Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
XIAMEN, Oct. 17 — On a recent inspection tour in east China’s Fujian Province, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission, emphasized the need for the province to fully implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. He stressed the importance for the province to comprehensively implement the new development philosophy and uphold the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability. Xi also underscored the importance for Fujian to steadfastly pursue the goals of creating a new Fujian characterized by dynamic mechanisms, thriving industries, prosperous communities, and a beautiful environment, staying committed to translating these objectives into realities. He called on Fujian to make further progress in accelerating the building of a modernized economy, make greater achievements in serving and integrating into the new development paradigm, take even greater strides in blazing a new trail for integrated cross-Strait development, and achieve greater breakthroughs in improving quality of life. He urged the province to deepen reforms across the board, promote high-quality development comprehensively, and strive for a leading role in China’s modernization drive.
From Oct. 15 to 16, Xi — accompanied by Zhou Zuyi, secretary of the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee, and Zhao Long, governor of the province — conducted an inspection and research tour in the cities of Zhangzhou and Xiamen, visiting sites including a village, a revolutionary education base, a cultural heritage site under government protection, and an area of the Fujian pilot free trade zone.
On the afternoon of Oct. 15, Xi first inspected Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou. The village of Aojiao, located in Chencheng Town in the southeastern part of the county, faces the sea on three sides. Over the past few years, the village has embarked on a new path of development by leveraging the sea to revitalize and develop itself. Xi took a walk to inspect the marine environment of Aojiao Bay and the appearance of the village, and inquired in detail about the trading of dried seafood and freshly caught seafood products. Xi was glad to learn that many seafood products are in high demand and that the incomes of villagers have been on the rise. Speaking to the villagers and fishermen who gathered around him, he said: “I visited your village 23 years ago, and it left a deep impression on me. Seeing the significant changes here today is gratifying and inspiring.” He said rural areas will undoubtedly have a brighter future and farmers will enjoy a more vibrant life on the new journey in the new era. He urged the village Party committee to play a leading role, guide villagers to make good use of the sea, and strive forward to achieve rural revitalization and common prosperity.
Xi then visited the Gu Wenchang Memorial Hall, where he learned about the inspiring deeds of Comrade Gu Wenchang and was briefed about how revolutionary traditions were carried forward. During the visit, he also engaged in cordial exchanges with representatives of teachers and students from Gu Wenchang Cadre College. Xi pointed out that public recognition is the key gauge to evaluate an official’s performance, calling on leading officials at all levels to learn from Gu, have a correct understanding of what it means to perform well, and bring benefits to local people during their term in office. He also asked the officials to deliver tangible results, make constant efforts for achievements in the long run, and build a good reputation in the hearts of the people. “Learning from Gu requires not only deep admiration, but also concrete deeds to follow his example in fostering integrity and performing duties,” Xi said.
At the Guandi cultural industrial park, Xi was briefed about local efforts in strengthening the protection of cultural heritage and promoting cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait. He stressed that cultural heritage is a precious legacy left by our ancestors and should be protected and carried forward.
On the morning of Oct. 16, Xi inspected the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone. He visited an exhibition showcasing the achievements in the construction of the pilot free trade zone, and was briefed about local work in further expanding reform and opening up, as well as in exploring a new path for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait. He also talked with the staffers at a comprehensive service hall. Over more than 40 years of development, the Xiamen Special Economic Zone has experienced tremendous changes that were once unimaginable, he said. Today, the requirements for reform and opening up, both in depth and breadth, are higher than ever before. Fujian and Xiamen need to adapt to the changing situation, steadily advance institutional opening up, align with international high standards, and achieve more institutional and policy outcomes to contribute to the expansion of high-level opening up, Xi said.
On the afternoon of Oct. 16, Xi listened to work reports from the CPC Fujian Provincial Committee and the provincial government. He commended what Fujian has achieved in various areas of its work and put forward clear requirements for the province’s work in the future.
Xi noted the need to explore new pathways for the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation. He called on the province to accelerate the building of an all-around innovation support system, promote integrated reforms in education, technology, and talent systems in a coordinated manner, and strengthen the building of high-level scientific and technological innovation platforms. He also emphasized the importance of implementing major technological initiatives, enhancing the role of enterprises as major players in innovation, and improving financial policies and mechanisms that support technological advancement, so as to create a better environment for boosting innovation and attracting talent.
He urged the province to firmly develop the real economy, consolidate the strengths of traditional industries, vigorously promote the transformation and upgrading of industries, cultivate and expand strategic emerging industries, make plans for future industries, develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, and shape new advantages in industrial development.
Xi stressed efforts to comprehensively deepen reform and expand high-level opening up. He called for continued efforts to boldly practice, explore and reform on its own, with a focus on key sectors and links and economic structural reform as the spearhead. It is imperative to unswervingly consolidate and develop the public sector and unswervingly encourage, support, and guide the development of the non-public sector, and innovatively develop the “Jinjiang Experience” to fully stimulate the whole society’s vitality for investing and starting businesses. It is essential to prioritize reforms aimed at improving the people’s well-being, with a focus on delivering on the people’s aspirations and expectations. Xi also called for efforts to further upgrade pilot free trade zones, align with major regional strategies, further integrate into high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, build a core area of the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, and consolidate and expand the roles of the province as an important link and an important channel in the interplay between domestic and international economic flows. He urged Fujian to build itself into a demonstration zone for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.
Xi noted that Fujian should play an exemplary role in promoting coordinated regional development and integrated urban-rural development. It is imperative for the province to advance the mechanism for collaboration between mountainous and coastal areas, further coordinate their development and strengthen the complementarity of their functions. It is essential for Fujian to advance the building of national ecological conservation pilot zones, build a great pattern of protection and governance covering from the mountains to the sea, strengthen overall governance in key areas, river basins and sea areas, and expand the capacity of the ecosystem. Xi called for efforts to strengthen coordinated integration of rural revitalization across the board and new-type urbanization, as well as to expedite integrated urban-rural development. He highlighted the need to bolster the county-level economy, speed up the revitalization and development of former revolutionary bases, and consolidate and further expand the achievements of poverty alleviation. It is imperative to ensure that the total area of farmland remains above the specified red line, adopt an all-encompassing approach to food and agriculture, and forge specialty-based agricultural clusters. Xi also underscored the importance of deepening the collective forest tenure reform and developing forest foods and under-forest economy, thus continuously exploring the forests’ potential in boosting the economy and grain production. Xi also urged accelerated efforts to develop the cities of Fuzhou and Xiamen as national-level marine economic development demonstration zones, as part of the wider endeavor to expand and strengthen the marine economy. He also stressed the imperative to guard against natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes, and strengthen the capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief.
Xi urged continued efforts to improve the appeal of culture and present the province’s fresh image. He called on the province to inherit and carry forward the revolutionary traditions, commit to the construction of national culture parks for the Long March in Changting and Ninghua, as well as deepen the research and interpretation of revolutionary historical materials and relics. He underlined the need to strengthen the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, stay committed to the work of cultivating people morally and intellectually, and actively transform outmoded habits and customs. He also stressed advancing deeper integration of culture and tourism, and developing the culture and tourism sector into a pillar industry. Xi urged continued efforts to promote cross-Strait cultural exchanges, jointly carry forward Chinese culture, and enhance the common sense of the Chinese national and cultural identity among Taiwan compatriots. Xi called on Fujian to rely on ties such as ancestral bonds and ancestral land culture to extensively rally the support of overseas Chinese.
Xi pointed out that Party members and officials should be educated to inherit the best of traditions, carry forward our revolutionary heritage and the pioneering and innovative spirit of daring to think big and fighting to win big, forge ahead with fortitude, and make further achievements. All Party members and officials should have an understanding of performing their duties to serve the people, never forget the original aspiration, take on responsibilities, be honest and clean in performing duties, and always maintain the political integrity of communists. It is imperative to fight pointless formalities, and take further steps to ease the burdens on grassroots. He urged efforts to implement the practices of going into communities to communicate the Party’s lines and policies, carry out fact-finding missions, address people’s complaints, and conduct field work, follow the Party’s mass line in the new era, and raise the effectiveness of Party building in boosting grassroots governance.
Xi stressed the necessity to conscientiously implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee, spare no efforts to do a good job in the economic work of the fourth quarter, and strive to achieve the economic and social development objectives for the whole year.
Vice Premier He Lifeng and leading officials of relevant central Party and state departments accompanied Xi on the inspection tour.
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National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said the passing of legislation in the Northern Territory that will see children as young as 10 years old jailed is a failure of all the support systems that should be helping these children.
“This is a very sad day. Instead of strengthening the education, health, family support and child protection systems, the Northern Territory government has chosen to criminalise young children with disabilities, learning problems, mental health issues, and poverty. And the Commonwealth government remains silent,” Commissioner Hollonds said.
“I have been told by some members of parliament ‘there’s no votes in children’, that is, there’s no electoral benefit in standing up for children’s rights. However, in the states and territories, there are votes to be won by sounding ‘tough on crime’, even when these approaches are not based on the evidence of what will prevent crime by children.
“Criminalising children is not ‘early intervention’ and it will not make communities safer. The evidence shows that the younger a child comes into contact with the criminal justice system, the more likely it is that they will go on to commit more serious crimes.”
The evidence shows that addressing the root causes of offending by children is what works to prevent crime by children. This means we must have support systems that meet the needs of children such as appropriate education, healthcare (addiction and mental health services), housing and family support.
Commissioner Hollonds said the laws are contrary to the NT’s obligations under the Closing the Gap National Agreement and will have a heavy impact on First Nations communities.
“Alongside many other child rights advocates I have urged the Commonwealth government to step up and show leadership on child wellbeing. Despite having ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child there is no accountability for the human rights and wellbeing of Australia’s most vulnerable children,” Commissioner Hollonds said.
“This must change. Our most vulnerable children are being let down by all levels of government.”
Secretary-General’s message on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty: “Ending social and institutional maltreatment: acting together for just, peaceful and inclusive societies”
—
Poverty is a global plague, affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world.
But poverty is not inevitable. It is the direct result of the choices that societies and governments make — or fail to make.
This year’s theme reminds us that people mired in poverty contend with societal discrimination and systemic barriers that make it more difficult to access vital services and support.
Ending global poverty — and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals — requires governments shaping institutions and systems that put people first.
It demands that we prioritize investments in decent work, learning opportunities and social protection that offer ladders out of poverty.
And it calls on us to fully implement the new Pact for the Future by supporting an SDG Stimulus and reforming the global financial architecture to help developing countries invest in their people.
Eradicating poverty is an essential foundation for humane, dignified societies that leave no one behind.
On this important day, let’s re-commit to making poverty history.
*****
(En français)
La pauvreté est un fléau mondial qui touche des centaines de millions de personnes à travers la planète.
Toutefois, elle n’est pas une fatalité. Elle résulte directement des choix que font, ou ne font pas, les sociétés et les États.
Le thème de cette année nous rappelle que les personnes en proie à la pauvreté sont confrontées à des discriminations sociétales et à des obstacles systémiques qui les empêchent d’accéder à l’aide et aux services essentiels.
Pour éliminer la pauvreté dans le monde et atteindre les objectifs de développement durable, il faut que les États se dotent d’institutions et de systèmes qui placent les gens au cœur de leur action.
Il convient d’investir en premier lieu dans le travail décent, l’apprentissage et la protection sociale, véritables marchepieds pour sortir de la pauvreté.
Il convient enfin de mettre pleinement en œuvre le nouveau Pacte pour l’avenir, en soutenant le plan de relance des objectifs de développement durable et en réformant l’architecture financière internationale afin d’aider les pays en développement à investir dans leur population.
L’éradication de la pauvreté est indispensable à l’édification de sociétés humaines et dignes où personne n’est laissé de côté.
En ce jour important, redisons notre détermination à faire de la pauvreté une histoire ancienne.
