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Add to Preferred SourcesUSA records first polio case in over one decade, Monkeypox declared a global health emergency by WHO and the IRC recommends lifting of blockade on Ukraine ports. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector.
USA records first polio case in over one decade
A young man affected by paralysis caused by the polio virus was admitted to hospital in New York on 21 July. This is the first polio case recorded in the USA since 2013. The authorities are trying to identify the source of the infection and are calling on the non-immunized population to be vaccinated.
Polio, which is caused by an ancient viral virus, mainly affects children under 5. In 95% of cases, individuals develop no symptoms. However, in rare cases when symptoms do appear, they can take different forms including a sore throat, headache, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, and fever. One in 200 of those patients infected can develop paralysis and the mortality rate amongst those with paralysis is around 5% to 10%.
Monkeypox declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization
Monkeypox is an outbreak that has spread around the world rapidly, through new modes of transmission about which WHO understand ‘too little’, and which meets the criteria of an emergency under International Health Regulations.
Tedros indicated that the current risk of Monkeypox is moderate globally and in all regions, except in the European region where the risk is high.
Currently, there are more than 16,000 reported cases from 75 countries and territories and five deaths.
Lifting of blockade on Ukraine ports is first step towards easing global hunger crisis, says IRC
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) welcomes the lifting of the Black Sea blockade on Ukraine’s seaports where 20 million tonnes of wheat are currently being held. These blockades have greatly contributed to the growing global hunger crisis, especially in East Africa, with countries relying on Russia and Ukraine for over 90% of their wheat imports.
Meanwhile, as the humanitarian situation inside Ukraine worsens and needs rise, people living in rural areas are becoming increasingly unable to sustain a living, especially as wheat and grain continue to be blocked from exports.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Climate change performance by country
As climate change represents one of the critical global issues that the world is currently experiencing, numerous nations are taking steps towards tackling this. To monitor their progress, two non-profits from Germany and the biggest climate network in the world devised the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) – an instrument that helps to analyze each country’s performance in terms of preserving our climate.
EU’s response to emerging global food insecurity
Skyrocketing global food inflation risks pushing millions into extreme poverty in developing countries, leaving people without food. While developed countries are feeling the effects of the crisis, developing countries are expected to face acute food shortages. In response to the situation, the EU has pledged to implement a number of mechanisms to support the most affected populations in member states and around the world.
G20 urges multilateral development banks to loosen policies to increase development funding
Concomitant with the annual 2022 G20 meeting of Heads of State and Government in Bali, Indonesia, the third annual G20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) released their first-ever independent report on Multilateral Development Banks’ (MDBs) Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAFs). The goal of the report was to create an action plan to loosen the capital adequacy policies of MDBs and create new benchmarks in order to address a challenging combination of both an increase in short-term crises and longer-term investment needs by the developing world.
Here’s what else has happened
EU: The EU is working with the African Union to integrate actions into their joint strategic partnership plan. EU funding streams targeting the most vulnerable include:
- €2.5 billion is dedicated for 2021-24 humanitarian assistance
- The EU emergency support program receives €300 million
- For its Southern neighborhood partners, the EU has committed €225 million from the food and resilience facility.
IRC: The IRC launched an emergency response to the crisis in Ukraine in February 2022 and has been working directly and with local partners to reach those most in need. IRC is in Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova, delivering vital services such as cash assistance, mental health support, and safe healing and learning spaces for children. In East Africa, the IRC is implementing a drought response plan, supporting over 1 million people with essential nutrition, health, water and sanitation, and cash assistance services.
G20: The G20’s independent report stressed that MDBs are currently constrained by policies that limit the amount of capital that they can generate for development investments and to address short-term financing crises. These restrictions limit how much risk MDBs can undertake while still maintaining adequate reserves to absorb losses in the event of a borrower default or when the market value of the MDB’s assets falls.
Reports
UN agency IFAD reaches record level of support for world’s rural poor: 2021 annual report
Amid rising challenges posed by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and global economic shocks, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) doubled down on its commitment to the world’s poorest rural communities in 2021, increasing support to reach 128 million small-scale farmers and vulnerable people, according to its annual report released.
In the IFAD Annual Report 2021, IFAD detailed how its efforts successfully targeted those who needed it most: data released in 2021 revealed that 49 percent of direct beneficiaries were women, while 22 percent were youth.
Millions of lives at risk as progress against AIDS falters
New data from UNAIDS on the global HIV response reveals that during the last two years of COVID-19 and other global crises, progress against the HIV pandemic has faltered, resources have shrunk, and millions of lives are at risk as a result. The new report, In Danger, is being launched ahead of the International AIDS Conference in Montreal, Canada.
Globally the number of new infections dropped only 3.6% between 2020 and 2021, the smallest annual decline in new HIV infections since 2016. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America have all seen increases in annual HIV infections over several years.
WMO issues report State of Climate in Latin America and Caribbean
Extreme weather and climate change impacts including mega-drought, extreme rainfall, land, and marine heatwaves, and glacier melt are affecting Latin America and the Caribbean region, from the Amazon to the Andes and from Pacific and Atlantic Ocean waters to the snowy depths of Patagonia.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021 highlighted the far-reaching repercussions for ecosystems, food and water security, human health, and poverty.
Events
Think20-Associated Roundtable on Financing Energy Transition in Asia and the Pacific (43rd IAEE International Conference)
📅 2 August 2022
Tokyo, Japan & Online
Developing Asia’s economic, population, and consumption growth will continue to drive global energy demand, making the realization of net zero carbon emissions targets in the region imperative to fight climate change. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has constrained public funds and opened the need to pursue new and innovative energy transition financing.