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Showing posts for "Foreign Assistance"

Emerging Voices: Sir Michael Barber on Improving Education in Pakistan

by Development Channel Staff
Children from underprivileged background attend a playgroup class at Mashal School on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on January 24, 2013 (Zohra Bensemra/Courtesy Reuters). Children from underprivileged backgrounds attend a playgroup class at Mashal School on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan on January 24, 2013 (Zohra Bensemra/Courtesy Reuters).

Emerging Voices features regular contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is from Sir Michael Barber, who is the U.K. Department for International Development’s (DfID) (unpaid) special representative on education in Pakistan, the chief education advisor at Pearson, and from 2001 to 2005, was the chief advisor on delivery to Prime Minister Tony Blair. In the article he discusses an educational reform program he helps lead in Pakistan and the broader debate over the effective delivery of foreign aid.

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New From CFR: Isobel Coleman on Aid to Egypt

by Isobel Coleman
A farmer holds out grains of wheat in his hands during a harvest on a field in the El-Menoufia governorate, about 9.94 km (58 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, April 23, 2013 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters). A farmer holds out grains of wheat in his hands during a harvest on a field in the El-Menoufia governorate, about 9.94 km (58 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, April 23, 2013 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters).

On the new Ask CFR Experts feature today, I consider the question of whether the United States should continue economic aid to Egypt. “The answer,” I write, “is a resounding yes.” As I add, however: Read more »

New From CFR: John Campbell on Brazil’s Role in Africa

by Development Channel Staff
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) addresses the media during a visit to the future site of an anti-retroviral factory near Mozambique's capital Maputo on November 10, 2010 (Grant Lee Neuenberg/Courtesy Reuters). Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (C) addresses the media during a visit to the future site of an antiretroviral factory near Mozambique's capital Maputo on November 10, 2010 (Grant Lee Neuenberg/Courtesy Reuters).

Yesterday on his blog, CFR senior fellow John Campbell wrote about Brazil’s involvement in and assistance to Africa. As he argues: Read more »

Democracy in Development: USAID, Water, and Food Security

by Isobel Coleman
A woman uses her hands to help irrigate a crop of onions in a field near Dambulla, Sri Lanka, August 9, 2010 (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Courtesy Reuters). A woman uses her hands to help irrigate a crop of onions in a field near Dambulla, Sri Lanka, August 9, 2010 (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Courtesy Reuters).

Last week on my blog, I reviewed USAID’s Water and Development Strategy, focusing on the link between water and food security. As I write: Read more »

Democracy in Development: The BRICS Development Bank

by Isobel Coleman
A woman walks past the International Convention Centre where the 5th BRICS Summit was held, in Durban, South Africa, March 25, 2013 (Rogan Ward/Courtesy Reuters). A woman walks past the International Convention Centre where the 5th BRICS Summit was held, in Durban, South Africa, March 25, 2013 (Rogan Ward/Courtesy Reuters).

Yesterday I published an article on ForeignPolicy.com posing ten questions about the BRICS development bank, recently announced by BRICS leaders, and its implications for global development. One question is whether developing countries will welcome the bank. As I write: Read more »

Is the IMF Fighting for Social Justice in Egypt?

by Terra Lawson-Remer
An Egyptian protester holds a loaf of state subsidized bread during a demonstration against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation visit, in front of the General-Prosecutor's office in Cairo, April 3, 2013 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters). An Egyptian protester holds a loaf of state subsidized bread during a demonstration against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation visit, in front of the General-Prosecutor's office in Cairo, April 3, 2013 (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Courtesy Reuters).

This week a team from the International Monetary Fund is in Cairo yet again, attempting to reach agreement with the Egyptian government on a $4.8 billion loan to plug Egypt’s increasingly serious external financing gap and budget deficit. Egypt’s foreign currency reserves—in precipitous decline as the Central Bank continues to prop up the exchange rate in efforts to avoid skyrocketing costs for wheat and other staple imports—have dropped from more than $36 billion in early 2011 to less than $14 billion at the end of March.  Egypt’s budget deficit now stands at nearly 11 percent of GDP.

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Emerging Voices: Callan, Blak, and Thomas on the Landscape of Emerging Aid Donors

by Development Channel Staff
This graph shows levels of Official Development Assistance in recent years from several major emerging development donors (Courtesy Dalberg Global Development Advisors). This graph shows levels of Official Development Assistance in recent years from several major emerging development donors (Courtesy Dalberg Global Development Advisors).

Emerging Voices features regular contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is from Paul Callan, Jasmin Blak, and Andria Thomas of Dalberg Global Development Advisors. Callan is Dalberg’s Global Operating Partner and leads the firm’s Strategy and Performance practice; Blak and Thomas are based in Dalberg’s Washington, DC, office. In the article, a follow-up from their post on Chinese foreign aid and investment last week, they highlight characteristics of aid flows from other important emerging donors.

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Emerging Voices: Callan, Blak, and Thomas on China’s Foreign Aid and Investment

by Development Channel Staff
This graph shows actual and estimated totals of official development assistance and other financial flows to the developing world from China, the United States, and traditional donor countries (Courtesy Dalberg Global Development Advisors). This graph shows actual and estimated totals of official development assistance and other financial flows to the developing world from China, the United States, and traditional donor countries (Courtesy Dalberg Global Development Advisors).

Emerging Voices features regular contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is from Paul Callan, Jasmin Blak, and Andria Thomas of Dalberg Global Development Advisors. Callan is Dalberg’s Global Operating Partner and leads the firm’s Strategy and Performance practice; Blak and Thomas are based in Dalberg’s Washington, DC, office. In the article, they analyze China’s foreign aid and investment in the developing world and advocate more accurate reporting to enable better comparisons of Chinese financial flows to those from traditional donor countries.

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Afghanistan’s Overlooked Economic Transition

by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
An Afghan vendor deals with customers at a local market in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, December 2, 2012 (Ahmad Nadeem/Courtesy Reuters). An Afghan vendor deals with customers at a local market in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, December 2, 2012 (Ahmad Nadeem/Courtesy Reuters).

Much attention has been devoted to Afghanistan’s upcoming political and security transition, with Secretary of State John Kerry arriving in Kabul today for meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. But one critical piece of the stability equation has been largely overlooked to date: economic transition. As 2014 approaches, a great deal of progress will either be built upon or lost.

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