This article talks about a continuing partnership between Walmar, Sam's Club, and Feeding America. The initative is an ongoing attempt to combat hunger in the US and drive change. The initiative has 3 pieces to it. Walmart and Sam's Club run a fundraising campaigin where customers have the option to donate to the charity. Employees and volunteers will participate in food banks in the communities. And then finally they work to raise public awareness.

To conclude, the article emphasizes the importance of the collabaritive efforts of these three organizatoins, and states what the importance of this project is.

Walmart, Sam's Club and Feeding America Partner Again to Fight Hunger.

Spark Change in the Movement to End Hunger

Now in its 11^th year, the annual cause marketing campaign has helped Feeding America^® food banks secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger in local communities.

CHICAGO, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 11^th consecutive year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs are teaming up with their customers, members, suppliers and associates for the annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign to support the Feeding America^® network of partner food banks.

Since its inception in 2014, Fight Hunger. Spark Change. has generated more than $186 million for Feeding America and local food banks, helping to secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger.

"Walmart and Sam's Club have demonstrated extraordinary commitment over the course of our partnership. With partnerships like this, we can end hunger in this country," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America's CEO. "They understand the importance of fresh, nutritious food for thriving communities, and their support transcends beyond dollars and pounds - together with people facing hunger, our teams are helping to build new pathways to equitable food access for all."

The campaign will run online and in stores from April 1-April 29. Shoppers have three easy ways to support neighbors in need:

• For every participating product purchased in store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam's Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
   
• Donate at check-out in stores or clubs or online at Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
   
• Donate at Feeding America's Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign site at either www.FeedingAmerica.org/Walmart or www.FeedingAmerica.org/SamsClub.

During the campaign, all donations stay local. Sales-activated supplier donations and register donations are directed to a local Feeding America partner food bank located within a store or club's community.

"Serving communities and expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart and Sam's Club's purpose to help people live better," said Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President, Walmart Foundation. "Our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is a way that we invite our customers, members and suppliers to fight hunger alongside us. The funds raised through this campaign go toward local Feeding America food banks, meaning we can all make a difference in our own neighborhoods."

For nearly 20 years, Walmart, Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation have worked with Feeding America, local food banks, food pantries and meals programs to transform the charitable food experience, supporting Feeding America and local food banks with more than $240 million in investments – nearly $160 million from the company and the Walmart Foundation and nearly $85 million from customers and members.

The 20 participating suppliers for Walmart include: Bush Brothers & Company; CELSIUS^® Essential Energy Drink; The Coca-Cola Company; Conagra Brands; Dole Packaged Foods; Ferrara; Ferrero; General Mills; The Hain Celestial Group; Hershey Salty Snacks; Hidden Valley Ranch; Kellanova; W.K. Kellogg Company; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kodiak; Kraft Heinz; Monster Energy; Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Unilever

The 8 participating suppliers for Sam's Club include: General Mills; W.K. Kellogg Company; Kraft Heinz; Nestlé; Nissin; Nongshim; Palmetto Gourmet Foods, A Borealis Foods Company; Unilever

To learn more about the campaign, visit https://www.feedingamerica.org/campaigns/fight-hunger-spark-change. 

*Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America^® on behalf of local partner food banks.

This article talks about the new initiative from the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors aimed at SDG's in India. There are a few key points the article emphasizes with the initiative. The initiative emphasizes the importance of working in collaboration with local government to roll out SDG plans. The focus areas for this initiative are: healthcare, education, geneder equality, and environmental sustainability. The initiative also aims to track the impact of different projects in order to make sure that they are being as effecient as possible. It's a long term comittment from the RPA toward advancing SDG's in India.

A new initiative to achieve the Sustainable Development 

Goals in India

As India marked its national holiday of Diwali, the SDG Philanthropy Platform, a growing collaborative promoting sustainable development, announced its second founding supporter for the initiative in India – the Avasant Foundation. The Platform in India will connect and catalyze partnerships between philanthropic organizations, grantees and partners, the UN system, government, academia, impact investors and the broader business community in order to accelerate achievement of Agenda 2030 – a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – agreed by all the world’s governments in September 2015. The Platform’s website www.sdgfunders.org will also document how philanthropy is investing in the SDGs across India and promote exchange across those working on shared goals.

Work in India will focus on ending poverty, ensuring inclusive, quality education, achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment, and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all. The Platform was launched in 2014 with support from the Conrad N. Hilton, Ford and The MasterCard Foundations, with a number of other funders joining over the last year, including Oak Foundation support for the work in India. Kevin Parikh, Chairman of Avasant Foundation, noted that “advancing the Sustainable Development Goals is critical to Avasant Foundation’s mission of empowering disadvantaged youth across the globe. The partnership with the SDG Philanthropy Platform illustrates how we are aligned in our mission for India given our focus on quality education, gender equality, and decent work and economic growth.” Avasant Foundation’s Executive Director Chitra Rajeshwari sees the “challenges, but even more the opportunities, to make real progress working together – not only in India but in other countries around the world,” and is helping to plan the 2017 launch.

