After Fred Eckhard retired from the United Nations in 2006, he moved to northwestern France to live the quiet life with his wife, Kathryn Gordon, who is also a former U.N. employee. Eckhard, who served as spokesperson to Kofi Annan during his term as U.N. secretary-general, described their life there as feeling like they have “gone to heaven.” But the day came when he realized he was “too happy” with his life and wanted to give back.   “Despite my ...

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  Governors of the African Development Bank held June 9-10 their 2011 annual meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, where they released the bank’s annual report for 2010 as well as launched the first review of the effectiveness of AfDB’s operations.   The event also saw the signing and formalization of assistance programs for various African countries, including Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. At the meetings, AfDB also inked new development cooperation deals with So...

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Andrew Cameron, a nurse, has worked in some of the most troublesome and conflict-torn regions of the world, including Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Sudan. This Red Cross employee from New Zealand currently serves in South Ossetia, a Central Asian region fighting for independence from Georgia, where he is stationed in remote villages affected by the conflict.   Cameron’s colleagues at Red Cross New Zealand describe him as an hands-on worker who is very passionate and dedicated to h...

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  Donors continue to offer assistance to Ivory Coast as the country attempts to get back on its feet following the recent political crisis that crippled its government and forced thousands of citizens to flee. This week, the African Development Bank approved a $150 million program to help restore basic administrative and social services that were disrupted in the recent political crisis. Meantime, Norway pledged 30 million Norwegian kroner ($5.6 million) in support of the new government...

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