Aid and Development Archive

Editor’s Note: You can find all of our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. If you would like to help support our work, please consider taking advantage of our subscription offer here. Six months in, it is tempting to think the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is past. Hard-hit cities are breathing easier and many countries are already in the advanced stages of reopening their societies and economies. But even as a second wave looms, COVID-19’s first wave isn’t done. Globally, the contagion is accelerating as the pandemic’s epicenter shifts. The increase from 8 million to 9 million cases took […]

While the health impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been primarily endured by elderly populations, there is increasing recognition that young people will disproportionately absorb the economic and social impacts. One study, conducted in April and released last month by the International Labor Organization, found that the pandemic had caused one in six young people to lose their jobs, as well as a 23 percent average reduction in working hours for those still employed. Within this “lockdown generation,” as the ILO calls them, the situation is especially dire for women, ethnic minorities and migrant workers. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general […]

A recent history of natural disasters and its longstanding dependence on tourism have left the Caribbean extremely ill-prepared to address the economic effects of COVID-19. Caribbean economies were already highly indebted after calamities ranging from hurricanes to earthquakes to the destructive effects of higher sea levels stemming from climate change in the past few years. Those natural disasters have left most of the region’s economies with poor and declining credit ratings, limiting their borrowing capacity and their ability to mobilize resources against the pandemic. And if it hasn’t already, the sharp drop in tourism stemming from the pandemic will undoubtedly […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. The president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, was set to sail through his August reelection and secure a second term running the multilateral lender. Now his future is less clear after the United States—the institution’s second-largest shareholder—rejected the findings of an inquiry that exonerated Adesina of allegations of corruption and favoritism. The bank’s Board of Governors has now agreed to launch its own independent investigation. Beyond raising questions about Adesina’s future, the new investigation creates turmoil at a time when […]

Ha Abia is a sprawling, dusty neighborhood on the outskirts of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. Bisected by the main highway heading south from the city, it flashes past in a blur of roadside taverns, small grocery stores, street vendors and the ubiquitous honking of local taxis. Since 1998, it has been the political home of Lesotho’s two-time prime minister, Thomas Motsoahae Thabane. In the past year, Thabane has faced growing political opposition, which came to a head in April, when he was charged in connection with his ex-wife’s murder in 2017. Thabane tried for weeks to negotiate a deal […]

The coronavirus pandemic, at least in its first wave, is not expected to peak in South Asia until July. But countries in the region, which have yet to witness a significant outbreak along the lines of China, the United States or the hardest-hit parts of Europe, are already loosening their lockdowns. The pandemic is spreading unevenly across the world for reasons that are not always entirely clear, so it is difficult to predict the public health impact of easing lockdowns. But what is clear is that the pandemic will leave South Asia poorer, less democratic and more illiberal. And China […]