Our recent Pensioner Advice Event saw a fantastic turnout from pensioners and their families. Held on Friday 4 October, the event was part of the council’s broader initiative to help pensioners manage the challenges of rising living costs this winter.
Pensioners that attended received expert advice and guidance on a wide range of topics, including Pension Credit applications, Winter Fuel Payment information, public transportation resources and much more.
Councillor Sarah Chambers, Cabinet Member for Cost of Living, Equalities, and Communities, said:
We know pensioners across Derby are feeling the strain from rising costs, and it was wonderful to meet so many residents of Derby, taking advantage of this event. This is just one of the many initiatives we’ve introduced to ensure that our older residents receive the support they need. Whether it’s help with pension credit or energy savings, we are committed to helping them navigate these challenging times.”
For those who were unable to attend, further information is available on our website or Community Action Derby’s cost of living webpage.
There will be further cost of living support events happening over the coming weeks across the city.
These include:
Mackworth – Thursday 24 October, 10am-12 noon, St Francis Church, Prince Charles Avenue, Mackworth, DE22 4FN
New Zealand – Friday 25 October, 10am-12 noon, Lonny Wilsoncroft Community Centre, Stepping Lane, Derby DE1 1GL
Chaddesden – Friday 1st November, 10am-12 noon, Age UK Building, Chaddesden Park, Chaddesden, DE21 6LN (There is free parking in the main car park off Maine Drive, Chaddesden)
Earlier this month, we also confirmed that the Council would be receiving a £2.225m grant from the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) following the Governments recent announcement that the Household Support Funding would be extended for a further six months, running from 1st October 2024 to 31st March 2025.
A recent audit by the DWP identified how the Council has previously implemented the fund, stating:
Derby City Council exemplifies how a well-coordinated and empathetic approach can make a different in a community. Their strategic use of the Household Support Fund, focussing on both immediate and long-term solutions, services as a model for addressing poverty and deprivation. Through collaboration with community partners and unwavering commitment to improvement, the team are making a positive and lasting impact on the community.”
To learn more and stay up to date with the Household Support Fund, visit our website.
We have recently had a reports of a scam SMS text message received by residents in Derby. The message advised that the resident was eligible for £900 from HSF if they clicked on a link and paid £1 for their bank details for monies to be paid. This is a scam. If you have received this text or have a similar message you are worried is part of a scam, please visit our scam webpage to learn more about how to report it.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Islamabad, Pakistan, Oct. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Tao)
At the just-concluded meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, government leaders from Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members called for deepening cooperation in a range of areas including economy and trade, security, connectivity, energy, finance and green development.
Participants to the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the SCO agreed that in the face of a complex and volatile international environment, all parties need to actively implement the outcomes of the Astana Summit, work closely in solidarity and coordination.
Since its inception in 2001, the SCO has been committed to strengthening mutual trust, dialogue and cooperation, with its ever-increasing role in bolstering security cooperation and economic integration for its members.
ENHANCING SECURITY, STABILITY
“From the very beginning, the SCO Charter was signed based on the fundamental principle of cooperation in countering the types of threats that are still relevant today — terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug trafficking, transnational crime and illegal migration,” said Evgenia Makhmutova, associate professor at the department of political science of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
The member states work on the basis of a list of principles, among which are mutual respect for sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs, the scholar told Xinhua.
With effective multilateral cooperation and coordination, the SCO has been playing a positive role in improving security situation of the region over the past more than two decades.
Through its Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, SCO member countries have been able to enhance intelligence sharing and operational coordination, hence more effective efforts in combating terrorism.
Another important aspect of security cooperation is the exchange of experience and best practices in law enforcement, which encompasses training programs, staff exchanges and technical assistance among member states.
Energy security also holds an important place on the SCO agenda. In recent years, efforts have been directed toward creating a unified energy market and developing joint projects in the energy field.
Under evolving circumstances featuring new geopolitical factors and technological advancements, the SCO is also adapting its activities to new challenges, such as protectionism, cybersecurity and climate change, making the organization more flexible and capable of effectively responding to modern-day threats.
TOWARD ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
Over the years, the SCO has made remarkable achievements in boosting trade and facilitating economic integration among member states.
Sohail Mahmood, former foreign secretary of Pakistan and director general of think tank the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, said that trade among SCO members had grown significantly since its founding, reflecting the organization’s growing influence and global relevance.
As a member state, Pakistan values the SCO mechanism for securing economic cooperation. Amina Masood, professor of the faculty of social sciences of International Islamic University Islamabad, said it’s important to take advantage of the SCO meeting in Islamabad to increase the country’s trade and technical partnership with Central Asian and South Asian countries.
Economic cooperation has “not only greatly supported socio-economic development in the SCO community, but also contributed to regional and global economic growth and development,” the professor said.
The 10-member SCO, which covers over half of the Eurasian landmass, has maintained trade growth and closer economic interactions thanks to better connectivity provided by enhanced infrastructure.
In the region, landmark projects, notably the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline, the Chinese-built new North-South highway in Kyrgyzstan, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and the Eurasian transport corridor, have greatly facilitated economic exchanges.
At the same time, with a large combined population, the SCO represents vast market potential. Collective economic development of all members helps fuel demand for goods and services, which in turn drives vigorous growth of the region’s economies.
GROWING INFLUENCE, VITALITY
Over the past two decades, the SCO has maintained its vitality and become an influential regional and international organization in an international landscape fraught with changes and turbulence.
The Shanghai Spirit ensures that every member state has an equal voice, regardless of economic scale, military potential, or international influence, setting an example of multilateral cooperation.
“As the world today is going through a phase of disintegration of the Western-centred system of international security, and the countries of the Global South are striving for the status of equal and sovereign world players, the potential for the SCO to become a platform for the integration of non-Western forces is noticeably expanding,” Makhmutova told Xinhua.
“The growing number of countries interested in this format undoubtedly enhances the status and credibility of the organization,” said the Russian scholar.
As its influence grows, the scope of cooperation for SCO, which currently groups China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, with two observer countries and 14 dialogue partners, is also expanding, thereby adding more vitality to the organization.
China, the SCO rotating presidency for 2024-2025, has put forward a central theme of “SCO Year of Sustainable Development.”
Under this theme, closer cooperation will be fostered in a wide range of areas, such as poverty alleviation, food security, public health, development financing, climate change and green development, industrialization, digital economy and connectivity.
by Fabio BerettaDhaka (Agenzia Fides) – Easter should become a national holiday. This is what the Christians of Bangladesh are asking the transitional government to do in a letter signed by Bishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze, President of the Bishops’ Conference and the United Forum of Churches of Bangladesh (which brings together all the other Christian denominations in the country), addressed to the head of the transitional government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus.The letter, which was received by Fides, assures the government of the prayers of the Christian community and recalls that Easter, “the day on which we celebrate the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death, is one of the most important celebrations of Christianity”. “Unfortunately, despite repeated requests to previous governments, this day of immense importance is not recognized as a national holiday in the country. As a result, many Catholics cannot attend religious services and Holy Mass, thus violating their religious obligations,” the letter continues. And the problem affects not only workers, but also students, because “some exams often fall on this day and Christian students feel oppressed because they cannot celebrate with the community.” “We ask,” the letter continues, “that we, like other religions in our country, have the opportunity to celebrate this important and solemn holiday. Although the Christian population is not very large, we are an integral part of this country and make a significant contribution to development through our community services,” especially “in the areas of education, medical care, poverty alleviation and other development programs.” “We welcome the reform initiatives of your government,” the letter concludes, “and ask you to consider declaring Easter Sunday a public holiday so that the Christian community can celebrate important rituals.” (Agenzia Fides, 18/10/2024)
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The Federal Trade Commission is one of the main venues for government regulation of big tech and its wares. Alpha Photo/Flickr, CC BY-NC
It’s not surprising that technology regulation is an important issue in the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign.
The past decade has seen advanced technologies, from social media algorithms to large language model artificial intelligence systems, profoundly affect society. These changes, which spanned the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations, spurred calls for the federal government to regulate the technologies and the powerful corporations that wield them.
With artificial intelligence now widespread, governments worldwide are grappling with how to regulate various aspects of the technology. The candidates offer different visions for U.S. AI policy. One area where there is a stark difference is in recognizing and addressing algorithmic harms from the widespread use of AI technology.
At the AI Safety Summit in the U.K. in November 2023, Harris spoke of the promise of AI but also the perils from algorithmic bias, deepfakes and wrongful arrests. Biden signed an executive order on AI on Oct. 30, 2023, that recognized AI systems can pose unacceptable risks of harm to civil and human rights and individual well-being. In parallel, federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission have carried out enforcement actions to guard against algorithmic harms.
President Joe Biden signs an executive order addressing the risks of artificial intelligence on Oct. 30, 2023, with Vice President Kamala Harris at his side. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
By contrast, the Trump administration did not take a public stance on mitigation of algorithmic harms. Trump has said he wants to repeal President Biden’s AI executive order. In recent interviews, however, Trump noted the dangers from technologies such as deepfakes and challenges posed to security from AI systems, suggesting a willingness to engage with the growing risks from AI.
The Biden-Harris administration has tried to go further. Harris convened the heads of Google, Microsoft and other tech companies at the White House on May 4, 2023, to undertake a set of voluntary commitments to safeguard individual rights. The Biden administration’s executive order contains an important initiative to probe the vulnerablity of very large-scale, general-purpose AI models trained on massive amounts of data. The goal is to determine the risks hackers pose to these models, including the ones that power OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT and DALL-E.
Donald Trump departs from Washington D.C., on Feb. 11, 2019, shortly after signing an executive order on artificial intelligence that included setting technical standards. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images
Antitrust
Antitrust law enforcement – restricting or conditioning mergers and acquisitions – is another way the federal government regulates the technology industry.
Biden signed an executive order on July 9, 2021, to enforce antitrust laws arising from the anticompetitive effects of dominant internet platforms. The order also targeted the acquisition of nascent competitors, the aggregation of data, unfair competition in attention markets and the surveillance of users. The Biden-Harris administration has filed antitrust cases against Apple and Google.
The Biden-Harris administration’s merger guidelines in 2023 outlined rules to determine when mergers can be considered anticompetitive. While both administrations filed antitrust cases, the Biden administration’s antitrust push appears stronger in terms of its impact in potentially reorganizing or even orchestrating a breakup of dominant companies such as Google.
Biden’s AI executive order calls on Congress to adopt privacy legislation, but it does not provide a legislative framework to do so. The Trump White House’s American AI Initiative executive order mentions privacy only in broad terms, calling for AI technologies to uphold “civil liberties, privacy, and American values.” The order did not mention how existing privacy protections would be enforced.
Across the U.S., several states have tried to pass legislation addressing aspects of data privacy. At present, there is a patchwork of statewide initiatives and a lack of comprehensive data privacy legislation at the federal level.
The paucity of federal data privacy protections is a stark reminder that while the candidates are addressing some of the challenges posed by developments in AI and technology more broadly, a lot still remains to be done to regulate technology in the public interest.
Overall, the Biden administration’s efforts at antitrust and technology regulation seem broadly aligned with the goal of reining in technology companies and protecting consumers. It’s also reimagining monopoly protections for the 21st century. This seems to be the chief difference between the two administrations.
Anjana Susarla receives funding from the National Institute of Health
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, Oct. 18 — Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong met with Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in Beijing on Friday.
Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, expressed the hope that the two sides will further enhance the exchange of experience, deepen South-South cooperation and trilateral cooperation, and contribute more to the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and the realization of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, Liu said.
Lario expressed admiration for China’s great achievements in development and is willing to learn and share China’s experience and promote international cooperation on poverty reduction and agricultural development.
Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jasmin Lilian Diab, Assistant Professor of Migration Studies; Director of the Institute for Migration Studies, Lebanese American University
The escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah since September 2024, and Israel’s bombing of civilian areas across Lebanon, have unleashed a profound humanitarian disaster.
