The EU Delegation has played a prominent role in Mali’s recovery as one of a group of international donors who together pledged €615 million to support the country. Cécile Tassin-Pelzer, who recently finished her posting to Mali as Head of Cooperation, discusses the EU delegation’s key projects and how foreign donors can best operate in a fragile state whose multiple problems increase the complexity of cooperation.
The financing needs of the SDGs range up to $7 trillion a year – well beyond the reach of traditional development assistance. Donors are looking at ways to leverage their resources by attracting private financing, for example through blending: combining public grants with loans or equity. Is it working, and how can it be done better? Capacity4dev hears from the authors of a recent evaluation of EU blending from 2007-15.
Public transportation systems could remedy many of the problems faced by major cities in developing countries. But is there a one-size-fits-all solution to implementing them?
Sustainable Development Goals call for ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030. But water’s significance goes further.
Like its North African neighbours, Morocco has long been the gateway into Europe for people from sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, it has also become a country of destination. Head of EU Cooperation Philip Mikos discusses what Member States can learn from Morocco’s experience and explains how the country’s status as a Neighbourhood partner affects its cooperation with the EU on areas from vocational training to gender equality.
The presence of international observers can be a strong deterrent to electoral fraud and violence. But their work can also prove instrumental in the long-term, contributing to improvements in future elections, fostering peace and development and facilitating democratic processes in the country.
What would happen if everyone gave €1 a year for development cooperation? Citizens from Coulaines, a commune in France, are showing what’s possible: they have helped bring water to 15,000 people in their twin-town Kouré, some 5,000 km away in Niger.
After natural disasters a lot of funding goes into the humanitarian response – but it’s an inefficient way of funding what is essentially a chronic problem, according to expert Nicholas Freeland. Panelists from the European Development Days discuss investing in social protection and resilience as a better avenue for the response, and share lessons learned from social protection systems in Malawi and Ghana.
There was a question posed more than once at this year’s European Development Days in Brussels. Most participants agreed the concept of “resilience” has been widely embraced since a 2012 EU communication on the topic, but many still asked, “resilient to what?”
What obstacles do people – particularly women – face as they move between continents? And how can European countries better integrate migrants into the workforce once they arrive? These were among the issues tackled at the 2017 European Development Days in Brussels last month. But as those reaching the shores of Italy this year already outstrip arrivals for all of 2016, panellists also grappled with the role of development assistance itself.
