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Add to Preferred SourcesSecurity Council must not fail women, girls of Afghanistan, Anambra, Nigeria, commits to eliminating vertical transmission of HIV by end of 2022 and COVID-19 Delta variant still ‘most concerning’. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
Security Council must not fail women, girls of Afghanistan, Elders warn
The Security Council cannot fail the women and girls of Afghanistan, former President of Ireland Mary Robinson warned, as she reminded its 15 members of the relentless work carried out over nearly 20 years to secure their rights through constitutional, legislative, and policy changes.
“Women’s rights are not Western rights”, she said.
Addressing the Council in her role as Chairperson of The Elders, a group of global leaders working for peace and justice across the world, founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007.
“They are fundamental human rights, which women had reclaimed in accordance with their cultural values.”
Anambra, Nigeria, commits to eliminating vertical transmission of HIV by end of 2022
New HIV infections among children declined by more than half (53%) globally from 2010 to 2020, but the momentum has slowed considerably. There are particularly large gaps in services to prevent vertical (mother-to-child) transmission of HIV in western and central Africa, home to more than half of pregnant women living with HIV who are not on treatment.
Nigeria accounts for 24% of pregnant women living with HIV worldwide who are not on antiretroviral therapy and is the largest contributor among the seven countries that account for half of all new HIV infections among children globally. One in every seven babies born with HIV in the world is a Nigerian baby. Because of this, there is an urgent need to scale up sustainable programmes for the elimination of vertical transmission of HIV in the country, and the government has committed to end vertical transmission by the end of 2022.
The Nigerian Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, chaired a national consultation on vertical transmission of HIV in May 2021 and pledged the government’s full support and commitment to work with all partners in order to ensure that no baby is born with HIV, directing the National AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections Control and Hepatitis Programme (NASCP) to provide technical support to all Nigerian states to develop actionable operational plans to meet the objective. In addition, the Federal Ministry of Health has delivered 1.7 million of the 4 million HIV and syphilis test kits ordered as a step towards ensuring that all pregnant women are screened, regardless of where they live in the country.
COVID-19 Delta variant still ‘most concerning’, say WHO experts
Even with the emergence of the new Mu COVID-19 variant, the Delta strain remains the top concern globally, appearing to “outcompete” others, senior officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
“I think the Delta variant for me is the one that’s most concerning because of the increased transmissibility,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the agency’s Technical Lead for COVID-19, speaking during an online question and answer session.
“It’s doubly transmissible compared to the ancestral strain, which means that it can spread to more people.”
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Nature’s services to increase efficiency by saving labor hours and restoring biodiversity
Human life depends on natural resources and ecosystem services. In view of the progressive degradation of natural capital, the discussion about how to take nature into account in the economy is one issue on political agendas that has resulted in a variety of incentives and tools to address this. While the shift to sustainable farming practices considers the retention of ecosystem services to require additional effort, it appears that restoring nature not only helps to make agriculture sustainable, it also helps the producer to be more efficient in terms of the amount of labor needed. In an exclusive conversation with DevelopmentAid, Bogdan Suliman, a practitioner of peasant agroecology and subsistence farming shared how caring for birds and bats helps him to work less while allowing nature to work for him.
Top 10 worst natural disasters over the last 100 years
Natural disasters have afflicted humanity from the dawn of time. Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis lead to the deaths of around 60,000 people every year. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the number of people seriously affected by these disasters has grown to 150 million with international aid reaching billions of US dollars to assist the affected countries. Over the last two decades alone, the Emergency Events Database has recorded 7,348 natural disasters around the globe.
Hero Stories I Sara Medina – international dimension innovation, partnerships, and doing business with China
Driven by her passion for diversity, Sara Medina could not imagine herself working in an area that was not connected to a challenging multicultural environment. The Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI), where Sara Medina is one of the Members of the Board, offers the possibility to develop and implement diverse projects all over the world. SPI is a consulting firm that relies on an excellent understanding of the public and private sectors, of the context, and of their clients’ needs by fostering innovation and competitiveness.
