As Vanuatu marks one year since the biggest storm ever recorded in its history, the Pacific nation is now grappling with significant water shortages due to an El Nino driven drought.

As the international relief effort in Fiji continues, humanitarian organisation CARE Australia says it is critical international aid targets the specific needs of women and girls.

Aid agency CARE Australia is warning communities could be at risk of disease outbreaks in cyclone devastated Fiji as water supplies remain cut off and thousands shelter in evacuation centres.

Originally published in the Herald Sun and Herald Sun online. Small talk can be difficult with someone who lives in Yemen. Questions about family often turn to dead relatives. Talk about a bad night’s sleep and you might find yourself in a conversation about nightly bombing raids.

More than 10 million people in Ethiopia are in need of emergency food assistance because of extreme drought caused by the global weather phenomenon El Nino, according to revised figures released by the Ethiopian government last week. “Right now families in drought-stricken areas are about to exhaust all available resources…

Cultural barriers that prevent girls from reaching their potential must be removed, writes CARE Australia's women's empowerment ambassador Gail Kelly.