Month: January 2015

Weekly Roundup

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This week in development…

U.S. Development Policy/International Organizations

  • In light of Davos, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim reflects on the state of the global economy. Kim points out that the predicted growth of the world’s economy is lower than initially estimated and notes the “uncertain [economic] environment.” He brings up the challenges but also the potential solutions for the global economy going forward, all while emphasizing the importance of working together.
  • At a discussion of the post-2015 development agenda on Monday, 10 top UN human rights experts stressed the need to make human rights and accountability a major focus of the SDGs. The experts urged Member States to include explicit references to freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in goal 16 of the SDGs.
  • The international vaccine alliance GAVI raised around $7.5 billion to immunize around 300 million children in developing countries by the year 2020 at a donor conference in Berlin. The largest single donor was the United Kingdom, which pledged $1.573 billion. The second leading donor was the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation ($1.550 Billion) followed by Norway and the United States.

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Weekly Roundup

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This week in development…

U.S. Development Policy/International Organizations

  • The United Nations has requested $1 billion for the first half of 2015 in order to eradicate Ebola in West Africa, especially for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the “epidemic has started to turn.” Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Dr. David Nabarro, the UN Special Envoy on Ebola announced on Wednesday the new appeal for increased aid focused on re-establishing important social services and improving the security of individuals in the region.
  • Andrew Lansley, the former UK Health secretary and leader of the House of Commons, is a potential appointee for the role of UN relief head. Lansley faces intense opposition from more than eighty major disaster-relief NGOs globally, who are concerned that his candidacy is driven by his political positioning and that his lack of inexperience could be a serious impediment to the disaster-relief sector. The 80 international relief organizations implored UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to establish a panel of experts to help him select the candidate, a move which could hurt Lansley’s prospects.
  • The International Labour Organization (ILO) released a statement on Thursday with new data suggesting that private sector services and a rising care economy are expected to provide employment for more than a third of the global workforce over the next five year period. Many public sector services that comprise the service economy, such as health care, education and administration, will be important employment resources. This shift signals the changing role of policies to support enterprise and the labor force. It also illustrates an amplified engagement with opportunities interconnected to new technologies.

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ADB President Reflects on Lessons from Asia’s Development

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By Samantha Prior

Asia has been a key driver of global economic growth in the 21st century, and will remain a key theatre for development in the coming decades as one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Economies in the region grew at a rate of 6.1% in 2013 and 2014, and growth is forecasted to increase to 6.2% for 2015. However, poverty levels remain troubling, with nearly one-third of the population of Asia living on less than $1.51 per day in 2010.

ADB Headquarters in Manila

ADB Headquarters in Manila. Photo available under the public domain.

The President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Takehiko Nakao, recently put out his “Eight Key Actions for Economic Development in Asia”. Citing Asia’s “remarkable progress in development and poverty reduction,” Nakao seeks to explain why some Asian countries have developed more rapidly than others. He outlined eight key action areas that lead to success:  infrastructure, human capital, macro-economy, investment and trade, governance, equality, vision for the future, and security and stability.  While all eight categories of action are crucial for development, four of Nakao’s points should be highlighted: Continue reading →

Global Youth in Numbers: 2014 Year in Review

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By Dr. Nicole Goldin

1.8 billion There are roughly 1.8 billion youth on the planet today amounting to the largest generation in human history; roughly half the world’s population is under age 25.

29% Amidst a global “jobless recovery” and lingering jobs crisis for young people, North Africa posts the highest regional youth unemployment rate at 29%, followed by neighboring Middle East at just over 27%, more than twice the global average. In Greece, Spain and Italy, rates hover around 50%, while South Africa posts one of the highest measured rates in sub-Saharan Africa, 60%.

276 In April, 276 secondary school girls were kidnapped from their school in Chibok northern Nigeria in the middle of the night, prompting international outrage and global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, and bringing the threat of Boko Haram further to the international fore. I shared my perspectives on the plight of Nigerian youth in this CSIS Commentary. As the year ends, more than two hundred girls are still missing.

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