UK aid to tackle the global spread of coronavirus ‘fake news’, the new Circular Economy Action Plan and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, Mastercard committed up to $125 million in seed funding to speed-up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
UK aid to tackle global spread of coronavirus ‘fake news’
Dangerous myths about coronavirus which are hampering the global fight against the disease will be challenged thanks to a new initiative backed by UK aid. The support from the Department for International Development will challenge misinformation in South East Asia and Africa, which is then spreading worldwide, and direct people to the right advice to help stop the spread of the virus.
False claims and conspiracy theories have spread rapidly on social media, touting ‘cures’ like drinking bleach or rubbing mustard and garlic into your skin. These pose a serious risk to health and can speed up the spread of the virus, by stopping people taking simple practical, preventative steps like washing their hands.
European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan
The European Commission adopted a new Circular Economy Action Plan – one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal, Europe’s new agenda for sustainable growth.
With measures along the entire life cycle of products, the new Action Plan aims to make our economy fit for a green future, strengthen our competitiveness while protecting the environment and give new rights to consumers. Building on the work done since 2015, the new Plan focuses on the design and production for a circular economy, with the aim to ensure that the resources used are kept in the EU economy for as long as possible. The plan and the initiatives therein will be developed with the close involvement of the business and stakeholder community.
Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said: “To achieve climate-neutrality by 2050, to preserve our natural environment, and to strengthen our economic competitiveness, requires a fully circular economy. There is a huge potential to be exploited both for businesses and consumers. With today’s plan we launch action to transform the way products are made and empower consumers to make sustainable choices for their own benefit and that of the environment.”
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard launch initiative to speed development and access to therapies for COVID-19
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and Mastercard committed up to $125 million in seed funding to speed-up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic by identifying, assessing, developing, and scaling-up treatments.
The partners are committed to equitable access, including making products available and affordable in low-resource settings. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will play a catalytic role by accelerating and evaluating new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat patients with COVID-19 in the immediate term, and other viral pathogens in the longer-term. Currently, there are no broad-spectrum antivirals or immunotherapies available for the fight against emerging pathogens, and none approved for use on COVID-19.
The Gates Foundation and Wellcome are each contributing up to $50 million, and the Mastercard Impact Fund has committed up to $25 million to catalyze the initial work of the accelerator. The Gates Foundation’s funding is part of its up to $100 million commitment to the COVID-19 response announced last month.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Experts’ Opinions| Food waste – consequences and solutions
While global hunger is on the rise, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tons — is lost or wasted. Response to the problem of food waste at all social levels has varied hugely including campaigns from advisory and environmental groups and concentrated media attention on the subject. Let’s see what two international experts in food management have to say on this topic.
Find out Expert’s Opinions.
COVID-19 outbreak: Closed schools, billion-dollar losses and half of the world countries affected
As of March 10, over 113,000 people across more than 100 countries worldwide have been diagnosed with the COVID-19 coronavirus. Since last Tuesday, March 3rd, over 23,000 new confirmed cases have been reported, with around 17,000 patients recovering during the same period. The pattern of more quickly growing “new confirmed” cases versus “recovered” patients has been recorded following two consecutive weeks of an apparent retreat of the COVID-19, according to the data provided by the Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases mapping by Johns Hopkins University.
Check weekly review of the coronavirus situation across the world, prepared by DevelopmentAid
Consultancy fees and per diems: insights and tips from DevelopmentAid recruiters
A consultancy fee is the payment a development consultant receives for his work on a particular project, which can be supplemented with per diems to cover additional work-related costs. This article, from a DevelopmentAid specialist, aims to introduce some fee and per diem related insights and tips for practitioners working with EU based companies and organizations.
Find out the fee and per diem related insights and tips.
Here’s what else has happened
World Bank: The Government of India, Government of Himachal Pradesh, and the World Bank signed an $80 million loan agreement to improve water management practices and increase agricultural productivity in selected Gram Panchayats (Village Councils) in Himachal Pradesh, a mountainous state richly endowed with natural resources.
IDB: The Inter-American Development Bank is actively engaged in coordinated efforts to fight the COVID-19 outbreak with member countries and other international institutions and is prepared to help countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean cope with challenges posed by the pandemic.
African Development Bank: The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved a $121.7 million loan (ZAR 1.893 billion) and Euro 3 million grant from the Rural Water Supply Sanitation Initiative Trust Fund to support Namibia’s “Water Sector Support Program”.
Reports
Citizen science projects on air quality produce useful information and raise public awareness
The EEA report ‘Assessing air quality through citizen science’ presents successful examples of using simple low-cost devices to measure local air pollution levels. The report also briefly explains how these devices work, summarises their reliability, and highlights the potential of such devices to address questions about air quality.
The EEA report shows that citizen science initiatives can produce useful information about local air quality. Such information can be used, for example, to improve official air quality models used to estimate pollution levels and identify suitable actions to improve air quality. The initiatives often also help to raise public awareness of air quality problems, which can lead to stronger public measures to address the issue or changes in personal behaviour, such as switching from driving to walking or cycling.
Read and download the report: Assessing air quality through citizen science.
Events
CLIMATE2020 Conference
Online: http://www.dl4sd.org
23-30 March 2020
CLIMATE2020 is a 100% carbon neutral online climate conference organized by the Research and Transfer Centre Sustainability and Climate Impact Management (FTZ-NK) of the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany.
28th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference (FEC 2020)
Nice, France
12-17 October 2020
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) fosters the exchange of scientific and technical results in nuclear fusion research and development through its series of Fusion Energy Conferences.
6th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism
Bruges, Belgium
1-4 June 2020
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Basque Culinary Center (BCC) with the support of the Government of Flanders co-organized the 6th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism.
