Cuts in development aid could contribute to global instability; violent conflict is already on the rise in countries that rely heavily on foreign assistance
The UK is among countries cutting international aid payments, which could affect the world in four key areas: poverty, extremism, democracy and refugees.
Building business skills to improve livelihoods is increasingly recognised as bringing value to the fight against poverty. But it can also set up identity conflict and community-level tension.
China is providing masks, vaccines, medical equipment and personnel to African countries ignored by the U.S. in recent years, positioning itself as an essential partner to the region.
The turn towards authoritarianism, xenophobia and racism in Western democracies makes it unlikely that former Western slave-trading nations will agree to reparations in the near future.
The Trump White House questioned the value of foreign aid and neglected policies related to helping low-income countries. But US aid had already needed improvement.
The strength of Australian aid is that it has been fully grant-based. Offering Pacific nations debt-based development financing instead is no way to win friends.
Power imbalances and inequality lie at the heart of the international development industry. But the Oxfam scandal shows that organisations mustn’t succumb to it.
Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, and Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), SOAS, University of London