'This paper reflects on the commission’s findings in relation to statistics from a variety of sources including the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the Economist. It highlights the countries in the region most at risk from the economic crisis, documenting changes in their economic growth, trade and financial sectors, and unemployment levels. It explores what the policy implications are for the region’s governments responding to the crisis and the wider implications for donors.'

'The goal of this report is not merely to update of our report Food Aid or Food Sovereignty?, but to call for action. We examine the most pressing issues in the food aid debate today and highlight the promise and need for a long-term and human rights-based approach to food security and the elimination of hunger.'

Many people are depressed about the state of global development, and especially about the failures of development in Africa. The per capita GDP of rich countries has diverged more and more from that of poor nations and it has become clear that it is hard to raise economic growth rates. However, there is good news: the Malthusian trap of population exceeding carrying capacity seems to have been avoided globally, and health and education status are improving faster than income. This work holds tha more...

Author Esther Schüring -
Published by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, May 2009 (32 pp. 542 kB)

Evidence shows that social cash transfers (small, regular payments) are a cost-effective tool for helping needy households, promoting health and education and boosting local economies – at least, in middle- and high-income countries.

Would they work in a country with few resources? Beginning in 2004, Zambia’s Ministry of Community Development and Social Se more...

There are growing signs that the global economic crisis has reached both poor countries and poor people in those countries. In February, for example, the World Bank’s forecast for Africa’s growth in 2009 was revised downward from 6.8 percent to 3.5 percent. Another World Bank document suggests that the crisis has pushed more than 50 million people below the $1.25 per day poverty line. This type of evidence has convinced many world leaders that a problem exists: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki- more...

The global financial crisis started in developed countries, but the global recession which has followed is having a wide-spread impact on developing countries. By the end of this year, developing countries are expected to lose incomes of at least US $750 billion. In sub-Saharan Africa, the figure is over US $50bn. The consequence is likely to be rising unemployment, poverty and hunger: an extra 50 million people trapped in absolute poverty, with the number expected to rise to 90 million and the more...

This paper examines how the different forms of development finance for low-income countries are likely to be affected by the global financial crisis, principally through reductions in remittances, aid flows and FDI. It argues that the channels of transmission of the crisis for particular countries will not necessarily be obvious ones. Despite initiatives to lower the debt burden for low-income countries over recent years, the crisis will also have consequences for the external debt sustainabilit more...

The article offers examples of projects sponsored by IICD in Africa and Latin America that confirm the lasting impact of ICT on poverty alleviation.

As the G-20 Summit in London wraps up today, bloggers and citizen journalists from around the world are covering the outcomes, ideas and policies presented by the leaders at the meeting, including President Barack Obama, who spoke today.

Representatives from across the developing world are worried that the economic leaders will forget about the poorer countries affected by the global financial crisis.

Mary Robinson, honorary president of Oxfam International, expresses this concern and as more...

The U.S. undertook a major effort to reform the respective development aid programs and incorporated principles present in the AAA. To what extent have these reform efforts succeeded?'