Radhika Shah, Co-President of Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs and an Advisor to the Platform, linked the vision of Agenda 2030 with India’s most famous visionary – Mahatma Gandhi. “We are excited to launch the SDG Philanthropy Platform in the land of Mahatma Gandhi to advance his vision of a world that respects the dignity of every human being via self-reliance. We aim to bring together very different but equally committed stakeholders from within India and outside. We will draw on outstanding entrepreneurial and systems-change approaches from Stanford University and UCLA, and link technology innovation from networks such as Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs, the South Asian diaspora in Silicon Valley, and universities in India including the IITs.” Heather Grady, a Vice President at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, welcomed Avasant Foundation into the SDG Philanthropy Platform. “We applaud Avasant Foundation for being the first member of the India Founders Circle and, along with the Oak Foundation, helping to catalyze philanthropy’s commitment to collaborative approaches to the SDGs in India.”

This week’s announcement follows a commitment made by the Platform team at the 7^th Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, hosted by President Obama, in Silicon Valley in June 2016. The 8^th Summit in 2017 will be held in India. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/06/24/fact-sheet-global-entrepreneurship-summit)

For more information, and to find out how to become a supporter of the SDG Philanthropy Platform in India, contact Radhika Shah at radhika@cs.stanford.edu or Karolina Mzyk-Callias at karolina.myzk@undp.org.

Follow the discussion on Twitter: #phil2015 @philSDGs

About The SDG Philanthropy Platform

The SDG Philanthropy Platform informs and catalyzes collaboration through building awareness and connections between those working in the philanthropy sector and beyond. Launched by the United Nations Development Program, Foundation Center, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in 2014, the Platform has brought together hundreds of foundations and philanthropists across many countries to create new partnerships to increase funding and create programs that will have greater, and more sustainable, impact on people’s lives. For more information, visit sdgfunders.org.

This article covers the UK's commitment to providing a substantial boost in support of global health efforts. The UK's announcment had a few key points. They pledged to provide increased financial and technical assistance to global health initiatives. Some emphasized areas were combatting infectious diseases, improving access to healthcare services, and strengthening health systems. The UK is committing long term to working with global health agencies to tackle health challenges.

UK announces “transformational” support to boost global 

health at the UK General Assembly

New UK funding will help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals by boosting health security and improving health and wellbeing around the world.

From:Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Department of Health and Social Care, Will Quince MP, and The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP

This article examines how the United State's pandemic response policies impacted income inequalities across the board. The pandemic relief measures that were implemented have affected income distribution and have had some effect on low income households. The biggest thing that comes to mind is stimulus payments. This was primarily targeted toward lower income families and worked to help alleviate financial hardship. Another improvement was unemployment benefits, which helped alleviate some financial burden from unemployed indiviuals during the pandemic.

The article ends by acknowledgint the importance of all of these steps, but als emphasizing that more can be done to help alleviate income disparities.

New CBO Report Shows Pandemic Response Sharply

Reduced Inequality, Increased Progressivity in 2020

This article covers the Governors initiative of reuducing the carbon footprint of hospitals. It has a few key points. The initiative is targetting hospitals as they are significant energy sinks that produce a fair bit of waste. The initiative wants to limit the waste production from hospitals. The initative also wants to implement sustainable practices that reduce greenhouse emissions. Finally, the initiative wants to increase the amount of people in leadership positions related to climate action at the state level.

Hochul launches climate action pilot for New York hospitals

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a pioneering climate action pilot program aimed at New York hospitals, marking a first-in-the-nation initiative. The voluntary program offers up to $1 million in premium credits to hospitals insured by the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) that commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and bolstering their resilience against extreme weather events. This initiative is part of Hochul’s broader commitment to creating a sustainable future for New Yorkers, complemented by recent fiscal allocations in the FY 2025 budget to advance state climate goals.

During the announcement, NYSIF Executive Director and CEO Gaurav Vasisht highlighted the critical role of the healthcare sector in addressing the climate crisis. He pointed out the sector’s substantial greenhouse gas contributions and the public health challenges posed by rising temperatures, which have been linked to an increase in workplace injuries and illnesses.

The program not only incentivizes hospitals to reduce their environmental impact but also provides them with financial and strategic support to develop and implement comprehensive climate action plans. These plans are expected to cover both direct and indirect emissions, including those from the supply chain, and emphasize enhancing hospital resilience to climate-related disruptions. NYSIF will also offer risk control services to aid hospitals, particularly those in rural areas, in implementing effective climate strategies.

