The present study is the product of the European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) collaboration aiming both to propose a definition of SDG alignment and to provide concrete principles to further operationalise and promote such alignment in practice.
This ODI briefing explores how the diverging fortunes across countries have come to pass and the limitations of the multilateral initiatives intended to support a global response. It focuses especially on the multilateral financing measures that have been put in place to combat the crisis and looks at some of the changes that would be required to support a more effective response in future.
In the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September, European Council President Charles Michel called for effective multilateralism in tackling today’s global problems. He stressed the EU’s role in building back better after COVID, contributing to a safer world and leading the race against climate change.
The race to battle Covid-19 and secure personal protective equipment, ventilators and vaccines, aggravated by both nationalist monopolistic policies and the rise of new variant strains, has highlighted the vital need for global cooperation. Current transnational policies exacerbate existing disparities across Mediterranean states in a context where the European Union is struggling to meet its own healthcare-related needs and many countries in North Africa and the Near East are burdened with economic hardships and internal strife.
A recent IAI study has argued that several shortcomings in the climate and development finance systems undermine the capacity of countries in the Global South to tackle climate change¹. Insufficient resources, lack of focus on adaptation, inadequate management of climate risks, the vicious circle between indebtedness and climate vulnerability are some of the major obstacles.
Will Germany’s next federal government take UN’s proposal for launching a new phase of global common good promotion as an opportunity to increase the strategic value and coherence of German UN policy? How will be Germany’s post COVID-19 contribution to the multilateral world?
A joint press release about the recent cooperation with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and our Network on a series of high-level, closed doors virtual expert seminars for the AU-EU partnership.
Africa’s digital infrastructure gap is worrying, and there are few good models around the world of well-integrated, multi-country approaches to reach full and equitable connectivity. The best model may be the European Union (EU), and there is much Africa can learn from it, but accelerated investment is a fundamental need.
