The global health architecture is increasingly under strain. Pandemics and epidemics are occurring at an unprecedented rate in recent years, and the Ebola crisis in particular revealed serious flaws in the capability of the system to prevent and respond to these crises. As the links between health, development, and security challenges become ever clearer, the multilateral system anchored in (…)
There is a need to invest in more conflict prevention, and states and donors are reluctant to do that, said Charles Call, associate professor at the School of International Service at American University. “We spend more on peacekeeping than we do on everything else the UN does globally.”
“I think we need more funds that are catalytic and agile, that can be deployed quickly when you’re looking at a real potential of mass violence,” Mr. Call said. Mr. Call felt that UN agencies such as the (…)
Every time the international community encounters a new issue, the United Nations creates a new piece of machinery to deal with it, said Gillian Bird, the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. Rather than addressing the problem, she said this more often leads to unhelpful fragmentation. “We’ve really got to get better at integrating these issues across the UN system as a whole,” Ms. Bird said.
“On the ground, I think there’s been a bit more success—a recognition (…)
United States Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent unannounced visit to Somalia sent an important signal that the US government intends to engage politically and more assertively in Somalia, said Dr. Ken Menkhaus, professor of political science at Davidson College and a specialist on Somalia and the Horn of Africa.
“This is a clear signal that the US government sees a window of opportunity in Somalia to help advance progress there, and is going to support both Somalis and external actors (…)
“Cities are a key entry point into addressing wider challenges of fragility,” said Jennifer Salahub, Senior Program Officer at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). As the primary sites of different delivery of services and the engines of economic growth, she says cities provide insights into the drivers of fragility and opportunities to intervene.
According to Ms. Salahub, some of these drivers include inequality in a number of areas: income, social class, religion, (…)
One of the most important factors in reversing widespread economic inequality in Brazil has been the income transferal program Bolsa Família, which has helped lift 35 million people out of extreme poverty. This is according to Celso Amorim, former foreign minister of Brazil, who said Bolsa Família was one of the largest programs of its kind in the world, and also helped children attend school and get vaccinations.
Mr. Amorim spoke to International Peace Institute Senior Adviser Warren Hoge (…)
"Our aim is to hear your concrete, practical ideas about how the system can be made better,” said ICM Chair Kevin Rudd.