Ideas to Action:

Independent research for global prosperity

Initiatives

CGD initiatives are practical proposals to improve the policies and practices of rich countries, international bodies, and others of means and influence to reduce global poverty and inequality. Initiatives draw upon the Center’s rigorous research and utilize innovative communications and direct engagement with decision-makers to change the world.  

Millions Saved

Since 2004, the Center for Global Development has been collecting success stories in global health – remarkable cases in which large-scale efforts to improve health in developing countries have succeeded – and releasing them in the book Millions Saved: Case Studies in Global Health (now printed in two editions).  Millions Saved is currently required reading at over 60 universities around the world.  A companion website offers a video, teacher's guide, and information about how to achieve future successes.

Nigerian Debt Relief

Nigeria, home to one in five Africans, has been the continent's most indebted nation. With $36 billion in external debt, 100 million people living on less than a dollar a day, and a fledgling democratic government attempting reforms, Nigeria should have been a strong candidate for debt relief. Yet, in part because of its oil revenues, Nigeria slipped through the cracks of debt relief programs. In 2004, CGD set out to provide analytical support to Nigeria's efforts to persuade creditors to agree to an appropriate debt relief package.

Population and Development Research Agenda

A CGD Working Group reviewed what is known about how population dynamics (e.g. fertility, mortality and migration) affect economic outcomes, and recommended a research agenda to fill gaps in that knowledge. Subsequently, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation allocated more than $15 million for research on the topic, with the emphasis on Africa. CGD's new Demographics and Development Initiative incorporates key results in its messages.

Scott Family Liberia Fellows

The Scott Family Fellows program recruited young professionals to support the government of Liberia as it recovered from 14 years of brutal civil war. The fellows filled a critical capacity gap and worked in Liberia as "special assistants" to senior Liberian government officials, primarily cabinet ministers. The program put a special emphasis on encouraging qualified Liberians to apply. The fellows worked long hours with the goal of helping Liberia in its urgent reconstruction and development efforts.

Supporting Liberia's Reconstruction and Development

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's inauguration as the President of Liberia in January 2006 marked a watershed in the country's tumultuous history. Twenty-five years of corruption, misrule, and civil war under Samuel Doe, Charles Taylor, and successive interim governments had left Liberia in ruins. President Sirleaf, the first African woman to be elected head of state, has energetically set the country on a new course, putting accountability, transparency, good governance, and economic opportunities for all Liberians at the center of her agenda. CGD advised President Sirlief as she prepared to take office on issues ranging from debt relief to donor relations.

UNAIDS Transition Working Group

As the founding executive director of UNAIDS prepared to step down at the end of 2008, CGD and the Economic Governance Programme of Oxford University convened an expert working group to develop recommendations for the incoming leadership of UNAIDS, the Programme Coordinating Board, and other stakeholders.

Zimbabwe's Crisis and Future

Zimbabwe presents unique challenges for the development community and for Africa. Zimbabwe's increased political repression, descent into economic collapse, and growing international isolation have an impact well beyond the country's borders. Donors, who have been developing strategies for dealing with 'difficult partners,' have been frustrated by their inability to encourage a more positive direction for the country.

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