An estimated 400,000 Lebanese and Syrians have reportedly fled into Syria through overcrowded border crossings.
Not to be confused with return, this movement represents a reversal of the refugee flow that followed the descent of Syria into civil war in 2011. It is also emblematic of a broader pattern of cyclical displacement crises in the region.
The complex and intertwined histories of Lebanon and Syria – where each has at various points been a refuge for citizens of the other – challenge the simple binaries often associated with the refugee experience.
The exchange of roles between Lebanon and Syria highlights not only the fragility of regional stability but the fluidity of displacement – and the deeper implications that cross-border movement has on the sociopolitical dynamics of both countries.
A history of reciprocal refuge
The relationship between Lebanon and Syria has long been complex, oscillating between cooperation and tension. Despite Syria’s official withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005 after decades as an occupying force, the two countries remain connected due to shared borders, economic ties and security concerns. Cooperation exists in areas such as trade, but there is significant tension, especially over the presence of over 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Yet, throughout their modern histories, one of the most enduring bonds has been the shared experiences of displacement and refuge, dating back to Lebanon’s civil war. From 1975 to 1990, thousands of Lebanese fled to Syria to escape the sectarian-driven conflict that engulfed their homeland.
The post-war period, however, was marked by a shift in the dynamics between the two countries. The 2005 withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon marked a new chapter in their relations.
Tensions rose as Lebanon sought to rebuild and assert its sovereignty after nearly 30 years of Syrian occupation. Yet, the region’s tendency for upheaval soon saw the roles reversed again decades later, when an estimated 180,000 Lebanese took refuge in Syria during the 2006 July war.
With the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, it was Lebanon’s turn to serve as a refuge. By 2015, 1 million Syrians fleeing violence made the journey into Lebanon.
Despite being one of the 44 countries never to have signed the 1951 Refugee Convention, Lebanon is the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita globally.
Because Lebanon didn’t sign the convention, it doesn’t formally recognize refugee status, which gives the country what it views as more control over its refugee policies. While Lebanon receives humanitarian support from the United Nations’ refugee agency, refugees remain in a precarious legal status, with limited rights.
For many Lebanese, this most recent influx of fleeing Syrian refugees has rekindled memories of their own displacement, while for others, it has fueled anti-refugee sentiments.
Bouncing between 2 war-torn countries
With the latest escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, history is again repeating itself. Lebanese citizens, primarily from Hezbollah strongholds in South Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, are seeking refuge in Syria, a country still grappling with its own economic collapse, violence and internal strife.
While the conflict on Lebanese territory has gone on for more than a year, movements into Syria only picked up in late September 2024 as people have become more desperate to flee.
As one displaced person forced to flee from Beirut explained to me: “Syria was certainly not a ‘better’ option than Lebanon six months ago, but in the last week, since the attacks on Beirut and political assassinations, Syria is safer – despite everything it is going through. That’s how unsafe we feel in Beirut – we are bouncing between one war-torn country and another.”
Syrian displacement to Lebanon has been portrayed by some Lebanese politicians as one-directional. This appears to be in order to frame Syrian refugees as the sole recipients of aid – as opposed to Lebanese citizens – as well as burdens on Lebanon.
When displacement occurs in both directions, however, this narrative begins to break down.
Syrian refugees who once sought safety in Lebanon now see their home country as a safer haven – albeit a fragile and temporary one. Meanwhile, Lebanese citizens face the same kinds of vulnerability and desperation that their Syrian counterparts experienced over the past decade.
Importantly, testimonies from those who are making the trip from their ‘temporary’ home in Lebanon back to Syria highlight that these movements should not be mistaken for return. Rather, they are in themselves a temporary solution.
As one Syrian who had fled his Lebanese home explained to me: “No, I am not returning. I am rather leaving one foot in Lebanon and one in Syria. Syria is in no way a safe place. As men, we are at risk of arrest and forced conscription. However, Lebanon is momentarily, at this point in history, much less safe. We do this assessment week by week. I sent my wife and my children first. I will follow.”
For their part, internally displaced Lebanese entering into Syria insist that these movements are “absolutely temporary.” One told me: “Syria is not foreign to us. It feels close and familiar. But most importantly, it feels temporary and is the right proximity to Lebanon. As soon as things calm down we will come back to our homes. Many of us have nothing to go back to, but even in this case, we will not remain in Syria.”
The strain of displacement
Both Lebanon and Syria are, in many ways, ill-equipped to handle the new wave of displacement.
By 2023, Lebanon’s economic collapse had driven 80% of its population into poverty, making it nearly impossible to absorb the additional strain of mass internal displacement.
Government paralysis, compounded by political deadlock, leaves internally displaced people with little to no state support, mostly relying on aid and community networks to survive.
Syria, though in the position of “host” in this current migratory flow, is similarly constrained. The country’s infrastructure remains devastated from more than a decade of civil war. Basic services are stretched thin, and the economy has not recovered. Humanitarian organizations coordinating the response are working amid overextended resources and dwindling support.
A region in perpetual chaos
As the armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, the displacement crisis in Lebanon and Syria will, I fear, likely worsen.
The recent wave of Syrian refugees and Lebanese into Syria reveals the cyclical nature of refuge in the region. Ultimately, the ongoing displacement crisis in Lebanon and Syria serves as a reminder that refuge is often temporary, contingent on the shifting geopolitics of the region.
The histories of these two countries, where both have served as havens for the other’s displaced populations, underscore the complexity of displacement in the Middle East.
The fact that Lebanese citizens are now seeking shelter in Syria, a country from which over 1 million refugees fled just over a decade ago, underscores the volatility of regional displacement patterns. It also raises critical questions about the sustainability of international refugee systems that too often rely on static, one-directional models of migration and don’t account for the fluid and often reversible nature of displacement.
Jasmin Lilian Diab does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The French authorities must immediately stop the use of a discriminatory risk-scoring algorithm used by the French Social Security Agency’s National Family Allowance Fund (CNAF), which is used to detect overpayments and errors regarding benefit payments, Amnesty International said today.
On 15 October, Amnesty International and fourteen other coalition partners led by La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) submitted a complaint to the Council of State, the highest administrative court in France, demanding the risk-scoring algorithmic system used by CNAF be stopped.
“From the outset, the risk-scoring system used by CNAF treats individuals who experience marginalization – those with disabilities, lone single parents who are mostly women, and those living in poverty – with suspicion. This system operates in direct opposition to human rights standards, violating the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to privacy,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General at Amnesty International.
In 2023, La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) got access to versions of the algorithm’s source code – a set of instructions written by programmers to create a software – thereby exposing the discriminatory nature of the system.
Since 2011, CNAF has used a risk-scoring algorithm to identify people who are potentially committing benefits fraud by receiving overpayments. The algorithm assigns a risk score between zero and one to all recipients of family and housing benefits. The closer the score is to one, the higher the probability of being flagged for investigation.
Overall, there are 32 million people in France living in households that receive a benefit from CNAF. Their sensitive personal data, as well as that of their family, is processed periodically, and a risk score is assigned.
The criteria that increase one’s risk score include parameters which discriminate against vulnerable households, including being on a low income, being unemployed, living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, spending a significant portion of income on rent, and working while having a disability. The details of those who are flagged due to having a high-risk score are compiled into a list that is investigated further by a fraud investigator.
“While authorities herald the rollout of algorithmic technologies in social protection systems as a way to increase efficiency and detect fraud and errors, in practice, these systems flatten the realities of people’s lives. They work as extensive data-mining tools that stigmatize marginalized groups, and invade their privacy,” said Agnès Callamard.
Amnesty International did not investigate specific cases of people flagged by the CNAF system. However, our investigations in Netherlands and Serbia suggest that using AI-powered systems and automation in the public sector enables mass surveillance: the amount of data that is collected is disproportionate to the purported aim of the system. Moreover, evidence by Amnesty International also exposed how many of these systems have been quite ineffective at actually doing what they purport to do—whether it be identifying fraud or errors in the benefits system.
While authorities herald the rollout of algorithmic technologies in social protection systems as a way to increase efficiency and detect fraud and errors, in practice, these systems flatten the realities of people’s lives. They work as extensive data-mining tools that stigmatize marginalized groups, and invade their privacy.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International
It has also been argued that the scale of errors or fraud in benefits system has been exaggerated to justify the development of such tech systems, often leading to discriminatory or racist or sexist targeting of particular groups, particularly migrants and refugees.
“France is relying on a risk-scoring algorithmic system for social benefits that highlights, sustains and enshrines the bureaucracy’s prejudices and discrimination. Instead, France should ensure that it complies with its human rights obligations in the first place that of non-discrimination. The authorities must address current and existing AI-related harms amid the country’s quest to become a global AI hub,” said Agnès Callamard.
Under the newly adopted European Artificial Intelligence Regulation (AI Act), AI systems used by authorities to determine access to essential public services and benefits are considered to pose high risk to rights, health and safety of people. Therefore, they must meet strict technical, transparency and governance rules, including an obligation on deployers to carry out an assessment of human rights risks and guarantee mitigation measures before deployment.
In the meantime, certain systems, such as those used for social scoring, are considered to pose unacceptable level of risk and therefore must be banned.
It is unfortunate that EU lawmakers have been vague in explicitly defining social scoring within the AI Act. The European Commission must ensure that its upcoming guidelines provide a clear and enforceable interpretation of the social scoring ban, especially as it applies to discriminatory fraud detection and risk-scoring systems.
Agnès Callamard
It is currently unclear whether the system used by CNAF qualifies as a social scoring system due to a lack of clarity in the AI Act on what constitutes such a system.
“It is unfortunate that EU lawmakers have been vague in explicitly defining social scoring within the AI Act. The European Commission must ensure that its upcoming guidelines provide a clear and enforceable interpretation of the social scoring ban, especially as it applies to discriminatory fraud detection and risk-scoring systems,” said Agnès Callamard.
Regardless of its classification under the AI Act, all evidence suggests that the system used by CNAF is discriminatory. It is essential that authorities stop employing it and scrutinize biased practices that are inherently harmful especially to marginalized communities seeking social benefits.
In August 2024, the AI Act came into force. Amnesty International, as part of a civil society coalition led by the European Digital Rights Network (EDRi), has been calling for EU artificial intelligence regulation that protects and promotes human rights.
In March 2024, an Amnesty International briefing outlined how digital technologies including artificial intelligence, automation, and algorithmic decision-making are exacerbating inequalities in social protection systems across the world
In 2021, Amnesty International’s report Xenophobic Machines exposed how racial profiling was baked into the design of the algorithmic system by the Dutch tax authorities that flagged claims for childcare benefits as potentially fraudulent.
Authorities must immediately stop using discriminatory algorithm used by the social security agency
The risk-scoring system treats marginalised individuals with suspicion
‘This system operates in direct opposition to human rights standards, violating the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to privacy’ – Agnès Callamard
The French authorities must immediately stop the use of a discriminatory risk-scoring algorithm used by the French Social Security Agency’s National Family Allowance Fund (CNAF), which is used to detect overpayments and errors regarding benefit payments, Amnesty International said today.
On 15 October, Amnesty and 14 other coalition partners led by La Quadrature du Net (LQDN) submitted a complaint to the Council of State, the highest administrative court in France, demanding the risk-scoring algorithmic system used by CNAF be stopped.
In 2023, LQDNgained access to versions of the algorithm’s source code – a set of instructions written by programmers to create a software – exposing the discriminatory nature of the system.
Since 2011, CNAF has used a risk-scoring algorithm to identify people who are potentially committing benefits fraud by receiving overpayments. The algorithm assigns a risk score between zero and one to all recipients of family and housing benefits. The closer the score is to one, the higher the probability of being flagged for investigation.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General at Amnesty International, said:
“From the outset, the risk-scoring system used by CNAF treats individuals who experience marginalisation – those with disabilities, lone single parents who are mostly women, and those living in poverty – with suspicion. This system operates in direct opposition to human rights standards, violating the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to privacy.
