ODI live events podcast

Twenty-five years after the world's leaders committed to transforming women's rights in the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), girls still remain a missing piece of the roadmap towards gender equality. While tremendous progress has been made, there is still a long way to go and it is more important than ever to make sure girls are not left behind.  We know that during a girl’s lifecycle the years...

The urgency of the Covid-19 threat is increasing the demand for governments to use existing technologies in new ways and to use untested new technologies on urgent problems. The use of these technologies are part of a rapidly deployed ‘digital safety net’ aimed at saving lives and protecting citizens. Without the usual time available to test new ideas it is more important than ever that best pract...

Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. As the Covid-19 crisis illustrates all too vividly, not only is health important in itself, but healthy people are better able to learn, be productive and contribute to their communities. Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) is critical to this and essential to ensuring that no one is ‘left be...

Stories of irrelevant aid regularly arise in humanitarian assistance. People affected by disasters or crises receive food they cannot eat, services they do not want or technologies they cannot use. If they are not getting what they really need, something is going wrong. Relevance is central to humanitarian principles and standards, however putting it into practice is profoundly difficult and poten...

The world’s second largest outbreak of Ebola was declared on 1 August 2018 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 2,200 people have died and over 3,300 have been infected. The response to Ebola has been complicated by conflict between central government, local political actors and armed groups in the affected areas. Rumours about the virus and the response have also been spread and shaped...

PFI conference 2020: closing panel by ODI Global

Chair: Cathal Long, Research Fellow ODI • Binta Zahra Diop, PhD. Candidate, University of Oxford • Khuram Farooq, Chair of IFMIS Community of Practice, World Bank • Jess Gartner, CEO & Founder at Allovue • Jacqueline Musabende, Assistant Professor, Mount Royal University

Chair: Alina Rocha Menocal, Senior Research Fellow ODI • Joe Abah, Country Director DAI, Nigeria and formerly head of public sector reform, Government of Nigeria • Kalipso Chalkidou, Director of Global Health Policy, Centre for Global Development • Adnan Khan, Professor of Practice, London School of Economics • Jodi Wishnia, University of Witswaterand and Public Health Consultant

Session 4: Promoting accountability for results Chair: Tom Hart, Research Fellow, ODI • Seye Abimbola, Lecturer, Public Health, University of Sydney • Ivor Beazley, Senior Public Sector Specialist, World Bank • Loraine Hawkins, Governor, The Health Foundation • Dan Honig, Assistant Professor of International Development, John Hopkins University

Chair : Catherine Dom, Principal Consultant Mokoro • Bernard Gauthier, Professor, Department of Applied Economics, HEC Montreal • Dorcus Kiwanuka Henriksson, Karolinska Institutet • Marcel Mukeshimana, Accountant General, Government of Rwanda • Benjamin Tsofa, Deputy Director, Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)

Chair: Maia King, Lecturer in Economics, Kings College London and ODI Research Associate • Andrew Blazey, Deputy Head of Division OECD • Fiona Davies, ODI Research Associate • Kenneth Mugambe, Director Budget at the Uganda Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development • Tsegay Tekleselassie, Research Fellow at the Ethiopian Development Research Institute

Chair: Andrew Lawson, Co-Founder and Technical Director of Fiscus Limited • Neil Cole, Executive Secretary, Collaborative African Budget Reform Initiative • Suzanne Flynn, IMF and Centre for Excellence in Finance • Sam Freedman, Chief Executive, Ark’s Education Partnerships Group • Dorjan Marušič, Former Minister of Health, Slovenia

Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI – Introductory remarks • Mark Miller, Director, Public Finance and Institutions Programme, ODI – Framing a future international agenda on PFM and service delivery • Rathin Roy, Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy – Country perspectives on PFM and service delivery

Over the past years, Universal Basic Income (UBI) has increasingly been discussed in countries across the world. India’s 2019 elections featured UBI in a prominent way; a presidential candidate in the United States 2020 elections has made UBI a core platform of his campaign; a decade-long trial is underway in rural Kenya; and since 2010, an average of a book per month is published on the topic. Wh...

The UK is an important investor across Africa. Projected population and economic growth across the continent, as well as a high regard for British products, heighten the prospects of future UK investment.  Against the backdrop of Brexit and growing momentum over the African Continental Free Trade Area, we bring together representatives from government, research and the private sector to consider h...

Over the past decade, several developing economies have achieved strong and sustained economic growth, moving them up the income per capita ladder and away from aid. Some of these countries are expected to graduate from official development assistance (ODA). What can we learn from these countries that have started or completed the transition from aid to ensure that their development outcomes are s...

Nearly 132 million people worldwide are in need of assistance and protection due to conflict, persecution and disasters. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by crises, and are at higher risk of violence, abuse, neglect and discrimination. The specific humanitarian needs of women and girls are often inadequately identified nor addressed in humanitarian responses by governments and agenc...

By 2050 more than half of Africa’s population will be under 25 years old. The booming population is posing challenges to African countries to meet the educational and employment needs of young people. Governments and organisations need to think creatively if they are to address these challenges. Investing more on gender-sensitive programmes and considering the potential of digital technologies cou...

We cannot wait any longer to shift gender norms, reduce inequalities and set the course for good health for generations to come. Addressing gender inequality and restrictive gender norms benefits the health and development of all genders and is essential for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, protecting human rights for all. With the global health community working to ensure healthy live...

Adolescents are a driving force for development. If we are to deliver on the 2030 Agenda and ‘leave no one behind’, young people must be provided with the tools needed to reach their full potential. Particularly those who are disadvantaged and often face high levels of stigma, discrimination and exclusion. In commemoration of Universal Children’s Day and the 30th Anniversary of the UN Convention o...

China's investment in the African continent is increasing at a steady rate, with the country announcing the provision of $60 billion in financial support to Africa at the 2018 China–Africa Cooperation Forum. As China plays an increasingly key role in the continent, we explore the future of Sino–African development relations. In particular looking at the impact and implications of opportunities gen...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasises the critical role of social protection in achieving the SDGs, including gender equality. If appropriately designed and implemented, social protection policies and systems can transform women’s and girls' lives by addressing lifecycle risks and transitions, increasing access to services and infrastructure and promoting women’s and girls' voice...

For nearly two decades, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have all sustained average economic growth of 5 per cent or higher. To maintain and top this performance, while making growth more inclusive for their rapidly expanding populations, governments in the region know that the main drivers of their economic growth need to change. Economic transformation is crucial for sustained growth...

We live in a globalised world. Just as people, goods and services cross borders, so do the impacts of climate change and our subsequent adaptation responses. A localised drought, occurring more frequently and intensely as a result of climate change, disrupts a global supply chain, which in turn affects consumers many thousands of miles away. An adaptation response, to increase irrigation by tappin...

Over 4.2 billion people currently reside in urban areas. By 2045, it is predicted that the number will increase to six billion, with most growth taking place in Asia and Africa. Against this backdrop, there has been a sharp rise in crises affecting cities over the past decade. Many aid agencies have started to urbanise their response, taking into considering the dynamism of cities, resilience on m...