The Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) is a set of institutions and mechanisms that provide insurance against crises and financing to mitigate their impacts. It has four main elements: countries’ own international reserves; bilateral swap arrangements whereby central banks exchange currencies to provide liquidity to banking systems; regional financial arrangements (RFAs) by which countries pool […]
By Nabil Haque Over the last three decades, rapid industrialization and its ensuing pollution have led to a significant decline in environmental quality in Bangladesh. A 2023 report from the World Bank reveals the dire situation of water pollution in Bangladesh, with heavy metal and chemical pollution having far-reaching impacts on not only water supply […]
Bangladesh has experienced high environmental degradation with rapid economic growth. In the first decade of industrialization, factories operated without environmental clearances or monitoring and enforcement by regulatory bodies. Further, inadequate coordination among government departments led to the clustering of industrial activity near urban centers without longer-term planning or land zoning. Yet, Bangladesh also hosts the […]
In 2017, the Trump administration reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy (MCP) as the “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance” (PLGHA) policy, forbidding international organizations receiving US health assistance from promoting abortion. Existing evidence suggests that abortion rates rise under the MCP, but the direct effect of US funding restrictions on supply and use […]
By Tsitsi Musasike, Jiaqi Lu, Adjeikai Adjei, Kudakwashe Ndhlukula, Eugenia Masvikeni, Kevin P. Gallagher and Maipelo Stroh The 2024-2025 policy calendar reveals key opportunities for African countries and international stakeholders to address key challenges that are hampering the expansion of renewable energy and energy access across the continent. Prominently, this includes the Forum on China-Africa […]
In Kenya, interpersonal violence (IPV) is an issue of major public health concern, with 24 percent of Kenyan women reporting physical violence from a current husband or partner. IPV has profound impacts on physical and mental health outcomes, particularly for pregnant women; it has been found to increase the risk of perinatal mortality, low birth […]
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has one of the highest solar irradiation and great wind energy potential in sub-Saharan Africa. The falling costs of both solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind energy technologies and the discovery of transition minerals essential for the shift to low carbon economies in several SADC countries makes the region a […]
Over the last two decades, Chinese banks and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have provided loans and technology for a large number of coal-fired power plants abroad. With estimated emissions of 245 Mt carbon dioxide annually and a median age of seven years, this overseas coal fleet is increasingly incompatible with host countries’ and global climate goals. […]
The Chinese Loans to Latin America and the Caribbean (CLLAC) Database, jointly managed by the Inter-American Dialogue and the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, recorded two new Chinese overseas finance commitments in 2023 worth a combined $1.3 billion. Both loans were made to Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) by the […]
Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference, the following institutions have prepared this statement: Institute for Economic Justice (South Africa), Centre for Social and Economic Progress (India), Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London (UK), BRICS Policy Center (Brazil), Boston University Global Development Policy Center (USA) and Heinrich Böll Foundation (Germany). […]