By José Antonio Ocampo
BOGOTA, Colombia, Jun 25 2025 – Leaders heading to the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development taking place in Sevilla, Spain, from 30th June to 3rd July, know full well that they are operating in a moment of crisis.

They can see that public financing is not merely constrained, it is choked, and that the social consequences, already severe, risk becoming catastrophic. What leaders need to understand is not that they are in a hole, but that there is a way out. They can overcome the financing crisis and replace the doom loop of austerity with an upward spiral of social and fiscal success.

The scale of change in financing that is needed to overcome the crisis requires that the very welcome agreements set to be made at the gathering in Sevilla mark not an end point, easing pressures, but a starting point, enabling profound reform. The only realistic response to this crisis is a systemic one.

Leaders need not only to put in place debt relief for overindebted developing countries, including reductions in principals and in interest payments. They need to work to create a permanent institutional mechanism for sovereign-debt restructuring. They need to enable a major expansion of long-term, low-cost financing through regional and global development finance institutions.

José Antonio Ocampo

Leaders need not only to strengthen coordination to prevent tax avoidance. They need to work, through the negotiations for the United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation, to reallocate taxation rights fairly among all countries where multinational firms do business. They need to raise the global effective minimum tax on multinationals’ profits, and to introduce minimum standards for the taxation of the richest individuals.

Leaders need not only to halt the freefall of development financing. They need to work to redesign financing for the twenty-first century. Embodying hope that a transformation can be realised is the growing momentum for global public investment. Colombia, Chile, Norway, South Africa and Uruguay are amongst the countries leading the call.

South Africa’s leadership of the G20’s Development Working Group has even named “global public goods and global public investment” as its “number one priority”, “aimed at the construction of a new architecture of international cooperation”.

Over fifty civil society organisations are also backing the call for global public investment, including the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Southern Voice, CIVICUS, and Global Citizen. A new multistakeholder commitment to advance the implementation of global public investment will be a key initiative in the financing conference’s flagship Sevilla Platform for Action.

Global public investment provides a new approach for how countries can think about, organise, and oversee the financing of global challenges. It is rooted in three principles: all benefit from the outcomes; all contribute according to their means; all decide together.

The first principle of global public investment, that all benefit from the outcomes, demonstrates that international cooperation in financing is not charity, it is collective self-interest. We need each other; we can’t afford not to cooperate with each other to achieve shared goals.

The second principle, that all contribute according to their means, helps to show everyone playing their part, which is essential both for ensuring backing and for reshaping countries’ relationships, status and power.

The third principle, that all decide together, enables equality and quality in the direction and oversight of resourcing.

The global public investment approach recognises that the crisis we are in is not only fiscal but ultimately political – a crisis of multilateralism, of collective action. It meets the world’s need for a more effective way for countries to collaborate, and for a more effective way to justify why they do. It shows that looking out for each other is how we protect ourselves; it demonstrates that through pooling of resources everyone wins out.

Though the current crisis in financing was exacerbated suddenly this year, it has been building for much longer. For years, leaders have been struggling to mobilise and structure the resourcing of public goods. But they need to resist the temptation to lower ambition. They cannot afford to settle for approaches that have been shown to not deliver. Retreating from public financing, or retreating from international cooperation, will only worsen the impacts of the global crisis.

The evidence is clear that private financing, though vital, cannot replace public financing. So too, the record shows that national action, though central, is insufficient for protecting global public goods. For the challenges we face, building a new international architecture based around global public investment is both necessary and feasible.

Global public investment harnesses both the power of mutual interest – that we are interdependent – and the power of mutuality – that we achieve more by working together. It is an approach whose time has come.

Sevilla is just the start.

IPS UN Bureau

Excerpt:

José Antonio Ocampo is Former UN Under-Secretary-General; Former Minister of Finance of Colombia; Professor at Columbia University and Member of the UN Committee for Development Policy

By External Source
KABUL, Jun 25 2025 – It was a sunny winter day in Kabul. I decided to step out and take a stroll around my surroundings. With my long dress and hijab on, I left the house. Since I was not too far from home, I did not need the company of a Mahram, a male guard, by my side – a strict restriction placed on Afghan women by the Taliban.

Life in the city was bustling, children selling plastic bags by the roadside while ordinary people went about in various ways.

As I walked, my eyes caught a sign that indicated a restaurant for women only, serving a variety of local and national dishes. I was intrigued, given that in a city filled with numerous hotels and restaurants, mostly run by men, this particular one was operated by women catering to only women customers.

I decided to pursue further. The sign took me fifteen stairs deep into the basement of a building, where the women working in the restaurant could not be seen from outside.

From Home-Kitchen Hustle to Full-Blown Restaurant

I was met by a woman who friendly welcomed me. As I sat in the restaurant, memories of the past flooded my mind. I had visited restaurants with my family and friends prior to the Taliban takeover of our country. There used to be laughter, we shared meals and enjoyed each other’s company without fear or restriction.