“While authorities herald the rollout of algorithmic technologies in social protection systems to increase efficiency and detect fraud and errors, in practice, these systems flatten the realities of people’s lives. They work as extensive data-mining tools that stigmatise marginalised groups and invade their privacy.
“France is relying on a risk-scoring algorithmic system for social benefits that highlights, sustains and enshrines the bureaucracy’s prejudices and discrimination. Instead, France should ensure that it complies with its human rights obligations in the first place that of non-discrimination. The authorities must address current and existing AI-related harms amid the country’s quest to become a global AI hub.”
Putting people at risk
There are currently 32 million people in France receiving a benefit from CNAF. Their sensitive personal data, as well as that of their family, is processed periodically, and a risk score is assigned.
The criteria that increase one’s risk score include parameters which discriminate against vulnerable households, including being on a low income, being unemployed, living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, spending a significant portion of income on rent, and working while having a disability. The details of those who are flagged due to having a high-risk score are compiled into a list that is investigated further by a fraud investigator.
Amnesty did not investigate specific cases of people flagged by the CNAF system. However, its investigations in theNetherlands andSerbia suggest that using AI-powered systems and automation in the public sector enables mass surveillance and the amount of data collected is disproportionate to the purported aim of the system.
Amnesty has also exposed how many of these systems have been quite ineffective at doing what they purport to do—whether it be identifying fraud or errors in the benefits system.
It has also been argued that the scale of errors or fraud in benefits system has been exaggeratedto justify the development of such tech systems, often leading to discriminatory or racist or sexist targeting of particular groups – particularly migrants and refugees.
Under the newly adopted European Artificial Intelligence Regulation (AI Act), AI systems used by authorities to determine access to essential public services and benefits are considered to pose high risk to rights, health and safety of people. Therefore, they must meet strict technical, transparency and governance rules, including an obligation on deployers to carry out an assessment of human rights risks and guarantee mitigation measures before deployment.
In the meantime, certain systems, such as those used for social scoring, are considered to pose unacceptable level of risk and therefore must be banned.
It is currently unclear whether the system used by CNAF qualifies as a social scoring system due to a lack of clarity in the AI Act on what constitutes such a system.
Regardless of its classification however, all evidence suggests that the system is discriminatory. It is essential that authorities stop employing it and scrutinise biased practices that are inherently harmful – especially to marginalised communities seeking social benefits.
In August 2024, the AI Actcame into force. Amnesty, as part of a civil society coalition led by the European Digital Rights Network,has been calling for EU artificial intelligence regulation that protects and promotes human rights.
In March this year, an Amnestybriefing outlined how digital technologies including artificial intelligence, automation, and algorithmic decision-making are exacerbating inequalities in social protection systems across the world.
In 2021, Amnesty’s report Xenophobic Machines exposed how racial profiling was baked into the design of the algorithmic system by the Dutch tax authorities that flagged claims for childcare benefits as potentially fraudulent.
Chief Executive John Lee said in his 2024 Policy Address that he attaches great importance to building a caring and inclusive society, providing targeted assistance to the underprivileged and families in need, in addition to strengthening labour support.
To direct resources to those most in need to alleviate poverty, the Government will expand the Strive & Rise Programme by recruiting 4,000 mentees this year and set up three additional community living rooms in areas clustered with sub-divided units.
Mr Lee also outlined various measures to strengthen elderly services, such as increasing the total number of vouchers under the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly by 20% to 6,000, allowing more frail seniors to be admitted to residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) of their choice and receive subsidised care services without waiting.
Additionally, the Government plans to enhance the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong by increasing the number of participating RCHEs from the existing four to 11 in November of this year, sharing part of the elderly participants’ medical expenses and engaging organisations to provide care services to help the elderly adapt to living in Guangdong.
Furthermore, Mr Lee noted that the Government will launch a three‑year pilot scheme next year to subsidise elderly recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance retiring in Guangdong to reside in designated RCHEs in Guangdong Province, with each eligible elderly person receiving a monthly subsidy of $5,000, subject to a quota of 1,000.
To strengthen support for persons with disabilities, the Government will establish 14 Integrated Community Rehabilitation Centres across the city. Apart from providing 1,280 additional service places to support such individuals, an additional district support centre in New Territories East will be set up.
For ethnic minorities, the Government will engage one more support service centre to provide interpretation and translation services next year, on top of the two additional centres which will begin operation by the end of this year.
The Education Bureau plans to strengthen Chinese learning support and parental assistance for non‑Chinese speaking students, Mr Lee added.
He also announced the setting up of one more child care centre to support working parents. Service places under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project will be increased by 25%, to 2,500, with the estimated number of beneficiaries reaching 25,000.
As for the District Services & Community Care Teams, the Chief Executive revealed that the Government will regularise the funding provision and increase funding by 50% in the next term of service in support of their work.
It will also expand the Pilot Scheme on Supporting Elderly & Carers to cover all 18 districts in the next year, identifying and reaching out to households in need.
Regarding measures to strengthen labour support, Mr Lee emphasised that the Employees Retraining Board will be reformed, from providing employment‑related training targeted at low‑skilled workers to devising skills‑based training programmes and strategies for the entire workforce.
Other measures to protect employees include enhancing the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, implementing the new annual review mechanism of the statutory minimum wage and amending the continuous contract requirement under the Employment Ordinance.
Mr Lee explained what the Government is doing to encourage employment among middle-aged and elderly people.
“The three‑year Re‑employment Allowance Pilot Scheme was launched in July, with more than 20,000 participants to date. The Labour Department will continue the scheme and, through the Good Employer Charter 2024, encourage employers to adopt family‑friendly employment practices such as flexible work arrangements.”
He stressed that promoting occupational safety and health is of key importance to his administration.
“The Government has been encouraging the industry to provide a safer working environment. Among other things, it mandated, in July, the adoption of the Smart Site Safety System (4S) for mobile plants in designated private‑building works, and issued the first batch of 4S labelling.
“We will strengthen the protection of workers’ safety under a three‑pronged approach, formulating safety guidelines, promoting optimal use of robotic technology and enhancing industry training.”
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the Review of Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) Facilities and Financing, the IMF’s vehicle for providing concessional financing to low-income member countries. Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement:
“Our membership today has adopted a comprehensive reform and financing package for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) to bolster the IMF’s support to low-income countries.”
“The package includes a framework to deploy IMF net income and/or reserves to generate about US$8 billion in additional subsidy resources for the PRGT over the next five years. Combined with other reform measures and last year’s successful bilateral fundraising, this would increase the PRGT’s long-term annual lending envelope to about US$3.6 billion, more than twice the pre-pandemic level, and help catalyze significant additional flows from public and private sources.”
“This agreement comes at a critical time as low-income countries have suffered a series of unprecedented shocks and face substantial financing needs. With exceptionally high demand for PRGT financing, the approved package will generate the concessional resources necessary to ensure that the Fund can continue supporting low-income countries to implement sound policies and build strong institutions.”
“These reforms will help tailor IMF support to country-specific needs, recognizing the increasing economic heterogeneity of low-income countries. To ensure that scarce concessional resources are targeted to those most in need, a new interest rate mechanism will maintain interest-free lending for the poorest countries while ensuring that lending terms for others have a sufficient degree of concessionality. Access policies will allow for flexibility in calibrating Fund support, and safeguards will be strengthened and streamlined.”
“Our global membership has demonstrated once again its shared commitment to support our low-income members in challenging economic times.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)
Funding for South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation Innovation and Technology Center
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that the South Memphis Renewal Community Development Corporation (SMRCDC) will receive an $800,000 grant to complete the construction of the 38126 Innovation and Technology Center from the Community Economic Development (CED) Program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CED program expands employment for low-income communities facing persistent poverty and high unemployment by investing in community development corporations.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
“This funding for the SMRCDC promises to create new businesses and more than 30 jobs in the area of South Memphis it serves. I look forward to seeing the completion of the Innovation and Technology Center, and the continued success of its efforts.”
Monica Rivera, thanks very much for that kind introduction.
Katherine Martinez, it’s great to see you again. You are certainly a Veteran “worth knowing,” and I’m glad you could join us today. And thanks very much for your powerful remarks, especially about how VA can fit into Veterans lives, rather than Veterans trying to fit their lives into VA.
Jaime Areizaga-Soto and our panel members—thank you for the great conversation this morning.
And thank you, Nathan Maenle and team, for putting together the program today.
I don’t have to look far to see Hispanic Americans making an impact at VA—serving Vets as well as they’ve served all of us.
To close today’s program, I’d like to tell you about a few extraordinary VA teammates. One demonstrating leadership in a moment of crisis. Another, an example of a Veteran dedicating his life to serving other Vets. A third, a young cemetery director committed to honoring our fallen Vets and preserving their stories. And finally, an emerging leader dedicated to healing human suffering wherever he finds it.
First, Fernando Rivera. Fernando’s the Executive Director of the Southeast Louisiana Health Care system and was born in Cuba. His mother was a government public relations professional. His father was a military officer. Both were disillusioned—to put it mildly—with the oppression of Castro’s communist regime, and secretly participated in the movement to overthrow the government. In 1961, Fernando’s father was imprisoned in Havana and paid the ultimate price for his efforts to ensure his family and country could live in freedom. He was executed.
Fernando immigrated to the United States—New Orleans—in 1969 as a political refugee. He was nine years old. His mother worked three jobs to support him and his grandparents. As a young man he started at VA as a GS-5 Project Engineer—and advanced to roles including Medical Center Director, Network Director, and Acting Deputy Under Secretary. He’s been with VA for 39 years and counting. Along the way, in 1992, he met the love of his life—his wife Stacie—at VA. That’s part of the reason Fernando calls VA his family.
Ten years ago, he went home—so to speak—when he helped bring VA healthcare back to New Orleans nearly a decade after the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Fernando’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic set national standards, caring for over 1,600 infected patients, and coordinating responses across VA and private-sector healthcare systems. Just last month, Fernando’s steady leadership guided the Veterans, staff, and volunteers at VA when Hurricane Francine made landfall in Louisiana. Fernando’s team responded quickly. They kept in close contact with the most vulnerable patients. When the storm had passed, Fernando had the medical center and 6 of 7 community-based outpatient clinics up and running within 24 hours and the final, most impacted clinic, up within 48 hours.
Every day when Fernando goes to work, he reads a sign at the front of the hospital in New Orleans. It says, “The price of freedom can be seen within these walls.” Fernando says that he can never take for granted those who have served in uniform because they are the reason he and his family are free. Perhaps few can appreciate that freedom more profoundly than Fernando.
Next, I’d like to talk about Francisco Vazquez. Francisco is the Medical Center Director at the Houston VA. His story of service starts with his beloved father, also named Francisco. His father grew up an orphan in Puerto Rico and saw the Army as a way out of the cycle of poverty and hopelessness he experienced. He joined the famous 65th Infantry Regiment shortly after his 18th birthday in 1951. Within a year, he found himself landing on the shores of Inchon, Korea. He stayed in the Army and Francisco, the younger, was born in Fort Chafee, Arkansas. When Francisco was eight, his father retired from the Army and moved the family back to Puerto Rico where he experienced firsthand the richness and warmth of the family-centered culture there.
Francisco is very proud of his Puerto Rican heritage—where, as he says, “the island is beautiful … the food is amazing … and the people are welcoming, valiant, and determined.” After graduating from college, Francisco attended Navy Officer Candidate School, following his father in service to the nation. He served on the USS Okinawa for four years. His VA journey began in 1995 at the Central Texas Healthcare System. Since then, Francisco has served in seven VA hospitals. “We have the best mission in the world,” Francisco says. “We help our nation pay back part of the debt of gratitude we owe our Veterans for their service and sacrifice through the delivery of world-class care.”
