2014 was an eventful year. Major crises came to the fore, including the outbreak of Ebola in west Africa and the high numbers of refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan, Central African Republic and Syria. Amid the horrors, though, are stories of courage, from the priest putting his life on the line to save Muslims in CAR to people supporting efforts to treat and contain Ebola in Sierra Leone. There were also stories of hope and progress, including a significant drop in malaria deaths and improvements in food security.
Women’s rights and gender equality
- Our dedicated section to cover women’s rights and gender equality launched in February with an interactive charting women’s rights around the world.
- A focus on abortion highlighted the legal hurdles women face to access services.
- We reported from the ending sexual violence in conflict summit held in London in June.
- We are crowdsourcing rape laws around the world.
Modern-day slavery
- A Guardian investigation found the Thai fishing industry was built on slavery, with workers beaten, tortured and even killed to produce prawns for US and UK supermarkets.
- Reporter Gethin Chamberlain uncovered how tea plantation workers in Assam, India were trafficked into domestic servitude miles from home.
- We covered workers’ rights abuses in Qatar, including the World Cup stadium builders who earned as little as 45p an hour.
- There was a story of hope in the US, where formerly trafficked women tattooed by their abusers are reclaiming the tattoos and their pasts.
Multimedia
- Video: A Syrian refugee in Scotland: ‘I’m one of the lucky ones’
- Video: The women trapped by conflict in Pakistan
- Podcast: Debunking myths about Africa
- Podcast: What does the Ebola crisis mean for long-term progress in Sierra Leone and Liberia?
- Gallery: Postcards from reality: readers’ photos from ‘fragile’ states
- Gallery: Camp life: South Sudan’s displaced families
And finally …
Poverty matters will return in two weeks with a roundup of the latest news and comment. In the meantime, keep up to date on the Global development website. Follow @gdndevelopment and the team – @swajones, @LizFordGuardian, @MarkC_Anderson and @CarlaOkai – on Twitter, and join Guardian Global development on Facebook. We wish all our readers a safe and happy new year.