We could sit together, converse openly, and enjoy life, free from the oppressive atmosphere that now defines our current situation. Those days were full of joy and possibility, and the memories are among the happiest I have ever had; now they feel like a distant, almost unreachable past.

A waitress snapped me back to the present as she took my order. I was curious to know how the women had managed to set up a workplace outside home in the heart of Kabul.

One of the proprietors who wanted to remain anonymous narrated the story: “My daughter and I were driven by unemployment and poverty into preparing delicious food at home and selling it online at low price”.

“The business gradually flourished, even though initially we made many mistakes”, said the young woman, a law degree holder, forced by the Taliban to abandon further studies.

After saving 800,000 Afghanis, and an additional 100,000 European Union support, they decided to start their own restaurant. The rented place has a fully equipped kitchen and a large hall for customers.

Inside the beautifully decorated walls, girls are busy preparing dough for bolani, a thin-crusted flat bread widely consumed in Afghanistan often filled with potatoes, leeks, grated pumpkin, or chives.

Due to the Taliban crack down on women outside home, the restaurant has become a lifeline to most of the women working there, who recently lost their jobs.

Among them is Wahida, a young girl who said she lost her job as an office worker. “It has been over three years since my colleagues and I lost our jobs with the arrival of the Taliban,” she said, adding, “I was left wondering what to do”.

But now with the opening of the women-only restaurant by the two enterprising women, she and ten of her colleagues, have had a salaried job for the past one month.

And that was precisely one of the motivations for Farhard and her mother opening the restaurant – creating jobs and providing financial independence for women who had been thrown out of jobs by the Taliban.

“Women’s work outside the home has brought great hope to the women working in our restaurant, because they can support their families with their salaries”, said Farhard.

“Besides that”, she continued, “a restaurant is a good source of income and reintroduces the culture of cooking authentic Afghan food for people in the most beautiful way possible”.

They are licensed by the Ministry of Commerce and their customer base is steadily increasing. The proprietors provide training in catering and service to applicants before hiring them.

Navigating the Tightrope of Taliban Rules

Ever since the Taliban burst onto the political scene four years ago with indiscriminate ban on women from working outside home, Afghan women are exploring income-generating business options. Tailoring and custom-made dressmaking are among the most common, while the restaurant sector also provides a viable alternative for many others.

This women-only restaurant can only operate because it strictly follows all Taliban rules. It’s located in a basement to ensure that no women can be seen from outside, as women are not allowed to work outside or eat in public with men.

They pay monthly taxes to the Taliban, all staff are women, and they follow hijab and other religious regulations set by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Yet in spite of the great lengths, which women take to generate incomes, the Taliban are still looming not far behind.

“Officials from the so-called Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice conduct weekly inspection visits to our restaurant,” complains Wahida.

The inspections, she says, “ensure that all the women are wearing their hijabs properly, with their faces covered, and dressed in the appropriate long dress, as the regulations demand”.

Apart from that, they thoroughly check the entire restaurant to ensure no men are working there, since women are strictly forbidden to work in the same place as men.

To the women working in the restaurant, these inspections are undoubtedly viewed as unnecessary harassment. They feel scrutinized and yet powerless to fight against it.

However, Wahida has a message for the brave Afghan women: “Don’t despair, find the small niches the private sector allows, and keep moving forward.”

Excerpt:

The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons

By External Source
Jun 25 2025 (IPS-Partners)

 
The Commonwealth Climate Access Hub responds to the needs of its member countries, including their most vulnerable people to build resilience and climate-smart communities.

The hub, which started with USD 10 million ten years ago, now has supported countries to unlock close to USD 500 million in climate finance and has half a billion dollars worth of projects in the pipeline.

By External Source
ADDIS ABABA / NAIROBI, Jun 25 2025 – Imagine investing US$14 billion, or even slightly less, to achieve universal literacy in 17 African countries where more than half the adult population still cannot read or write . Pair that with another US$36 billion to connect Africa’s landlocked nations through 12,000 kilometres of new railway lines along priority transport corridors.

These are not distant ambitions; they are costed, achievable interventions. And even after financing both, donors would still have billions left — if they had honoured the $71.74 billion in aid they pledged to Africa but never delivered.

The truth is the aid system is not “broken.” It’s working the same way it always has. Instead of transforming the Global South, the architecture of the aid system stabilizes the Global North. It protects commercial and foreign interests, rather than prioritizing efforts to end abject poverty

Over the last two decades, G7 and multilateral donors committed $292 billion of aid to Africa. But $71.74 billion of the promised funds were never disbursed. This is not mere bureaucratic slippage, it is Overseas Development Aid (ODA) debt: development funds owed but withheld. It is a debt that undermines the very premise of partnership.

