Tag Archives: poverty

The unequal state of the world

Posted on January 14, 2013 | 3 Comments

The state of the world is not just one thing. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development, The State of the World

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EU leaders: where’s the headline energy?

Posted on November 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

EU government leaders have put no headline energy into trying to end the warfare torturing eastern Congo for the past month. And you can’t blame that on being distracted by Israel retaliating against random rocket attacks from Gaza with an 8-day bombardment until Egypt brokered the ceasefire on 21 November. Heads of EU governments weren’t headline visible on Gaza either. They’re distracted by other things. Continue reading →

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Posted in The economic crunch

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The UN High Level panel on post-2015: new goals for old?

Posted on November 2, 2012 | 2 Comments

The UN High Level Panel looking at development goals after 2015 has been in London for the past three days for an intense round of meetings. In the late afternoon of Friday 2 November, about a third of the panel members met around 200 representatives of civil society organisations in a “town hall” style meeting – i.e., no speeches by the panel, everything driven by questions from the floor. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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Assisting development = assisting what, precisely?

Posted on October 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

All around are the signs and sounds of a steady gearing up for the renewed development debate. Before it gets swamped by a demand for commitments based on GDP percentages, targets and indicators, it would be a good idea to reflect a little on what we really mean by development. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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Development aid debate – today and post-2015

Posted on September 26, 2012 | Leave a comment

Further to my 24 September post on the re-emerging debate in Britain about foreign aid, I neglected a major reason why the government’s commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on development assistance isn’t changing: Prime Minister David Cameron is co-chair of the UN High Level Panel on the future of development. No surprise, then, that he confirmed the 0.7 per cent commitment straight after the panel’s first meeting. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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Development aid – its opponents and proponents

Posted on September 24, 2012 | 3 Comments

A new debate is heating up in Britain about overseas development assistance – ODA. To foreign observers struck by how international generosity became a cross-party consensus here, it may come as something of a surprise that development aid is under pressure. But it is real and should be heeded for well-honed arguments are needed. Continue reading →

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Posted in International development

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A scorecard for Busan: did the High Level Forum help conflict-affected countries?

Posted on December 12, 2011 | 2 Comments

At the end of November, 2,000 representatives of governments, international agencies and NGOs met in Busan as the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. But how effective was Busan for conflict-affected countries? Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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Aid effectiveness forum at Busan: what would success be for countries in conflict?

Posted on November 6, 2011 | 2 Comments

The Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness convenes in Busan, South Korea, on 29 November. Two thousand representatives of governments, the UN, other multilateral organisations and NGOs will meet to discuss and come up with a statement on how development aid can be delivered more effectively. So what would a successful High Level Forum look like for countries affected by armed conflict, which face the toughest development challenges? Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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England’s riots: If the UK were a fragile state…

Posted on August 15, 2011 | 10 Comments

Last week, rioting and looting gripped England. At a time when many people are feeling in one way or another bad about our country, it seemed salient (and perhaps inevitable) to ask, if the UK were a fragile state, how would we approach the events of last week, their aftermath and the future? Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Riots

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From the UK gov’t, a good message on development and peace

Posted on September 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

The UK’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell made a speech in London on 16 September setting out his and DFID’s approach on development, security, conflict and peace issues. It was barely noticed by the press. That’s a shame because it was very important – far more so than what he and other members of the government are saying this week at (or about) the UN Millennium Summit in New York. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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