{"id":694,"date":"2020-05-12T10:34:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T08:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.developmentresearch.eu\/?p=694"},"modified":"2020-05-12T11:06:59","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T09:06:59","slug":"covid-19-and-development-co-operation-we-know-a-lot-about-what-works-lets-use-the-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.developmentresearch.eu\/?p=694","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 and Development Co-operation: we know a lot about what works, let\u2019s use the evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Per \u00d8yvind Bast\u00f8e, Wendy Asbeek Brusse and J\u00f6rg Faust<\/em><\/p>\n

The recent statement from the OECD\u2019s Development Assistance Committee<\/a> 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. Violence against women and children is spiking across the globe. In other words, in the short term the pandemic is likely to cause a humanitarian disaster. In the medium term it will lead to a structural economic crisis that will jeopardise recent progress on attaining the sustainable development goals.<\/p>\n

While OECD countries are still working to contain the far-reaching consequences of COVID-19 at home, policymakers are stepping up to help developing country partners. Many OECD countries, multilateral institutions and international organisations have committed funds<\/a> \u2013 and more announcements are coming every day.<\/span><\/p>\n

While these efforts provide hope, as evaluators, we worry that the pressure for urgent action can lead to critical missteps. Evidence from past interventions during global or regional crises has shown that not all well-intended actions are effective. What is most important, and at the same time most challenging, is striking the right balance between quick and flexible responses on the one hand, and coordination, quality planning and context-sensitivity on the other hand.<\/p>\n

Efforts should be informed by lessons from the past, including the plentiful evidence from evaluations of other relief efforts (such as the synthesis, \u201cAddressing the novel coronavirus\u201d by the Independent Evaluation Office of the ADB<\/a>). Moreover, we strongly recommend that all upcoming humanitarian and development assistance responses be accompanied by high-quality results monitoring, evaluation and research. Ignoring past evidence and failing to invest in generating credible new evidence about what is and is not working, in which contexts and for whom, may well cost lives.<\/p>\n

Lessons for effective development co-operation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thankfully, evaluations of responses to recent epidemics<\/a> (SARS, Ebola, Avian Influenza) and natural disasters such as earthquakes<\/a> and tsunamis<\/a>, provide key lessons for policymakers facing these challenges today. Based on past failures and successes, and on what we have seen emerging in the early days of the COVID-19 response, we think the following four lessons are of particular relevance:<\/p>\n