Even when aid does arrive, it’s too short-term to support structural transformation. G7 projects now last an average of just 3.18 years, far below the standard five-year cycles of African national development plans.

In conflict-affected and fragile states, the durations are even shorter. Across all contexts, the problem is compounded by chronic disbursement delays: by year five, one-third of committed aid remains undelivered.

The African Union has declared 2025 the Year of Reparations, a recognition that today’s development crisis cannot be understood without considering centuries of slavery and colonial history and their continuation under the current global economic systems. But reparations are not just about the past.

They directly address the continuing drain on Africa’s potential while dressing up inequality in the language of “aid” and “development cooperation.”

The truth is the aid system is not “broken.” It’s working the same way it always has. Instead of transforming the Global South, the architecture of the aid system stabilizes the Global North. It protects commercial and foreign interests, rather than prioritizing efforts to end abject poverty.

Aid flows are often tied to commercial conditions, such as requiring recipient governments to purchase goods and services from the donor country. These arrangements boost the donor’s exports and support its domestic industries.

At the same time, aid enables donor countries to maintain political influence in strategic regions, aligning development cooperation with their foreign policy goals. It is neither altruism nor an attempt to correct historic injustice. Rather, it is an economic strategy cloaked in moral obligation.

Donors talk about “African capacity” and “ownership,” while retaining the power to decide when, how, and even if the money will arrive. All of this is subject to the political tides and election cycles of the Global North.

We are told to be accountable, yet the aid system itself remains deeply unaccountable. France has proposed slashing its development aid budget by 40%, despite having passed a law this year to increase its aid to meet the UN’s target of at least 0.7% of gross national income dedicated to ODA.

Belgium has announced a 25% cut. Meanwhile, the United States’ sweeping aid reductions have hit Africa particularly hard, undermining programs in health, nutrition, and food security. More Global North countries are expected to follow suit including Germany, the world’s second-largest ODA provider.

These are not isolated policy choices. These are symptoms of a global architecture that was never designed to deliver justice.

This is why the African Union’s Year of Reparations must become a rallying cry. Reparations are not just about colonial theft; they confront the ongoing conditions that perpetuate continued economic exploitation. The same extractive patterns that fuelled slavery and colonial empires now manifest in trade agreements, debt regimes, tax havens, and the aid system.

In this system, “global partnership” often feels more like containment. What is offered as “solidarity” is underpinned by hierarchy. This kind of “support” is not aid – it is managed underdevelopment.

Justice can be pursued through existing global and African-led mechanisms — from UN-led platforms such as the Financing for Development (FfD) process, to emerging African-led financing reforms. This is a call for meaningful political will to reorient the system.

Here’s what must change:

1. Reframe aid as a tool of justice, not charity.

Development cooperation must be grounded in historical obligation and global solidarity, not donor discretion. Africa needs long-term, predictable financing aligned with national priorities, not three-year projects designed in Brussels or Washington.

2. Make aid commitments enforceable.

The 0.7% target cannot remain symbolic. Donor pledges must be backed by binding frameworks, regular reporting, and consequences for non-compliance.

3. Dismantle the colonial architecture of aid.

Aid delivery systems must shift control to African institutions. The current model, designed around donor risk management and political optics, must give way to one centred on recipient sovereignty.

4. Decisively deal with the commitment–disbursement gap.

Delays in disbursing committed aid are breaches of trust that must carry consequences. There is no justification for donors to operate without accountability when African governments often face penalties or interest for delayed payments.

The $71.74 billion that Africa was promised but never received over the past 20 years could have done so much. It still can – if it is repaid.

Africa is not asking for generosity. It is asserting its right to fairness, redress, and a future shaped on its own terms. Let us not pretend that another accountability dashboard or aid conference will fix this. The system must be reconstructed inclusively and grounded in justice—for Africa.

This article is co-authored by Martha Bekele (Co-founder, DevTransform), based in Addis Ababa, and Vitalice Meja (Executive Director, Reality of Aid – Africa), based in Nairobi.

By Umar Manzoor Shah
SRINAGAR & BONN, Jun 25 2025 – A packed conference room buzzing with the energy of over 300 national experts, negotiators, and implementers discussed their submissions of the First Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) during the 62nd session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SB62) negotiations taking place in Bonn, Germany.

The workshop was convened as part of the ongoing SB62 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and was being held at a crucial time for global climate governance, providing a rare and vital platform for countries to exchange honest reflections on their first forays into enhanced climate transparency.

Daniele Violetti, Senior Director at the UNFCCC, while offering a snapshot of global progress, said, “As of today, 103 Biennial Transparency Reports have been submitted, of which 67 are from developing countries, including 15 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).”

The reports, which were due in December last year under the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework, aim to enhance transparency and build trust among parties to the UNFCCC by providing a regular update on progress towards climate goals.

