Minimum-wage increases could appear on the ballot in as many as 34 states this year. President Obama has also proposed increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10, from $7.25. Who makes the minimum wage, and who would be affected by any of the proposed increases?
Author: WHES
Humans of Syria: Objects of pity or attractive prospective employees?
Objects of pity or attractive prospective employees? The Syrians landing on the beaches on the Greek island of Lesvos have some serious CVs. IRIN aid policy editor Imogen Wall spoke to some about the professional skills they have to offer Europe, and their career ambitions.
In South Sudan, a ghost of wars past: Child soldiers
BENTIU, South Sudan — Stretched out on a tarp on the floor of a makeshift hospital on a dirt road outside this town, a soldier in a leg cast was laughing and joking with other wounded fighters. His smile was broad and innocent, his voice not yet changed by puberty.
Ebola cases could reach 1.4 million within 4 months, CDC estimates
Yet another set of ominous projections about the Ebola epidemic in West Africa was released Tuesday, in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that gave worst- and best-case estimates for Liberia and Sierra Leone based on computer modeling.
More evidence that giving poor people money is a great cure for poverty
As solutions to global poverty go, “just give poor people money” is pretty rock solid. A recent randomized trial found that Kenyans who received no-strings attached cash from the charity GiveDirectly built more assets, bought more goods, were less hungry, and were all-around happier than those who didn’t get cash.
UN says there is unprecented demand for food aid
See Report
Land-reclamation campaign by indigenous Mapuches scorches southern Chile
ERCILLA, Chile — The Mapuche warriors of southern Chile were so fierce, they conquered the conquistadors, driving out the Spanish invaders in the 1600s.
Poverty fell and health coverage improved in 2013, but economic recovery is slow to reach many
The poverty rate dropped significantly in 2013 for the first time since 2006 and only the second time since 2000, Census data released September 16 show. Incomes were unchanged for middle-income households, and income inequality remained at or near record levels by a number of measures.
Biography of WHES board member Margie Ferris Morris
Margie Ferris-Morris, a native of Ithaca, New York, holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Nutrition Sciences. She has her own firm (Ferris-Morris Associates, LLC.) and is a free-lance consultant in the areas of conflict mitigation, food security, maternal and child health, and hunger and nutrition with over 25 years of international development and relief experience, of which seven years were spent living in developing countries. Her expertise is in performance monitoring and evaluation, food policy dialogue, health and nutrition program design and management, training, emergency health operations and conflict mitigation.
She commenced her international nutrition work in the early 80’s with the World Food Program (WFP) in Thailand, where she served as a Nutrition Coordinator for refugee camps along the Thai-Kampuchean border. Since then, she has completed assignments in 22 countries with the United Nations, nongovernmental organizations, USAID, U.S. Peace Corps’ Office of Training and Program Support (OTAPS), the National and International Red Cross and private contractors. Ferris-Morris has also worked extensively for USAID in assisting Bureaus to define food security performance indicators (democracy, education, agriculture, health and food aid) and assess mission performance in the areas of food security and humanitarian assistance.
In 2002 she worked with USAID on Ethiopian food security and famine mitigation producing a widely circulated report on famine prevention strategies. She then went on to assist the UN High Commissioner for Refugees technical staff in Geneva to produce the Practical Guide to Standards and Indicators in UNHCR Operations guide. It has been translated into three languages and circulated to UNHCR and more than 700 agencies who work with them worldwide.
Ferris-Morris has recently turned her attention to some of the root causes of hunger and malnutrition, particularly in conflict settings. She worked with USAID’s Conflict Management and Mitigation Office to define strategies, activities and indicators for peace processes, youth in conflict, land and gems conflicts. Four toolkits were produced. An important part of addressing root causes of conflict revolves around the capability of persons, families and communities to secure livelihoods so they can acquire food necessities. She continues to pursue further studies in this area as well as work opportunities.
Her academic experience includes staff on the domestic community-based nutrition surveillance program at Cornell University for four years which addressed hunger and malnutrition issues in the state of New York. Three manuals were produced for Cooperative Extension staff and community organizations involved in food security. She is currently adjunct training staff with American University’s Peace-Building and Development Institute.
Ferris-Morris lives with her husband in Falls Church, Virginia and has three children.
With Ebola crippling the health system, Liberians die of routine medical problems
MONROVIA, Liberia — While the terrifying spread of Ebola has captured the world’s attention, it also has produced a lesser-known crisis: the near-collapse of the already fragile health-care system here, a development that may be as dangerous — for now — as the virus for the average Liberian.
