DevDispatch Recommends: Publications Released in April 2021
Welcome to the April edition of DevDispatch Recommends. We have scoured the world wide web and put together what we consider a grazing platter of global development publications for you this month.
Happy Reading!
The Global Food Policy Report: Transforming Food Systems after COVID-19
By IFPRI
For decades, global food systems have faced serious challenges, and the COVID-19 pandemic came and shook an already vulnerable food system. This Global Food Policy Report acknowledges that COVID-19 brought to the fore how susceptible global food systems are to shock, and served as a reminder of the journey ahead in terms of achieving equitable access to healthy and nutritious food for all.
The report highlights the different ways COVID-19 has impacted food systems including loss of income and disruption of food supply chains, with disadvantaged groups hit hardest. It proposes long term food system transformation goals characterised by frequency, sustainability, health, resilience and inclusivity.
Recommendations of the 124 paged report include listing food system transformation as top priority in the development agenda, increasing the resilience of food systems through actions that limit the frequency and severity of shocks, and improving the ability of communities to anticipate shocks. The report also recommends promoting flexibility of social protection schemes to protect vulnerable communities in times of economic, environmental and health crisis.
Policymakers within the food system space will find this publication informative.
My Body is My Own: Claiming the right to autonomy and self-determination
By UNFPA
For the 2021 State of World Population report, the UNFPA developed a visual report that delves into bodily autonomy as a key foundation for equipping women with the power and agency to control different spheres of their lives. The report cites failure to uphold bodily autonomy as a contributor towards women and adolescent girls losing control over their home life, health and future. The multilingual illustrated texts spell out salient elements including freedom, protection, autonomy, control and balance in ensuring sexual and reproductive health and integrity in women and girls.
Also included in the report is an “owner’s manual” that highlights gaps in the education system in terms of sexuality education that covers accurate, age- appropriate information about one’s own body, sexual and reproductive health, and human rights. Failure to address this often leaves students ill-prepared to adapt to changes in their body and to protect them from harm.
Another principal section of the report covers the three dimensions of bodily autonomy questioning who usually makes decisions about one’s health care, whether or not to use contraception and the ability to say no to your husband or partner if you do not want to have sexual intercourse. Women who can boldly make their own decisions in these three areas are considered to have autonomy in reproductive health decision-making, and to be empowered to exercise their reproductive rights.
This 162 pager is a key tool for women and girls advocates, activists and human rights experts.
World Economic Outlook 2021: Managing Divergent Recoveries
By IMF
The latest edition of the World Economic Outlook was released this month in line with its mandate to provide analysis and forecasts of economic developments and policies in IMF member countries. With a focus on managing divergent recoveries, this edition examines the contraction of economic activity owing to coronavirus related restrictions, resulting in high uncertainty around the global economic outlook. However, it argues that the effects could have been a lot worse.
The report projects an improved economic outlook with 6% growth anticipated in 2021 following a contraction of -3.3% in 2020, and highlights the fact that future developments are dependent on the trajectory of the current health crisis.
The report also cites the importance of policy priorities, with countries urged to tailor their policy responses to the stage of the pandemic and structural characteristics of their respective economies. Strong international cooperation is also encouraged to ensure that the gap between living standards of low and high-income economies continues to be narrowed including ensuring that the COVID-19 vaccine is produced, distributed and made accessible worldwide at affordable prices.
At 192 pages, it is a moderately lengthy read relevant for economists and policy makers.
Co-designing Digital Interventions and Technology Projects with Civil Society
By World Economic Forum
This 20 paged white paper by the World Economic Forum highlights the role of digital and emerging technologies as interventions for the coronavirus pandemic, exploring the idea of co-designing such interventions with civil society.
With crisis-oriented tech inventions promising to play an even more significant role in response to future crises, the paper argues the importance of rethinking the approach to co-design towards collective good. Efforts towards responding to crisis through technology often involve invasive data collection void of context and outside of critical needs with missing mechanisms for transparency and accountability. Technological responses have also resulted in asymmetrical power dynamics with technologies developed in the Global North and deployed in the Global South with an assumed one-size fits all implementation. Civil society has raised these challenges which are projected to have short to long term impacts.
The paper acknowledges that a co-design model of this nature is still aspirational, but suggests that partnership between civil society -whose work is significantly on the ground- with public and private enterprises in the design process, would help identify contextual concerns and take into account local risk models across technological interventions. It will also ensure core values including trust and empowerment are co-opted in developing interventions and can help address power imbalances.
This is recommended for civil society and tech design practitioners.
Transit Oriented Development in practice.
A powerful example of impact on the ground in the area of Housing by our Brazil Cities team – and a story of how interventions in one city led to an approach that was scaled up and adopted as part of a Brazilian national law that set the standards for better quality social housing.
Three Challenges to Safe and Affordable Urban Housing
The blog raises three critical challenges: (i) importance of core services in informal settlements and slums, (ii) need to support housing rental markets, and (iii) making better use of underutilized land in city centers.
Can Housing Be Affordable Without Being Efficient?
The blog highlights the importance of giving due attention to building efficiency in affordable housing projects, both location efficiency and on-site energy and water efficiency. The key message: over their lifetimes, efficient homes are more affordable, healthier and provide better opportunities for residents than conventional buildings.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and Women: A Pan African Feminist Analysis
By Fatimah Kelleher
For quick reads, check out these blog posts
The African Continental Free trade Area is arguably the most topical issue on the continent presently, rightfully so. The agreement is the largest in the world in terms of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organisation promising free access to commodities, goods and services.
