Weekly roundup: Top international development headlines

Pandemic prompts rise in poverty to levels unprecedented in recent decades, a new partnership to help vaccinate the most vulnerable and COVID-19 cases rise for the first time in seven weeks. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:

Pandemic prompts rise in poverty to levels unprecedented in recent decades

Poverty and extreme poverty in Latin America reached levels in 2020 that had not been seen in the last 12 and 20 years, respectively, while the indices of inequality in the region worsened along with employment and labor participation rates, among women above all, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and despite the emergency social protection measures that countries have adopted to halt this phenomenon, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The Executive Secretary of the United Nations regional commission, Alicia Bárcena, presented a new edition of the flagship annual report Social Panorama of Latin America 2020, which indicates that the pandemic burst forth in a complex economic, social and political scenario of low growth, rising poverty and growing social tensions. In addition, it exposes the structural inequalities that characterize Latin American societies and the high levels of informality and lack of social protection, as well as the unfair sexual division of labor and social organization of care, which undermines women’s full exercise of rights and autonomy.

New partnership to help vaccinate the most vulnerable

UNOPS and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance will work together to strengthen national health systems and support vaccination efforts globally.

Under a new agreement, UNOPS will support Gavi’s immunization mission and operations, including in their role as co-lead of COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

“Vaccines are key to transforming lives and making the world safer for everyone. Making sure that vaccines – including for COVID-19 – reach the most vulnerable requires better health systems, supply chains, and infrastructure,” said Grete Faremo – Under-Secretary-General and UNOPS Executive Director.

The agreement is a positive step towards creating the partnerships required to guarantee fair and equitable access to vaccines for every country in the world.

“Millions of children are still missing out on basic vaccines, many of them living in fragile settings. In addition, this pandemic is threatening to reverse the years of progress we have made,” said Deputy CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Anuradha Gupta.

“Therefore, we must double our efforts to maintain focus on routine immunization as the most sustainable way to improve child health and strengthen health systems,” she added.

UNOPS work will focus on health infrastructure, logistics, and procurement to help improve the effectiveness and delivery of vaccinations, strengthen health systems, and support more robust supply chains in hard-to-reach locations.

COVID-19 cases rise for first time in seven weeks: WHO

Four of the agency’s six regions reported a rise in numbers, with Africa and the Western Pacific excluded.

“This is disappointing, but not surprising”, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking during his biweekly press briefing from Geneva.

“Some of it appears to be due to relaxing of public health measures, continued circulation of variants, and people letting down their guard.”

The jump in cases comes as the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines continues.

“Vaccines will help to save lives, but if countries rely solely on vaccines, they’re making a mistake”, Tedros warned, underscoring the importance of basic public health measures such as testing, contact tracing, wearing masks and avoiding crowds.

DevelopmentAid Editorials

A cheap Dutch invention halves the number of malaria infections

A new, promising and inexpensive way to combat malaria – ventilation grilles sprinkled with insect poison built into the outer walls of houses – could, according to recent research, cut the number of malaria infections by half.

Check the full article here.

Independent United Nations expert called to lift sanctions imposed on Venezuela

Independent UN human rights rapporteur Alena Douhan has appealed for the sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the EU and the US to be lifted, claiming they make civilians who are affected by extreme poverty even poorer. US officials criticized the report.

Check the full article here.

Can high yields today ensure our food in 10 years?

Food security, i.e., access to sufficient healthy food at all times, has for decades been one of the pressing issues worldwide. With governments concerned about securing access to enough food for their people, the emphasis has been placed on higher yields. However, this farming system has proven to be detrimental to the health of hundreds of millions of people and arouses serious concerns as to its sustainability given its negative impact on the environment. This article aims to clarify this issue in the context of farming systems while giving an overview of two approaches that address productivity differently, thereby helping to identify production systems which can de facto ensure eco-friendly and healthy food for all.

Check the full article here.

