By Benjamin J. Cohen SANTA BARBARA – With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the United States seems to have developed a severe case of what psychologists call dissociative identity disorder: it is simultaneously projecting two distinct personalities. On the one hand, the US Federal Reserve has responsibly assumed a leadership role in international finance, […]
By Carmen M. Reinhart and Rob Subbaraman PETERSBURG/SINGAPORE – Even before the pandemic, there were signs that global food prices could soon surge. Extreme weather events induced by climate change have become more common. African swine fever wiped out over one-quarter of the world’s pig population last year, causing food prices in China to increase […]
By John Prendergast WASHINGTON, DC – COVID-19 is a ticking time bomb in Africa. Some of the risks are widely documented. Health-care systems are weak and overburdened, with ten African countries reportedly having no ventilators at all. Food supplies are unstable, and have already suffered major disruptions. And over 18 million people are refugees or […]
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $13.7 million grant to finance the COVID-19 response in Zimbabwe. The funds will provide an immediate lifeline for targeted frontline responders and health personnel and boost the country’s Global Health Security Index in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Approval for the grant was made […]
By Enric Sala WASHINGTON, DC – The Seychelles, a string of 115 verdant, rocky islands in the Indian Ocean, recently announced – in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic – that it would protect 30% of its glittering turquoise waters from commercial use. Safeguarding some 410,000 square kilometers (158,000 square miles) of the sea will […]
Agriculture contributes 65 per cent of Africa’s employment and 75 per cent of its domestic trade ROME, Italy, May 14, 2020/ — By Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, former Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Africa has so far escaped the worst health […]
By Mauricio Cárdenas BOGOTÁ – Many are calling for a temporary moratorium on all debt repayments by developing and emerging economies, in order to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from triggering a tsunami of sovereign defaults. Rather than waiting passively until debtors stop meeting their obligations, the argument goes, creditors would be better off agreeing now […]
By Esther Ngumbi URBANA, ILLINOIS – Around the world, food insecurity is spiking. Experts predict that the number of hungry people will double during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout Africa, governments struggle to provide for the neediest. In Burkina Faso, which at one point had the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa, more […]
By Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg NEW HAVEN – The COVID-19 crisis has emboldened advocates of protectionism and deglobalization. Familiar concerns about lost manufacturing jobs and rising inequality, or the desire in some circles to “punish” (scapegoat) China with higher tariffs, have now been augmented by an argument against global supply chains. According to this view, […]
By Olivia Macharis and Nadim Farajalla BEIRUT – The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the fragility of the world order. Governments have sought to limit the spread of the virus through lockdowns and travel restrictions, which have stalled economies and created a global recession. Poorer countries, lacking the resources and resilience to mitigate the pandemic, […]
CAMBRIDGE – The global economy will be shaped in the years ahead by three trends. The relationship between markets and the state will be rebalanced, in favor of the latter. This will be accompanied by a rebalancing between hyper-globalization and national autonomy, also in favor of the latter. And our ambitions for economic growth will […]
Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, 8 May, 2020 – The African Development Bank has welcomed a decision by the Trust Fund Committee of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), one of two funds within the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), to extend a $10 million concessional senior loan for development of the 50 MW Tulu Moyo Geothermal Power Plant project […]
The Secretary-General said: “The spread of Covid-19 has brought home to us with greater immediacy the devastating impact that disease can have on every aspect of our lives. “The global response to Covid-19 has been impressive, but let us not lose focus on other health threats which kill thousands daily and put millions more […]