.

This has been a big year in the international development sector, with the Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals) and international climate talks dominating much of the discussion. Covering topics from gender equality, to health and climate change, our most viewed news stories and blog posts of the year reflect these big debates.

January

Undervalued and unrecognised: the importance of women’s unpaid care work for the post-2015 agenda

In January the Global Care Advocacy Workshop helped strengthen collaboration between those advocating for stronger policy and legislation on care work – paid and unpaid. The event, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand was co-hosted by Asia Pacific Forum for Women Law and Development, ActionAid International, Helevtas Nepal and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

February

Making sense of climate finance - and why is it important?

Eldis launched a new Key Issues Guide to Climate Finance in February, produced in collaboration with the Climate Funds Update project. It includes relevant data and research from a rich range of diverse sources, including multimedia and is accompanied by a five minute film in which co-author, Alice Caravani talks through some of the key components.

March

CSW marks 20 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

Eldis covered the annual 59th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) in New York before and after the event, which took place from 9-20 March. The event marked the 20 year anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on gender equality and women’s rights.

April

Launch of new Centre for Rising Powers and Global Development (CRPD)

The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other rapidly-changing and increasingly influential middle-income countries, such as Indonesia and Mexico, are now recognised as epicentres of development policy innovation, as well as drivers of global growth.

In April, experts from China, India and Brazil and the UK met Beijing to discuss the role of the rising powers in defining and implementing a new era of global sustainable development.

May

A data revolution for development

At the end of April the Cartagena Data Festival took place in in Colombia, covering the new world of bigger, faster and more detailed data in the implementation of the Global Goals. This news story links to interviews with experts Elizabeth Stuart and Paul Ladd, as well as an IDS blog post discussing the need for inclusiveness to be at the heart of any data revolution for development.

June

Making the connections: the new SDGs and SRHR

In another of the Eldis SDG series, Marion Stevens, of WISH Associates and Research the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, shared her reflections on how the Global Goals were shaping up, particularly how they address sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

July

Countdown to COP21 in Paris: New expectations for Africa or the same old circus?

In this blog post, Johnson Nkem, Senior Climate Adaptation Expert at the African Climate Policy Centre discussed possible development trajectories for Africa, in response to climate change. He covered climate finance, Africa’s adaptation burden and raises some questions about the future.

August

Measuring women’s participation and leadership in the SDGs: Beyond women in parliaments

How can we measure progress on gender equality? This was the issue tackled by Maria Vlahakis of VSO and Abigail Hunt of Womankind Worldwide in their blog post about the Global Goals. They argue that the Goals have the potential to transform the lives of women and girls – if accompanied by equally ambitious indicators.

September

A post-2015 development agenda that leaves nobody behind must include mental health

As we approached the formal adoption of the Global Goals, Nicole Votruba of the FundaMentalSDG initiative warned that they risked leaving people with mental health problems behind – as many as 450 million people around the world. She argued that good mental health is crucial for sustainable development and a prerequisite for achieving many of the Goals' priorities.

October

The SDGs must leave no one behind

Another look at the Global Goals, this time from Tanvi Bhatkal of the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) who called for a shift in attitude and policy when it comes to the poorest and most marginalised groups of people. There is also a short film, made in Ghana, which illustrates what life can be like when you’re part of a group being ‘left behind’.

November

Engaging Men and Boys for Gender Equality

In its November update, the Eldis Gender Resource Guide covered the in demand topic of working with men and boys for gender equality. The collection included key evidence-based research reports and regional case studies the role of men in care giving, domestic work and fatherhood; ending sexual violence and child marriage; and the need for policies to better engage men in gender equality.

December

Climate smart agriculture: Unlocking the puzzle

As the international climate negotiations took place in Paris, Eldis published a new Key Issues Guide on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA). In this blog post the guide’s author, Jules Siedenburg, discusses CSA approaches, highlighting how they could offer potential answers to how agricultural production could cope with climate change and how farming practices could or should respond.

Photos: 1) International Women's Day march, 8 March 2015 in New York City. By UN Women, under a CC License. 2) Ganga Adhikari from Bindabasini,Nepal who is one of a group mobilizing for women's rights. By Peter Caton/VSO. Banner image: By Alex Ragone, under a CC License