And for Francisco, it all goes back to the values his father modeled for him and his siblings during his Army career: honesty, hard work, humility, and putting the needs of others above your own. It was these values that inspired Francisco’s oldest son, Armando, to join the Army. And though Francisco’s father and son are no longer with us, their memory inspires and motivates him every single day to fulfill the second part of what President Biden calls our one truly sacred obligation as Americans, to prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way, and then care for them and their families when they come home. Three generations of Hispanic Americans who have put service and love of country at the forefront of their lives and are an example for us all.
Next, I’d like to tell you about Marcos De Jesus. Marcos is the Director of the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida. He was born in the Dominican Republic. When he was four, his mother—Maria—and he immigrated to Puerto Rico where he says he truly found his home. Marcos’ commitment to service started with the values taught by his mother—the belief that even if you don’t have much, you should still strive to give back to the world. By the time Marcos left for college it was only natural that he should join the ROTC program there, where the Air Force’s core value of “Service Before Self” resonated with him. Marcos served five years as an Air Force officer, deploying to Colombia and Abu Dhabi. He was impressed with the fact that in the Air Force he met people from all walks of life who were dedicated to one thing: serving their country.
Like many Vets, when Marcos left the military, he searched for a similar sense of purpose and service. He found that purpose in the National Cemetery Administration in 2021. His life came full circle when he returned to Puerto Rico for NCA’s Cemetery Director’s Development Program. Marcos takes pride in learning and sharing Veteran stories preserved in our National Cemeteries, especially through the Veterans Legacy Memorial site. Along the way, he met and married his wife, Barbara, from Caracas, Venezuela. Being a part of a Venezuelan family now, Marcos sees similarities in the values he witnessed growing up in Puerto Rico: courage, determination, and perseverance. Marcos jokes that he knows he and his wife will have debates about which heritage their children will claim. But they are certain of one thing—their children will inherit their shared values of hard work and service.
Finally, I’d like to tell you about Dr. Alexander Tenorio. Alexander is a White House Fellow—one of America’s most prestigious programs for emerging leaders—serving with us here at VACO. Hispanic alumni of this program include the Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Jaime Areizaga-Soto, our Chairman of the Board of Veterans Appeals, and Alberto Ramos, my Chief Speechwriter. Alexander and his family immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1980s, fleeing violence in their hometown. Alexander grew up poor in South Los Angeles, selling clothing on the streets to help his family make ends meet. It was on those streets that he saw drug use, gang violence, and the healthcare challenges the people in his community faced.
So, he decided to go to medical school and become a neurosurgeon, one of the most under-represented specialties. During his residency in San Diego, Alexander came face-to-face with the horrific reality that is all too common along our southern border—individuals sustaining life changing wounds like Traumatic Brain Injury—T.B.I.—and spinal cord damage after falling from the 30-foot border wall—fleeing the same violence his parents did in the ‘80s. He’s dedicated his life to raising awareness of these tragic and preventable accidents, advocating for increased access to care for Hispanic and non-citizen populations. Alexander says that some of the most grateful patients he cared for as a resident in San Diego were our Vets. And that’s part of his motivation to serve his fellowship here at VA. His parents, who sacrificed so much to help him become a neurosurgeon, instilled in him the core value he lives by today: to help the helpless, and to heal human suffering wherever he finds it.
So, why did I tell you about these extraordinary individuals this morning? Well, because frankly, these folks—Katherine, Francisco, Fernando, Marcos, and Alexander—know better than most what America is all about. And we need more leaders like them at VA. Because a diverse VA is a stronger VA. We all travel our unique journeys in life. Whether from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, or Minnesota. And the convergence of those varied paths is what makes us stronger. We all cherish our freedoms as Americans. That’s why—you and I—are here to fight like hell for those who raise their hands to defend those freedoms. I thank you all for allowing me to join you this morning. God bless you all. And God bless our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David Matsinhe, Losophone Research Specialist/Adjunct Professor in African Studies, Carleton University
The incoming president of Mozambique faces an array of interconnected problems deeply rooted in historical, socioeconomic and political dynamics. He must balance meeting immediate needs with long-term structural change.
The 9 October 2024 general election was Mozambique’s seventh since multiparty elections were introduced in 1994. The results are expected to be announced within two weeks from the poll date. International media reports indicate that the ruling Frelimo and its presidential candidate Daniel Chapo are poised for a landslide victory.
This is likely to be confirmed by the electoral commission even though local media have pointed to widespread and brazen ballot stuffing and fake observers, among other irregularities, in favour of Frelimo.
Can the resource-rich but impoverished nation of 35 million expect a redirection of policies and strategies under Chapo to address its multifaceted crises?
Mozambique’s crises stem largely from systemic corruption under Frelimo. It has prioritised political elites over national welfare. Its decades of mismanagement, embezzlement and patronage have left institutions weak and unable to address pressing social and economic issues.
The country is fragmented. The government has neglected the development of inclusive, accountable governance and equitable infrastructure. Regional disparities are the result. This is especially so in Cabo Delgado province, where disenfranchised citizens have become vulnerable to extremist groups.
This lack of unity and long-term planning has created a fragile state unable to withstand mounting internal and external pressures.
As a Mozambican social scientist and human rights specialist, I have spent my adult life wrestling with my country’s complex economic, social, cultural and political dynamics.
Mozambique stands at a critical point. The new president must confront the deep-rooted challenges with determination and comprehensive reforms.
In my view, the new leader faces nine key challenges. These are a deep economic crisis, an Islamic insurgency in the north, climate change, drug trafficking, unemployment, corruption, poor infrastructure, kidnappings and unpaid public sector salaries.
Economic crisis
Mozambique’s economy has deteriorated, primarily because of structural imbalances and a dependence on extractive industries. GDP growth has declined sharply, from 7% in 2014 to 1.8% in 2023.
Slower growth has resulted in over 62% of Mozambicans living in poverty.
This has limited the state’s capacity to invest in education, health and sanitation.
Economic revival must be accompanied by targeted interventions to promote inclusive growth. All Mozambicans must benefit from economic activities to alleviate poverty.
Insurgency
Since 2017, extremist groups have used local grievances and regional disenfranchisement to destabilise northern Mozambique. Over 4,000 people have died. Nearly a million have been displaced.
The conflict is rooted in socio-economic inequalities, made worse by the extraction of natural gas and rubies. Global and local actors compete for control.
The new president’s role in mediating this crisis requires nuance. He must address the historical marginalisation of Cabo Delgado while balancing military and developmental responses.
He must also write a new chapter in the country’s deplorable human rights record. This is marked by widespread violations of the right to life, physical integrity, freedom from arbitrary detention, and freedoms of expression, assembly and the press.
Deforestation has made it more fragile, reducing its capacity to mitigate flood and erosion risks.
The new president will need to put in place policies that incorporate mitigation and adaptation strategies. He will also need to secure multilateral cooperation.
Drug trafficking
Drug trafficking networks have entrenched themselves. Porous borders, weak governance structures and endemic corruption have made Mozambique a corridor for heroin and cocaine trafficking.
Tackling the problem requires stronger state institutions. It also requires regional and global collaboration to disrupt the transnational flow of narcotics.
Policies promoting vocational training and entrepreneurship are essential. So is investment in labour-intensive sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing.
Corruption
Pervasive corruption erodes public trust and stifles economic innovation. New efforts to combat corruption must go beyond superficial reforms. They must uproot the power structures that sustain these systems.
Poor infrastructure
Infrastructure is in disrepair. Urban roads are crumbling, public services are inadequate and electricity blackouts are frequent. Rural regions lack basic services such as clean water and healthcare.
The next president will need to launch an ambitious infrastructure overhaul to improve living conditions and stimulate economic growth.
Kidnappings
Kidnappings, especially targeting the wealthy and business people, have created widespread fear and instability. The crime disrupts business operations and deters foreign investment, further harming economic growth.
The high-profile nature of kidnappings suggests collusion between criminal networks and law enforcement as well as inefficiencies in the justice system.
The persistence of kidnappings reflects broader governance issues. These include limited state capacity to respond effectively to organised crime.
Unpaid public servants
Delays in salary payments for public servants have worsened economic and social problems. The delays reduce public workers’ purchasing power. This has affected household consumption and local economies.
Morale among employees is sapped, harming productivity and eroding trust in government institutions.
The new president must make public sector reforms. This includes auditing finances, improving revenue collection, enforcing fiscal discipline, promoting merit-based appointments, implementing probity laws, strengthening anti-corruption bodies, and diversifying the economy.
The future of Mozambique rests on the ability of its next leader to address these profound and intertwined crises. It’s a huge task.
Whoever it is will have to break from the Frelimo mould, reverse the damage done and set the country on a new path of clean governance, peace and inclusive economic growth.
David Matsinhe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By David Matsinhe, Losophone Research Specialist/Adjunct Professor in African Studies, Carleton University
The incoming president of Mozambique faces an array of interconnected problems deeply rooted in historical, socioeconomic and political dynamics. He must balance meeting immediate needs with long-term structural change.
The 9 October 2024 general election was Mozambique’s seventh since multiparty elections were introduced in 1994. The results are expected to be announced within two weeks from the poll date. International media reports indicate that the ruling Frelimo and its presidential candidate Daniel Chapo are poised for a landslide victory.
This is likely to be confirmed by the electoral commission even though local media have pointed to widespread and brazen ballot stuffing and fake observers, among other irregularities, in favour of Frelimo.
Can the resource-rich but impoverished nation of 35 million expect a redirection of policies and strategies under Chapo to address its multifaceted crises?
Mozambique’s crises stem largely from systemic corruption under Frelimo. It has prioritised political elites over national welfare. Its decades of mismanagement, embezzlement and patronage have left institutions weak and unable to address pressing social and economic issues.
The country is fragmented. The government has neglected the development of inclusive, accountable governance and equitable infrastructure. Regional disparities are the result. This is especially so in Cabo Delgado province, where disenfranchised citizens have become vulnerable to extremist groups.
This lack of unity and long-term planning has created a fragile state unable to withstand mounting internal and external pressures.
As a Mozambican social scientist and human rights specialist, I have spent my adult life wrestling with my country’s complex economic, social, cultural and political dynamics.
Mozambique stands at a critical point. The new president must confront the deep-rooted challenges with determination and comprehensive reforms.
In my view, the new leader faces nine key challenges. These are a deep economic crisis, an Islamic insurgency in the north, climate change, drug trafficking, unemployment, corruption, poor infrastructure, kidnappings and unpaid public sector salaries.
Economic crisis
Mozambique’s economy has deteriorated, primarily because of structural imbalances and a dependence on extractive industries. GDP growth has declined sharply, from 7% in 2014 to 1.8% in 2023.
Slower growth has resulted in over 62% of Mozambicans living in poverty.
This has limited the state’s capacity to invest in education, health and sanitation.
Economic revival must be accompanied by targeted interventions to promote inclusive growth. All Mozambicans must benefit from economic activities to alleviate poverty.
Insurgency
Since 2017, extremist groups have used local grievances and regional disenfranchisement to destabilise northern Mozambique. Over 4,000 people have died. Nearly a million have been displaced.
The conflict is rooted in socio-economic inequalities, made worse by the extraction of natural gas and rubies. Global and local actors compete for control.
The new president’s role in mediating this crisis requires nuance. He must address the historical marginalisation of Cabo Delgado while balancing military and developmental responses.
He must also write a new chapter in the country’s deplorable human rights record. This is marked by widespread violations of the right to life, physical integrity, freedom from arbitrary detention, and freedoms of expression, assembly and the press.
Deforestation has made it more fragile, reducing its capacity to mitigate flood and erosion risks.
The new president will need to put in place policies that incorporate mitigation and adaptation strategies. He will also need to secure multilateral cooperation.
Drug trafficking
Drug trafficking networks have entrenched themselves. Porous borders, weak governance structures and endemic corruption have made Mozambique a corridor for heroin and cocaine trafficking.
