China is certified malaria-free by the WHO, no place for children in conflict and World Bank financing for COVID-19 vaccine rollout exceeds $4 Billion for 50 countries. Here is what you missed from last week’s headlines in the international development sector:
From 30 million cases to zero: China is certified malaria-free by WHO
Following a 70-year effort, China has been awarded a malaria-free certification from WHO – a notable feat for a country that reported 30 million cases of the disease annually in the 1940s.
“We congratulate the people of China on ridding the country of malaria. Their success was hard-earned and came only after decades of targeted and sustained action. With this announcement, China joins the growing number of countries that are showing the world that a malaria-free future is a viable goal,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
China is the first country in the WHO Western Pacific Region to be awarded a malaria-free certification in more than 3 decades. Other countries in the region that have achieved this status include Australia (1981), Singapore (1982) and Brunei Darussalam (1987).
“Congratulations to China on eliminating malaria. China’s tireless effort to achieve this important milestone demonstrates how strong political commitment and strengthening national health systems can result in eliminating a disease that once was a major public health problem. China’s achievement takes us one step closer towards the vision of a malaria-free Western Pacific Region.” said Dr Takeshi Kasai, Regional Director, WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.
Globally, 40 countries and territories have been granted a malaria-free certification from WHO – including, most recently, El Salvador (2021), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), Paraguay (2018) and Uzbekistan (2018).
No place for children in conflict, UN chief tells Security Council
The disregard for children’s rights amid war and upheaval “is shocking and heartbreaking”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said during a high-level open debate in the Security Council, held virtually. Mr. Guterres urged warring parties to prioritize the prevention of violations against boys and girls and called on countries to support their protection at all times.
“There is no place for children in conflict, and we must not allow conflict to trample on the rights of children”, he said.
The Secretary-General presented his latest report on Children and Armed Conflict.
It revealed that last year, grave violations were committed against some 19,300 youngsters affected by fighting in countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Recruitment and use in hostilities remained the top violations, followed by killing and maiming, and denial of humanitarian access.
“Moreover, new and deeply concerning trends emerged: an exponential increase in the number of children abducted, and in sexual violence against boys and girls. We are also seeing schools and hospitals, constantly attacked, looted, destroyed or used for military purposes, with girls’ educational and health facilities targeted disproportionately”, Mr. Guterres said.
World Bank financing for COVID-19 vaccine rollout exceeds $4 Billion for 50 countries
The World Bank announced that it is providing over $4 billion for the purchase and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines for 51 developing countries, half of which are in Africa. More than half of the financing comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries, and is on grant or highly concessional terms. This financing is part of the Bank’s commitment to helping low- and middle-income countries acquire and distribute vaccines and strengthen their health systems.
The World Bank reiterated its call to governments, pharmaceutical companies, and organizations involved in vaccine procurement and delivery to help increase transparency and build greater public information regarding vaccine contracts, options, and agreements; vaccine financing and delivery agreements; and doses delivered and future delivery plans. It asked those countries anticipating excess vaccine supplies in the coming months to release their surplus doses and options as soon as possible, in a transparent manner, to developing countries with adequate distribution plans in place.
DevelopmentAid Editorials
Employees over 50 should learn to fight against age discrimination
Whilst many people have undergone further training or retraining during the corona crisis, strikingly, these are mostly young people or those under 50 years old whereas the age group above this is less inclined to do so. Why is this? And why is it important that they also continue to develop?
Aid quality ranking encourages more effective development assistance
The Center for Global Development has developed a system to comparatively measure the richest nations and the largest multilateral agencies on the quality and effectiveness of their Official Development Assistance (ODA). Having been implemented, the system shows that donors should work on improving partner ownership on development projects, as ownership is widely considered to be the most important factor in terms of long-term effectiveness.
Foreign direct investment on recovery path amid uncertainties
Global foreign direct investment (FDI) has been significantly affected by the pandemic, dropping by 35% last year, that is, from US$1.5 trillion in 2019 to US$1 trillion. While FDI is expected to grow by 10-15% in 2021, this will still be 25% lower than the level recorded in 2019, according to an annual report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Creating a family-friendly environment at work: ‘Bring the baby? No problem!’
Family versus career or keeping a life-work balance are very popular notions nowadays. More and more companies are creating a friendly environment for their employees after realizing that this could result in better performance in the completion of their work. There is also a rising number of employers, large and small, who are concerned about taking good care of those employees with children.
World Food Programme forced to cut food rations to people in need
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has cut food rations in some regions because of a shortage of funds. It has warned that if there is no urgent response from donors, it will have to reduce rations even further.
Here’s what else has happened
The European Union: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a contribution of €2.5 million from the European Union (EU) to support its life-saving food and nutritional assistance in the southern region of Madagascar and its cash programs for vulnerable communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gates Foundation: As part of the Generation Equality Forum convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a commitment of $2.1 billion over the next five years to advance women’s economic empowerment, strengthen women and girls’ health and family planning, and accelerate women’s leadership.
Canada: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) received a CAD10.5 (US$8.7) million contribution from the government of Canada to scale up food assistance to the most vulnerable Lebanese through a key national social support. WFP aims to expand its support to reach 350,000 people per month through the National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP) of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Lebanese families are struggling to make ends meet amidst an ongoing economic downturn with a collapsing currency and skyrocketing inflation.