He lauded the extensive support provided through the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and other agencies, noting, “We at the UNFCCC Secretariat remain fully committed to collaborating with partners and enhancing the capacity of developing countries.”

Over the past five months, the Secretariat convened 17 country support events attended by 319 national experts and 11 sub-regional and regional workshops with 373 experts from 112 developing countries. Additionally, 1,700 review experts were certified under the BTR Technical Expert Review Training Program.

“This is a meaningful and valuable learning experience under the Paris Agreement,” Violetti said, stressing the importance of “reflection and mutual learning” to build “stronger national transparency systems that will serve countries well beyond this reporting cycle.”

The workshop’s agenda moved from introductory remarks to a series of concise presentations by key implementing agencies: the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Conservation International (CI), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Esteban Bermudez Forn, Climate Change Specialist from the GEF stated that the Facility has supported the preparation of 163 BTRs in 111 countries, including multiple reports from countries advancing to their second and third BTRs. “We encourage countries to see GEF support as a savings account—prepare your BTR, but also request access to ensure you have resources available when you need them,” he advised.

Highlighting  the continued availability of funds, Forn  said, “We still have USD 92 million available under the current replenishment cycle. Please, if you haven’t requested support from the GEF, do it as soon as possible before the replenishment cycle ends.”

Ricardo Urlate of Conservation International spotlighted the importance of nurturing local talent, referencing a project in Rwanda that partners the government with academia. “Normally, there is a big dependency on external experts—very expensive experts from outside—and this is something that cannot continue if countries want to be more efficient and engaged,” he warned.

Through the Evidence-Based Climate Reporting Initiative, Rwanda’s Environmental Management Authority and the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences trained over 50 staff in data analysis, climate modeling, and greenhouse gas inventories. Ricardo emphasized, “The important thing is that there are a lot of options… to identify at the country level which is the one that better fits their own needs and priorities.”

CI also highlighted a sub-regional project with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), which aims to build capacity for enhanced transparency across member countries. “Reporting and transparency are two of the key elements they are supporting,” Ricardo said, pointing to the value of regional approaches.

FAO’s Marcel Bernhofs drew attention to a persistent challenge: finding appropriate executing agencies with the managerial capacity to lead projects. “This gap can create bottlenecks and delay implementation, slowing down the preparation and submission of funding requests,” he observed.

FAO’s approach emphasizes on-the-ground engagement, leveraging regional and national teams. Their Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency (CBIT) and Forestry and Other Land Use (FOLU) project, for example, “provides easy-to-access and knowledgeable technical experts” and focuses on supporting agriculture and land use sectors—areas that are “not easy, where we are really struggling quite a lot to do a good job,” Marcel acknowledged.

Marcel also stressed the importance of language accessibility: “Sometimes working in English is fine, but we also need, when we enter the detail and close discussion, to use the national languages.” FAO’s capacity-building activities, including a recent forest monitoring course in three languages, supported 2,500 participants from 141 countries.

The Value of Timely Technical Assistance

Richmond Azee from UNDP shared practical lessons on the importance of selecting the right executing partners and providing timely technical assistance. “Never let [countries] work alone on the BTRs but be ready beside them with some resources… to provide technical assistance as soon as possible and as needed to unlock some issues and overcome some challenges,” he advised.

He cited Guinea-Bissau’s experience aligning multiple reporting requirements and Niger’s successful correction of technical errors in their submission, both facilitated by UNDP’s hands-on support. “As a result, Guinea-Bissau, an LDC, submitted its BTR before December 2024… and Niger submitted on time, enhancing their understanding for the next cycle of BTRs.”

Funding Modalities and Sustainability Susanne Lecoyote, dialing in from UNEP, addressed the evolving funding modalities.

“Out of the total 111 countries that have accessed funding so far for BTRs, UNEP has supported 66,” she stated, describing how diverse modalities—such as bundled projects—help tailor support and ensure continuity for countries as they move through reporting cycles.

Susanne explained the streamlined approval process for expedited funding, typically taking just three to four months. She encouraged project coordinators to “be flexible to start preparing proposals while you are concluding your reports… do not mind about the technical review comments, because when they come in, we will provide a room for you to make amendments if needed.”

UNEP’s CBIT-GSP (Global Support Program) is a hub of collaboration, she said, “working closely with the Consultative Group of Experts, Climate Promise, Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC), Implementation and Coordination of Agricultural Research & Training (ICART) and many other initiatives to make sure that transparency-related services are provided to all countries, irrespective of whether they are supported by UNEP or other agencies.”

National Ownership and the Importance of Coordination

Rajan Dhappa from WWF shared Nepal’s experience, celebrating the country’s recent submission of its first BTR and its third Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), making Nepal the first in South Asia to do so.

