More Ukrainians entering the EU than returning to Ukraine, G7 vaccines failures contribute to 600,000 preventable deaths, sustainable blue economy vital for small countries and coastal populations. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
More Ukrainians entering the EU than returning to Ukraine
Over 6 million Ukrainian nationals have entered the EU since the beginning of the invasion in February. Between June 16 and 22, more Ukrainians entered the EU (262 606) than returned to their home country (248 697). The number of Ukrainians entering from Belarus and Russia is at the same level as in the previous weeks.
In total, 3.1 million Ukrainians have exited the EU towards their home country since February. There were on average 35 000 Ukrainians daily exiting the EU Member States towards Ukraine and Moldova within the last ten days.
Most of the entries and exits continue to take place at the Polish and Romanian borders with Ukraine. Alternative land routes to transport gran out of Ukraine are operating in the two countries and even higher pressure on freight transit is expected at the border crossing points as this season’s harvest approaches.
G7 vaccines failures contribute to 600,000 preventable deaths
Less than half (49 percent) of the 2.1 billion COVID vaccine donations promised to poorer countries by G7 countries have been delivered, according to new figures published by Oxfam and the People’s Vaccine Alliance.
G7 Summit, taking place in the German Alps, a new analysis shows that had the missing donated doses been shared in 2021, it could have been enough to save almost 600,000 lives in low- and middle-income countries, the equivalent of one every minute.
At the same time, rich nations led by the EU and UK have been forced through a text at the WTO which has failed to waive intellectual property on vaccines, treatments, and technology that would have enabled developing countries to produce their own generic vaccines. Instead, the text adds even more bureaucratic hurdles and further protects the hugely profitable monopolies of firms such as Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna. The People’s Vaccine Alliance is calling on all countries facing shortages of vaccines, tests, and treatments to save lives and end the pandemic by using all trade rule flexibilities available and circumventing WTO rules if necessary. They say the G7 and other rich countries must not stand in their way.
Previous research by the People’s Vaccine Alliance found that vaccine monopolies are making it five times more expensive to vaccinate the world, while Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are making over $1,000 profit every second from COVID vaccines.
Sustainable blue economy vital for small countries and coastal populations
With the livelihoods of about 40 per cent of the world’s population living at or near a coast, the second day of the UN Ocean Conference underway in Lisbon focused on strengthening sustainable ocean-based economies and managing coastal ecosystems.
The world’s coastal populations contribute significantly to the global economy – an estimated $1.5 trillion per year – with expectations pointing to some $3 trillion by 2030.
Ensuring ocean ecosystem health, supporting livelihoods, and driving economic growth requires targeted support for key sectors, including fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, energy, shipping and port activities, and seabed mining, as well as innovative areas such as renewable energy and marine biotechnology.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
LinkedIn advocates transition of global workforce into green economy
LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional network, has pleaded for the transition of the global workforce into a green economy in order to counter the threats of climate change. In a historic remodeling of the future of work, LinkedIn has issued the 2022 Global Green Skills Report, unveiling data on green skills and jobs from around the world to provide policy-makers, governments, and business leaders with the actionable insights needed to secure this transition.
How does the war in Ukraine impact global supply chains weakened by COVID-19? | Experts’ Opinions
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war that has followed threaten to disrupt the supply chains of multiple industries across continents. The disruptions are putting at risk supplies of essential components for products that rely on raw materials, logistics, oil, and transportation. Added to the earlier challenges arising from the pandemic together with inflation and increasing shipment costs, these all pose a greater risk of increasing already skyrocketing global commodity prices. We asked international experts about how the war will further affect global supply chains. Check out their answers below.
UN Sustainable Development Goals fail to ramp up political, social change – paper
A new paper published in the British weekly academic journal Nature has revealed that the effectiveness of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a political framework has been quite minimal and largely relegated to the realm of discussion and debate. Perhaps most interestingly, the paper revealed that the discursive effects of the adoption of the SDGs has now also spread to the private sector. Banks, investors, and public companies are increasingly using the language of sustainability to describe their activities, which some experts have labeled “SDG Washing” or disguising standard business practices under the camouflage of SDG-related rhetoric.
