Rayanne’s passion for horses helped her overcome her trauma. (Credit: Rayanne Irving)

Fighting to end human trafficking: a story of survival and recovery. If you thought your 2020 was bad, read Rayanne Irving’s story and thank your lucky stars. A victim of human trafficking at the age of 16, her recently-launched podcast aims to help other victims of sexual violence and exploitation. “At some point, we've all shimmied up to a buffet of suffering and then waited in line at the dessert bar for a heaping scoop of pain”, according to the show notes. Hear from her directly in this week’s interview.

Tigray comes into focus. Joint UN and government teams report critical needs while humanitarian access and independent scrutiny remain limited.

Last moves by Trump on Yemen. The US has announced it will designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels as a terrorist organisation, a move aid groups and diplomats have long warned will make getting assistance to people stuck in the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis” even harder.

Aid policy trends to watch in 2021. Key trends include the overlap between social protection schemes and relief aid, self-interest and “vaccinationalism”, diversity and the cascading mega-crises of tomorrow.

There are nine vaccines in use around the world, with prices ranging from $2.19 to $44 per dose. That’s according to UNICEF’s Covid-19 market dashboard, an interactive tool for countries to follow the developments of the rapidly evolving Covid-19 vaccine market and the efforts of the Covax Facility to ensure fair and equitable access for every country in the world.

Credit: EPA/STR

Ugandan presidential candidate Bobi Wine attends his final church service ahead of this week’s presidential elections on 14 January. The pop star-turned-politician has been protesting against youth unemployment and corruption, and has emerged as longtime President Yoweri Museveni’s top challenger. The run-up to Thursday’s vote has been marred by arrests of opposition figures, violence and restrictions on campaigning.

13 January | Improving growth and fighting corruption in the Middle East and North Africa. How can improving governance and fighting corruption help the Middle East and North Africa build forward better following the Covid-19 pandemic?

14 January | A human rights-based recovery to Covid-19. This meeting on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will share good practices on human rights-based recovery measures that address inequalities and structural discrimination.

19 January | Livelihoods and resilience. This webinar presents the key findings from the LEGS Discussion Paper on Livelihoods and Resilience, which reviews the role of livelihoods-based approaches, their contribution to the humanitarian-development nexus, and resilience building.