The costs of the COVID-19 pandemic are going to be monumental. Africa alone is estimated to need US$100-$200 billion to address the impact. In higher income countries, governments have stepped forward with trillions in economic stimulus packages. But the majority of developing countries do not have the money to cover the costs of this pandemic. Debt relief is one of the fastest, most effective means of freeing up cash in developing country budgets. The recent G20 agreement to suspend debt...
Developing a vaccine is key to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are currently almost 100 COVID vaccine candidates under development. During a recent press briefing, Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, explained that “in an extraordinary time like this is the world coming to fully appreciate the need for vaccines … people understand more why it’s so important.” “If we want to end this pandemic, minimise the loss of life, and return to some semblance of normality …...
The world has made massive strides in ending extreme poverty over the past two decades. Since 2000, over a billion people have escaped extreme poverty. At that rate, the global goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 could be possible. But the problem is far from solved. Today, 592 million people worldwide are living on under US$1.90 a day. While extreme poverty is decreasing on the whole, more people are entering extreme poverty in the countries most affected by poverty....
As part of its COVID-19 action plan, the G20 has agreed to suspend debt repayments for the poorest countries who request relief, for the rest of 2020. They estimate this could free up to US$12 billion in government debt payments. The G20 also calls on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and private lenders to provide comparable debt relief. This decision follows calls from the ONE Campaign and 200 other organisations to support the world’s most vulnerable nations during...
Dear G20 Finance Ministers, It’s been over three months since the first COVID-19 case was reported in China. Since then, the health, economic, and geopolitical impacts of the pandemic have brought the world to a standstill. Two weeks ago, leaders pledged to do “whatever it takes” to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. As we await to see your action plan ahead of the next G20 financing meeting on 15 April, it’s imperative that you spell out your commitments to the most vulnerable...
COVID-19 is impacting our lives, our communities, and our economies. While the virus is affecting everyone, it will have the most significant impact on those most vulnerable, whether they live across the street or across the ocean. Viruses don’t pay attention to borders — and neither can the world’s response plan. We need to mobilise resources for a humanitarian response not seen in decades. We need to make sure that new medicines and a vaccine, once available, are distributed equitably....
After the #MeToo movement pulled back the curtains on sexual assault and harassment, gender equality efforts are on the rise. It’s the year of the woman, there are viral “feminist” videos and gendered media campaigns — and even in donor countries development strategies are catching on: women, girls, gender equality, female, and feminism are popping up everywhere in government’s foreign aid strategies.  Following trendsetters Sweden and Canada with their 2014 Feminist Foreign Policy and 2017 Feminist International Assistance Policy respectively,...
The latest official development assistance (ODA) data for 2018 show there is a lot of room for improvement: total aid is not remotely enough, the countries and regions most in need still do not receive the majority of aid, and gender blind projects are still the norm. But there are also some positive trends that should be highlighted and continued. Here’s an overview of what the statistics tell us about last year’s US$153 billion aid budget, including how and where the...
This week, the UK government launched the “Integrated Review of foreign policy, defence, security and international development”. This review will set the tone for Britain’s role in the world for years to come, so it’s important that it genuinely looks to the future. However, the sad truth is that these reviews often simply end up preparing us for the last war or crisis. At best they might make us slightly better prepared for the next crisis — but they rarely,...
There’s so much more to a book than words on a page. Books have the power to inspire, enlighten, uplift, and change the world. Three years ago, our Global Policy Team recommended 10 incredible books that opened our eyes and inspired us to take action. Now, we’ve got six more books from them that will improve any book collection: The Invention of Wings; Sue Monk Kidd A compelling story about the relationship between a female slave and the daughter of her white...