Aidnography

Hi all, This is the final weekly #globaldev post for 2022. A special section on 'localization' & articles on EA, greenwashing & countries like Haiti or DRC in crisis all resonate with another year coming to its close between relief, groundhog day vibes & some hopes that 2023 can only be better...  Regular blogging will resume in mid-January - Happy holidays & a great start into 2023! Tobias My quotes of the week Currently there is no way to comprehensively quantify how much funding reaches local actors, let alone how much reaches key sub-groups, for example women-led and women’s rights organisations and refugee-led organisations. This is partly because there is no agreed definition for these different categories. (Tracking humanitarian funding to local actors: what we’ve learnt) For some countries, port construction or expansion may enhance the implementation of industrial policy frameworks by reducing transport costs and inefficiencies. Yet this is not a given...

Hi all, I'm looking forward to the weekend like anybody else & leave you with a fresh #globaldev review that features articles that are as absurd, shocking, unsurprising & smart like the sector & people that make it up as they go along every week ;) My quotes of the week “Let’s not beat around the bush. We are not a development superpower at the moment. That is something that is bemoaned around the world by our many friends and people who look to Britain for leadership on development.” (Mitchell: UK must restructure FCDO to regain aid 'superpower' status) “Depressing and embarrassing,” said one. “Digital garbage,” said another. “We were [like] … WTF? Who validated this?” said a third. (EU aid dept’s €387k metaverse meets real-world critique) There is no algorithm that can bring water back into the Chihuahua region, put out the fires that will overwhelm Europe next summer, or achieve net zero emissions. In contrast, counter-power and resistance at the local level...

Hi all, This afternoon I am going to leave the virtual space & join colleagues to explore an exhibition in Malmö on dreams, images & mobile phones . In the meantime, contributions from UN organizations, the Philippines, Pakistan, Syria, Mexico, India, Australia, Somaliland & Sri Lanka will keep you busy. Enjoy! Instead of quotes of the week Development news How the culture of fear and abuse of power ruled UNOPS So, the question that haunts me is: why? Specifically, why did so many senior and respected people of established reputation betray us? Were they greedy? Were they drunk with power? Was it impunity from a sense of over-weening privilege ? Was it arrogance from the perception that they were above the rules? Was it weakness that pushed them to obey their wrong-doing leaders without question? Or was it just contempt for ordinary people like their supposed colleagues, partners, donors, beneficiaries? (...) But answering the basic question of ‘why?” is important becaus...

Hi all, There seems to be some kind of sporting event going on in Qatar this week & a settler colonial holiday is celebrated in the US-enjoy if you celebrate ;). Despite all its problems I had a really good discussion on Twitter this week around 'the most effective' #globaldev intervention & the opportunities + risks that come with such a label. A bad week for Caritas Internationalis, UNOPS & UK aid. A hopeful story from India, sceptical ones from Pakistan & El Salvador + bad news from Somalia (still...). And buzzwords from 'localization' to 'longtermism'. And more :) My quotes of the week Loss and damage funding – if indeed the money is forthcoming – is all well and good, but it can only go so far. Unless the government grabs hold of its responsibility to improve baseline development, flood response, and emergency aid, the inevitable disasters of the future will continue to see needless pain and loss of life. (The limits of loss and damage: A c...

Hi all, I'll be quick as it's getting a bit late in Sweden on this dark & cold Friday afternoon...this week we start with the meltdown of FTX, SBF & EA & move into Nepal, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Europe, Pakistan, China & explore many other places! Enjoy! My quotes of the week But this cash infusion only reached a minority of those affected and was a one-off payment. Sustained relief and recovery aid is needed for basic income support for people who have lost livelihoods, to prevent secondary impacts of the disaster such as waterborne illness and outbreaks partly caused by the disruption of vaccination programmes, to enable continued safe return for displaced people, and to avert a significant upsurge in poverty. ( Floods in Pakistan: Rethinking the humanitarian role) As with the cooptation of any subculture, it can no longer be called a protest against the “system” if it is the system. There’s nothing inherent in the technology that makes it resistant to being assim...