By Melanie Pinet and Carmen Leon-Himmelstine
Covid-19 is an unprecedented moment, halting life as we know it. For the global development community, the effects have been profound. Several NGOs have had to scale back or completely stop their operations overseas, while local actors and civil society are rapidly organising to respond to the crisis through their own creative ways. Continue reading “How can Covid-19 be the catalyst to decolonise development research?”
By Ananya Chakraborty and Lennart Kaplan
There has been a spurt in research to design appropriate policy solutions for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Global South. Ironically, such research projects often build upon existing power hierarchies, which may result in unsafe and dangerous working conditions and undermine the Sustainable Development Goal for decent work (SDG 8). Continue reading “Researchers must improve the working conditions for local collaborators”
By Maggie Carter
Humanity is currently facing a threat against which scientific knowledge is our most powerful weapon. Researchers are racing to learn more about the invisible enemy that is Covid-19. However, at the same time, we face another threat, one that has been rearing its head in recent years, but is becoming all the more visible in this unprecedented moment: a growing skepticism of and even hostility towards science. While this is hindering global efforts to reduce the spread of Covid-19, it also has implications that go far beyond the current crisis. Continue reading “From Science to Practice: Strengthening Research Uptake to Achieve the SDGs”
by Fabio Gatti and Oane Visser | EADI/ISS Blog Series
The potential of the digitalization of agriculture in Africa to contribute to food security, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability agendas is being increasingly recognized, as shown by growing investment in digital technologies that are supposed to help small-scale farmers to ‘upgrade’ the way they farm. However, these technologies should not be considered panaceas from the get-go and require critical scrutiny to ensure that they will benefit those who need it the most. Continue reading “Digitalizing agriculture in Africa: promises and risks of an emerging trend”
By Per Øyvind Bastøe, Wendy Asbeek Brusse and Jörg Faust
The recent statement from the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee calls for sustained action to address the crisis in the poorest countries of the planet. In these societies, the pandemic will encounter weak public health systems. Lock-down measures will crush fragile economic structures and worsen the social situation for many people, particularly among the most vulnerable groups in society. Continue reading “COVID-19 and Development Co-operation: we know a lot about what works, let’s use the evidence”
