Showing 1 - 10 of 19
G20 must commit to debt relief
Oped, Olusegun Obasanjo, Published on 04/12/2025
» As G20 leaders met in Johannesburg last month, they faced a grim reality: many developing-country governments are spending more than they can afford on debt service. To keep funds flowing to foreign creditors, policymakers have been forced to cut spending on education, health care, and infrastructure. These countries have so far avoided default, but at the expense of their own development.
High rates hurt public healthcare
Oped, Serah Makka and Rosemary Mburu, Published on 14/07/2025
» May's 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) -- the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's member states -- ended on a self-congratulatory note. From an agreement on pandemic preparedness to increases in assessed contributions to the WHO, there were plenty of achievements to tout. But there was an elephant in the room, hiding behind a banner reading "One World for Health": the high borrowing costs faced by African countries.
Data can unlock more financing
Oped, Mahmoud Mohieldin & Claire Melamed, Published on 06/08/2024
» Late last month, the United Nations convened world leaders and development experts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to try to focus minds on the need for more development finance. In the face of tight government budgets, a looming debt crisis, and the chronic challenge of attracting private investment, the outlook for many developing countries -- especially in Africa -- seems bleak.
Really fishy business
Oped, Editorial, Published on 06/07/2024
» The latest report about local fishery officials and fishermen in Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat trying to clear "Pla Mor Si Kang Dam" or blackchin tilapia from natural waterways to save native aquatic creatures is alarming.
Fertilisers will not fix food crisis
Oped, Silke Bollmohr & Harun Warui, Published on 08/05/2024
» The world is confronting an unprecedented food crisis, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine, and worsening climate conditions. But the problem is most acute in Africa, where 61% of the population faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022. And at a moment when effective solutions are urgently needed, policymakers are once again coalescing around the misguided belief that increased use of mineral and synthetic fertiliser is the key to boosting agricultural productivity and ending hunger on the continent.
Carbon credits key to ending deforestation
Oped, Roselyn Fosuah Adjei, Published on 29/03/2024
» Over the past few years, intense media scrutiny has prompted a growing number of companies to pursue high-quality carbon credits. Seeking to avoid accusations of "greenwashing", many of these firms are no longer content with merely offsetting their emissions and have been actively seeking credits that deliver tangible benefits to local communities.
Give disabled women a chance
Oped, Nkechi S Owoo, Published on 22/03/2024
» It is well known that women in developing economies have fewer educational and employment opportunities than their male counterparts, leading to higher rates of poverty.
Vulnerable states need funding
Oped, Ken Ofori-Atta & Axel van Trotsenburg, Published on 13/09/2023
» Amid an escalating climate emergency and a global debt crisis, calls for a new "fit for climate" global financial architecture are growing louder throughout the developing world.
Why Paris financing pact failed
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Sandrine Dixson-Declève & Johannah Bernstein, Published on 21/07/2023
» The recent Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact late last month was touted by its organisers, including French President Emmanuel Macron, as a groundbreaking initiative to forge a "new contract" between the Global North and South that would address climate change and foster sustainable development. The fact that most G20 leaders did not even bother to show up, however, casts doubt on the feasibility of the effort.
UN's Security Council selects 5 new members
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 15/06/2023
» In one of the more predictable rites of spring at the United Nations, the Security Council has elected, or actually selected, five new non-permanent members to serve on the powerful 15-member council. While this year's contest lacked some of the drama, debate and deliberation of the past, there were some positive outcomes to the current vote nonetheless.