“We tried our best to submit the document with the best available data and information. But BTR is a time-taking process; it requires coordination among agencies and also the technical and financial support,” he reflected.

He stressed the centrality of government ownership: “If there is a high level of ownership and if they tend to implement such projects… then every project gets a success result or every project receives its intended goal on time.”

Nepal’s work on establishing a national Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) mechanism is expected to pay dividends for future reporting.

IPS UN Bureau Report

By Farai Shawn Matiashe
MUTARE, Zimbabwe, Jun 25 2025 – When load shedding was introduced over the past two years, Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa had to deal with learning disruptions worsened by the backup generators in the eastern part of Zimbabwe.

Apart from the noise and air pollution from the diesel-powered generators, the backup system did not run the whole night.

“It was disruptive,” says the 26-year-old from Angola, who is studying Education at Africa University, a United Methodist Church-related institution.

“You have an assignment due and you are still researching online and if the electricity goes off, you cannot meet the deadline.”

Lumboa is lucky not to have missed the deadline for any of his assignments, but most of his fellow students have been missing deadlines due to rolling power cuts.

Students Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa and Maria Kwikiriza at Africa University in eastern Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

A new solar mini-grid at AU, just outside Zimbabwe’s third-largest city of Mutare, is changing the lives of students like Lumboa.

The 250 kilowatt solar power plant, officially commissioned on 6 June, has 590 solar panels, a 250 kilovolt inverter system and a 600 kilowatt-hour battery bank.

The lithium batteries have a lifespan of 25 years.

The system is providing uninterrupted power to the AU’s main campus, including student hostels and laboratories.

“Annually, we had to spend a minimum of USD 216,000. That was our energy bill. Our maximum will be around USD 240,000. So, we will save around USD 240,000 per year,” says Professor Talon Garikayi, a deputy Vice Chancellor at AU, an engineer overseeing the solar power project.

In 2024, the southern African nation was hit by a punishing drought fueled by El Niño, a climate phenomenon that can worsen dry spells or storms, extreme weather events increasingly linked to climate change.

This led to a sharp drop in water levels in Lake Kariba, home to the country’s main hydropower plant, which is shared with Zambia.

The authorities were forced to roll out load shedding schedules lasting for more than 18 hours.

Lake Kariba was generating less than 20 percent of its installed capacity of 1050 megawatts (MW) at the time.

Jose Tenete Domingos Lumboa, a student at Africa University working on his laptop. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

In April 2024, the government declared the drought a national disaster—the worst in 40 years—which left more than half the population food insecure.

Institutions like AU had to turn to diesel-powered generators, which are expensive to run.

And students like Lumboa had to bear the brunt of load shedding at AU.

Reverend Alfiado Zunguza, AU Board of Directors chairperson, says this makes education expensive.

“We felt like it was critical to invest in this solar power plant to ensure the university continues to be reliable in its operations and its systems that are critical in advancing the knowledge of the continent,” he says.

“The university was spending USD 240,000 a year for electricity, making education expensive. So we want to reduce the cost of education at AU, making it more affordable to as many people as possible.”

He says in the long run, AU is saving more, and the funds can be channeled towards infrastructure development, research labs, and capacity building.

The Zimbabwe government, through its National Energy Policy, is planning to generate 2,100 MW by 2030 from renewable energy and biofuels like ethanol.

Maria Kwikiriza, who is from Uganda and is studying law, says that by investing in renewable energy, the institution is contributing to a clean environment.

Lithium batteries at the new solar power plant at Africa University in eastern Zimbabwe. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPS

“The campus is now quiet. The oil from the generator was affecting my breathing. We now have access to WiFi all night, which is essential for our studying,” says the 25-year-old who has asthma.

Zimbabwe, a country of 15.1 million people, has 62 percent electricity access and relies heavily on coal and hydropower for its energy needs.

The AU is improving electricity access to the community through its new solar power plant.

Reverend Peter Mageto, AU vice chancellor, says his institution is releasing electricity, which will benefit surrounding communities.

“So, we are glad that we are venturing into this so that the electricity supply authorities can provide electricity to the underserved communities,” he says, adding that this project is part of the AU’s strategic plan running from 2023 to 2027.

Mageto, who is from Kenya, says he brought with him lessons learned from Kenya, which is one of the nations doing well in renewable energy in Africa.

Dr. James Sally, chief executive officer of Africa University, Tennessee, says the solar mini-grid was funded by AU Tennessee Corporation, which founded AU Zimbabwe more than 30 years ago.

“No donor provided funding for this project and that is the uniqueness of it. That is what I am talking about—sustainability,” says Sally, who is also the associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement at AU.

Garikayi says AU is working to generate 1.4 MW by October, enough to cover the university’s farm and its residential areas.

