Showing 1 - 10 of 32
COP30 must be more focused on human welfare
Oped, Bjorn Lomborg, Published on 13/11/2025
» With the United Nations climate summit, COP30, now in full swing in the humid jungle city of Belém, Brazil, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has cut through the noise with a blunt truth: these UN climate gatherings must zero in on lifting human lives, rather than fixating solely on slashing emissions or dialling down global temperatures. It's a perspective that's long overdue yet seems so obvious.
Climate week fanfare hides the poverty gap
Oped, Bjorn Lomborg, Published on 24/09/2025
» As world leaders converge on New York for the UN General Assembly and Climate Week, two incompatible visions are about to clash: rich-world elites obsessed with climate change versus developing nations battling poverty, hunger, and disease.
Thailand's SDG path shows gains
Oped, Michaela Friberg-Storey, Published on 25/07/2025
» Thailand presented its third Voluntary National Review at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum in New York. It was a moment to take stock, not only of what has been achieved under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but of the work still to come. Thailand has shown consistent engagement in this process, having previously submitted reviews in 2017 and 2021, underscoring a clear message: sustainable development remains a national priority.
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.
Africa's example to end malaria
Oped, Jean Kaseya, Published on 26/05/2025
» Despite being preventable and curable, malaria has continued to claim African lives. In 2023, the continent accounted for about 95% of the 597,000 deaths from malaria worldwide, 76% of which were children under the age of five.
Foreign aid, the powerful US soft power, is gone
Oped, Jeffrey Frankel, Published on 23/05/2025
» 'Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." When Joni Mitchell sang that line in 1970, she was lamenting the destruction of the environment, but the sentiment applies to many issues. Today, we can add official development assistance (ODA) to the list.
Protectionism will not protect
Oped, Winnie Byanyima & Michael Marmot, Published on 16/05/2025
» As many Global North countries turn inwards, foreign assistance has become an easy target. The decimation of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has dominated headlines, but the United Kingdom and many European countries have also cut their foreign-aid budgets. Policymakers in these countries view this spending as a form of charity and think that bolstering their economic and military might can deliver more benefits for more people.
Multilateralism can bring success
Oped, Emmanuel Macron, José Manuel Barroso & Mohamed Cheikh El Ghazouani, Published on 21/06/2024
» Multilateralism, we are told, is in retreat. But we cannot let retrenchment and fragmentation take over. From climate change and biodiversity collapse to the conflicts, geopolitical tension, and turbulence afflicting today's world, we know that overcoming global challenges requires renewed and strengthened forms of global cooperation.
Market disconnect
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/05/2024
» Re: "Thailand has escaped recession: economic body", (Business, May 21).
Immunisation programmes need to expand
Oped, & Sania Nishtar, Published on 30/04/2024
» There is a good chance that you know one of the 154 million people who, over the past 50 years, have been saved from preventable death by routine immunisation. You might even be one.