The outcomes of the Financing for Development Forum 2023, a mid-year update on the global economic situation and a WMO update. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector.
Exploring the outcomes of the Financing for Development Forum 2023
The recent Financing for Development Forum held in New York brought together leaders from around the world to address emerging issues and obstacles to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The participants stressed the importance of the commitments in the outcome report, emphasizing the need for reforms and changes across various sectors.
The ECOSOC Financing for Development Forum, held from April 17 to 20, 2023, was hosted by the Trusteeship Council at the UN Headquarters in New York. This inclusive intergovernmental process aimed to review the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and other financing for development documents, and to develop policies that support long-term sustainable development goals. Participants from diverse fields such as government, business, civil society, and other sectors gathered to engage in comprehensive, collaborative discussions on contemporary global challenges. The forum focused on practical approaches to increase funding and bolster the achievement of the SDGs while addressing issues such as public debt, underdevelopment, and food insecurity.
Mid-year update on the global economic situation foresees more uncertainty as policymakers are facing a complex economic context
As the world enters May 2023, the global economic situation remains highly uncertain amid an extraordinary confluence of recent shocks that have affected countries across the world. Inflation has remained stubbornly persistent in many countries, directly impacting the lives of the poor, and posing a significant challenge to central bankers around the world.
With the banking sector turmoil rattling global financial markets in March, all eyes have been fixed on the United States Federal Reserve (Fed). By deciding to raise its key policy rate by another 25 basis points late last month, the Fed signaled that the fight against inflation was not over while underscoring confidence in the domestic banking sector. Though the turmoil in the banking sector is likely to be contained, it is yet another sign of the unanticipated consequences of interest rate increases to battle inflation.
At the moment, policymakers are facing a complex economic context, where macroeconomic policies need to be carefully calibrated to strike a balance between taming inflation, ensuring financial stability supporting economic growth and employment, and managing the consequences of international spillovers.
UN DESA will release the World Economic Situation and Prospect (WESP) as of mid-2023. The mid-year update will provide the latest assessment of the global economic situation, discuss major macroeconomic developments since the launch of the WESP 2023 in January, and present prospects for growth in these uncertain times.
The WESP mid-year update will also discuss the impact of monetary policy stances of the developed economies on developing countries. While developed economies may be reducing the degree of monetary tightening, developing countries find themselves at different stages of the tightening cycle, thus facing divergent outcomes and policy choices.
WMO Update: Prepare for El Niño
The likelihood of El Niño developing later this year is increasing, according to a new update from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). This would have the opposite impact on weather and climate patterns in many regions of the world to the long-running La Niña and would likely fuel higher global temperatures.
The unusually stubborn La Niña has ended after a three-year run and the tropical Pacific is currently in an ENSO-neutral state (neither El Niño nor La Niña).
There is a 60% chance for a transition from ENSO-neutral to El Niño during May-July 2023, and this will increase to about 70% in June-August and 80% between July and September, according to the Update, which is based on input from WMO Global Producing Centres of Long-Range Forecasts and expert assessment. At this stage, there is no indication of the strength or duration of El Niño.
“We just had the eight warmest years on record, even though we had a cooling La Niña for the past three years and this acted as a temporary brake on global temperature increase. The development of an El Niño will most likely lead to a new spike in global heating and increase the chance of breaking temperature records,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
HIV statistics around the world in 2021: TOP-10 countries with highest infection rates
Human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, targets cells that assist the human body’s ability to fight off infection, thus weakening the resistance of the immune system. HIV can cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, AIDS, if not properly treated. This means that a person is vulnerable to numerous fatal diseases and disorders.
Currently, there is no HIV treatment that completely cures the condition which means that if someone has HIV, it will remain in the body for that person’s entire life. However, the majority of HIV-positive people can live long, healthy lives thanks to extremely effective pharmaceutical treatments.
Read the full article.
