The current LDC model overlooks the structural realities keeping many countries trapped in underdevelopment. It needs updating to better reflect vulnerabilities, recognise diverse trajectories, and align support with today’s challenges. Continue reading Why we need to revisit the LDC paradigm
Nearly 80% of the world’s poor live in areas exposed to climate hazards. More than half face several climate hazards at once. This underscores an unavoidable truth: ending poverty and addressing climate change are inseparable goals that must be tackled together. Continue reading Why fighting poverty means tackling climate change head-on
This July, the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference highlighted the importance of empowering women to lead Ukraine’s reconstruction. But translating this into real-world achievements requires investment and political will. Here are three priorities for development partners. Continue reading Women in Ukraine’s Reconstruction: Policy Priorities after URC2025
The Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) made a clear case for putting the ocean at the centre of the sustainable development agenda. While this should be celebrated, much work remains to translate UNOC-3’s achievements into real accomplishments. Continue reading The Third UN Ocean Conference: Reflections and the road ahead
By Efe Ukala, Founder of ImpactHER
As Africa stands on the cusp of a digital revolution, a stark reality emerges: women and girls are being left behind. As the sun rises over Mbiri, Nigeria, Nkem is already awake in her family’s modest home on the outskirts of town. Nkem, 22, is preparing for her weekly ritual – a 90-minute walk to the city centre where she can access the Internet at a local café because she lacks a laptop, and her phone is not Internet-enabled. This journey, costing her nearly a day’s wages for just two hours online, exemplifies the digital divide facing millions of African women.
Continue reading “Is Africa’s digital revolution leaving women behind? “
By Anzetse Were, Senior Economist and Green Finance Advisor at FSD Kenya
Recently headlines in Africa have been filled with African tech companies announcing that they are closing, filing for bankruptcy, entering into administration, implementing massive lay-offs and/or substantially cutting back their operations. Most of these companies were once regarded as a new dawn of entrepreneurship from the continent and examples of African companies that would not only become leaders in Africa, but also global leaders providing innovation solutions to global challenges.
Continue reading “What’s Ailing Start-up Tech Firms in Africa?”
By Francesco Savoia, Research Fellow, Università degli Studi di Milano, Ioannis Bournakis, Associate professor, SKEMA Business School, Mona Said, Professor, The American University in Cairo, and Antonio Savoia, Reader, University of Manchester; Nonresident Senior Fellow, UNU-WIDER
The inclusion of income redistribution in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as part of SDG Goal 10 aiming to reduce inequality within and among countries, reflects an increasing realisation that addressing inequalities is intrinsically important, as well as instrumental to human development and to a number of other development outcomes through a variety of channels. But how should we measure and monitor progress in reducing inequalities? Here we argue that looking at the sub-national level may be important.
Continue reading “Reducing inequalities: how should we measure and monitor SDG Goal 10?”
By Paul Akiwumi, Director, Division for Africa, LDCs and Special Programmes, UNCTAD
In an increasingly complex global economy, knowledge can be a silver bullet. Technology-driven innovation creates new products, tasks, professions, and economic activities. However, for developing countries, capturing the gains of innovation may not be automatic.
Continue reading “Knowledge and innovation are the currency of progress – LDCs cannot afford to lag behind”
By Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
Progress on poverty eradication is fading fast. We’re halfway to 2030, the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and the number of people living in extreme poverty is higher than it was four years ago.
Continue reading “Social protection is key to ending poverty. So why is it so neglected in ODA?”
By Ratnakar Adhikari, Executive Director of the Enhanced Integrated Framework Executive Secretariat at the World Trade Organization
Of the 46 least developed countries (LDCs), 16 are at different stages of graduation. And, though graduation offers many opportunities, it also presents its own unique challenges for countries in this category. As such, various international support measures (ISMs) have been put in place, or extended, to ensure smoother transitions and sustained developmental progress in the post-graduation phase.
Two key concerns for LDCs following graduation involve: preferential market access for export, and development assistance, such as concessional financing.
Continue reading “LDC Graduation: Stories of smooth transition”