As we look back over 2022, this year has been full of events in international development and beyond, all covered by DevelopmentAid. Our platform was once again a great source of news and analysis concerning foreign aid. DevelopmentAid has provided in-depth coverage of the issues that matter the most.
In this editorial, we will review some of the biggest headlines from www.developmentaid.org in 2022, from deforestation and gender inequality to world hunger and the problems facing refugees who are fleeing conflicts. These are the stories that defined the year in development. So, if you missed any of our coverage in 2022, this is what you need to know:
Top 10 world problems and their solutions
The last decade was marked by significant progress in various fields such as science, medicine and technology but at the same time, the number of problems in today’s society has steadily grown. In 2020 and 2021, which were undoubtedly some of the most uncertain and difficult years of the last decade, the biggest problems in the world were the COVID-19 pandemic and poverty.
2022 began optimistically only to have since become even worse. The recurring COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated poverty, climate impacts, catastrophic humanitarian crises, hunger and the situation in war-torn nations. 2022 will cause us to face a plethora of difficulties that require urgent collaboration at unprecedented levels.
Read the full article here.
PRAG 2021 – An overview of changes and novelties
The European Union’s Multiannual Financial Framework is the primary budget document that highlights the overall Union’s budget and related spending areas for a seven-year period. The recently approved MFF for 2021-2027 has a total dedicated budget of €1.211 trillion, out of which €95.75 billion has been allocated to finance activities under the external actions dimension. PRAG is a non-legally binding document that governs public tendering and grants awarding procedures in the context of the EU’s external action plan.
PRAG 2021 applies to all procurement and grant award procedures launched as of 15 December 2021. It marks a series of important changes and novelties that aim to improve the current procedures and complement those encompassed in the previous MFF (2014-2020). Its boundaries do not apply to contracts where the EC features as the contracting authority or those that concern the delivery of humanitarian aid and civil protection operations.
Read the full article here.
Top six USAID contractors in 2021
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a premier bilateral development agency working towards reducing global poverty, strengthening democratic governance, and achieving a prosperous world.
Since its establishment in 1961, USAID has carried out multiple development missions in relation to international development and humanitarian activities. Sixty years later, in 2021, USAID registered a net cost of operations totaling US$16.0 billion which represents US$2.2 billion more than a year earlier.
Chemonics International, DAI Global, and Deloitte were some of the largest USAID contractors in 2021.
Read the full article here.
Heavy burden of world hunger and 10 solutions to end it
The world witnessed a steady decrease in hunger between 1991 and 2014. However, the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 report developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization shows that the problem has been steadily rising ever since.
It is highly likely that those who experience poverty will be hungry. Based on the information provided by the World Bank it has to be acknowledged that today around 690 million people are victims of extreme poverty and in all probability, none of these people will have the means to benefit from basic human needs including food.
Can we bring world hunger to an end?
Read the full article here.
Six tips that can help you tailor your CV
If you want to increase the chances of landing that dream job of yours, it’s critical to avoid sending out the same old CV to organizations and choose to tailor it instead (along with a covering letter, if required). This will help your resume to get past any tricky filters that an organization may employ before it finally reaches a recruiter.
You can make your CV more attractive by adapting it to job specifications using the strategies in the sequence described in this article.
Read the full article here.
The effects of deforestation on humans, the environment and biodiversity
Every year a massive number of trees are chopped down throughout the world. At the same time, data shows that this is being done at a pace that is considerably faster than reforestation efforts. It is believed this disparity will cause significant damage to the planet.
Forest loss contributes to climate change as well as biodiversity loss which plays an important role in the environment. This in turn impacts humans’ health and wellbeing. Forests are home to numerous creatures and a plethora of unique plant species. Moreover, forests absorb the excess of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
Many actions have been taken to bring a halt to forest devastation. Years of dedicated work by environmental activists, lawmakers, and even some corporations are beginning to bear fruit but there is still much more to be done.
Read the full article here.
The main issues of gender inequality in developing countries. Part I | Experts’ Opinions
Gender equality can be considered to be an indicator of a developed and prosperous society. Although over 50% of the global population are women, there are many inequalities between both sexes such as lower wages, more domestic violence, and emancipation issues regarding females.
Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the labor market are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. Ahead of International Women’s Day, we decided to discuss the topic with international gender experts.
Read the full article here.
Africa is halfway towards achieving SDGs, report
After four years of SDG implementation, the African continent is only halfway towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. This is the conclusion of the 2020 Africa Sustainable Development Report released in March 2022, the fourth in a series of reports that date back to 2017 that looks at Africa’s progress towards the SDGs and the objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
The report evaluates the SDGs under the five pillars of people, prosperity, planet, peace, and partnerships. These pillars closely correspond to the five transformational outcomes of Agenda 2063 and its 20 goals and break down the goals into smaller areas of analysis. The analysis focuses on comparing the progress and challenges according to the continent’s sub-regions of Northern Africa, Western Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa.
Read the full article here.
Poland, Romania and Moldova report over 137,000 Ukrainian refugees in a single day
More than 137,000 Ukrainians left their country for Poland, Romania, and the Republic of Moldova on March 3. Data offered by the authorities of the three countries suggest increased traffic on most of the border crossing points with war-torn Ukraine.
In Poland, over 99,000 Ukrainian citizens arrived on March 3. The Polish Border Guard announced that as many as 672,500 travelers and asylum-seekers from Ukraine crossed the border since February 24, when Russia attacked the neighboring country.
Romania, who shares over 600 kilometers of border with Ukraine, was destination for over 28,500 Ukrainian travelers and asylum-seekers on March 3 – a 10%-increase compared to the previous day. Romanian Border Police stated that the majority of Ukrainians came from Moldova – 16,586 people, while the traffic from Ukraine itself encountered almost 10,000 entries. Since the beginning of the conflict, over 167,000 Ukrainians entered Romania. However, only 58,000 still remain in the country, while others left for other EU countries.
Read the full article here.
The advantages and disadvantages of international assistance | Experts’ Opinions on foreign aid
‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’ – is a well-known saying that also applies to the international development sector. While the development aid provided by richer nations to poor countries is supposed to reflect an act of kindness, some critics hold different opinions about foreign aid, viewing it as a means of keeping weaker nations in economic slumber. We discussed the advantages and disadvantages of aid with several international development experts.
Read the full article here.
These headlines are just 10 of hundreds more covering the events that happened in 2022 and it seems as though the future holds even more that could have both a global and personal impact. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on international development aid news. We follow the top stories from key global and bilateral financial institutions, along with UN and EC agencies, across over 150 news sources every day.
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