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If I had two minutes with the Director General of the FAO, I would ask him to increase stocks
09 10 2008 If I had two minutes with Dr Diouf, the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), I would pitch for the rebuilding of physical stocks of food, back to something like 30% of typical annual use, or around 650 million tonnes. ...(read more) 
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Can we move from a risk framework to an opportunities framework in international development?
01 10 2008 There is lots to say about risk analysis. Global or Local? Long-term or short-term? Financial or social? There is lots to say, too, about the implications for development planning. It is a useful approach. However, a risk analysis is only half the story. We are missing the opportunities. A sensible guide to making decisions and spending money should take account of risks, but also of opportunities. Where is the opportunity analysis? ...(read more) 
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The end of innocence: The fragile economics of development
25 09 2008 Can developing countries isolate themselves from the financial turbulence in the developed world? Will the crunch negate any achievements made on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York this week?...(read more) 
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MDG 6 can not be immune to the importance of gender
24 09 2008 Gender-based relations of power are at the root of gender inequality and form one of the most influential social determinants of health. Yet, immunisation â€' one of the ‘best buys’ in health, and a focus of MDG 6 â€' is often assumed to be ‘gender-neutral’....(read more) 
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The Millennium Development Goals are at risk: The EU should give them new momentum
19 09 2008 A high profile European report on the MDGs is being launched in Brussels on Friday and in New York on 24 September. It says the Millennium Development Goals have been a force for good in the world, but that progress is uneven, too slow and threatened by the global economic slowdown. The authors also argue that the European Union brings particular strengths to the MDG project....(read more) 
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High drama at the High Level Forum
12 09 2008 I've just returned from the ministerial day at the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, where I moderated the two main plenary discussions. The forum generated a great deal of drama over the outcome document, known as the Accra Agenda for Action. This had been carefully prepared over many months, as a consensus statement to be approved by Ministers. When I turned up for my breakfast briefing at 7 am on Thursday morning, the news was that the process had broken down over dinner the previous evening and that the whole negotiation was in jeopardy....(read more) 
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High drama at the High Level Forum
09 09 2008 I just returned from the ministerial day at the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, where I moderated the two main plenary discussions. The forum generated a great deal of drama over the outcome document, known as the Accra Agenda for Action. This had been carefully prepared over many months, as a consensus statement to be approved by Ministers. When I turned up for my breakfast briefing at 7 am on Thursday morning, the news was that the process had broken down over dinner the previous evening and that the whole negotiation was in jeopardy....(read more)
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Is the UK meeting its international commitments on aid effectiveness?
04 09 2008 The recent UK progress report on aid effectiveness is a positive step towards providing a transparent account for meeting the Paris Declaration. The report is not only aimed at aid agencies but a more broader audience to follow the UK’s 'model' on better aid effectiveness....(read more) 
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Breaking the political taboo on water supply and sanitation
29 08 2008 Why has the world been unable to solve the water supply and sanitation crisis and what solutions will the international community of water experts propose? The "World Water Week" in Stockholm had a special focus on sanitation under the heading 'Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World'. The conference was characterised by agreement and pragmatism and emphasised the key role of political decision makers. ...(read more) 
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Amor Serrano
13 08 2008 Evo Morales has jumped over yet another hurdle this weekend. He has managed to secure a new vote of confidence from among the social movements and grassroots that constitute the loose coalition that is his political platform. This backing is what he needs to further advance his drive to transform Bolivia into a socialist state. But this is also an unfortunate step further into a vicious cycle of ideological polarisation from which, Latin American history says, one can only leave through violence and the absolute rejection of the past....(read more) 
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Accra Agenda for Action: sound-bites or solutions?
08 08 2008 Does the Accra Agenda for Action provide the solutions and momentum needed to accelerate progress towards the Paris Declaration or are we getting something rather plain and uninspiring? The answer may soon become clear as Ministers and participants of the HLF3 will officially receive the Accra Agenda for Action today to endorse in Accra. ...(read more) 
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Is the WTO no-deal a big deal?
31 07 2008 The trade talks have collapsed over the issue of Special Safeguard Measures (or SSMs) in agriculture. This was not even among the hottest negotiating issues. This suggests that the talks could (and probably would) have collapsed over any other (more controversial) issues. The bottom line is that the (real) interest for a far-reaching agreement to liberalise multilateral trade regimes has quickly been vanishing in the face of faltering global economy....(read more) 
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Collapse of the WTO trade talks: A pity, and potentially a problem, but not a disaster
30 07 2008 Is the first WTO Director-General Peter Sutherland right to call the collapse of the trade talks a 'disaster'? It would certainly have been better for world trade, world income, and most people in developing countries if the Doha negotiations had succeeded in producing a significant liberalisation in trade rules. But it has been clear for at least five years that a 'big' agreement was not possible, so the claims that several hundred billion dollars worth of potential world trade gains have been lost this week are not realistic. ...(read more) 
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The food crisis: are we making progress?
25 07 2008 If every word written about the global food crisis were a grain of rice, hunger in the world would be a distant memory. But let’s not be cynical - there is cause for cautious optimism. Progress is being made on the policy front and the commitments are beginning to stack up. That does not mean the crisis is over. The food crisis has been testing our capacity for collective action this year, and we have not been entirely disappointed. ...(read more) 
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Mutual accountability isn't just about what happens 'over there'
24 07 2008 As we wait for the final draft of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) to be published it seems a good time to take stock of what will be happening at the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3), which takes place in Accra, Ghana in the first week of September. A recent Commonwealth workshop to bring together senior finance officials from across the Commonwealth to prepare for HLF3 highlighted for me the potential that the HLF3 offers for moving the aid effectiveness agenda forward....(read more) 
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What do developing countries want from the Doha Round?
18 07 2008 The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations is once again at a crucial juncture. But will it deliver for developing countries? As discussed in a new ODI paper, developing countries have varying interests in a final settlement at next week’s ministerial talks....(read more) 
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