Fifteen years ago at the historic Gleneagles summit hosted by the UK, The ONE Campaign joined millions of campaigners to push G8 leaders to cancel 100% of the multilateral debt owed by the world’s poorest countries and double aid to Africa. Adding this to previous debt cancellation from Jubilee 2000, close to $100 billion of debt was written off for 36 heavily indebted countries.
After years of burdensome debt payments, incurred by undemocratic leaders, African governments had a clean slate...
Aid and Development
In this iconic speech he called on world leaders to make poverty history.
UK aid will need to do more, with less money — due to a shrinking economy with looming cuts in government budgets, the Department for International Development (DFID) merger with the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO), and the need to tackle the increasing global challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UK has a world leading commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) on official development assistance (ODA) enshrined in law. This means that when the economy is doing better,...
Depending on how you look at it, data on the HIV/AIDS epidemic can tell two very different stories. On the one hand, the world has made huge progress against HIV/AIDS. For example, over two thirds of all people living with HIV are receiving treatment. On the other hand, there are still way too many people contracting HIV, and donor funding is the same as it was a decade ago.
No matter how you look at it, the story is far...
With the world facing devastating health and economic crises, global cooperation and solidarity are more important than ever. We are leading up to a crucial moment that will test European leaders’ commitment to these principles.
Soon the European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework will be negotiated, and EU leaders will decide how much the EU will invest in the future of our planet and its people for the next seven years.
But what is the MFF? Here’s an explainer for you to...
Amid growing rates of coronavirus infections, the UN warns of COVID’s impact on refugees and on global food security.
But two pieces of good news: the deadliest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has ended, and the world came together to support crucial vaccine efforts. Here are six stories you may have missed this month.
DRC’s deadliest Ebola outbreak declared officially over
After nearly two years and 2,280 deaths, the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history is over, the World Health...
On 16 June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the unexpected merger of The Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) into a new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
This merger could be disastrous for those struggling to survive poverty, climate change, and the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than building a “global Britain,” it could see aid being spent on the UK’s trade, defence, and commercial interests. This would be putting politics before...
New OECD projects paint a grim picture for economic growth and recovery in the world’s biggest economies. The projections focus on two scenarios, one in which there is a second outbreak of COVID-19 infections before the end of 2020, with global lockdowns reinstated, and the other where a new wave is avoided.
But our Executive Director of Policy David McNair asked a different question: how will the aftershocks of COVID-19 affect the world’s poorest countries?
https://twitter.com/David_McNair/status/1271393245365522434
Government measures around the world have...
Before COVID-19, 135 million were experiencing hunger so severe that it threatened their lives and livelihoods. Now with COVID-19, that number could double by the end of 2020.
Pandemics and hunger crises go hand in hand. COVID-19 is no different. The economic impact of the pandemic translates into poverty as millions of people’s sources of income fall due to job losses. Remittances to low-and middle-income countries are expected to fall by 20% in 2020, more than double international aid to...
The past month saw some grim news about COVID-19: alongside the thousands who have died, the pandemic could also push an additional 130 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, and a new report warns of the disproportionate impact on young people and women.
But there are also successes and examples of effective responses worth recognizing. Here are six stories you may have missed this month in the world of global development.
Celebrating leadership and success in Africa
Why are Africa’s coronavirus...