This solar power plant will become the biggest in Manicaland Province after a 200 kW solar mini-grid in Hakwata in Chipinge, a 140 kW solar power plant at Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital and a 150 kW solar power plant at Mutambara Mission Hospital, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

He says if he has excess electricity, it will be extended to nearby Old Mutare, which has a school, an orphanage, and a hospital.

“We will be able to say there are 1,200 business units within Manicaland. Everyone within the region can now use the energy we would have been allocated,” Garikayi says, adding that the AU will reduce the load from the national grid.

Lumbo is planning to replicate this solar power plant in his country, Angola.

“I was talking to my fellow countrymen about taking this technology back home. It improves students’ welfare and boosts our confidence,” he says.

IPS UN Bureau Report

Finland now ranks first in global sustainable development goals progress. Barbados is ahead globally in its commitment to UN multilateralism or cooperation among multiple nations. Only 17 percent of sustainable development goals (SDG) targets are on track for 2030, according to the Sustainable Development Report 2025 (SDR) released today by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) […]

By Maximilian Malawista
NEW YORK, Jun 24 2025 – The world is losing interest in investing in others, especially when it comes to humanitarian aid. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has slowed to critical levels, weakening emerging markets and further slowing growth across developing nations.

As of 2025, FDI has dwindled to its lowest levels yet, largely due to heightened trade tensions among barriers for international investment. Lowered levels of FDI indicate a move to domestic and isolationist efforts, increasing the likelihood of failed budgetary cooperation to international intergovernmental bodies such as the United Nations.

This is already evident in the UN’s budgets for the Secretariat and for humanitarian aid operations. With many of the UN’s largest donors deciding to cut back on their contributions, the organization will now see a 20 percent reduction in its workforce (6,900 jobs), in addition to sizing down humanitarian aid operations globally. On June 20th, Spokesperson for the Secretary General Stéphane Dujarric remarked, “no office in the UN will be exempt from the 20 percent reduction, and that includes the Secretary General’s office.” This would suggest that the cuts have been brought on due to the reduced budget, and not a want for managerial optimization of the UN’s staff. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, nearly USD 1.5 billion in missed payments have contributed to a USD 3.7 billion budget cut to the UN. This financial strain has been further exacerbated by multiple overdue payments from China. Together, China and the U.S. make up a little over 40 percent of the UN’s total budget.

These cuts have also been seen across the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), where “the deepest funding cuts ever to hit the international humanitarian sector” have occurred. This has resulted in resulting in OCHA to presenting their new global “hyper-prioritized” appeal, aimed at supporting 114 million people facing life threatening necessities worldwide. The new plan asks for USD 29 billion in funding, a decrease of USD 15 billion called for in the previous plan.

“We have been forced into a triage of human survival,” said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator .“The math is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking. Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given.”

The Global Humanitarian Overview for 2025 originally called for USD 44 billion and aimed to reach about 180 million people out of the nearly three hundred million in need. However as of June, only USD 5.6 billion has been received, less than 13 per cent of the appeal. As a result, aid will be disbursed not purely by human necessity, but by cruel and cold calculations.

With the new calculations, the new plan was designed with three goals. Firstly, by reaching the people facing the most urgent conditions, using a scale ranking humanitarian need for aid, prioritizing cases that reached level 4 (Extreme) and level 5 (Catastrophic) as a starting point for disbursement. Second, the prioritization of life-saving support, according to the planning already concluded in the 2025 Humanitarian Response. Third, ensuring that limited resources are directed based on where they can do the best, accounting for speed of disbursement capabilities.

In his statement on the situation, Fletcher concluded by saying: “Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices. All we ask is 1 percent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn’t just an appeal for money – it’s a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.”

The Investment-Aid Correlation

Credit: Unsplash/Salah Darwish

The shortfall in humanitarian aid funding has directly coincided with global FDI pull backs, reflecting an investor who is less donor-confident, having a decreased interest in bilateral engagement, and overall lack of security about putting money towards fragile states. For the 2023 financial year, developing economies received USD435 billion in FDI (which was USD 867 billion in 2022), the lowest since 2005. A larger slowdown has also been seen for advanced/high-income economies receiving USD 336 billion in 2023, the lowest since 1996. FDI as a portion of gross domestic product (GDP) accounted for 2.3 percent of developing economies in 2023, which is only half of what it was in 2008 at its peak year.

To combat the shortfalls of decreased FDI, The World Bank identified a three-policy priority plan, specifically for developing economies. The first priority would be to “redouble efforts to attract FDI” by easing restrictions and speeding up investment. According to the World Bank, a 1 percent increase in countries’ labor productivity has been associated with a 0.7 percent increase in FDI inflows.

The second priority would be to “amplify the economic benefits of FDI”, which will involve offering a greater quality of development post investment, and uplifting sectors that create opportunities for underrepresented groups. The third priority would be to “advance global cooperation” by creating initiatives to increase multi-sectoral/international flows, offering geopolitical relief, and creating structures to support developing economies.

