I am delighted to participate to the European Development Days (EDD), Europe’s premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation organised by the European Commission. It is a landmark event in the development calendar and an important opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with European development practitioners and partners worldwide. It is also a major […]
A Reflection on the World Health Day
The 7th April is World Health Day which marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948 and invites us to reflect on public health in the world. In many European countries, one can hardly look at the status of healthcare without seeing the effects of austerity measures on the […]
High Level Dialogue on Health in the Post 2015 Development Agenda
It was as if the High-Level Dialogue on Health in the post-2015 Development Agenda was convened in Botswana to make a point—a country, which uses diamonds for development. Through consistent economic policies, the country has developed its mining sector, which has generated the fiscal space for investments in public services, including health—a perfect example of inter-sectoral action, health in all policies, the […]
The Global Campaign for the Health MDGs: A revived effort to save the lives of women and children
Achieving the Health Millennium Development Goals is an increasingly daunting task, as the 2015 deadline creeps ever closer at a time of an overwhelming strain on the global economy. Whilst significant progress has been made, numerous developing countries continue to lag behind with regard to safeguarding the health of women and children. This is the […]
Universal health coverage and the post-2015 development agenda
Jeanette Vega, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director of Health, argued in an article last week for the inclusion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in the development agenda, in order to enable health goals to be framed from a system perspective. The article, entitled ‘Universal health coverage: the post-2015 development agenda,’ was published in The Lancet. WHO […]
Universal Health Coverage is in sync with the new geopolitical reality
Last week the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on Universal Health Coverage, apparently with broad support from the Global South and North. That is no coincidence. In my opinion, UHC’s unique selling proposition is its obvious appeal to middle-income countries, BRICs and other emerging powers. Countries like Indonesia, Brazil, China, India, South-Africa, Mexico, Thailand, … are […]
Universal Children’s Day – A reality check
November 20 has been marked by the United Nations as Universal Children’s Day to promote awareness and well being of children worldwide. Historically, on this day in 1959, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was signed and the Convention of the Rights of the Child was also signed on this day in 1989. A young […]
The New Wings of Development
The concept of development, through which governments view social policy in environments where capitalism is the mode of social organization, may be up for a major rethink, globally. This year, policy signals at agenda-setting global convening and major publications seem to be heralding new directions. But in each of these, the onus of responsibility is […]
Ageing: A challenge, an opportunity and a triumph
This year, UNFPA and HelpAge International jointly contributed to a report that analyses the impact of ageing in the twenty-first century and puts forward policy recommendations to maximize the opportunity of ageing populations in developing and developed world contexts. The data and statistics presented predict that by the year 2050, 2 billion people will be […]