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Add to Preferred SourcesWater in times of climate change, the world’s cities affected by COVID-19 and children and families affected by Beirut explosions. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
Water in times of climate change
Record temperatures and extreme droughts are causing water shortages the world over. GIZ is working to ensure that available water resources are used in a more targeted manner. Like at Lake Chad, for example.
Temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, dried-out river beds, and harvest losses. Extremely hot and dry summers have become a regular occurrence in Germany too. With drinking water already in short supply in some parts of the country, deliberations on a national water strategy are currently underway. This topic is also at the forefront of German development cooperation’s 2020 water-sector activities. Dubbed ‘Every Drop Counts’, the present campaign showcases how the impacts of climate change are driving water shortages.
In Germany, the consequences of climate change on water resources are only gradually beginning to manifest itself. However, throughout Central Africa’s Lake Chad Basin (LCB), the impacts have long been palpable. Lake Chad has shrunk in size by around 80 percent over the past 50 years. Since many of the 42 million or more people who live in the Basin’s riparian states earn their living from agriculture, the shrinking lake and lack of rainfall pose a threat to their livelihoods. People will only be able to live in the region in the future if water resources are managed sustainably.
Vast majority of the world’s cities affected by COVID-19 according to UN-Habitat
A crowd-sourced survey conducted by UN-Habitat which attracted replies from 113 countries found that 95 percent of respondents lived in cities that had reported at least one COVID-19 case.
According to the survey, the most common COVID-19 preventive measures in cities include social distancing directives (identified by 90 percent of the respondents) and mandatory wearing of facemasks (67 percent of the respondents). Other measures mentioned include partial or full lockdowns, bans on inter-city movement, night curfews, and regular fumigation of public places.
Although regular handwashing is a recognized method of controlling the spread of COVID-19, only 15 percent of respondents said they always had access to hand washing or sanitization facilities in public spaces; 35 percent had regular access to the services; 34 percent had limited access, and 8 percent of the respondents had no access at all. The remaining 8 percent said restrictions on movement meant they could not access public spaces.
“The data generated from this survey helps us to estimate the extent of COVID-19 spread in cities and urban areas and the impact of the pandemic on urban residents, and complements other information coming from countries and other organizations, which is key to designing urban-specific response strategies,” said Robert Ndugwa, Chief of UN-Habitat’s Data and Analytics Unit.
UNICEF delivers critical supplies to support children and families affected by Beirut explosions
UNICEF has been able to deliver 18 shipments of critical humanitarian supplies, totalling 67 tons, through two airlifts and commercial cargo routes to support children and families affected by the Beirut explosions earlier this month. The shipments included vital personal protective equipment (PPE), medical, health hygiene, and nutrition supplies.
UNICEF was able to respond immediately following the explosion, distributing pre-positioned supplies that were in stock in the immediate aftermath. At the same time, UNICEF worked to procure additional humanitarian supplies locally, wherever possible, including personal protective equipment (PPE), infection prevention and control (IPC) kits, and other hygiene items, as well as supplies, to support psycho-social assistance to children affected. To complement the locally procured supplies, additional supplies were sent from UNICEF’s global supply hub in Copenhagen to Beirut, with further shipments planned in the coming days and weeks.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
„A momentous milestone” – Africa is declared free of wild polio
While the coronavirus is still a huge threat to the entire world, Africa has one piece of good news regarding another virus that, has finally been defeated. After decades of strenuous effort, the continent was declared free of “wild” polio. The announcement was made on Tuesday (August 25th 2020), by the WHO African Region.
How to shortlist the best consortia partners for tenders in half the time
Once the decision to Go for a tender is made by a company; partnership creation is the first important step to be undertaken. However, when companies search for consortia partners, they may find this difficult in terms of limited time and resources. The Bidnexus Ai, powered by DevelopmentAid, is the perfect tool that allows companies to reduce by half the amount of time needed to shortlist the best partners for bidding.
Here’s what else has happened
World Bank: The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the World Bank virtually signed an US$8.8 million grant agreement to support Jordanian municipalities affected by the influx of Syrian refugees to scale-up their delivery of services and employment opportunities to Jordanians and Syrians. The grant will also contribute to offset the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of municipal services in Jordan.
KfW: On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW signed a loan agreement with the Indian Ministry of Finance amounting to EUR 250 million for the COVID-19 Social Protection Crisis Response Programme. A second phase is already planned. Overall, the aim is to provide the Indian government with up to EUR 460 million in support for additional social security measures, the total cost of which will amount to around USD 23 billion.
WFP: The Pacific humanitarian air service launched a flight, delivering 6.5 tonnes of essential medical cargo and moving humanitarian personnel to support the COVID-19 response in Fiji, Kiribati, and Nauru.
Reports
UNAIDS calls for urgent action to strengthen social protection programmes in the face of COVID-19
UNAIDS is calling on countries to adopt urgent measures to reinforce social protection programmes to shield the most vulnerable people from the health impact and socio-economic fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read and download the call to action.
South Africa’s GDP will take at least five years to recover from COVID-19 impact
South Africa’s overall GDP is expected to decline by at least 5.1 and up to 7.9 percent in 2020 and recover slowly through 2024. This will lead to major setbacks in addressing poverty, unemployment, and inequality, according to a new UNDP study on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in South Africa.
Read the report: The Socio-Economic Impact Assessment of COVID-19 in South Africa.
Events
Virtual | G20 Labour 20 (L20) Summit
? 7 – 9 September 2020
Virtual summit
The G20 Labour 20 (L20) Summit will convene ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit 2020, which is to be hosted by Saudi Arabia at the end of 2020.
Virtual | Second Meeting of the Ad Hoc Expert Group: Revision of the draft Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
? 31 August – 4 September 2020 ? 10:00 AM -6:00 PM
Virtual meeting
The international group of 24 experts which was appointed by UNESCO to produce a draft text for a Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence will meet for the second time from 31 August to 4 September to revise its first draft text in light of the extensive comments, impressions, and inputs collected during a wide multi-stakeholder consultation process.