Here’s what else has happened
WORLD BANK: The devastating human, economic, and social costs of COVID-19 have highlighted the urgent need for coordinated action to build stronger health systems and mobilize additional resources for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR).
G7: Faced with the worst hunger crisis in a generation, the G7 has simply failed to take the action that is needed. Many millions will face terrible hunger and starvation as a result. Instead of doing what is needed, the G7 is leaving millions to starve and cooking the planet.
COVID-19: A new analysis by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reveals that nearly 1 billion people in Asia and the Pacific are yet to receive a single dose of COVID -19 vaccine and remain at risk of serious illness and death. Globally, less than 20 percent of the population has received a single dose in low-income countries, according to Oxford University’s Our World in Data. The IFRC is calling for all governments and pharmaceutical companies to act now to achieve greater vaccine equity.
Reports
Greater results from combining development cooperation and trade activities
Foreign trade and development cooperation form a powerful combination. So this is where the Netherlands plans to make extra investments in the coming years. Dutch businesses combine knowledge and expertise with an enterprising spirit.
The government, therefore, plans to encourage them to take the plunge and do business in developing countries more often. The government also wants to introduce more focus on connecting Dutch businesses to development resources. That will benefit both the countries concerned and the Netherlands
This is one of the main new themes of Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher’s policy document Doing what the Netherlands is good at, which was approved by the cabinet.
UN report: Reducing trade costs can help drive sustainable development
A robust and well-integrated global agrifood system can help all countries withstand unprecedented challenges, as evidenced during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 when global agrifood markets proved to be remarkably resilient.
“Efficient trade can promote world food security and better nutrition,” said QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at an event today to launch The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2022 (SOCO 2022), an FAO flagship report.
The SOCO report, published every two years, presents commodity market issues in an objective and accessible way to policymakers, commodity market observers, and stakeholders interested in agricultural commodity market developments and their impacts on countries at different levels of economic development.
Nuclear power can play a major role in enabling secure transitions to low emissions energy systems
Momentum is building for nuclear power in many countries amid soaring fuel prices and growing energy security concerns, but success will depend on governments and the industry.
In countries that choose to continue or increase their use of nuclear power, it can reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels, cut carbon dioxide emissions, and enable electricity systems to integrate higher shares of solar and wind power. Building sustainable and clean energy systems will be harder, riskier, and more expensive without nuclear, according to the new report, Nuclear power and secure energy transitions: From today’s challenges to tomorrow’s clean energy systems.
Events
Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2022)
📅 4–5 July 2022
Lugano, Switzerland
The Ukraine Reform Conference scheduled to take place on 4 and 5 July has been renamed the Ukraine Recovery Conference to reflect the new focus of the gathering. The way to rebuild Ukraine is through a broad-based political and diplomatic process. Switzerland and Ukraine want to start this process in Lugano. Discussions will focus on Ukraine’s reconstruction and development program and on contributions from international partners.
High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2022
📅 5 – 15 July 2022
New York, USA
The meeting of the HLPF in 2022 will be held under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This includes the three-day ministerial segment of the forum. The high-level segment of the Council will conclude with a final day.
Agri-SME Finance: Navigating volatility in the wake of the war in Ukraine | Virtual
📅 06 July 2022 🕑 01:30pm-05:00pm CET
Virtual
Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network (SAFIN), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Good Food Hub to discuss the key impacts, challenges, and unexpected opportunities for the future of financing agri-SMEs during times of crisis.
IDA for Africa: Heads of State Summit
📅 7 July 2022
Dakar, Senegal
After advocating for an ambitious 20th replenishment of the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA20) at their Heads of State Summit in Abidjan in July 2021, African leaders will convene again in Dakar, Senegal, on July 7, 2022, to call for a strong start to the implementation of IDA20 focused on a robust and resilient recovery for Africa.