By boosting FDI, this plan would also encourage UN member states to expand or maintain their current humanitarian contributions. FDI can be seen as a signal for the depth of global connectedness, with stronger investment flows reinforcing a shared commitment to the delivering of aid. To establish the most efficient system, everyone is needed, and that includes the mobilization of capital and communication. An increase in FDI provides a crucial backbone for countries struggling with crises. While the UN can support and implement as many aid plans as possible, true impact depends on the individual state’s willingness to invest in these developing nations. Without this investment, these economies will remain stagnant, unable to recover and grow, falling behind the world stage indefinitely.

At the same time, official development assistance (ODA) globally is also on a downward trend.

IPS UN Bureau

By Nathalie Meynet
GENEVA, Jun 24 2025 – “We are writing to you regarding the cuts being undertaken under the UN80 Initiative and, more broadly, across the UN system. While we are mindful of the current funding challenges, we believe that the rushed and chaotic manner in which these changes are being implemented is causing deeper harm to both the effectiveness and reputation of the United Nations.

The “slash and burn” approach adopted under the UN80 plan, led by Mr. Guy Ryder, adviser to the Secretary-General, risks not only damaging our mission and harming our beneficiaries; it is also proving costly at a time when the Organization can least afford it.

Furthermore, many of the changes are likely to be reversed in the future, as the next Secretary-General works to re-establish coherence and relevance within the system.

In terms of the mission of the United Nations, the consequences of the lack of funding are already stark. An evaluation of the impact suggests that 23 million fewer people affected by humanitarian crises will receive assistance. There could be 4.2 million additional AIDS-related deaths. It means millions of children at risk of being pushed out of school— with an estimated 250,000 in Sudan alone.

It also means that support for the energy transition, development financing, and counterterrorism efforts will be weakened. While developing countries will be the first and hardest hit, many of these impacts will be global. As noted by outgoing UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner in the Financial Times, we are witnessing a “structural destruction of capacity.”

The funding cuts are already causing serious harm, with experienced frontline workers— especially national staff in developing countries—being dismissed with little notice, as well as international colleagues who have served in some of the most complex and high-risk environments.

The management of the UN80 process under Mr. Ryder, risks deepening the crisis and raises serious issues about coherence and vision. It begins with a poor understanding of mandates. For example, leaked proposals have suggested merging the United Nations with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, an idea that is not only unfeasible but fundamentally misunderstands the roles of these institutions.

Even for those organizations more integrated within the UN system, no thought has been given to how these ideas could realistically be implemented, or of the appropriate role of Member States. For instance, the suggestion to merge the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration would weaken rights protections under the 1951 Refugee Convention.

These proposals also reflect the arbitrary way task force members were appointed, meaning that some entities and development mandates are voiceless in the process. We see a risk that some senior managers will seize the opportunity to expand their own entities at the expense of others.

In a recent staff townhall, Mr. Ryder admitted that the reform process is being conducted “back to front”, as strategic decisions will only be made after there had been a 20% ‘across the board cut’ of Secretariat posts within the United Nations, adding to the thousands of positions across the wider UN system.

This means that while discussions under UN80 are ongoing, managers are being forced to make difficult and unnecessary choices without a clear rationale. This rushed approach also carries significant financial costs.

We estimate that each staff termination or relocation costs $100,000 once indemnities, relocation, and training are factored in. Across the system, this will amount to a minimum of $930 million in costs to Member States, with no suggestion of how this will be paid for. As seen in previous rushed downsizing efforts, new staff will quickly have to be (re)hired, incurring further expenses.

We have urged Mr. Ryder, once a respected champion of social dialogue, to begin by identifying how the strengths of the UN system can be aligned with the needs of our beneficiaries to maximize impact at both the global and country levels, and make the UN fit for the future.

Reform should be guided by these principles and informed by inclusive consultation, recognizing that colleagues on the ground often have a more accurate understanding of how the UN operates, rather than senior management in New York.

Unfortunately, our appeals have gone unacknowledged. We therefore hope that you, the Member States, will scrutinize the UN80 process thoroughly; to consider the damage it may inflict on the effectiveness of the United Nations, and to support a more strategic and sustainable approach to restructuring and financing the UN system.”

IPS UN Bureau

Excerpt:

Nathalie Meynet, President of the 60,000-strong Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations (CCISUA), in a letter to Philémon Yunji Yang, President of the General Assembly and to Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives accredited to the United Nations in New York.

By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 23 2025 – Nearly four years ago, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan and issued a series of edicts that significantly restricted women’s rights nationwide. This has resulted in a multifaceted humanitarian crisis, one marked by a notable decline in civic freedoms, stunted national development, and a widespread lack of basic services.