This article talks about the Bloomberg Philanthropies 200 million dollar committment to supporting mayors that are tacking climate change. The initative is aiming to increase the impact of local governments progress toward climate goals by empowering local officials. The funding is going to primarily be directed towards climate related initatives that are doing things like: reducing carbon emissions, increasing urban sustainability, and alleviating risks of extreme weather events. The article heavily emphasizes the importance of collaborating with local governments to increase effectiveness and address the right needs.

Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces $200 Million

Commitment to Support U.S. Mayors Taking on Climate

Change

This article analyzes some recent data that's come out related to Califronia's initatives for clean energy. Califronia has increased it's capability for clean energy sources, and seen a substantial growth in installations of clean energy like solar or wind. California has also worked on changing/improving their grid to maximize the outputs of clean enrgy. California has also seen some economic boosts with these initiatives in the form of job creation and cost saving.

All of this data is in line with Californias continued goal of climate actions.

New Data Shows Investments to Build California’s Clean 

Energy Grid of the Future are Paying Off

ACRAMENTO — Non-fossil-fuel sources now make up 61 percent of retail electricity sales in California thanks to historic investment that has led to an extraordinary pace of development in new clean energy generation, according to the latest data compiled by the California Energy Commission (CEC). Sources eligible under the Renewables Portfolio Standard such as solar and wind make up 39 percent of the state power mix, an increase of 2 percent compared to the previous year, while large hydro and nuclear made up a combined 22 percent. 

“Nearly every week, new clean energy projects are being added to the grid, moving us closer and closer to our goal of a clean, affordable and reliable energy system in California,” said CEC Chair David Hochschild. 

Ahead of National Infrastructure Week, the CEC and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) are highlighting the state’s progress to build the clean energy grid of the future.

• Since 2020, new energy projects statewide have brought more than 16,000 MW of new energy resources online, mostly solar and battery storage.
• Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom celebratedthe state’s build-out of storage resources, which now exceeds 10,000 MW.
• To maintain progress, the CPUC has ordered 18,800 MW of new clean resources to come online by 2028.

“I want to congratulate the many agencies, groups and organizations whose work has led to the success of California’s clean energy efforts,” said CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda. “Your tireless work is helping us march forward toward a more sustainable future.”

WHY IT MATTERS: California is in the middle of the biggest transformation of its power grid in a century. The continued rise in renewables and decline in fossil fuel use comes as the state experiences an unprecedented barrage of climate impacts, from heat waves to drought and wildfires.

WHERE DOLLARS ARE GOING: One way the CEC has invested infrastructure dollars recently is to develop advancements in storage of clean energy.

wer grid – storing energy from renewable sources like solar during the day to use when solar drops off in the evening hours. 

Most of the battery energy storage systems online today can discharge to the grid for four hours, however the CEC is looking to the future by investing in battery projects that discharge for longer periods. The following grants have been issued for long-duration battery storage projects around the state:

• $30 million for a company to build a demonstration project for a 100-hour iron air battery storage system at a PG&E substation in Mendocino County.
• Tens of millions of dollars for long-duration storage projects for tribes, including the Paskenta Tribe of Nomlaki Indians in Tehema Count

Thanks to state budget investments and funding from the Biden-Harris administration, California has $41 billion at work to help build a 100 percent clean electric grid, strengthen the state’s water resiliency and boost water supply, and modernize our transportation system.  to explore the many projects happening throughout the state. 

RELATED RESOURCES: To help visualize the state’s progress toward 100 percent clean electricity, the CEC maintains a suite of interactive tools with downloadable data on the following topics: 

• Estimated Annual Clean Energy
• Estimated Annual Renewable Portfolio Standard-Certified Renewable Energy
• 2020 Renewable Portfolio Standard-Certified Renewables

This article addresses some concerns in Pittsburgh about the drinking water in public schools based on recent tests. Recent tests have shown an elevated level of lead in the waters of multiple school buildings across the city. To combat this, the district has come up with a couple different initiatives. They have shut down water sources with increased lead contamination, as well as offering clean alternative like water bottles. In the mean time, the city is communicating with it's citizens about the progress of fixing this lead contamination.

Pittsburgh Public School officials unveil new initiatives to

limit lead in drinking water

Hundreds of non-filtered water fountains across Pittsburgh Public Schools have been replaced in a districtwide project aimed at minimizing the threat of lead in drinking water.

Standing in the brightly painted playground at Dilworth PreK-5 in East Liberty, district officials along with those from PennEnvironment, a Pittsburgh-based environmental program, celebrated the project, officially completed last summer, which brought 904 chilled lead filtering drinking fountains and 391 filtered bottle filling stations to 70 Pittsburgh Public facilities.

