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Reporting the underreported about the plan of action for People, Planet and Prosperity, and efforts to make the promise of the SDGs a reality.
A project of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as the Flagship Agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC.


SGI Soka Gakkai International

 

Image credit: Daily News, Tanzania.

Viewpoint by Allison Lau and Lauren Gonitzke *

This article was produced by Local Peace Economy, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

NEW YORK (IDN) — In mid-December 2021, South African comedian Trevor Noah used “The Daily Show” to target China when he aired a segment titled “Why China Is in Africa”. While this segment was advertised as an informed, nuanced overview of the complex international relationship between China and many African states, it mainly reinforced the debunked myth of “debt-trap diplomacy” to its American audiences, ending with a throwaway line about #StopAsianHate.

Goal 9

Photo: A woman selling locally grown rice in a market in Luang Prabang. Credit: Kalinga Seneviratne".

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SINGAPORE (IDN) — A new 414 kilometres high-speed rail link between China and Laos has finally opened landlocked mountainous Laos to the region and made it possible for trade and tourism to expand across Southeast Asia. This link has technically facilitated rail travel from China to Singapore, and land-based trade that could make the South China Sea less important for regional trade. (P25) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN

Project Articles

Image credit: UNIDO

But the Next Decade Might Trigger the Change Needed

Viewpoint by Jenny Larsen*

VIENNA (IDN) – Industrial development in Africa has been sluggish for some decades. Now, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic kick in, hopes for better progress, at least in the short term, appear to be fading. But if countries grasp the right opportunities, the next decade can deliver the industrial change needed to meet the challenges ahead.

Goal 9

Image credit: UNCTAD

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | GENEVA (IDN) – UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi has stressed the need to address the frailties of globalization that led to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its uneven economic impacts, gravely wounding the world economy with serious consequences for everyone. He hopes that the situation would prove to be 'course-altering' and a catalyst for change. "We need to reshape global production networks and reset multilateral cooperation for the better," he says.

Goal 3

Photo: Online shopping will never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic. Source: UNCTAD

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift towards a more digital world. The changes we make now will have lasting effects as the world economy begins to recover," says Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The acceleration of online shopping globally underscores the urgency of ensuring all countries can seize the opportunities offered by digitalization as the world moves from pandemic response to recovery, he adds. (P19) JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH

Project Articles

Image: Small Island States at the forefront. Credit: Simon Sees at Flickr.

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

The writer, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, is United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).

BANGKOK (IDN) – Developing countries of Asia and the Pacific are experiencing unbalanced tolls of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grim milestones in infections and deaths have left countlessly devastated. Yet, we must look at the economic and social impacts in small island developing States (SIDS), where setbacks are likely to undo years of development gains and push many people back into poverty.

Goal 3

Image source: UNCTAD

Viewpoint by Richard Kozul-Wright

The writer is Director of Globalization and Development Strategies, UNCTAD.

GENEVA (IDN) – The COVID-19 crisis is stress testing the capacity of governance arrangements to deal with unexpected shocks.

Results point to considerable variation at the national level, but it’s difficult to give anything above a B minus to the response at the multilateral level.

UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Report Update sets out how South-South cooperation, though not a substitute for a proper international response to the crisis, can point towards a better future.

Goal 3

Photo: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (left) and WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo (right). Credit: WHO/WTO

Viewpoint by Roberto Azevêdo and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Following is the text of a joint statement by WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on April 20.

GENEVA (IDN) – COVID-19 has rapidly progressed to become a global pandemic, causing unprecedented, far-reaching impact on the health, social and economic well-being of communities around the world.

Goal 3

Photo: The Kampala-Entebbe Expressway under construction, 17 February 2016. Source: The Coversation | Dai Kurokawa/EPA

Viewpoint by Tom Goodfellow*

SHEFFIELD (IDN) – Big infrastructure projects are always controversial. Yet in parts of the world associated with severely deficient infrastructure, the positive value of major infrastructure investments is often taken as a given.

This assumption needs to be subjected to much greater scrutiny, as I argue in new research that explores the narrative of Africa’s “infrastructure gap” and why different bodies are rushing to “plug” it.

Goal 9

  1. Strategic Talks Reinforce UNIDO Partnership with Germany
  2. Infrastructure Development Key to Africa’s Growth
  3. Call for UN Summit on Digitalization and Sustainability
  4. Japan Funds UNIDO Projects in 9 Countries with $5.8 Million
  5. African Villagers Tortured for ‘Blood Rubies’ Worn by Stars

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