Poverty Matters: Aid for Malawi's flood victims and women peacekeepers in DRC

Aid for Malawi's flood victims and women peacekeepers in DRC We speak to survivors of the country’s worst floods in 50 years, and look at how Congolese women are having to fight to be involved in peace-building If you are viewing this on the web and would prefer to get it in your inbox every two weeks, register for the email edition theguardian.com, Tuesday 3 February 2015 04.59 EST A total of 176 people have been confirmed dead in the floods in Malawi, with 153 missing and thousands left homeless, according to official figures.Photograph: WFP/AFP/Getty Images Aid is arriving in Malawi, where communities were cut off by the country’s worst floods in 50 years. At least 174,000 people have been displaced, with houses destroyed, crops swept away and water sources contaminated. The Guardian’s Africa correspondent, David Smith, visited some of the camps for displaced people and spoke to survivors. Take a closer look at the destruction, in pictures. This year marks the 15th anniversary of a landmark UN resolution to involve more women in peace processes. But women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are still fighting for the right to participate in their country’s peace-building process. We met some of the female UN peacekeepers in DRC, who are significantly outnumbered by men, and explained the significance of the UN resolution and its impact. Elsewhere on the site Water privatisation: a worldwide failure? Ethiopia’s women vow to turn tide of violence, rape and murder Grief and anger in Congo follow violent protests against Joseph Kabila Nepal’s “poor woman’s problem”: how obstetric fistula blights lives Central African Republic: saving lives at the river’s edge – a story told in pictures On the blog Jonathan Glennie shared his view on the importance of dignity in development. “The saddest thing in the world is not poverty per se; it is the loss of human dignity,” he wrote. As business leaders and policy-makers gathered at the World Economic Forum, Lawrence Haddad argued why sustainable development, not growth, should be top of the agenda. Plus, Mario Pezzini and Andreas Schleicher shared their view on Latin America’s efforts to reduce poverty and inequality, and why skills and training should be the focus. Multimedia Video: Suffering in silence: obstetric fistula in Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan Gallery: Life, laughter and loss in a Nepal leprosy colony – in pictures Gallery: Nuba refugees in South Sudan strive for independence – in pictures Take part Médecins sans Frontières is calling for the cost of the life-saving pneumococcal vaccine to be slashed, as it has become prohibitively expensive for poorer countries. We’d like to know how much the vaccine costs where you live: help us crowdsource prices. Do you treasure something that could be at risk due to climate change? Environmental campaigners are calling for people to declare their love for the planet on 14 February, Valentine’s Day, and we want to know what you think could be affected in your community. Share your photos and stories via Guardian Witness. What you said: top reader comment On the opinion piece – Jobs in Latin America: where there’s a skill there’s a wayhilmiller wrote: Good article, however, if there are weak government institutions with little supervision or enforcement, all the education in the world will not change the social and economic situation in Latin American countries. The educational system, which is a government institution, and overall policy strengthening and enforcement need to be tackled in concert – and hypothetically can be now that the governments have stabilised to a certain degree. The problem is, just as in Europe and the United States, resistance to change, fear and workers not able or willing to take responsibility or risks in solving the problems. Highlight from the blogosphere International Institute for Environment and Development: Facing up to the awkward realities of the post-2015 agenda And finally … Poverty matters will return in two weeks with another roundup of the latest news and comment. In the meantime, keep up to date on the Global development website. Follow @gdndevelopment and the team – @swajones,@LizFordGuardian, @MarkC_Anderson and @CarlaOkai – on Twitter, and joinGuardian Global development on Facebook.