The $5.5 million project first started in 2016 as part of the district’s Drinking Water Quality Management Initiative, which aimed to change out water filtration systems and test for lead.

“Our schools are places where our kids go to learn, achieve, build lifelong friendships and grow up to be productive citizens in society,” David Masur, PennEnvironment’s executive director, said during the event, which fell during National Drinking Water Week.

But, he said, Pennsylvania children who spend the majority of their time in school buildings are often faced with lead in their drinking water throughout the school day.

“With the proactive and comprehensive steps taken by the Pittsburgh Public Schools to get the lead out, children, parents, teachers, other school staff and community members now receive the highest standards of protection from this dangerous and pervasive contaminant,” Mr. Masur said.

In all, school buildings, field houses and administrative facilities are now fitted with new filter systems in all water foundations. Water bottle filling stations have also been attached to drinking fountains, featuring a sensor that automatically fills a bottle when it is placed in the station. The district also added 175 lead-filtering sink outlets to early childhood education classrooms and some nurses offices throughout the district.

The goal is to fight against lead, which can seriously harm a child’s health and cause adverse effects such as damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, and problems with learning and behavior as well as hearing and speech, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Those impacts can cause a lower IQ, decreased ability to pay attention and underperformance in school.

But as things currently stand, Pennsylvania districts are not required to test for lead in drinking water under the Public School Code, which instead encourages them to test, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The code does require districts to implement a plan if results exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards stating that lead levels cannot exceed 15 parts per billion. It also says schools that do not test need to discuss lead issues at public meetings.

But according to a 2021 report by Women for a Healthy Environment, of 65 Pennsylvania school districts surveyed, 91% found lead in their water.

Lawmakers have been working to change standards around lead testing in schools. Last year, state Sen. Devlin J. Robinson, a Bridgeville Republican, along with two other state senators introduced legislation that would require old drinking fountains get replaced with lead-filtering water stations by 2025. The legislation was referred to the education committee.

At Pittsburgh Public, officials first launched the Drinking Water Quality Management Initiative in 2016, which required testing for lead every three years and the replacement of water filtration systems throughout school buildings. The decision, Sanjeeb Manandhar, Pittsburgh Public’s environmental and sustainability manager, said, was a “proactive measure.”

Under that initiative, district officials began conducting comprehensive testing of all drinking water fountains, as well as other outlets throughout school buildings. At the time, 2.8% showed lead levels exceeding standards then set by the Environmental Protection Agency of 20 parts per billion. Testing is now done every three years, with the last samples taken during the 2022-23 school year. At that time, 2.4% of the 2,364 samples taken showed lead levels above 15 parts per billion, the new EPA standard. Any faucet or fountain exceeding those levels was shut off and action was taken by the district to remediate, replace or repair the fixtures.

The second part of the initiative focused on replacing filtration systems at all district fountains to “ensure the availability of clean, high-quality water that has zero lead,” Mr. Manandhar said.

Superintendent Wayne Walters said the completion of that goal is a “monumental achievement.”

“By prioritizing water safety through our filter-first approach we reaffirm our commitment to providing nurturing school environments that facilitate learning and growth,” Mr. Walters said.

Onya Baek, a fifth grader at Dilworth, added that she uses water bottle filling stations daily.

“It’s very nice that we get to drink clean water,” Onya said. “I wish everybody in the world could drink clean water. Everybody in the district, the whole country and the whole world.”

Officials are now hopeful Pittsburgh Public will become a “national leader” in the fight against lead in school drinking water and will serve as a role model for other districts across the region and state.

Mr. Masur, noting that Pittsburgh Public is the state’s second-largest district that is also a high-needs district, said the project is “totally achievable” and is not a “pie in the sky idea. The technology exists today and it’s just a question of will school districts have the desire and will to follow the leadership of PPS to make these projects possible.”

For Mr. Walters, putting students first in both academics and health is a “no brainer.”

“Take the lead,” Mr. Walters said. “Take the lead on something that is important to the lives of our children that we serve daily.”

This article talks about the South African governments pilot program (Gender equality framework) across it's different agencies. The GEF is trying to promote gender equality in the work place. It does this by addressed different gender disparities going on. The government is trying to bridge the gender pay gap, as well as give more opportunities for women in the work place. They are also working on increasing equality in the workplace as far as treatment of employees goes.

Tackling the persistent gender pay gap, South African

government departments pilot gender equality framework, 

and more

Evidence-based tools to tackle the persistent gender pay gap

At a recent Global Government Forum webinar, experts from the UK and Canada shared thoughts on why the gender pay gap has proved so tough to tackle, and what needs to happen now.