On June 17, UN-Women published its 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index, a comprehensive report that details the gender disparities and worsening humanitarian conditions for women and girls across the country. According to the report, the edicts issued by the Taliban have restricted women’s rights to the point that women and girls in the country have fallen far below the global benchmarks for human development.

“Since [2021], we have witnessed a deliberate and unprecedented assault on the rights, dignity and very existence of Afghan women and girls. And yet, despite near-total restrictions on their lives, Afghan women persevere,” said Sofia Calltorp, UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action. “The issue of gender inequality in Afghanistan didn’t start with the Taliban. Their institutionalised discrimination is layered on top of deep-rooted barriers that also hold women back.”

It is estimated that women in Afghanistan have 76 percent fewer rights than men in areas such as health, education, financial independence, and decision-making. In addition, Afghan women are afforded, on average, 17 percent of their rights while women worldwide have 60.7 percent.

This disparity is projected to further widen following the Taliban’s ban on women holding positions in the health sector, removing one of the final strongholds for female autonomy in Afghanistan. Today, roughly 78 percent of Afghan women lack access to any form of formal education, employment, or training, nearly four times the rate for Afghan men. UN Women projects that the rate of secondary school completion for girls will soon fall to zero percent for girls and women.

Furthermore, Afghanistan has one of the widest workforce gaps in the world, with 89 percent of men having roles in the labour force, compared to 24 percent of women. Women are more likely to work in domestic roles and have lower-paying, more insecure jobs. Additionally, there are zero women that hold roles in national or local decision-making bodies, effectively excluding them entirely from having their voices heard on a governmental level.

“Afghanistan’s greatest resource is its women and girls,” said UN Women’s Executive Director Sima Bahous. “Their potential continues to be untapped, yet they persevere. Afghan women are supporting each other, running businesses, delivering humanitarian aid and speaking out against injustice. Their courage and leadership are reshaping their communities, even in the face of immense restrictions.”

The exclusion of all Afghan women from the workforce has had significant impacts on the local economy. According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), since 2021 Afghanistan’s economy has seen losses of up to 1 billion USD per year, representing roughly 5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. This has led to an overall increase in poverty levels and food insecurity.

“Overlapping economic, political, and humanitarian crises — all with women’s rights at their core — have pushed many households to the brink. In response – often out of sheer necessity — more women are entering the workforce,” Calltorp said.

Furthermore, women in Afghanistan lack any form of economic independence. UN Women estimates that only 6.8 percent of women have access to basic financial resources such as bank accounts and mobile money services. Edicts that prevent women from accessing financial independence will leave the vast majority of Afghan women unequipped for a self-sustainable future.

Afghanistan has also seen a significant surge in rates of gender-based violence since the Taliban’s rise to power. According to the report, Afghan women are exposed to nearly three times the global average rates of intimate-partner violence. Other practices, such as forced and child marriages and honor killings, exacerbate the national levels of gender inequality. Amnesty International states that non-compliance often results in retaliation from the Taliban, with women and girls facing arrests, rape, and torture.

In November 2023, Afghanistan’s de-facto Ministry of Public Health banned women’s access to psychosocial support services, leaving the vast majority of victims of gender-based violence without the adequate resources to recover while perpetrators receive impunity. Additionally, the elimination of women’s healthcare, including women’s access to reproductive health and education services, has made it difficult for many women to find basic care.

Due to these challenges, UN Women believes that Afghan women are less likely than men to live the majority of their lives in good health. It is estimated that the life expectancy of Afghan women is far lower than the global average and is projected to worsen in the coming years.

According to CIVICUS Global Alliance, current civic space conditions in Afghanistan are listed as “closed”, representing one of the worst environments for civic freedoms in the world. Josef Benedict, the Monitor Asia Researcher of CIVICUS, states that the women’s rights issues in Afghanistan have deteriorated to the point that it resembles a “gender apartheid”.

“There has been severe repression and systemic gender-based discrimination faced by Afghan women and girls under the Taliban. Women and girls are being systematically erased from public life and are being denied fundamental human rights, including access to employment, education, and opportunities for political and social engagement,” said Benedict.

“The international community must do more to provide support for women and girls in and from Afghanistan by calling for dismantling of the institutionalized system of gender oppression, ensure the representative, equal, meaningful and safe participation of Afghan women in all discussions concerning the country’s future and support community-led initiatives promoting gender equality and women’s rights.”

Additionally, activists and dissenters are routinely punished by the Taliban, facing harassment, intimidation, and violence. Journalists are often targeted, underscoring the risks of speaking out against a repressive government in an increasingly volatile environment.

“The rating is also due to the crackdown on press freedom,” said Benedict. “Nearly four years on, governments have failed to ensure a strong, united international response to counter the Taliban’s extreme repression, take steps to hold the Taliban accountable or to effectively support Afghan activists in the country and those in exile.”

IPS UN Bureau Report