Tackling the problem requires stronger state institutions. It also requires regional and global collaboration to disrupt the transnational flow of narcotics.
Policies promoting vocational training and entrepreneurship are essential. So is investment in labour-intensive sectors, such as agriculture and manufacturing.
Corruption
Pervasive corruption erodes public trust and stifles economic innovation. New efforts to combat corruption must go beyond superficial reforms. They must uproot the power structures that sustain these systems.
Poor infrastructure
Infrastructure is in disrepair. Urban roads are crumbling, public services are inadequate and electricity blackouts are frequent. Rural regions lack basic services such as clean water and healthcare.
The next president will need to launch an ambitious infrastructure overhaul to improve living conditions and stimulate economic growth.
Kidnappings
Kidnappings, especially targeting the wealthy and business people, have created widespread fear and instability. The crime disrupts business operations and deters foreign investment, further harming economic growth.
The high-profile nature of kidnappings suggests collusion between criminal networks and law enforcement as well as inefficiencies in the justice system.
The persistence of kidnappings reflects broader governance issues. These include limited state capacity to respond effectively to organised crime.
Unpaid public servants
Delays in salary payments for public servants have worsened economic and social problems. The delays reduce public workers’ purchasing power. This has affected household consumption and local economies.
Morale among employees is sapped, harming productivity and eroding trust in government institutions.
The new president must make public sector reforms. This includes auditing finances, improving revenue collection, enforcing fiscal discipline, promoting merit-based appointments, implementing probity laws, strengthening anti-corruption bodies, and diversifying the economy.
The future of Mozambique rests on the ability of its next leader to address these profound and intertwined crises. It’s a huge task.
Whoever it is will have to break from the Frelimo mould, reverse the damage done and set the country on a new path of clean governance, peace and inclusive economic growth.
Projects on the Indus River in Pakistan are helping to tackle biodiversity loss. Salik Javed/Shutterstock
When negotiations at Cop15 – the UN’s biodiversity conference – ended in December 2022, many delegates breathed a sigh of relief.
Threatening snowstorms outside the convention centre in Montreal, Canada seemed to lift just as the political weather changed and the long-awaited Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework was agreed. It’s mission: to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 in order to achieve the ultimate goal of a society living in harmony with nature by 2050.
Fast forward two years and governments, businesses, representatives of Indigenous people and local communities, experts from environmental groups such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and scientists will gather for the follow-up Cop16 meeting in Cali, Colombia, from October 21. Many due to attend, including myself, wonder whether the promise made to “halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030” is achievable.
Initial signs are not promising. For starters, no international targets for biodiversity have ever been met.
Only a handful of countries, including China, Canada and France, have submitted new national biodiversity plans demonstrating how they will implement the promises made two years ago. Most countries, including the UK, (that’s more than 80% in total) haven’t submitted their full plans.
Countries can also submit updates for the 23 targets listed in the framework. The UK and others have submitted targets such as promising to reduce the impact of pollution on nature and ensuring that 30% of land is effectively protected in line with the framework.
But crucial questions remain about how those goals will be reached. To make Cop16 effective, three things need to happen.
1. Decide on a plan
When delegates gather in Cali, questions of implementation will be front and centre of the negotiations. The first challenge is that the approach for monitoring progress on all 23 targets – including issues such as improving access to nature in cities, reducing harmful subsidies and restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems – is yet to be agreed.
For some, the approach that has been developed so far lacks ambition in crucial areas. Indicators suggested for monitoring progress on reducing the impacts of consumption on nature remain very weak for example. For others, it may prove too challenging.
For example, countries with limited access to data might not be able to track alien species or assess how critical services provided by nature to make societies more resilient might be affected by climate change. Getting agreement at the Cop16 negotiations will be vital in order to hold countries to account as the 2030 deadline set to achieve all of the targets approaches.
2. Find the funds
Another crucial issue is funding: who will pay for the action required? The global biodiversity framework fund (GBFF) was established in 2023 to provide financial support.
Yet so far, it has only attracted contributions of around US$230 billion (£176 billion) from a small group of countries including Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan and Spain. Leaders gathering in Cali, and especially those from developing countries, are calling for more funding and for greater control over how it is allocated.
The next UN biodiversity conference will be held in Cali, Columbia from October 21 to November 1. Tudoran Andrei/Shutterstock
In Montreal, countries agreed to make sure that the impacts on nature were considered across different policy areas (such as building new roads or developing new energy sources) and in economic sectors, from fishing to agriculture and mining to tech.
They agreed that groups most likely to be affected by the loss of nature, including Indigenous people and local communities, women and youth, should help make key decisions. While targets such as protecting 30% of the land and sea for nature are crucial, progress will only happen if nature is put on everyone’s bottom line.
Delivering real change
The urgent need for action is not lost on delegates gathering in Cali. There is a real risk that the promise countries made in Montreal to deliver “transformative action by governments, and regional and local authorities, with the involvement of all of society” won’t be met.
But there are some hopeful signs of transformative change to conserve and restore nature and ensure its sustainable use.
Take, for example, the Tree Equity Partnership in Detroit, US. This partnership between the city, US-based charity American Forests and the local non-profit charity Greening of Detroit aims to plant 75,000 trees. This will create places of beauty, biodiversity and climate resilience in underserved neighbourhoods and generate 300 new jobs in the city.
In Pakistan, the Living Indus initiative is an umbrella organisation that has identified 25 projects involving local and regional governments, businesses and communities working together to restore the ecological health of the Indus river.
Businesses are also calling for real change. More than 170 investors have signed a pledge developed by a coalition of financial institutions called the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation to take action for nature across their portfolios.
New science-based standards are being developed to drive the mainstreaming of biodiversity action through their companies and associated supply chains. Cop16 is expected to see increased interest from the private sector and a focus on tackling climate change and biodiversity together.
These projects are successfully tackling the root causes of global biodiversity loss. They integrate solutions and deal with social and environmental issues – poverty and exploitation, climate risks and land use change. Tackling these problems is just as vital as the need for sustainable production and consumption plus investment that works for, not against, nature.
Projects such as these are the ones that give scientists and conservationists like me – and organisations like WWF that I work with – hope. We want to see more projects that take action on nature, climate and social justice together. If Cop16 can make even a small step in this direction, the world will be travelling towards making real progress by the end of this decade.
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Harriet Bulkeley receives funding from the European Commission and currently serves as an advisor to the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Martin Lang, Senior Lecturer and Programme Leader in Fine Art , University of Lincoln
Leap Year, a new exhibition of work by South Korean artist Haegue Yang at the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery, is a bold and diverse display of contemporary art, mixing materials and ideas in unexpected ways.
Those with a knowledge of art history over the last 70 years, like me, will appreciate how Yang plays with and combines various art traditions. For example, her use of LED, neon strip-lights, steel, text, projected video and even smell are deliberate references to materials commonly used in contemporary art.
Yang’s art isn’t particularly “Korean”, but why should it be? Like many artists from around the world, Yang has been influenced by western pop culture. Coca-Cola and Hollywood movies have been as much part of life in South Korea since the Korean war as in Britain. While some see this as a downside of globalisation, many in South Korea embrace these influences, seeing them as a sign of progress. This fusion of cultures is a fact of life for Yang, and it runs through her art.
In the wall text at the exhibition, Yang claims to have developed a “culturally hybrid visual language”. Her work references modernism, minimalism and conceptual art. Large black-and-white photo collages that bring to mind early 20th-century dada art (a post-war movement that was anti-bourgeois and often satirical and nonsensical) provide the backdrop for sculptures mounted on wheeled frames, reminiscent of stage sets or even fairground rides.
Another resembles a shower cubicle, but with grab handles on the outside. The title, Sol LeWitt Vehicle, points to the conceptual artist Sol LeWitt. Geometric floor patterns recall the work of Gabriel Orozco, another well-known contemporary artist. In one room, the walls are painted in a blue that’s close to Yves Klein’s famous International Klein Blue (a shade of pure ultramarine he claimed to have invented and which features in his most famous works), although the paint was sourced locally by gallery staff.
Connecting with tradition
Yang is particularly interested in the ways contemporary art connects with older folk and craft traditions. For example, she explores weaving practices from different cultures, even working with Filipino artisans. These pieces sit alongside Reflected Red-Blue Cubist Dancing Mask, a sculpture that takes inspiration from how early cubist artists saw African masks as pure aesthetic objects, rather than ritualistic tools.
Yang’s interpretation has wheels and handles, allowing it to be worn and used performatively, restoring its function, but with a modernist aesthetic twist.
Her interest in folk traditions goes deeper. During the COVID lockdown in Seoul, she began exploring paper cutting, a traditional Korean craft often linked with shamanic rituals. From there, she expanded her research to include paper-cutting practices from other parts of the world, like wycinanki from eastern Europe and amate from Mexico.
In her Mesmerising Mesh series, she uses traditional Korean paper (hanji), as well as Japanese washi and graph paper, to create intricate collages. The wooden structures she builds around these works resemble shrines from different cultures. Though some viewers might think of them as something more familiar, like the decor in a western Chinese restaurant. In fact, these designs were inspired by the Hmong people of Southeast Asia.
In the west, since the second world war, the idea of universal art has often been viewed as tied to colonialism or cultural dominance, yet we embrace universal ideas like healthcare and human rights as progressive. Yang’s work suggests that art, too, has the power to bridge divides and foster empathy, breaking down barriers between cultures. Art may vary greatly across traditions, but at its core, it speaks to our shared humanity – a message as relevant as ever in our polarised times.
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Martin Lang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, October 16, 2024/APO Group/ —
The African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) and Mastercard are co-chairing a new initiative called Mobilizing Access to the Digital Economy (MADE) Alliance Africa, which aims to provide digital access to critical services for 100 million people and businesses in Africa over the next 10 years. In the first phase of its $300 million commitment to the Alliance’s initial five years of programming, the African Development Bank aims to bring 3 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria into the digital economy via Mastercard Community Pass. Community Pass gives farmers a digital credential to access a network of digital agricultural agents.
Alliance members include Equity Bank Group, Microsoft, Heifer International, Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, Unconnected.org, Yara, Kenya National Farmers’ Federation, Shell Foundation, and CRDB Bank. The Alliance also utilizes financial support from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
For World Food Day, we asked African Development Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, Dr. Beth Dunford, about the possibilities digitalization brings to Africa’s farmers and food systems.
Why did MADE Alliance Africa choose to focus on the digitization of agriculture for smallholder farmers and women as its first initiative, and why do you think the African agriculture sector holds so much potential?
Dunford: Africa is home to 65% of the planet’s remaining uncultivated, arable land, and we believe that agriculture is a critical sector to drive Africa’s development. Agriculture accounts for nearly 60% of total employment in Africa and accounts for more than 25% of GDP in its low-income countries. Across the continent, there’s no agriculture without women. They provide an estimated 60% to 80% of labor input to the sector. Growth in agriculture is terribly effective compared to many other sectors in lifting people out of poverty, providing degrees of agency to women, feeding Africa’s people, and positioning the continent as a breadbasket to the world.
Our challenge is that the majority of Africa’s food systems producers are smallholder farmers who, simply put, struggle from season to season due to a lack of access to quality inputs like seeds and fertilizer, or access to affordable financing to purchase farming necessities. Africa’s smallholder farmers have various needs that the MADE Alliance Africa can solve by boosting sustainable digital access to critical services. Through the MADE Alliance, Mastercard Community Pass works with local banks to provide digital credentials to millions of smallholder farmers and women. Digital identities are the gateway to accessing digital services and to high-quality inputs. Digitalizing agriculture and the distribution of goods will bring enormous efficiencies to the marketplace, as well as reduce waste and fraud across the ecosystem.
Mastercard’s Community Pass can help establish digital credentials for millions of farmers, bring more transparency to pricing and help them access agricultural inputs. What are the challenges involved in bringing this solution to market, and how can they be overcome?