Information is power: In February, the Government of Canada launched the Equi’Vision online tool, which provides information on representation rates and pay gaps in the federally regulated private sector for the four groups covered by the Employment Equity Act: women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, and members of visible minorities.

Renée Roussel, director general, Federal Programs – Labour Program, Employment and Social Development Canada, called it a “first of its kind” and said: “This initiative provides the information needed so that employers and employees can find solutions to recognise the value of all workers.”

A complex problem: Analysis finds that the gender pay gap in the UK now stands at 14.3%. “And this gets worse as you get older,” said Lucille Thirlby, assistant general secretary of the FDA, a trade union representing senior civil servants. Further, disabled women face the highest pay gap at 35% compared to non-disabled men, which Thirlby said is the equivalent of £7,000 a year.

She highlighted the “complex, varied and long-term” root causes of gender pay gaps, from direct discrimination to structural factors, such as occupational segregation, the part-time pay penalty, women’s disproportionate responsibility for unpaid caring, and women’s concentration in “low-paid, highly feminised sectors”.

What works: Kadie Philp, commissioner and chief administrative officer, Pay Equity Commission of Ontario, observed that: “In countries, provinces or sub-national governments that have some form of reporting requirements, we see the gender wage gap closing much quicker.”

She highlighted work the province is doing to tackle some of the systemic issues raised, such as Ontario’s Pay Equity Act, established in 1987, and outlined how Ontario was the first globally to introduce the concept of pay equity as equal pay for work of equal value. The Pay Equity Office also provides a range of tools to support employers.

Read the full webinar summary and replay the event.

South African government departments to pilot gender equality framework

South Africa’s Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has launched a pilot project where select departments will implement the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Gender Equality Seal.

Gender mainstreaming: The framework enables public institutions to assess their gender responsiveness and take measures to enhance performance in key areas such as gender mainstreaming, leadership and accountability, gender-responsive service delivery, and workplace gender equality.

Practical measures include capacity-building, self-assessment, action plan development, and a final assessment.

Public service reform: Yoliswa Makhasi, the director-general of the DPSA, said that the Gender Seal is an integral part of broader interventions aimed at reforming the public service to effectively address societal challenges. “By integrating gender considerations into our policies and practices, we aim to foster a more equitable and prosperous society for all,” she commented.

Pilot departments: Selected national and provincial departments will participate in the pilot phase of the Gender Equality Seal Project. At the national level, these include but are not limited to: the Department of Public Service and Administration, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and the Department of Transport.

Roadmap: Gabriel Dava, deputy resident representative of the UNDP, said the Gender Equality Seal will serve as a roadmap for South Africa’s public institutions to accelerate programmes towards gender equality while also strengthening service delivery and accountability to national development goals.

Webinar: Hybrid working and women civil servants

3 October: Online

This webinar will look at the benefits of fitting work around caring responsibilities at home and the potential risk that women who are not in the office as often have less influence in team decisions.

Register now

Fears that women could bear the brunt of New Zealand’s public service cuts

As job cuts continue across New Zealand government departments, the Public Service Association (PSA) has warned that women could be hit hardest.

Behind the cuts: The conservative coalition government, elected in October, asked agencies to make savings of between 6.5% and 7.5% as it attempts to reduce spending on public services by around NZ$1.5 billion (US$890 million).

Tertiary Education Commission announcement: In April, staff at the Tertiary Education Commission were told that the organisation is cutting 28 roles including administration and clerical roles like executive assistants, administrators, executive officers and the business support team.

Of the 28, nine roles are vacant, and three-quarters of the remaining roles are filled by women, the PSA said.

‘Disproportionate’ impact: “Every day we are seeing the price public service workers are paying to fund the government’s tax cuts, and these fall disproportionately on work largely carried out by women at TEC,” said Kerry Davies, national secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

“We’re concerned that this pattern will be replicated across the public service as agencies cut staff.”

In February, PSA assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons warned that “the history of public sector cuts in New Zealand is that women suffer disproportionately”.

Back-office roles: The National Party, which leads the government, campaigned on cutting “back-office expenditure” in public agencies, as part of its ‘Back Pocket Boost’ tax plan.

Data from the Public Service Commission shows that women are more likely to work in clerical and administrative positions, and HR, legal, and policy-related roles.

Finance minister Nicola Willis has said that “women have everything to gain from a government that takes care to spend their tax dollars wisely”.

Training: Women into leadership

Global Government Forum is running two stand-alone but complementary seminars that look at a wide range of issues affecting women who are either looking to move into leadership roles, or who are already in such roles, and who wish to equip themselves for a further upwards move.

Find out more about session one on 24 October and session two on 7 November.

UK government urged to address local elections gender gap

As local elections took place in the UK last week, analysis from women’s rights charity The Fawcett Society and election data provider Democracy Club revealed that just 34% of local election candidates were women.