EBRD, EU and Austria: More homeowners in Kosovo will be able to improve the energy efficiency of their households thanks to a new €2 million credit line extended by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to the Agency for Finance in Kosovo (AFK).
OECD: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on small‑ and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs globally, but they are weathering the storm thanks to strong government support packages, according to a new OECD report.
Reports
Protecting nature could avert global economic losses of $2.7 trillion per year
A new World Bank report estimates that the collapse of select ecosystem services provided by nature – such as wild pollination, provision of food from marine fisheries, and timber from native forests – could result in a decline in global GDP of $2.7 trillion annually by 2030.
The Economic Case for Nature underscores the strong reliance of economies on nature, particularly in low-income countries. The report highlights that Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia would suffer the most relative contraction of real GDP due to a collapse of ecosystem services by 2030: 9.7 percent annually and 6.5 percent, respectively. This is due to a reliance on pollinated crops and, in the case of Sub-Saharan Africa on forest products, as well as a limited ability to switch to other production and consumption options that would be less affected.
Refugee health challenges remain high amid COVID-19
Malaria remained the single most common cause of illness among refugees in 2020, while psychological distress caused by COVID-19, and acute malnutrition constituted major threats to refugees’ health and well-being, according to data released by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in its Annual Public Health Global Review.
IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook re-writes energy narrative for a net zero world
Accelerating energy transitions on a path to climate safety can grow the world’s economy by 2.4 per cent over the expected growth of current plans within the next decade, a new analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows. The Agency’s 1.5°C pathway foresees the creation of up to 122 million energy-related jobs in 2050, more than double 58 million. Renewable energy alone will account for more than a third of all energy jobs employing 43 million people globally, supporting the post-COVID recovery and long-term economic growth.
IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook sees renewables-based energy systems instigating profound changes that will reverberate across economies and societies. Sharp adjustments in capital flows and a reorientation of investments are necessary to align energy with a positive economic and environmental trajectory. Forward-looking policies can accelerate the transition, mitigate uncertainties, and ensure maximum benefits of the energy transition. The annual investment of USD 4.4 trillion needed on average is high. But it is feasible and equals around 5 percent of global GDP in 2019.
Global labour migration increases by five million
The number of international migrant workers globally has risen to 169 million, a rise of three percent since 2017, according to the latest estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO). The share of youth migrant workers (aged 15-24) has also increased, by almost 2 percent, or 3.2 million, since 2017. Their number reached 16.8 million in 2019.
The new report, ILO Global Estimates on International Migrant Workers: Results and Methodology, shows that in 2019, international migrant workers constituted nearly five percent of the global labour force, making them an integral part of the world economy.
Events
The list of major upcoming events in development sector in July 2021
Keep up to the date key events about emerging funding strategies, environmental policies, climate change, technological development, labour standards and energy issues in the development sector via our compiled list.
Track events hosted by reputable international organisations, donors, NGO’s and IFIs that bring together the biggest change-makers and stakeholders in international development cooperation.
Save the date to register and attend the upcoming events in July 2021.
Download the comprehensive schedule of major online events.
China’s Role in International Development- Key Financing Trends | Virtual
📅 15 July 2021 🕒 4 PM (Brussels Time) / 10AM (Washington DC Time)
Virtual
DevelopmentAid is inviting you to join for an exciting free webinar on “China’s role in international development sector- key financing trends”.
During the webinar, we will discuss some of the aspects and trends related to China’s activity within the international development sector. Our speakers for this webinar bring ample expertise on comparative analysis of donor financing and policies for international development. Their latest report on “Trends in China’s financing for international development cooperation” that offers a comprehensive overview of China as an international donor will guide our discussions.
Hosts:
The webinar will be hosted by Sergiu Casu, our Director of Business Development, and by Ion Ilasco, our internal researcher responsible for External Relations & Events.
Speakers:
We are proud to have as a speaker Ms. Zoe Johnson, who is the Donor Tracker Policy and Editorial Lead at SEEK Development, the team behind the Donor Tracker. Zoe has a background in international development, sectoral expertise on gender equality, nutrition, and agriculture, and editorial experience in academic publishing. Zoe is a graduate of the MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Oxford.
Our second speaker Mr. Raimund Zühr is the Donor Tracker Project Manager. Raimund has ample expertise in comparative analysis of donor financing and policies for international development. Before joining SEEK Development, Raimund worked for the Latin American Department of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Frankfurt and in the Africa Department of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation in Madrid (AECID). Raimund holds a Master of International Relations and African Studies from Universidad Autónoma in Madrid.
Food Systems Pre-Summit 2021
📅 26 – 28 July
Rome, Italy
Hosted by the Government of Italy, the Pre-Summit will take place in Rome from 26–28 July 2021. The event, which is open to all who would like to participate, will take a hybrid format, with an in-person component complemented by a vast virtual programme and platform. Through the Pre-Summit, the UN Food Systems Summit will reaffirm its commitment to promote human rights for all and ensure the most marginalised groups have an opportunity to participate in, contribute to and benefit from the Summit process.
High-Level Political Forum 2021
📅 6 – 15 July 2021
New York, USA
The high-level political forum on sustainable development (HLPF) is the core United Nations platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting of the HLPF in 2021 will be held from Tuesday, 6 July, to Thursday, 15 July 2021, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This includes the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 13 July, to Thursday, 15 July 2021.
The HLPF will discuss ways to ensure a sustainable and resilient recovery from COVID-19 that puts us on track to realize the 2030 Agenda.
