“Progress Can Kill” – on Rethinking Development
In this blog, Olivia Woxell challenges the current direction of development and its focus on economic growth. She argues that this direction is driven by western values and that development should not be a one-size fits all concept. Otherwise, it causes more harm than good. Olivia demonstrates the disastrous effects that development has brought indigenous communities. Once happily self-sufficient, their health and well-being then plummet, while rates of depression, addiction and suicide soar. Development and progress must be about freedom. It must allow people to live the lives that they want to lead. If it is repressive, then it is not development at all.
The importance of community perspectives: engaging with the Karamojong in Uganda
As a researcher in training, I had the opportunity to participate in a study into the core causes of food, nutrition, and income insecurity in Karamoja, a sub region in the east of Uganda. This mixed-methods study – undertaken by Development Pathways for the World Food Programme – was my first...