Dunford: Community Pass is designed to operate in remote and rural communities — often with limited connectivity and energy access. This technology, to adapt a popular phrase, “meets farmers where they are.” However, there are challenges involved in delivering these solutions and connecting smallholder farmers and women to financial institutions — challenges that we believe can be overcome or mitigated through capacity building, infrastructure and new models for governments and the private sector to work together.
To scale these technologies to more farmers in a timely manner, we need to work with farmer cooperatives and networks of member farmers who reap many benefits of doing business as a unit. The challenge is that the majority of farmer cooperatives in Africa are not as operationally efficient as they are in other regions, and the prevalence of digital literacy is relatively low. Africa needs significant investment to educate farmers on how they can benefit from digital technologies to access resources.
MADE Alliance’s digital services can connect farmers to new buyers and suppliers who are physically far away, but costs to transport goods to market remain a barrier. Critically, farmers and women need digital devices and reliable connectivity to take advantage of the digital economy.
Can you talk a little more about how the MADE Alliance will benefit women?
Dunford: Roughly half of Africa’s smallholder farmers are women, with the majority of agriculture sector labor carried out by women. However, compared to their male counterparts, female farmers struggle to create a sustainable livelihood in agriculture because they are less likely to own property titles or other assets often needed to access financial services. Women farmers have less access to information and extension services, and they lack access to inputs such as seeds and fertilizers. They are disproportionately impacted by climate risks. Collectively, these challenges result in women farmers typically producing up to 20% to 30% less output than male farmers.
Community Pass helps women make farming a sustainable livelihood by enabling access to critical service providers like banks and agricultural buyers, as well as creating transparency.
Women are the backbone of African economies, and investing in women entrepreneurs fosters women’s empowerment and agency over decisions around business, family and community. Investing in Africa’s women entrepreneurs is smart economics. Investing in Africa’s women has been a cornerstone of the Bank’s work. In fact, no Bank project or program will receive Bank financing unless it details how it will benefit women.
The venue of the 2024 World Agri-food Innovation Conference (WAFI 2024) is seen in Beijing, capital of China, Oct 11, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] A global panel of agrarians has called for the innovation-driven green transition of the world’s agri-food system, as part of efforts to curb carbon emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change on food production. While some food-producing regions have initially benefited from warmer weather, the substantial uncertainties caused by global warming are disrupting agriculture across Asia, Africa and South America, the experts said. They made the remarks on the sidelines of the 2024 World Agri-Food Innovation Conference, held in Beijing earlier this month. The event was organized by China Agricultural University. Sun Qixin, president of China Agricultural University and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, told China Daily that mainstream models indicate a 6 to 8 percent decrease in food production for every 1 C increase in global temperatures, unless technological innovations are introduced to alleviate these effects. “However, the impact of a warmer climate is not uniform across the globe,” he said. Despite instances of warmer and wetter climate boosting food production in some areas that were previously cold and prone to drought, the sudden and extreme shifts in weather patterns are causing widespread disruptions in food production globally, Sun noted. Given that the green transition necessitates a substantial reduction in agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, it is crucial to invest in research and technological innovations to ensure that these reforms do not result in decreased output, Sun said. “We must proceed in this direction despite the challenges,” he added. An estimate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations body for evaluating climate science, showed that the agri-food sector, covering the entire cycle from food cultivation to consumption, contributes one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Fu Wenge, a professor at China Agricultural University, said that innovations facilitating green transition do not always require groundbreaking scientific discoveries, adding that sometimes, minor and cost-effective reforms in management models and other fields can bring significant changes. Fu cited the university’s Science and Technology Backyard project, which encourages students to live and work alongside smallholding farmers in rural areas as part of their education programs. The arrangement aims to help promote high-yield crop varieties and environmentally friendly farming practices among rural farming communities. “This model has been implemented in Africa and other regions,” he said. Ismahane Elouafi, executive managing director of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, or CGIAR, a global partnership that unites research groups for a food-secure future, said that the green transition could be achieved through innovations that span technological, policy and institutional levels and include models for countries to work together. “The impact of climate change is multiplying every day, and the only way forward for us is to adopt innovation in its broad sense to really transform the agriculture system,” she said. The experts also called for greater awareness of increasing food production with reduced carbon footprint and more care for the environment. Patrick Caron, vice-chair of the CGIAR system board, said that humans have managed to increase food production throughout history, as living conditions improved and consumption patterns changed. “However, at the moment, we are looking at the increase of production with a different angle,” he said, referring to greater care to avoid climate change and degradations of land, water and biodiversity. Makers of food policy point to China as a source of hope amid the gloomy outlook of increasing food insecurity worldwide, citing the country’s ambitious goal to boost its annual food production capacity to approximately 700 million metric tons by 2030, up from the 695 million tons in 2023. Elouafi, the CGIAR executive managing director, said, “I think China really is a bright spot in the global picture, and not only in increasing productivity in a very smart way, but also in reducing poverty and hunger.” Despite a recent reversal in global progress, the world made significant strides in alleviating hunger and poverty between 2000 and 2017, largely because of China’s efforts, she said. Elouafi noted that China’s adoption of technologies and innovations in the agri-food sector, along with its initiatives to enhance rural incomes, played a pivotal role in the success. Wednesday marked World Food Day, which has been celebrated annually on Oct 16 since 1981 to raise awareness and promote action for fighting hunger and ensuring food security for all. At a news conference on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that as the world’s largest food producer, China attaches great importance to global food security. “China has provided more funding and experts and undertaken more projects than any other developing country under the framework of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s South-South Cooperation Programme,” she said. Mao added that China is willing to continue strengthening cooperation on food security with all parties to strive for a world free of hunger.
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
Full Text: Remarks by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
ISLAMABAD, Oct. 17 — Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday delivered a speech at the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The following is the full text of the speech:
Remarks by H.E. Li Qiang
Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
At the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of
Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Islamabad, October 16, 2024
Your Excellency Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif,
Colleagues,
It is a great pleasure to meet you in Islamabad, the beautiful “city of gardens.” At the outset, I wish to express my appreciation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the government of Pakistan for your meticulous preparations and thoughtful arrangements for this meeting. I welcome Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko of Belarus, a new member state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Over the past year, governments of the member states of the SCO have actively responded to and implemented the common understandings of the Council of Heads of State, carried out solid cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, security and people-to-people exchanges, reached dozens of cooperation documents, and formulated more than 10 reform measures. Fruitful outcomes have been achieved. The member states have forged ahead steadily and side by side on a collective journey to promote security and development. Unlike most international organizations, the SCO has both a Council of Heads of State and a Council of Heads of Government. As it happens, the specific institutional design, with the Council of Heads of State drawing up the blueprint and the Council of Heads of Government focusing on implementation, has been effective, practical and efficient, and has made the SCO an important platform for maintaining peace and stability in the region and promoting development and prosperity of nations.
At the Astana Summit held last July, President Xi Jinping and fellow leaders of member states reached important understandings on jointly building a common home of the SCO featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice. This endeavor to build a common home is driven by the values we all share; it focuses on the tough issues we all face, and will help create a future we all desire. In my view, this common vision entails efforts in the following five aspects:
First, efforts to build an even more solid political foundation. The fundamental reason why the SCO has stayed vibrant since its inception is that we have upheld the Shanghai Spirit, a vital political consensus, and endeavored to be trustworthy and reliable partners for each other. No matter how the international landscape may evolve, SCO cooperation in various fields will move forward steadily as long as the Shanghai Spirit remains entrenched.
Second, efforts to provide more reliable security safeguards. As we speak, geopolitical conflicts, power politics and acts of bullying continue to undermine regional peace and stability, while on such fronts as cyber security and biosecurity, new threats and new challenges continue to emerge. No country is immune, and the only true security is security for all. Only by further improving the mechanisms and tools to tackle threats and challenges can we provide better safeguards for common development.
Third, efforts to foster closer economic bonds. The SCO’s continuous expansion of membership in recent years has created more notable economic complementarity among member states. By deepening our economic ties, resisting external attempts of pulling us apart, and tapping into and pooling our respective strengths in resources, market and industries, we will be able to foster even stronger synergy for development.
Fourth, efforts to cultivate stronger emotional bonds. Our region is home to diverse and splendid civilizations, where different nations and cultures have interacted and converged with each other throughout the course of history and coexisted in harmony. This has been the source of popular support for cooperation among SCO member states. We need to further promote mutual learning among civilizations and cultural exchanges so as to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the people of SCO member states.
Fifth, efforts to boost coordination in multilateral fora. Embracing 26 countries from three continents, the SCO family is a constructive force that carries important global influence. With our commitment to the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, and our enhanced communication and coordinated actions, SCO member states will better rally the developing world in promoting a more just and equitable global order.
As president of the SCO for 2024-2025, China has introduced “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move” as our slogan. The goal is to engender effective actions among ourselves to deliver on the agreement of our heads of state and realize the vision of building a common home featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice. In this connection, China proposes the following four points.
First, enhancing strategic synergy for our shared purpose. Pursuing peaceful development is the abiding purpose of the SCO. We should stay grounded in the fundamental and long-term interests of the region, bear in mind the big picture and keep external disruptions at bay. Our best efforts must be directed toward mapping out the SCO’s development strategy for the next decade and drawing up roadmaps for cooperation in various areas. Member states should step up strategic communication, bridge differences and boost mutual trust through dialogue, and pool strengths for unity.
Second, expanding practical cooperation in line with development needs. The year 2025 will be the SCO Year of Sustainable Development. China stands ready to deepen cooperation with all sides in poverty reduction, digital economy and green development, to generate sustained momentum for development. We should continue to draw impetus from openness and cooperation, boost the region’s trade and investment facilitation and connectivity, and maintain stable and smooth industrial and supply chains. Active efforts should be made to establish an SCO development bank in order to provide financing support for countries in their pursuit of development.
Third, proactively addressing major risks. Our region continues to face grave security issues. The fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism remains a long-term, arduous task, and various challenges lie ahead in such areas as safeguarding information security and combating transnational organized crime. China stands ready to work with all sides to strengthen intelligence sharing and joint operations, move faster to build a universal center to address the challenges and threats to the security of SCO member states and the Anti-Drug Center, and strive for major outcomes at next year’s summit, so that we can put in place new platforms and a new architecture for regional security cooperation.
Fourth, expanding people-to-people exchange to meet popular expectations. We should fully leverage the role of the SCO Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, develop an effective SCO digital education alliance, organize excellent events under our flagship programs such as the Forum on People-to-People Friendship and the Forum on Friendship Cities, the Forum on Women, and the Art Exhibition of Young Artists, and increase our peoples’ participation and sense of fulfillment, to keep people-to-people friendship strong for generations to come.
Colleagues,
As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “Those who take real actions are more likely to succeed, and those who hit the road are more likely to reach the destination.” Let’s continue to carry forward the Shanghai Spirit, pull together, and take practical and determined steps. Let’s get on the move to deliver on our responsibility, build prosperity and usher in a better future for our common home.
Poverty is a global plague, affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world.
But poverty is not inevitable. It is the direct result of the choices that societies and governments make — or fail to make.
This year’s theme reminds us that people mired in poverty contend with societal discrimination and systemic barriers that make it more difficult to access vital services and support.
Ending global poverty — and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals — requires governments shaping institutions and systems that put people first.
It demands that we prioritize investments in decent work, learning opportunities and social protection that offer ladders out of poverty.
And it calls on us to fully implement the new Pact for the Future by supporting an SDG Stimulus and reforming the global financial architecture to help developing countries invest in their people.
Eradicating poverty is an essential foundation for humane, dignified societies that leave no one behind.
On this important day, let’s re-commit to making poverty history.
***** La pauvreté est un fléau mondial qui touche des centaines de millions de personnes à travers la planète.
Toutefois, elle n’est pas une fatalité. Elle résulte directement des choix que font, ou ne font pas, les sociétés et les États.
