As the paved roads of north-eastern Nigeria begin to melt into the sands of the Sahara desert, a cluster of picture-perfect mud-and-thatch homes marks the entrance into Boko Haram territory. Here, barely 30 minutes' drive from the neat government complexes flanked by fountains and tamarind trees in Borno state's capital, Maiduguri, power slips almost entirely into the hands of the group trying to carve an Islamist state in Africa's most populous country.

Aid agencies that promote one-off counselling sessions after major traumas only prolong victims' suffering

One of the largest earthquakes ever recorded hit on Boxing Day 2004. The resulting tsunami devastated huge swaths of the Indian Ocean coastline and left an estimated quarter of a million people dead across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. Aid agencies quickly arrived to help battered and traumatised survivors.

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Those working to combat food insecurity in the Sahel need to "get their thinking together" and realise that it could take several years for the poorest families to recover from three successive regional droughts and hunger crises, says the new regional co-ordinator of the World Food Programme (WFP).

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Extreme weather increases salinity of water in coastal areas while excessive demand in Dhaka leaves dwindling supply

The availability of safe drinking water, particularly in Bangladesh's hard to reach areas, is expected to worsen as the country experiences the effects of climate change, experts say.

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Despite early warnings, the Somalia famine was allowed to happen. Why? Because of politics, al-Shabaab and donor fears

The 2011 famine in Somalia, which the famine early warning systems network (Fewsnet) and the food security nutrition and analysis unit (FSNAU) estimate in a report published on Thursday to have killed almost 260,000 people, was avoidable.

On the banks of the river Niger at the Koriame Port, 18km (11 miles) from Timbuktu, Kadja Founè Koninta recounts the birth of her daughter. It was during the occupation of northern Mali by Islamist rebels, she explains, and she – together with her family of fishermen – had just arrived at Koriame when she unexpectedly went into labour. "I gave birth the same day we arrived," she said. "People said it was because of fear."

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The global health community should not take its eye off the target to eliminate the disease that is still killing 600,000 people every year

Kofi Annan

Vaccinations against polio have spared more than 10 million people from the disease – showing the value of global initiatives

The battle against polio is an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when we work together. This terrible disease, as my generation knows well, once cast a shadow over childhood across the world. Before the development of an effective vaccine nearly 60 years ago, it paralysed and killed up to half a million people every year.

Does sustainable intensification mean large-scale, industrial agriculture, or can it build on the traditional methods of many African farmers?

Read the full report by Camilla Toulmin on the Guardian's Poverty Matters Blog.