Author: Lia Beyeler

Africa, Français, Human Development, Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Reviving multilateralism, SDGs

Le rôle essentiel des villes dans la coopération transfrontalière, levier de l’intégration africaine

Par Yvan Pasteur, Chef de la Division Afrique de l’Ouest à la Direction du développement et de la coopération suisse

Depuis longtemps, l’Afrique de l’Ouest est considérée comme une région en voie d’intégration. Des études déjà anciennes ont désigné l’espace SKBo, réunissant les régions de Sikasso (Mali), Korhogo (Côte d’Ivoire) et Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), comme un exemple de dynamisme et de coopération transfrontalières [i]. Pour autant, dans la zone SKBo comme dans d’autres, les potentiels n’ont encore débouché concrètement que sur un petit nombre de projets transfrontaliers. Il faut donc s’interroger sur les causes de cette progression trop lente. Continue reading “Le rôle essentiel des villes dans la coopération transfrontalière, levier de l’intégration africaine”

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Development finance, Development in Transition, Reviving multilateralism

Triangular, the shape of things to come?

BannerWeb1122_DiT_EN_with logo DEV.jpg

By Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary, ECLAC, Mario Pezzini, Director, OECD Development Centre, and Stefano Manservisi,

This blog is part of an ongoing series evaluating various facets
of Development in Transition

As the global community gathers in Argentina to mark the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries, we have an additional opportunity to discuss, debate, and design a reinvigorated international co-operation system.

And something as small as what is currently called “triangular co-operation” can take centre stage in that system. Just like few imagined that the European Coal and Steel Community created in 1950 would grow into what the European Union is today, we think triangular co-operation’s future potential could very well dwarf its current status.

Rather than rationalise business as usual, we believe triangular co-operation could give us, instead, wide space for unleashing new thinking about the promise and value of multi-partner engagements to advance inclusive and sustainable development.

Continue reading “Triangular, the shape of things to come?”

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Gender, Women and Girls

Why you should care about unpaid care work

By Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director, Development Co-operation Directorate, OECD

The way we currently measure our economies ignores a large portion of work that affects all of us. Most of this work is done by women and girls for free, every day. Around the world, they are responsible for 75% of unpaid care and domestic work in our homes and communities (see Figure 1). So these issues are not just hypothetical, but critical to achieving inclusive economic growth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Figure 1: Gender gaps in unpaid care work by geographic region

Unpaid work Graph

Note: NA stands for North America, ECA for Europe and Central Asia, LAC for Latin America and the Caribbean, EAP for East Asia and the Pacific, SSA for Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA for Middle East and North Africa, SA for South Asia.  
Source: OECD Gender Institutions and Development Database (GID-DB), 2019, oecd.stat.org
Continue reading “Why you should care about unpaid care work”
Lia Beyeler37 Comments
Africa, Development finance, Français, SDGs

Comprendre l’initiative P20 : Une nouvelle approche de la définition de la pauvreté et des moyens de la combattre

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Par Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, Ministre d’État du Plan et du développement, Bénin

Pour en savoir plus sur ce thème:  Coopération pour le développement 2018 : Agir ensemble pour n’oublier personne

(Lire ce blog en anglais)

En tant que décideurs et responsables de l’action publique en Afrique, l’une des questions qui nous posent toujours problème est de définir et d’identifier clairement ce qu’est l’extrême pauvreté, et qui en sont les victimes. Au vu de mon expérience d’ancien Ministre des Finances et d’actuel Ministre d’État du Plan et du développement du Bénin, nos budgets nationaux ont toujours été par essence sociaux. Qu’entend-on par là ? La pression que font peser sur nous la pauvreté, la fragilité et la vulnérabilité nous condamne à gérer l’urgence ; et l’urgence en Afrique revient à garantir la survie au quotidien de nos concitoyens.

Toutefois, en dépit de lourds investissements dans des programmes sociaux, les frontières de la pauvreté ne reculent pas aussi vite que nous l’aurions espéré. Il y a à cela de multiples explications possibles, mais notre mission est de trouver des moyens de résoudre la question – et ce, de façon à atteindre en priorité les plus défavorisés. C’est à cette fin que le Gouvernement du Bénin, en partenariat avec le Gouvernement de la Suisse et l’ONG Development Initiatives, a lancé l’initiative P20 dans le but de remédier à la pauvreté et à la vulnérabilité, et d’honorer notre engagement de ne laisser personne de côté.

Continue reading “Comprendre l’initiative P20 : Une nouvelle approche de la définition de la pauvreté et des moyens de la combattre”

Lia Beyeler
Development finance, Humanitarian, ODA

Fit for purpose means continuous change

by Susanna Moorehead, Chair, OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)

As I arrived in Paris last week to take up office as Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the 30 DAC Members gathered for a Senior Level Meeting. It was a great opportunity for me to meet people and understand the DAC’s role in helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Continue reading “Fit for purpose means continuous change”
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Green bank concept
Development finance, Private Sector, SDGs

Trillions for the SDGs? Time for a rethink

By Nancy Lee, Senior Policy Fellow, Centre for Global Development, and moderator during the PF4SD Conference

In 2015, the world enthusiastically signed on to the challenge of transforming billions to trillions of dollars of private finance for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The idea was to use public and private development aid to unlock much more commercial private finance for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. Four years later, the hoped-for trillions are nowhere in sight. In fact, we have reached the stage where we need to decide whether to change the goals we set in 2015 or take a hard, critical look at the institutions we rely on to propel mobilisation of private finance for sustainable development.