This policy paper questions what these developments mean for women, acknowledging that trade policies affect women differently due to gender inequalities in terms of access to economic and social resources. In essence, it provides an analysis for assessing the impacts of trade liberalisation for women, questioning provisions in place to ensure that women are not exploited as target recipients of training and employment in key sectors, and how the AfCFTA is different from other free trade initiatives that prioritise high-value, male dominated crops and agricultural commodities, ultimately crowding out-women and pushing them off their land. It also calls for acknowledging, including, and incentivising ‘informal’ cross border traders (ICBTs) where women tend to be the majority.
The paper concludes with recommendations including rigorous impact assessments at various levels, agro-industrial expansion through the AfCFTA and the impacts on rural women’s livelihoods and proposed mechanisms that seek to mitigate “adjustment costs”, most of which will disproportionately impact women.
This paper which is 36 pages long is highly recommended for lawyers and policy makers within the trade and gender empowerment space.
Transit Oriented Development in practice.
A powerful example of impact on the ground in the area of Housing by our Brazil Cities team – and a story of how interventions in one city led to an approach that was scaled up and adopted as part of a Brazilian national law that set the standards for better quality social housing.
Three Challenges to Safe and Affordable Urban Housing
The blog raises three critical challenges: (i) importance of core services in informal settlements and slums, (ii) need to support housing rental markets, and (iii) making better use of underutilized land in city centers.
Can Housing Be Affordable Without Being Efficient?
The blog highlights the importance of giving due attention to building efficiency in affordable housing projects, both location efficiency and on-site energy and water efficiency. The key message: over their lifetimes, efficient homes are more affordable, healthier and provide better opportunities for residents than conventional buildings.
Malawi Economic Monitor, December 2020 : Doing More with Less - Improving Service Delivery in Energy and Water
By the World Bank
The pandemic has induced a sharp recession in many countries across the globe. Malawi’s economy has been heavily affected, with growth projected at 1.0 percent in 2020, down from earlier projections of 4.8 percent. With population growth around 3.0 percent, this represents a 2.0 percent contraction in per capita GDP. Political stability has returned following the June 2020 Presidential elections, which should support investment. However, global and domestic factors emanating from the pandemic are affecting Malawi’s economy, including: 1) disruption in global value chains and trade and logistics; 2) decrease in tourism; and 3) decrease in remittances. This has combined with social distancing policies and behavior to also reduce domestic demand. The Malawi Economic Monitor (MEM) provides an analysis of economic and structural development issues in Malawi. The publication intends to foster better-informed policy analysis and debate regarding the key challenges that Malawi faces in its endeavor to achieve high rates of inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Nigeria Development Update, December 2020 : Rising to the Challenge - Nigeria's COVID Response
By the World Bank
This report highlights how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis has impacted Nigeria’s economy. In 2020, Nigeria’s economy is expected to experience its deepest recession since the 1980s due to the COVID-19-related disruptions, notably lower oil prices and remittances, enhanced risk aversion in global capital markets, and mobility restrictions. This edition of the Nigeria Development Update takes stock of the recently implemented reforms and proposes policy options to both mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and foster a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive recovery.
Uganda Economic Update, 16th Edition, December 2020 : Investing in Uganda’s Youth
By the World Bank
Uganda is entering a pivotal stage of its development path. The population is currently estimated at 46 million and will most likely rise to around 104 million by 2060. Close to 70 percent of the future population will be of working age and about half will reside in urban centers. This presents an enormous opportunity to invest in education and health so that the soon-to-be working age population will have the skills and health necessary to be fully productive and contribute strongly to the country’s development. The sixteenth Uganda Economic Update, which includes the special topic of ‘Investing in Uganda’s Youth’ reviews recent economic developments, with particular attention on the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and provides an outlook for the macro-economy.
Nigeria: “My heart is in pain” - Older people’s experience of conflict, displacement, and detention in northeast Nigeria
By Amnesty International
The violence in Northeast Nigeria is now in its second decade, with both Boko Haram and the Nigerian military responsible for war crimes and likely crimes against humanity. Amid the conflict, older people’s perspectives and human rights have been largely ignored, despite the distinct and often disproportionate risks they face, whether in their villages, in military detention, or in displacement. This report examines specific violations and abuses that older people have suffered disproportionately, linked also to the intersection of older age, gender, and disability. It also analyses how the humanitarian response has failed to uphold many older people’s rights, including related to food, health, shelter, and participation.
Measuring attitudes & perceptions on the impact of COVID-19 in select Sub-Saharan African cities
By Metropolis Canada's COVID-19 Social Impacts Network for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a severe economic contraction in many developing countries, especially those in Africa. COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated inequalities between countries just as it has within countries, leaving the most vulnerable groups further behind. To effectively counter the consequences of the pandemic, further international and national efforts are needed, including coordinated policy actions and reforms, creating an enabling policy environment.UNESCO in cooperation with the Metropolis Canada’s COVID-19 Social Impacts Network has prepared the following report on the impact of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa to provide governments with data and information on pandemic-related phenomena to develop effective, inclusive, and evidence-based responses. The study explored in this report aims to identify key issues, indicators, and socio-demographics in hopes of generating evidence-based policy responses addressing the socioeconomic dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis in nine cities across Sub-Saharan Africa (Maputo, Mozambique; Johannesburg, South Africa; Harare, Zimbabwe; Nairobi, Kenya; Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Dakar, Senegal; Libreville, Gabon; Freetown, Sierra Leone; and Kampala, Uganda).
That’s all we got for you this month. Let us know if you tuck into any of these.