No progress: The organisations said the findings reflect “a worrying lack of progress” since they last released these figures in 2021, when 33% of candidates who stood were women, and no progress following their last analysis of women’s representation on councils which found that 36% of councillors were women.

“It is clear that without significant and urgent further action, women will continue to remain under-represented when crucial decisions are made about their daily lives,” a statement said.

The data also revealed that just 26% of police and crime commissioner candidates and 27% of mayoral candidates in the latest elections were women.

Way down the list: No party had gender parity in its candidates standing for local election in England, with Labour and the Green Party doing best at 41% and Reform UK having just 22% female candidates. In a list of the most common names of candidates, a woman’s name does not appear until position 17.

Where are all the women? Alesha De-Freitas, Fawcett Society head of policy, research and advocacy, said: “51% of the population but just 34% of the candidates – where are all the women?

“Despite knowing that women tend to be more significantly impacted by local decisions, as we are more likely to rely on council-run services like social care, we are failing to make real progress on women’s representation at local level.

“We urgently need government to collect candidate diversity data – we simply don’t even have the numbers on how bad the situation is for Black and minoritised women. And we need to make being a local councillor accessible to representatives who have caring responsibilities.”

Call to action: The Fawcett Society is calling for government, political parties and local councils to act now to increase women’s representation.

It calls for the government specifically to require political parties to collect their own candidate diversity data; introduce a statutory England-wide, comprehensive parental leave policy for councillors; and introduce a four-term limit for councillors to tackle the problem that more men tend to remain councillors for longer, limiting the opportunities for women to stand. It also calls for a formalised funding scheme for disabled candidates in England to be reinstated.

This article talks about a continuing partnership between Walmar, Sam's Club, and Feeding America. The initative is an ongoing attempt to combat hunger in the US and drive change. The initiative has 3 pieces to it. Walmart and Sam's Club run a fundraising campaigin where customers have the option to donate to the charity. Employees and volunteers will participate in food banks in the communities. And then finally they work to raise public awareness.

To conclude, the article emphasizes the importance of the collabaritive efforts of these three organizatoins, and states what the importance of this project is.

Now in its 11^th year, the annual cause marketing campaign has helped Feeding America^® food banks secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger in local communities.

CHICAGO, April 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- For the 11^th consecutive year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs are teaming up with their customers, members, suppliers and associates for the annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign to support the Feeding America^® network of partner food banks.

Since its inception in 2014, Fight Hunger. Spark Change. has generated more than $186 million for Feeding America and local food banks, helping to secure nearly 1.9 billion meals* for people facing hunger.

"Walmart and Sam's Club have demonstrated extraordinary commitment over the course of our partnership. With partnerships like this, we can end hunger in this country," said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, Feeding America's CEO. "They understand the importance of fresh, nutritious food for thriving communities, and their support transcends beyond dollars and pounds - together with people facing hunger, our teams are helping to build new pathways to equitable food access for all."

The campaign will run online and in stores from April 1-April 29. Shoppers have three easy ways to support neighbors in need:

• For every participating product purchased in store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam's Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
   
• Donate at check-out in stores or clubs or online at Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
   
• Donate at Feeding America's Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign site at either www.FeedingAmerica.org/Walmart or www.FeedingAmerica.org/SamsClub.

During the campaign, all donations stay local. Sales-activated supplier donations and register donations are directed to a local Feeding America partner food bank located within a store or club's community.

"Serving communities and expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart and Sam's Club's purpose to help people live better," said Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President, Walmart Foundation. "Our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is a way that we invite our customers, members and suppliers to fight hunger alongside us. The funds raised through this campaign go toward local Feeding America food banks, meaning we can all make a difference in our own neighborhoods."

For nearly 20 years, Walmart, Sam's Club and the Walmart Foundation have worked with Feeding America, local food banks, food pantries and meals programs to transform the charitable food experience, supporting Feeding America and local food banks with more than $240 million in investments – nearly $160 million from the company and the Walmart Foundation and nearly $85 million from customers and members.

The 20 participating suppliers for Walmart include: Bush Brothers & Company; CELSIUS^® Essential Energy Drink; The Coca-Cola Company; Conagra Brands; Dole Packaged Foods; Ferrara; Ferrero; General Mills; The Hain Celestial Group; Hershey Salty Snacks; Hidden Valley Ranch; Kellanova; W.K. Kellogg Company; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kodiak; Kraft Heinz; Monster Energy; Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Unilever

The 8 participating suppliers for Sam's Club include: General Mills; W.K. Kellogg Company; Kraft Heinz; Nestlé; Nissin; Nongshim; Palmetto Gourmet Foods, A Borealis Foods Company; Unilever

To learn more about the campaign, visit https://www.feedingamerica.org/campaigns/fight-hunger-spark-change. 

*Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America^® on behalf of local partner food banks.

About Feeding America 
Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment.

We partner with people experiencing food insecurity, policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a movement to end hunger. Visit www.FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.

Walmart 
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better - anytime and anywhere - in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 265 million customers and members visit approximately 11,500 stores under 56 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart. 

Sam's Club 
Sam's Club^®, a division of Walmart, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a leading membership warehouse club offering superior products, savings and services to millions of members in nearly 600 clubs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Now in its 37th year, Sam's Club continues to redefine warehouse shopping with its highly curated assortment of high-quality fresh food and Member's Mark items, in addition to market leading technologies and services like Scan & Go, Club Pickup and home delivery service in select markets. To learn more about Sam's Club, visit the Sam's Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com, and interact with Sam's Club on Twitter and Facebook.

This article talks about the GiveDirectly program, which is an initiative that focuses both on combatting poverty and researching the best strategies to combat poverty. GiveDirectly stands out because they don't proxy through projects, but instead give the money directly to the citizens. This falls in line with the theory that indiviuals with low income will tend to spend their money more wisely (on neccessities). The program has a few different control groups and test groups to monitor the impacts of the cash transfer and measure which method helps combat poverty best.

Overall, the article states the significance of ongoing experimentation in the realm of poverty alleviation. By embracing innovative approaches like cash transfers and continuously assessing their impacts, researchers can better understand what works and change their  interventions accordingly to address the challenges of global poverty.

It's an unprecedented – and massive – experiment: Since 2017 the U.S.-based charity GiveDirectly has been providing thousands of villagers in Kenya what's called a "universal basic income" – a cash grant that's the equivalent of about $50, delivered every month, with the commitment to keep the payments coming for 12 years. It is a crucial test of what many consider one of the most cutting-edge ideas for alleviating global poverty. This week a team of independent researchers who have been studying the impact released their first results.

Their findings cover the first two years of the effort and compare the outcomes for about 5,000 people who got the monthly payments to nearly 12,000 others in a control group who got no money. But, just as significantly, the researchers also compared the recipients to people in two other categories: nearly 9,000 who received the monthly income for just two years, without the promise of another decade of payments afterward; and another roughly 9,000 people who got that same two years' worth of income but in a lump-sum payment.

NPR has been covering this effort from the start — traveling to Kenya early into the launch at a village near Lake Victoria. During a community meeting that day people's phones suddenly began to ping with a text alert, notifying them that their monthly grant had just been sent to their mobile bank accounts. The crowd erupted in cheers. Some of the younger women broke into song. The joy was a reflection of just how much people in the community had been struggling: The year before this experiment started, 85% of recipients reported experiencing hunger.

So how much of a difference has the experiment made so far? Here are five takeaways from the first batch of findings:

1. Giving cash aid in a lump sum has some major advantages over parceling it out.

When it came to measures of well-being such as consumption of protein or spending money on schooling, all of the groups who were given cash were better off than people in the control group who got no money. This fits with previous studies of no-strings cash aid, which find that poor people generally use the money productively rather than wasting it on alcohol, cigarettes or other vices.

But the big news came on a different measure: people's likelihood of starting a business. On this front, those who got the money in a lump sum vastly outperformed people who were promised the same amount for just two years but received it in monthly installments. For instance lump-sum recipients had 19% more enterprises – businesses such as small shops in local markets, motorbike taxis and small-scale construction concerns. And the lump sum recipients' net revenues from their businesses were a whopping 80% higher.

A member of the research team, MIT economist Tavneet Suri, says these results add to the evidence that many poor people are trapped in poverty by a lack of capital for precisely the kinds of transformative investments they would need to vault them into higher incomes.

"I might have this amazing opportunity to invest that's going to get me great returns," says Suri. "But there's no way to borrow. I don't have title to my land, so I can't use my land as collateral. Or I just don't have great ways to save money – because putting it under my mattress is not a great way to save." In short, without an intervention like the lump-sum grants, she says, an individual struggling with poverty might think, "I can't make this investment that would help get me out of poverty."

2. Lump sums are so useful that even those who didn't get them have banded together to create their own version.

GiveDirectly's head of research, Miriam Laker-Oketta, notes that it wasn't all that surprising that the study team, which worked independently of her organization, found that the lump-sum recipients were more likely to make investments compared with those who got paid in monthly installments. Prior studies of smaller scale cash-aid programs — including an earlier experiment arranged by GiveDirectly itself — have pointed to similar results.

But this new experiment tests, for the first time, both the lump sums and the two years worth of monthly installments against the much larger promise of 12 years of income, again delivered in monthly installments.

