Weekly roundup: Top international development headlines

The UNDP launches standards to guide private sector in achieving SDGs, African Development Bank, partners launch recovery projects in Zimbabwe
and new technologies, artificial intelligence aid fight against global terrorism. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:

UNDP launches standards to guide private sector in achieving SDGs

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released for comment and consultation a new set of standards to guide private fund managers toward investments that advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

These SDG Impact Practice Standards for Private Equity Funds were developed by SDG Impact, a flagship UNDP initiative aimed at advancing transparency and mobilizing private capital in support of sustainable, climate-friendly growth.

“Private-sector enthusiasm for the SDGs is strong and growing—but translating interest into action has been challenging,” SDG Impact Director Elizabeth Boggs-Davidsen said. “A big part of the SDG story is scale. We need to significantly speed up the implementation to make progress by the goals’ target date of 2030. Mobilizing an additional 5% of global assets under management yearly(about US$6 trillion) in ways that take us closer to the SDGs is a realistic goal. SDG Impact is focused on best practices to inform goal-setting, data collection, and impact management and measurement.”

African Development Bank, partners launch $96.7 million post-cyclone Idai recovery projects in Zimbabwe

The African Development Bank, with the World Bank and the government of Zimbabwe, launched post-cyclone Idai recovery projects totaling $96.7 million to restore livelihoods and rehabilitate infrastructure in areas most hit by the disaster this year.

The World Bank has provided $72 million to finance its Zimbabwe Idai Recovery Project (ZIRP), focusing on the nine worst affected districts in Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Masvingo Provinces, while the African Development Bank has earmarked $24.7 million for the Idai Emergency Recovery and Resilience Project (IERRP) to restore public infrastructure, irrigation and energy supply, and telecommunications networks in Chipinge and Chimanimani Districts. It will also help strengthen the government’s capacity to predict and respond to emergencies.

The Zimbabwean government is supporting the IERRP with $3.2 million to make a total of $27.5 million.

New technologies, artificial intelligence aid fight against global terrorism

Although terrorists have become skilled at manipulating the Internet and other new technologies, artificial intelligence or AI, is a powerful tool in the fight against them, a top UN counter-terrorism official said this week at a high-level conference on strengthening international cooperation against the scourge.

The internet “expands technological boundaries literally every day” and AI, 3D printing biotechnology innovations, can help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said Vladimir Voronkov, the first-ever Under-Secretary-General for the UN Counter-Terrorism Office.

He pointed out that terrorists have the capacity to use drones to deliver chemical, biological or radiological materials, which Mr. Voronkov said, “are even hard to imagine.”

Here’s what else has happened

Sudanese food crisis: Significant macroeconomic challenges which have resulted in high inflation rates, soaring food prices and shortages of foreign currency and cash are the main drivers of the current crisis.

While the UN and humanitarian partners are assessing the projected impact of these latest figures, food security and livelihoods response has been underway in priority locations.

Japan: During her official visit to Japan from 28 to 30 August for the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay held important bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Minister of Foreign affairs in order to reinforce UNESCO’s partnership with Japan and discuss joint cooperation.

United States: Deputy Secretary John Sullivan and United States Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green announced in Cúcuta, Colombia more than $120 million in additional U.S. humanitarian assistance to address the largest external displacement of persons in the Hemisphere’s history.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) began assessing damage from Hurricane Dorian, a Category 5 storm that has damaged more than 13,000 houses across several island groups, especially the Bahamas. Some 30,000 persons are believed affected on the two islands most heavily impacted.

Reports

Climate change threatens future of farming in Europe

Crop and livestock production is projected to decrease and may even have to be abandoned in parts of Europe’s southern and Mediterranean regions due to the increased negative impacts of climate change, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report.

The study says that adapting to climate change must be made a top priority for the European Union’s agriculture sector if it is to improve resilience to extreme events like droughts, heatwaves and floods.

Read and download the European Environment Agency (EEA) report.

CERF publishes 2019 flagship reports

The 2018 Annual Report tells the story of the support provided by CERF in 2018 through life-saving allocations. The year was record-breaking for the Fund – for the first time, CERF disbursed over half a billion dollars to ensure life-saving assistance to millions of crisis-affected people.

Donors also made sure that 2018 was a record-breaking year for contributions to CERF, with total annual funding of US$558.6 million.

Events

Global SME Finance Forum 2019

Amsterdam, Netherlands
7-9 October 2019

Globally, some of the largest and fastest-growing SME financiers may not have started as banks. From tech companies, logistics firms, commodities traders, and Fast-Moving Consumer Goods distributors, financial institutions are facing increasing competition from the real sector in financing small businesses. The real sector firms enjoy a competitive advantage in the form of large amounts of data and analytical skills, which give them insights into the behaviors of SME borrowers.

AI Sustainable Development Summit

New York, USA
28 September 2019

The Summit brings together thought leaders and practitioners in AI and sustainable development, from the diplomatic bureaus to buzzing innovation centers of Silicon Valley to explore innovative solutions for the economic, social, and environmental challenges that encompass the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

The Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment Conference

Lyon, France
9-10 October 2019

The Sixth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will be hosted by the government of France under the patronage of President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron.

With France’s leadership, the Sixth Replenishment Conference aims to raise at least US$14 billion for the Global Fund’s next three-year funding cycle.