
July 13, 2022
Guest post from Oxfamâs Anthony Kamande and Dailes Judge, ahead of this weekâs African Union meeting Itâs been more than two months since it rained in Nakuru County, Kenya, and Janeâs bean crop is long gone. Her only hope on her small plot of 0.8 hectares is the maize crop â but it will also be gone if it doesnât
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Hunger, Inequality and the Birth of Oxfam
May 18, 2022
This post by Oxfamâs Max Lawson first appeared on its Equals blog. Iâll be summarizing our new paper on the East Africa hunger crisis tomorrow. The other day I was speaking to Nellie, an old friend and primary school teacher in Malawi, about the rapidly rising prices: âPrices have risen, just since last month. Imagine a loaf of bread was
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Why do we keep forgetting about dignity? 4 Ways to Address Dignity in Development Programs
March 23, 2022
Guest post by Annabel Dulhunty, building on this 2018 post from Tom Wein The idea of human dignity frequently appears as a lofty overarching goal for development agencies and programs. Dignity is fundamental to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet practical ways of addressing and measuring the dignity of program participants are frequently overlooked. For example, the preamble to
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9 Great lectures/panels for you to catch up on over Christmas (or any other time) – see you next year
December 16, 2021
Weâve had a cracking series of lectures and discussions on our Friday afternoon LSE âCutting Edge Issues in Development Thinking and Practiceâ series, so I thought Iâd post some links to the youtube videos and podcasts for those who are looking for some escape from the family Christmas (or otherwise just need some good brainfood). Grouping a bit by subject
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World Inequality Report 2022: a treasure trove of trends and new data
December 15, 2021
The World Inequality Report 2022 came out recently, and itâs a total gold mine, as youâd expect from a summary of the work of over 100 researchers over 4 years from every corner of the globe (OK, I know globes donât have corners, but cut me some slack here â Iâm clinging on til the Christmas break). Here are some
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8 mistakes to avoid in reporting an INGOâs contributions to the SDGs
August 19, 2021
Guest post from Ximena Echeverria Magariños and Jay Goulden, of CARE International INGOs have for many years felt the need to communicate how many people their programs reach in a year, but the numbers of people our programs âtouchâ doesnât tell us anything about the difference they make in peopleâs lives. Increasingly, INGOs are seeking to report numbers of people
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What sort of UK aid programme is emerging after the cuts?
June 2, 2021
Last week I posted a bit of a rant about UK aid cuts. The next day, Ranil Dissanayake had a piece on CGDâs blog looking at what kind of post-cuts aid programme is emerging under the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Itâs brilliant, so I asked to post an abridged version (the original is roughly twice as long).
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The UK aid cuts have been a political & human train wreck so far, but that could/should change
May 25, 2021
What is going on with the cuts to the UKâs aid budget? Judging from first impressions, the axe is being arbitrarily taken to a lot of really good aid programmes, with no overall plan or rationale. Surely that must be wrong â this is a ÂŁ10 billion budget weâre talking about, even after the cuts. Any manager knows that budgets
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Itâs often easier to have policy impact with research on a ânew issueâ, but proving it is just as hard
May 19, 2021
Next up in my series of interviews on the real-world influence of researchers at the LSE Centre for Public Authority and International Development, I explore the impact of Claire Elderâs work on Somalia, which raises a whole host of issues around how research can influence policy and practice: How the act of researching for a PhD can itself lay the groundwork
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Can Financial Diaries help us understand life in fragile and conflict-affected settings?
January 13, 2021
Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of diaries as a research tool into issues such as governance and finance. Here Sandrine Nâsimire, Ishara Tchumisi and Patricia Stys, of LSEâs Centre for Public Authority in International Development, discuss their experiences conducting research using âfinancial diariesâ as part of LSEâs Water Governance project in Goma, DRC. This blog forms part of the Idjwi
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Social Protection in a Time of Covid â 4 takeaways and 4 big gaps from a recent global discussion
November 17, 2020
Larissa Pelham, Oxfamâs Social Protection Adviser, reports back on a 4 day Zoomathon Covid-19 has catapulted social protection into the spotlight. From furloughing to school feeding programmes delivered to homes, 212 states and territories across the world have planned or delivered 1179 social protection interventions in response to the pandemic. It is the backbone support to families and individuals to
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Possible Fragments of the Post-Covid World Order, according to The Economist
October 13, 2020
This weekâs Economist Special Report on the World Economy is a thought-provoking and beautifully written helicopter overview of the current meltdown. Some extracts: âConditions before the pandemic were forged by the three biggest economic shocks of the 21st century: the integration of China into the world trading system, the financial crisis and the rise of the digital economy. As Chinese
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