Here’s what else has happened
EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting renewable energy and energy efficiency in Egypt with a US$ 25 million loan to the National Bank of Kuwait Egypt (NBKE). Fifteen percent of the total loan amount is being co-financed by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
Afghanistan’s girls: The Taliban takeover of government in Kabul is just days old, and the eyes of Afghans and the world are cautiously watching and hopeful to see them stand by their word and ensure that girls’ education is promoted and protected.
Finland: Finland will participate in the EU cooperation that enables the donation of COVID-19 vaccines purchased in advance. During this autumn, about 3.6 million vaccines will be donated to developing countries. The vaccine donations will not slow down the rollout of vaccinations in Finland.
USTDA: U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a technical assistance grant to Algeria’s transmission system operator, Société Algérienne Gestionnaire du Réseau de Transport de l’Electricité (“GRTE”), to modernize its electricity grid and facilitate the country’s transition toward renewable energy. GRTE is a subsidiary of Sonelgaz, Algeria’s national electricity and gas company.
Reports
97 percent of Afghans could plunge into poverty by mid-2022, says UNDP
Afghanistan teeters on the brink of universal poverty. As much as 97 percent of the population is at risk of sinking below the poverty line unless a response to the country’s political and economic crises is urgently launched, according to a rapid appraisal released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The study, which analyzed four potential scenarios of escalating intensity and isolation, indicates that real GDP could contract by as much as 13.2 percent, leading to an increase in the poverty rate of up to 25 percentage points.
More than 100 countries depend on commodity exports
Commodity dependence increased over the last decade from 93 countries in 2008–2009 to 101 in 2018–2019, according to UNCTAD’s State of Commodity Dependence 2021 report released on 8 September.
Events
Looking Beyond the Crisis: Possible Scenarios for Post-Pandemic Development | Webinar
07 September 2021
📅 16 September 2021 🕒 4 PM (Brussels Time)/ 10 AM (Washington DC Time)
Virtual
DevelopmentAid invites you to attend an exciting webinar on “Looking beyond the crisis: possible scenarios for post-pandemic development”. During the webinar attendees will learn more about strategic foresight and will discover practical tips on how to use it for pragmatic planning and decision-making in times of uncertainty.
Tentative agenda:
- What is the OECD Strategic Foresight Unit?;
- Introducing strategic foresight for pragmatic decision-making;
- Discussing post-pandemic scenarios and applying ‘What If’ thinking to current trends;
- Engaging with uncertainty: some practical tips to use foresight tools for planning and decision-making activities;
- Q&A session.
Speakers:
- Alanna Markle, Strategic Foresight Analyst with the OECD’s Central Strategic Foresight Unit;
- Vicky Tongue, Head of Futures and Innovation at International Civil Society Centre.
Host:
Ion Ilasco, External Relations and Events at DevelopmentAid.
Attendees are encouraged to participate in discussions by submitting their take on the following question:
What uncertainties or disruptions do you see on the horizon that are currently “under the radar” and could have an impact on the international development sector?
- Tip: phrase your contribution as a “what if” question
- Example: What if developing countries come out of the COVID-19 crisis with lower levels of trust, leading to long-term shifts away from development co-operation with the Global North?
Inputs can be submitted at [email protected] or via the registration page
*All participants who stay till the end will receive a certificate after the webinar.
Trade beyond COVID-19: Building Resilience | Virtual
📅 28 – 30 September 2021
Virtual
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis with far-reaching socio-economic effects. It has increased poverty and deepened inequality across the world – with women, youth, and children the most affected. According to the ILO, global employment losses stood at 114 million jobs relative to 2019, with the highest number of losses affecting women (5% decline) and young workers (8.7%). Job losses and subsequent loss in income have had far-reaching consequences, including increased stress and mental illness, greater domestic violence, and fewer children going to school.
The World BioEconomy Forum 2021
📅 18 – 20 October
Pará, Brazil
The World BioEconomy Forum is pleased to announce that its Forum 2021 will be held in Belém, in the State of Pará, Brazil from 18 – 20 October 2021. Belém is located in the Amazon region of Brazil and will give the Forum the opportunity to highlight the region as of fundamental importance to the global circular bioeconomy. The event will bring together high-level speakers and experts from around the world highlighting Belém and the Amazon region for essential debate on sustainable development.