Continue reading “Trillions for the SDGs? Time for a rethink”
Lia Beyeler3 Comments
Africa, Migration

What’s behind West African migration? Findings from nationwide surveys

By Matthew Kirwin, United States Department of State and National Intelligence University 2017-18 Research Fellow and Jessica Anderson, Institute for the Study of International Migration, Georgetown University

Gambian migrants deported from Libya stand in line as they wait for registration at the airport in Banjul
© Luc Gnago/Reuters

The movement of sub-Saharan Africans through North Africa and on to Europe persists in the media spotlight. Over 700 000 African migrants have arrived in Italy through the perilous Central Mediterranean Route since 20141, and nearly 190 000 arrived in 2017 alone according to the International Organization of Migration (IOM). While 2018 numbers for this route are slightly lower2, Africans are now testing their luck with both the Central Mediterranean Route and a new path, seeking to reach Europe via Morocco and Spain. In the first half of 2018, the number of migrants entering through Spain has risen dramatically.3 Continue reading “What’s behind West African migration? Findings from nationwide surveys”

Lia Beyeler
Africa, Data, Human Development, Infrastructure, Policy, SDGs

Visualising urbanisation: How the Africapolis platform sheds new light on urban dynamics in Africa

By Lia Beyeler, Communications Officer and Nisha Schumann, Consultant, Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD)

Africa’s urban population is the fastest growing in the world. By 2050, Africa’s cities will be home to nearly one billion additional people. Yet, where and how Africa’s cities of the future emerge and evolve are insufficiently understood.

Traditionally, the focus has been put on larger cities as opposed to smaller urban agglomerations. Yet, smaller agglomerations with populations between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants represent one-third of Africa’s overall urban population, accounting for more than 180 million people in 2015. Their significance is highlighted by the fact that many of the continent’s future cities are emerging through the fusion of smaller cities or through population densification in rural areas – trends that are not captured in official statistics and government data, which tend to focus on cities as political units with defined boundaries.

The OECD Sahel and West Africa Club’s Africapolis platform, which launched during the 8th Africities Conference in Marrakesh, seeks to bridge the gap in data on African urbanisation dynamics. It provides a powerful tool for governments, policy makers, researchers and urban planners to better understand urbanisation’s drivers, dynamics and impacts. This understanding, in turn, will help design more relevant policies that address the growing challenges of urbanisation at the local, national and regional levels. Continue reading “Visualising urbanisation: How the Africapolis platform sheds new light on urban dynamics in Africa”

Lia Beyeler
Private Sector, SDGs

Building Trust: How the development community can engage the private sector

By Janet Longmore, Founder & CEO, Digital Opportunity Trust

Giant puzzle pieces

Fundamental to my organisation’s success in delivering local impact against several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been developing an ecosystem of global and local in-country partners. And critical to this ecosystem is private sector participation: Corporate partners bring a different lens on what we do, a welcome push for innovation, creative approaches and efficiencies, and a business-like approach and priority to sustainability. Through mutual trust, we are now co-designing new initiatives that lead to positive impact for development and businesses.

I am a strong advocate for engaging the private sector in effective development. The private sector is often a strong and effective contributor to local development in the countries, cities and towns in which its offices are located and where its employees live, generously supporting local services. The challenge now is to extend local purpose and responsibility from “down the street” to a global perspective within the SDG framework. I advocate for this on the Business Leaders’ Caucus of the Global Partnership (1).

Continue reading “Building Trust: How the development community can engage the private sector”

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Development finance, SDGs

Multilateral action for sustainable development: How to build on the strength of ODA?

By Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director, Development Co-operation Directorate and Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Chair, Development Assistance Committee

In the backlash against globalisation and multilateralism and despite tightening national budgets, OECD countries’ combined Official Development Assistance (ODA) remains strong. While some criticise recently-released ODA figures for stagnating, steady commitment has been undeniable.

Indeed, ODA has remained politically resilient, steadily increasing since the turn of the century and doubling since 2000. In 2017, net ODA stood at USD 146.6 billion or 0.31% of gross national income (GNI). While this aggregate figure reflects a slight drop of 0.6% compared to 2016, previous figures were artificially high due to the refugee crisis that increased donor spending within their own borders. That spending subsided this year, and when in-country refugee costs are excluded, ODA increased by 1.1% from 2016 in real terms.

Continue reading “Multilateral action for sustainable development: How to build on the strength of ODA?”
Lia Beyeler