Tread Softly

19/11/2024: Heads of state at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro have endorsed a plan to make institutions such as the World Bank “better, bigger and more effective.” The framework aims to tackle several challenges, from streamlining the slow, often bureaucratic processes of MDBs, to leveraging private capital to boost resources, to enhancing the role MDBs play in climate change financing.

Source: Devex

18/11/2024: A small tax on just seven of the world’s biggest oil and gas companies could grow the UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage by more than 2000% and help address the costs of extreme weather events, according to new analysis published by Greenpeace International and Stamp Out Poverty. The organisations are calling for a long term tax on fossil fuel extraction.

Source: Greenpeace International

18/11/2024: Satellite imagery, social media footage and resident testimony has revealed a trail of devastation as houses in the Afghan capital have been demolished for development. The six most-affected districts included areas populated by minority communities.

Source: The Guardian

18/11/2024: World Health Organizatino officials expect to secure at least half of its $7.1 billion fundraising target — for its work in the next four years — during the G20 summit in Brazil. The agency hopes to sustain its US partnerships despite concerns that, during Donald Trump’s first presidential term, he initiated a US withdrawal from the WHO. 

Source: Devex

15/11/2024: Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20 next year may be another calamity for the United Nations—particularly if the second term turns out to be a re-run of his first presidency (2017-2021). Those were difficult years to say the least in terms of US-UN relations.

Source: Inter Press Service

15/11/2024: African governments’ climate action strategies, specifically those submitted under the nationally determined contributions, remain disproportionately focused on emission reductions — an approach that fails to address the most pressing health needs of African communities.

Source: Devex

15/11/2024: One of the main issues under discussion in the G20 Social Territory in Rio de Janeiro is the Global Alliance proposed by Brazil to fight hunger and poverty. The Alliance is founded on the principle that no country can fight hunger on its own. The Brazilian initiative seeks to unite developed and developing nations in coordinated actions.

Source: G20 Social

14/11/2024: The chair of the World Trade Organization’s General Council is instigating the reappointment of the incumbent Director-General, without formal approval of the members. Some are concerned at the apparent haste to complete the process before the Trump Administration takes office.

Source: Third World Network

14/11/2024: A new report by Human Rights Watch examines how Israeli authorities’ conduct has led to the displacement of over 90 percent of the population of Gaza and the widespread destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure. The report calls on governments to impose sanctions and halt weapons sales to Israel. 

Source: Human Rights Watch

14/11/2024: Researchers have found that a lifesaving malaria drug is becoming less effective in young African children with serious infections. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global concern.

Source: The Guardian