Ideas to Action:
Independent research for global prosperity
You might know that I run the Commitment to Development Index, which rates rich countries on how much they are helping poor ones, and involves collecting lots of data (of variable quality) from around the world, making debatable judgments about how to aggregate it, then publishing it annually with somewhat artificial confidence and fanfare in order to broadcast an important message.
This is a joint posting with Robin Kraft
Nearly two years after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine whether greenhouse gases (GHGs) pose a threat to peoples’ health or welfare – the first step toward regulation -- the EPA this week issued a draft rule on a national GHG registry:
How can it be possible, in 2009, that almost half of all Indian children under three years old are underweight or severely underweight, and that child malnutrition accounts for more than one-fifth of the total burden of disease in that country? Something like three-quarters of all preschool children in India have iron-deficiency anemia, which impairs learning, and more than half have at least mild vitamin A deficiency.
My new working paper makes a foray into disputed territory by examining the case for public sector delivery of anti-retroviral therapy for AIDS in South Asia.
The Executive Order signed by President Obama this week creating the White House Council on Women and Girls signals that the Administration recognizes that special consideration is warranted to make sure government policies and programs don't reinforce discrimination against women and girls -- and in some instances should spur extra efforts to overcome gender-related economic and social
Based on the testimony of USTR-designate Ron Kirk this week before the Senate Finance Committee - brief though it was - the Obama Administration is moving in an entirely different direction than we have seen over the last eight years. The concept of a "progressive trade agenda for America," though as yet undefined, certainly suggests that the administration will be looking at the global economy from a very different perspective.
I attended a morning session of a World Bank conference on Measurement, Promotion, and Impact of Access to Financial Services. Some highlights:
After reading about India’s new Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) project this week (1), I couldn’t help but feel -- amid the current housing/financial/Wall Street/economic crisis -- at least one thing is moving in the right direction: collaborative efforts to accelerate neglected disease product development.
CGD and Foreign Policy's upcoming 2008 Commitment to Development Ideas in Action Award event was recently highlighted in New Hampshire news thanks to one of our participants -- former Marine, father of three, and enthusiastic ONE advocate, Michae
The accelerating downward spiral in the global economy has made me increasingly convinced that the G20 leaders gathering at the London Summit in early April should announce that they stand ready to provide up to $1 trillion to help developing countries to cope with the crisis over the next two years. This wouldn't be a handout, but an important part of a global stimulus package. It's in the rich world's own self-interest to anticipate the developing world's financing needs and to put in place the necessary resources. To do so is both a moral and a security imperative.
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