Here’s what else has happened

World Bank: The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or IBRD) has issued a US$100 million 5-year bond which both supports IBRD’s ongoing sustainable development and COVID-19 activities and adds a new feature to support similar efforts by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

EBRD and EU: Over 100,000 inhabitants of Tajikistan’s fourth-largest city, Kulob, will receive access to an improved water supply and water treatment services following major upgrades financially supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU).

EIB and EIAH: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) signed an agreement to support HBOR in setting up its own advisory services and enhance its capacity to support investments in key sectors of the Croatian economy, such as the environment, resource efficiency, circular economy, smart cities, and social infrastructure.

COVAX: The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), and the World Health Organization (WHO), as co-leads of the COVAX initiative for equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF, are pleased to publish COVAX’s first round of allocations.

USAID: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is deploying a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to respond to growing humanitarian needs stemming from the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. After nearly four months of fighting between armed groups, hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes and more than four million people are in need of food assistance.

Reports

Sustainable infrastructure can drive development and COVID-19 recovery

Zimbabwe has long struggled with crippling power outages, some of which can last up to 18 hours a day. The cuts have been especially hard on the country’s hospitals and clinics, forcing nurses to deliver babies by candlelight and doctors to postpone emergency surgeries.

Read the full International Good Practice Principles for Sustainable Infrastructure report. 

 

A decade of attacks on health care in Syria, IRC report

As the world marks 10 years of conflict in Syria, a new report from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and its Syrian partner organizations Independent Doctors Association (IDA), the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), the Syrian Expatriates Medical Association (SEMA), Sustainable International Medical Relief Organization (SIMRO), Syria Relief and Development (SRD) and the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organization (UOSSM) reveals the widespread and devastating impact that a decade of systematic attacks on health facilities has had on Syrian civilians, and the crippling effect the decimation of the country’s health care system has had on its ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full “A Decade of Destruction: Attacks on health care in Syria” report.

Greater climate ambition urged as initial NDC Synthesis Report is published

UN Climate Change published the Initial NDC Synthesis Report, showing nations must redouble efforts and submit stronger, more ambitious national climate action plans in 2021 if they’re to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise by 2°C—ideally 1.5°C—by the end of the century.

Read the full report. 

Events

Best Practices in Recruiting Freelance Consultants for Donor-Funded Projects | Webinar

? 11 March ? 16:00(CET) /10:00(ET) /7:00(PT)
Virtual

Donor Funding for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights | Webinar

? 11 March ? 04:00 PM
Virtual

The Donor Tracker team invites you to the third and final installment in our series of gender equality webinars, this time with a focus on funding for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Adam Wexler of the Kaiser Family Foundation joins the Donor Tracker’s Kalila Jaeger and Zoe Johnson for a deep dive into the world of donor finance for SRHR.

Drawing on the findings of the Donor Tracker’s latest Insight on official development assistance (ODA) for SRHR and the work of KFF tracking donor funding for Family Planning and HIV, the webinar will address:

• How much ODA do donors spend on SRHR and how have funding and policy commitments made to this sector changed over time?
• Which areas of SRHR receive the most funding and which donor countries are championing which aspects of SRHR in their ODA funding and policy?
• What funding and policy trends should advocates watch for in this sector in the years ahead?

Tune in for the answers to these questions and the chance to ask your own.

Webinar Registration

Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage in Africa | Virtual

? 10-11 March
Virtual

The two-days meeting will be held virtually. The meeting contributes to UNESCO’s continued efforts to improve Member States capacities in protecting their submerged heritage, such as shipwrecks, sunken structures, and offering sites.

Speakers will include representatives of national authorities, leading archaeologists, senior cultural heritage experts, historians, or conservators from the African region. The discussions will revolve around the current status of Underwater Heritage, best practices, and studies on how best to protect it as well as how to promote intersectoral and international cooperation. The meeting will further investigate how to establish inventories based on the standard UNESCO inventory sheet.