DevDispatch Recommends: May 2023 Publications
We close off Africa month with this special edition of DevDispatch Recommends featuring publications released in the global development sector this month. The featured reports give us a lot to ponder on regarding the global food crises, the dangers of plastic pollution, child marriages, the state of health and online violence against female politicians.
We hope at least one of these makes your reading lists!
Global Report on Food Crises 2023
By Food Security Information Network and Global Network Against Food crises
This report gives an overview of the global food crises and draws attention to how this gravely compromises realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 2 which aims to end hunger, and achieve food security and improved nutrition for all. The publication shares some unfortunate statistics including the quarter of a billion people facing acute levels of hunger.
The 213 paged report presents detailed regional and country specific overviews of food crises for 2022 including key drivers of the crises, which constitutes relevant information for policymakers overseeing food and nutrition ministries.
Chemicals in Plastic: A Technical Report
By the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
This UNEP offering was released ahead of World Environment Day being observed on the 5th of June under the campaign #BeatPlasticPollution. It addresses urgent chemical-related issues of plastic pollution and offers solutions to address this matter.
Some of the proposed solutions include:
- Reducing plastic production and consumption, starting with non-essential plastics.
- Developing robust regulatory waste management frameworks that align with the waste hierarchy and consider chemicals of concern present in plastic waste.
It is noteworthy that this publication which is 144 pages long aims to support the negotiation process to develop the instrument on plastic pollution based on United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14. We recommend this read for environment ministries across Africa.
Is an End to Child Marriage within Reach? Latest trends and future prospects
By the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Much to our relief, we learnt through this brief that child marriage practices are on the decline globally, although a red alert is still out for regions including the Sahel, where ongoing crises exist that exacerbate vulnerabilities for girls. Look out for statistics depicting the current levels of child marriages, generational trends, and reflections on what it will take to eliminate the practice by 2030 in this 26 paged publication.
We recommend this report for activists fighting to end child marriage.
World Health Statistics 2023
By the World Health Organization (WHO)
Health indicators are under spotlight in this publication including health-related SDGs covering infectious diseases, child malnutrition, environmental risks, universal health coverage and health systems.
The report also sheds light on trends in maternal and child mortality, and health impacts attributed to climate change as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state of global health. It argues that despite the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, global life expectancy is expected to increase to 77 years by 2048 and that progress in survival reflects well the rapid epidemiological transition that has taken place in the last century across the world.
We recommend this report to health ministries.
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.
Byte Bullies: A report on Online Violence Against Women in the 2022 Kenya General Election
By Pollicy
For quick reads, check out these blog posts
The gift and the curse that is social media is the focal point of this publication, particularly as it pertains to the level of online violence against female Kenyan politicians during the 2022 general election.
The inquiry revealed that while social media can be used as a strategic campaign tool for politicians, female politicians in Kenya shied away from use of social media platforms to engage with voters owing to online attacks often focused on personal traits or appearance as opposed to shining light on their merits.
Some of the recommendations made to mitigate against online bullying targeting female politicians includes:
- Digital safety training for women running for political office
- Creating platforms for female politicians to file cases of online harassment with the authorities to enable prosecution.
The publication is a quick read at 47 pages. If you are a female politician in Africa and an advocate for safe online practices, we recommend that you add this read to your list.
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.
Energizing health: accelerating electricity access in health-care facilities
By the World Health Organization (WHO), International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), World Bank Group
This 240 paged report makes a case for renewable energy as a catalyst for universal health coverage, highlighting how access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, particularly electricity in health facilities, is critical to meeting Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3. It delves into what delivering healthcare in the climate change era looks like, techno-economic considerations for electrification of health-care facilities and shares case studies on India, Uganda and Nepal, to assess the state of electrification in the three countries.
Practitioners interested in energizing health will find this report insightful.
AfCFTA: A New Era for Global Business and Investment in Africa
By the World Economic Forum, AfCFTA Secretariat
The report details how public-private partnerships can support the implementation of the AfCFTA. It outlines high-potential sectors eyed to facilitate the AfCFTA through high trade volumes including the automotive industry, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics. For each one, it highlights key trends and opportunities. One of the report’s go to chapters is an offering of operational tools for companies wishing to conduct operations in Africa.
Businesses within the continent and those wishing to invest in Africa should get hold of this 37 paged report.
Global progress report on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, 2021
By WHO
This report looks into how effective the strategies planned for 2016-2021 have been in the fight against HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs. Progress has indeed been made despite the disruption of the global pandemic but in the same breath, there are still many targets that have not been reached. The number of new HIV infections has fallen by 23% to its lowest rate since 2010 with 1.7 million new infections in 2019 however this is far from the target of only 500 000 new infections.
Stigma and lack of resources to implement people-centred policies and services still remain the largest hindrance. COVID-19 severely affected the ability for people to get tested easily. This report analyses the success and shortfalls of each WHO region. The report recommends that the only way to try and get back on track is for governments to collaborate their efforts into universal health care systems beneficial for the most vulnerable.
This report is targeted at anyone who works with marginalised communities of people infected by HIV, hepatitis or any STIs and is also a good read for health care workers and policy makers. It is moderately long at 108 pages.
Mainstreaming gender in urban public transport
By Stockholm Environment Institute
Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent, yet walking still remains the most affordable mode of transport in urban areas. This is due to a lack of service provision. There is also a large gender inequality problem when it comes to transport both in operation and in use. This report seeks to shed light on the under researched matter of women’s participation in transport decision making and their use of public transport systems.
The report uses the case studies of Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kampala by interviewing all members of society from taxi drivers to policy makers in the ministries of transport and transport planners. The report identifies accessibility and safety of public transport systems, sexual assault and harassment, lack of integrated and gender sensitive urban planning and underrepresentation as larger barriers towards gene=der mainstreaming in transport.
This report is the perfect short read for city and transport planners at only 40 pages.
Terrorism in the Sahel Facts and Figures
By NATO Strategic Direction- South, ACSRT
The fight against terrorism in the Sahel is still a major issue that deserves attention as the number of terrorist attacks has increased by 18.5% in 2020. This report analyses current and past data to show a conclusive analysis on the rate of terrorism. The largest threats come from the following terrorist groups Boko Haram, ISGS, JNIM and ISWAP and the most affected countries are Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad.
This analysis is taken in the form of quantitative analysis with a lot of informative graphs and infographics as well as qualitatively by looking at the types of attacks. The report concludes that 2020 has been the most intense year in terms of terrorism in the Sahel.
This report is target to all members defence ministries and counter-terrorism organisations. It is a very brief read with only 37 pages.