Poverty Matters: UK aid funding furore, South Sudan famine fears, and catch-22 in Nepal

Having trouble viewing this email? UK aid funding furore, South Sudan famine fears, and catch-22 in Nepal UK foots the bill for plush property, food security worsens in South Sudan, and an impossible choice for Nepalese women 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 Liz Ford theguardian.com, Tuesday 13 May 2014 07.27 EDT Aid paid … the Villa Veranda gated community in El Salvador, built by a company that received £195m from CDC. Photograph: Claire Provost A Guardian investigation into investments made by the government-owned CDC revealed that millions of pounds of British aid money has been invested in the construction of gated communities, shopping centres and luxury property in poor countries. The investment arm of the British government has ploughed more than $260m (£154m) into 44 property and construction companies in Latin America, Africa and Asia. One such investment is the Villa Veranda, a gated community outside the capital of El Salvador. In response, Jonathan Glennie argued that the CDC's need to justify its investments was beginning to strain its credibility, while Joan Clos, executive director of UN-Habitat, the human settlements programme, said gated communities fuel Blade Runner-style dystopias and profound unhappiness. Elsewhere on the site South Sudan food security crisis could spiral into famine, agencies warn Nepalese women torn between slavery in Lebanon and poverty at home Somalia food crisis: 50,000 children 'at death's door' Nepalese women suffer stigma and pain of fallen wombs Venezuela's mosquitoes bite back as malaria returns after half a century Qatar urged to reform labour laws as World Cup nears On the blog Celeste Hicks: Will Kenya or Uganda be east Africa's first oil producer? Maurine Murenga and Corin Faife: Kenyan sex workers using HIV drugs instead of condoms Suad Abu-Dayyeh: Yemen law on child brides and FGM offers hope of wider progress David Mepham: Forget the naysayers, development policy should be rooted in human rights Jonathan Glennie and Gail Hurley: Europe's aid experience shows the value of supporting middle-income countries Multimedia • Video: Ayrton Senna – the enduring legacy of Brazil's favourite son • In pictures: Central African Republic – Muslims flee conflict-stricken capital • In pictures: India's farmer suicides – are deaths linked to GM cotton? Coming up We report from Tunisia on the towns left to shoulder the burden of hazardous toxic landfill sites, and we look ahead to next week's elections in Malawi. What you said: this week's top reader comment On our feature exposing the suffering of Nepalese women experiencing uterine prolapse, Eccentrix writes: That is a stomach-churning article. People need to be educated about the dangers of forcing women to marry, especially when their bodies are not fully developed to cope with the trauma of pregnancy and childbirth. Women need legal protection from this sort of thing. The wounds (both physical and emotional) will take a long time to heal and some of these womens' health will never be the same again. Highlight from the blogosphere Zhenbo Hou: What happens if China goes the way of the US on fracking? 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 – @Sam Jones, @ClaireProvost and @LizFordGuardian – on Twitter, and join Guardian Global development on Facebook. Sign up for the Guardian Today Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Sign up for the daily email You are receiving this email because you are a Poverty Matters subscriber. Click here if you do not wish to receive Poverty Matters emails from the Guardian News and Media. Click here to find out about other Email Services from the Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited - a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396