International Press Freedom Day: challenges, prospects and solutions | Experts’ Opinions
Press freedom is an essential aspect of a free and democratic society. Although access to free and independent media is one of the primary human rights, recent data is not very encouraging. The 2022 edition of the World Press Freedom Index, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories, highlights the rise of fake news and propaganda. Today, on International Press Freedom Day, check out more opinions and insights relating to online and traditional media nowadays.
Key Takeaways:
- Marked on the 3rd of May, this year’s theme for International Press Freedom Day is “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”
- With the rise of social media, one of the biggest challenges regarding press freedom is the spread of misinformation and disinformation
- Experts predict that traditional media will remain available but will need to adapt to the new changes
- Overall, both traditional media and online media have their strengths and weaknesses, and it is likely that they will continue to coexist and evolve alongside each other
- Norway is at the top of the World Press Freedom Index 2022 while North Korea is the worst-performing country in this regard.
Read the full article.
Here’s what else has happened
WFP and UNEP: The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) signed an agreement to address the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, environmental degradation, biodiversity, and ecosystem loss on the food and water security of millions of people around the world.
UK: The final UK evacuation flight from Port Sudan departed, concluding the longest and largest evacuation of any Western nation. The successful operation has evacuated more than 2,450 people on 30 flights, the vast majority of them being British nationals and their dependents.
Germany: The Green Climate Fund commends and strongly welcomes the announcement by Germany that it will contribute EUR 2 billion to the Fund’s second replenishment (GCF-2).
IRC: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that the ongoing fighting in Sudan, which began on 15 April and has displaced almost 400,000 people might get worse if nothing is done to foster peace. An estimated 334,000 have been displaced within Sudan itself with almost 65,000 estimated to have moved over borders as refugees.
Reports
Collaborating locally is key for progress globally towards health-related SDGs
A new progress report is being jointly released by the 13 signatory agencies of the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All (SDG3 GAP). The report entitled “What worked? What didn’t? What’s next?” reflects four years of joint work by major multilateral agencies outlining what has and has not worked in strengthening collaboration and support to accelerate country progress toward health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Global Report on Food Crises: Number of people facing acute food insecurity rose to 258 million in 58 countries in 2022
The number of people experiencing acute food insecurity and requiring urgent food, nutrition, and livelihood assistance increased for the fourth consecutive year in 2022, with over a quarter of a billion facing acute hunger and people in seven countries on the brink of starvation, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC).
New survey results show health systems starting to recover from pandemic
After three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, health systems in countries have started showing the first major signs of health system recovery, according to the WHO interim report on the “Fourth round of the global pulse survey on continuity of essential health services during the COVID-19 pandemic: November 2022–January 2023”. By early 2023, countries reported experiencing reduced disruptions in the delivery of routine health services but highlighted the need to invest in recovery and stronger resilience for the future.
Events
Synergized WASH and Nutrition Programming – Online Certificate Course
📅 19 – 23 June 2023
Virtual
Registration deadline:18 June 2023
In recent years, there has been emerging evidence showing the need for integration of WASH and nutrition programmes in order to achieve greater impact (e.g. on reduced stunting and open defecation) in both emergency and development contexts. SDG 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) and SDG 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all) articulate the need for achieving sustainable and optimal WASH and nutrition outcomes.
IDEAL Public Health and Development Consultancy (IPHDC) has planned to conduct training on synergized WASH and Nutrition programming in order to strengthen the capacities of decision-makers and implementers to achieve effective integration of WASH and nutrition-specific programmes.
By the end of the training, trainees will be able to develop and manage synergized WASH and nutrition programmes.
Sustainability Building for NGOs | Training
📅 11-15 June 2023
In-person training training
Trust Consultancy and Development (شركة ثقة للإستشارات و التطوير)(trustconsultancy.org) and RoadMap خارطة الطريق (rmdata360.com) are thrilled to announce our upcoming in-person training on “Sustainability Building for NGOs” to be held in Erbil, Iraq 11th-15th June.