So it's notable that here too, the lump-sum recipients did best in the matchup – opening more businesses and earning more money from them even when compared to those who knew they'd be getting monthly payments for the full 12 years.

Andrew Zeitlen, an economist at Georgetown University who studies cash aid, says it's an impressive finding of a "well-executed study." After all, says Zeitlin, who was not involved with the research, "the long-run value of that universal basic income substantially exceeds the value of the lump sum transfers. It's an order of magnitude difference." So, the fact that lump sums had more impact even than this much bigger eventual payout points to the advantage of giving money at once instead of piecemeal.

A 2017 meeting of a rotating savings club formed in a village near Lake Victoria soon after every adult there was chosen to receive a monthly through GiveDirectly's experiment. The clubs have enabled recipients to convert their grants into lump sum payments: Each month the members put $10 into the communual pot — for a total of $100 — and a different person takes it home.

Nichole Sobecki for NPR

Just as important, says Suri, is a second twist: Those who were promised 12 years of monthly payments still out-performed people who could only count on two years of payments. And – here's the key – the way that the 12-year-group was able to invest more in their enterprises was by effectively converting their monthly payments into a lump sum.

They did this by making use of a creative financing tool known as a "rotating savings club." Every month members of the club pool their money and then take turns getting the entire payout from that pot.

Rotating savings clubs are enormously popular among Kenyans who don't have access to traditional banking. Even people who got the monthly income for just two years managed to put about 8% more money in a rotating savings club than those who got no aid.

But people in the 12-year-monthly income group used the clubs at an astonishing rate – contributing nearly 70% more money than those in the control group.

Suri says one explanation could be that people who were promised a full 12 years of monthly income knew their neighbors would also be getting the income because every adult in the village was made that same promise. This expectation of years of income to come for everyone involved likely provided people the confidence needed to invest in a savings club: After all, says Suri, you're relying on your fellow members to keep contributing to the pot after they've gotten their own payout.

A meeting of another rotating savings club in the same village, this one founded by Denis Otieno (third from the right). People who were promised the monthly income grants for 12 years used such clubs at an astonishing rate – contributing nearly 70% more money than those in the control group that got no aid.

Nichole Sobecki for NPR

3. Making the benefit 'universal' – by paying every adult in the village – seems to have greatly increased the impact.

This broad-based, "universal" nature of the aid may also help explain another surprising finding, says Suri: The fact that people who chose to invest their cash grants did so by starting businesses.

"I thought we would see tons of investment in agriculture" – basically improvements to the tiny plots on which many villagers raise subsistence crops, she says. "Go buy fertilizer. Go buy a pump to bring in more water."

That's what earlier studies suggested.

But the prior interventions that those studies had analyzed were not "universal" in the sense that, instead, the aid was given to only a subset of people in a community. By contrast, this experiment – by providing the aid to every adult in a given village – "allows us to learn about the interdependence between people," says Zeitlin. In particular, he says, it shows how the aid could boost businesses not just with capital but also by creating a large pool of new potential customers.

Suri says anecdotal evidence suggests this is precisely what happened. "It's everybody getting the aid, and everybody knows that," she says.

4. The grants did not seem to fuel inflation

Despite the sudden influx of money into these impoverished communities, Suri says that so far the data suggests that inflation there did not go up.

One possible reason, she says, is that while people did buy more things, this extra spending was distributed over a wide range of products, depending on the relative wealth of the person getting the aid.

"So it's not all going into one commodity," says Suri. "And that's the advantage of spreading it universally."

5. The big remaining question is whether the benefits of lump-sum payments actually last.

Suri says the findings thus far already have potential implications for policy. For instance, at present, "a lot of cash transfers that the World Bank runs in poor countries tend to be of the monthly-for-two-years kind of style." And this new data adds substantial evidence to the view that, in fact, "the short-term [parceled out aid] is probably not such a smart policy. Because you could take the money and give it in a lump sum and get much bigger effects."

What remains to be seen, she says, is whether the relative benefits of the lump-sum payments endure. Are the businesses that people start durable? Do they generate enough income to actually lift people out of poverty?

"The lump sum and the long term [monthly payments] look similar at two years," Suri says. "But the question is, does the lump sum [impact] fade after year five? Year six? Does it just disappear? Or was this enough to keep [the impacts] going forever?"

Because if so, she adds, "Then we're good. I don't have to spend 12 years of money. I just have to spend two years' worth and just structure it correctly."

To find the answers, Suri says she's committed to continuing this study for as long as it takes.

"For the rest of my life," she says, laughing. "You know, most people want to write a will for their assets – like, who are they going to leave their money to? I'm like, 'Who am I going to leave the universal basic income project to?' It's maybe the most valuable thing I have as a researcher."