Le thème de cette année nous rappelle que les personnes en proie à la pauvreté sont confrontées à des discriminations sociétales et à des obstacles systémiques qui les empêchent d’accéder à l’aide et aux services essentiels.
Pour éliminer la pauvreté dans le monde et atteindre les objectifs de développement durable, il faut que les États se dotent d’institutions et de systèmes qui placent les gens au cœur de leur action.
Il convient d’investir en premier lieu dans le travail décent, l’apprentissage et la protection sociale, véritables marchepieds pour sortir de la pauvreté.
Il convient enfin de mettre pleinement en œuvre le nouveau Pacte pour l’avenir, en soutenant le plan de relance des objectifs de développement durable et en réformant l’architecture financière internationale afin d’aider les pays en développement à investir dans leur population.
L’éradication de la pauvreté est indispensable à l’édification de sociétés humaines et dignes où personne n’est laissé de côté.
En ce jour important, redisons notre détermination à faire de la pauvreté une histoire ancienne.
overty is a global plague, affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world.
But poverty is not inevitable. It is the direct result of the choices that societies and governments make — or fail to make.
This year’s theme reminds us that people mired in poverty contend with societal discrimination and systemic barriers that make it more difficult to access vital services and support.
Ending global poverty — and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals — requires governments shaping institutions and systems that put people first.
It demands that we prioritize investments in decent work, learning opportunities and social protection that offer ladders out of poverty.
And it calls on us to fully implement the new Pact for the Future by supporting an SDG Stimulus and reforming the global financial architecture to help developing countries invest in their people.
Eradicating poverty is an essential foundation for humane, dignified societies that leave no one behind.
On this important day, let’s re-commit to making poverty history.
***** La pauvreté est un fléau mondial qui touche des centaines de millions de personnes à travers la planète.
Toutefois, elle n’est pas une fatalité. Elle résulte directement des choix que font, ou ne font pas, les sociétés et les États.
Le thème de cette année nous rappelle que les personnes en proie à la pauvreté sont confrontées à des discriminations sociétales et à des obstacles systémiques qui les empêchent d’accéder à l’aide et aux services essentiels.
Pour éliminer la pauvreté dans le monde et atteindre les objectifs de développement durable, il faut que les États se dotent d’institutions et de systèmes qui placent les gens au cœur de leur action.
Il convient d’investir en premier lieu dans le travail décent, l’apprentissage et la protection sociale, véritables marchepieds pour sortir de la pauvreté.
Il convient enfin de mettre pleinement en œuvre le nouveau Pacte pour l’avenir, en soutenant le plan de relance des objectifs de développement durable et en réformant l’architecture financière internationale afin d’aider les pays en développement à investir dans leur population.
L’éradication de la pauvreté est indispensable à l’édification de sociétés humaines et dignes où personne n’est laissé de côté.
En ce jour important, redisons notre détermination à faire de la pauvreté une histoire ancienne.
Manila, Philippines, 17 October 2024 – According to a new report released today, countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region experienced the smallest decline in life expectancy during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other WHO regions. Life expectancy in the Western Pacific fell by only 0.07 years during 2020-21, a minimal drop compared to the global average decline of 1.7 years. The Western Pacific now has the highest life expectancy among WHO’s six regions, rising from 72.0 years in 2000 to 77.4 years in 2021.
However, despite this progress, the Region – comprising 37 countries and areas across Asia and the Pacific – is still grappling with critical challenges and is off-track in achieving the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are the global goals adopted by world leaders to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity by 2030. The new WHO report, Health statistics in the Western Pacific Region 2023: Monitoring health for the SDGs, highlights advancements made across the Region while also emphasizing the urgent need for action. The report shows that while the COVID-19 pandemic may have done less damage to life expectancy in the Western Pacific than other regions, it nevertheless exacerbated health inequalities and disrupted progress in other areas.
Noncommunicable diseases on the rise
While infectious diseases and injuries were previously major causes of illness and death in the Western Pacific, the Region is undergoing a significant epidemiological shift. Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer now account for nearly nine in 10 deaths. While the probability of premature death from NCDs has declined in the Region by over 25% since 2000, major challenges remain. Moreover, the Region is experiencing rapid population ageing. There are now more than 245 million people aged 65 and older in the Region – a number that is projected to double by 2050. And many older people are living with NCDs.
A major risk factor for NCDs is alcohol and tobacco use. Consumption of alcohol in the Region has risen by 40% since 2000. Despite a decline from 7.2 litres per capita per year in 2015 to 6.1 litres in 2019, the overall increase highlights an ongoing concern for public health. Similarly, although tobacco use declined from 28.0% of adults smoking in 2000 to 22.5% in 2022, this was still above the global average of 20.9%.
Mental health issues are also taking their toll on the population, with alarmingly high suicide rates in some countries of the Western Pacific Region, influenced by factors such as stigma, limited access to mental health services and socioeconomic challenges.
Climate- and environment-related health concerns are yet another major challenge. While air pollution in urban areas of the Region was found to have decreased from 2010 to 2019, air quality levels are still much worse than the WHO-recommended levels. Populations living in urban areas are therefore continuing to breathe unhealthy air.
Mixed progress towards universal health coverage
Universal health coverage (UHC) is another important SDG target for which the Western Pacific Region has had mixed progress. The UHC service coverage index measures access to essential health services such as reproductive, maternal, newborn and child care, and prevention and treatment services for both NCDs and infectious diseases. Over the past 20 years, the overall UHC service coverage index in the Western Pacific increased impressively, from 49 to 79 points out of 100 between 2000 and 2021. However, people’s ability to access health-care services varies greatly across the Region. In some countries, the UHC service coverage index score is as low as 30, meaning many people struggle to access basic health care, while in others, it exceeds 80, indicating a much higher level of service availability and coverage. Despite these advancements, progress has slowed and stagnated since the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, and particularly since 2019.
Despite the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases, access to essential health services for NCDs did not improve significantly, increasing only slightly from 52 points in 2000 to 58 points in 2010. Even more troubling, there has been no further progress since 2010, and access to services remains low, particularly in Pacific island countries and areas.
In contrast, access to services for infectious diseases improved significantly, rising from just 18 points in 2000 to 82 points in 2021. Immunization coverage for the WHO-recommended three doses against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, or DTP3, showed mixed results from 2000 to 2023: coverage increased in 15 countries, while four countries experienced no change and eight saw a decrease.
In the Western Pacific Region, average health spending has increased substantially, tripling from around US$ 383 per person in 2000 to US$ 1336 in 2021. On average, health spending accounted for 6.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) at country level in 2000, and rose to 8.2% by 2021. However, despite efforts to increase public spending for health, the proportion of people in the Western Pacific experiencing catastrophic health expenditure − defined as spending more than 10% of their income on health-care − has nevertheless doubled, rising from 9.9% in 2000 to 19.8% in 2019.
Critical action needed to achieve SDGs
“While we celebrate the significant health gains that the Western Pacific Region has achieved, we must also acknowledge urgent challenges in sustaining progress,” said Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific. “We are living longer than ever, and more than any other region of the world, but this isn’t enough. We’re off-track to meet many of the SDG targets, and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated health disparities. Now is the time for concerted action to address these issues. We look forward to working with health leaders from across the Region next week to finalize our new vision to weave health for families, communities and societies.”
New vision for health in the Region
Ministers of health and other senior officials are preparing for discussions at the seventy-fifth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in Manila on 21−25 October 2024. The meeting will focus on the most pressing health needs in the Region and chart a course to address them.
Weaving health for families, communities and societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025-2029): Working together to improve health, well-being and save lives is the proposed new vision for the Region. The vision centres on the analogy of weaving a mat – a traditional activity across Asia and the Pacific – symbolizing the collaborative efforts required by WHO, governments and partners to improve population health and well-being. The vision centres on five vertical strands of action led by governments interwoven with three horizontal strands of action by WHO.
The five vertical strands of action led by governments, working with WHO and other stakeholders include:
Transformative primary health care for UHC Climate-resilient health systems Resilient communities, societies and systems for health security Healthier people throughout the life course Technology and innovation for future health equity.
The three horizontal strands of action by WHO are:
Country offices equipped with skills for scaling up and innovation Nimble support teams in the Regional Office Effective communication for public health.
These strands reflect the reality that the Western Pacific Region faces complex health challenges that cannot be addressed by the health sector alone. Achieving the goals of SDG 3 − Good health and well-being – will require a concerted effort from multiple sectors. Social determinants of health, including education, housing, employment, social protection, gender equality and the environment, significantly impact health outcomes. Therefore, collaboration between the health, education, urban planning, agriculture and environmental sectors, to name but a few, is crucial. Collaboration can create synergies and co-benefits for all these sectors while accelerating progress towards achieving SDG 3.
“The commitment of governments, WHO and partners to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is a commitment to health and well-being for all,” added Dr Piukala. “We must work together to ensure that no one is left behind as we weave a healthier future.”
In addition to the vision, the Regional Committee will also consider new regional action frameworks on digital health and on health financing to achieve UHC and sustainable development. There will be panel discussions on climate-resilient health-care facilities, transformative primary health care and oral health, as well as a special event on the Investment Round to resource WHO’s work for 2025–2028.
Notes:
The seventy-fifth session of the Western Pacific Regional Committee will run from Monday, 21 October through Friday, 25 October, at the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific in Manila, Philippines. The Agenda and timetable are available online. A livestream of proceedings, all other official documents, as well as fact sheets and videos on the issues to be addressed can be accessed here. For real-time updates, follow @WHOWPRO on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube and the hashtag #RCM75.
Working with 194 Member States across six regions, WHO is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for public health. Each WHO region has its regional committee – a governing body composed of ministers of health and senior officials from Member States. Each regional committee meets annually to agree on health actions and to chart priorities for WHO’s work.
The WHO Western Pacific Region is home to more than 1.9 billion people across 37 countries and areas: American Samoa (United States of America), Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia (France), Guam (United States of America), Hong Kong SAR (China), Japan, Kiribati, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Macao SAR (China), Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, New Caledonia (France), New Zealand, Niue, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (United States of America), Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Pitcairn Islands (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the Republic of Korea, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna (France).
Related links:
Health statistics in the Western Pacific Region 2023: Monitoring health for the SDGs Draft vision Weaving health for families, communities and societies in the Western Pacific Region (2025−2029): Working together to improve health and well-being and save lives WHO data on progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) Other WHO data which can be searched by country.
A new centre dedicated to developing and uplifting the skills of its local community has opened in Collyhurst.
The Community Construction Skills Centre will offer a series of training courses and hands-on classes that will give learners vital work experience and confidence in order to create employment opportunities.
The learning hub, which will advance “community upskilling,” will make Collyhurst residents’ accessibility and travelling needs easier with training delivered on site.
The employability training will take place in a 4-week period and equip learners with accredited qualifications in health and safety and construction skills, including Trade Techniques and Health Safety and Welfare in the Workplace. Over 50 new students are expected to enrol on training courses running up until December.
The centre boasts a unique training model that is adaptable to people who are unemployed, ex-offenders and ex-military members as part of learning basic, but crucial DIY skills to increase employability.
The Community Construction Skills Centre project was initiated in partnership with FECand Manchester City Council who identified the need for construction skills to support local people to access training into the sector.
Working in collaboration with YES and the Construction Skills People and their Greater Manchester Skills Academy, the project first opened to students in September as part of wider investment through the Victoria North Development. The project will significantly transform and advance the North of Manchester by developing 15,000 homes over the next 20 years with new and improved transport links, parks, healthcare facilities and retail spaces.
The region has been hit the hardest by unemployment and mental-health related illness. Long-term and embedded worklessness has affected over 16,500 working-age adults receiving out-of-work benefits.
In Manchester, workers are on low wages with a median annual earning of £24,055 while the worst family poverty rates are in North Manchester and East Manchester with over 43% of children and young people growing up in poverty.
To ensure training at the Community Skills Centre continues to work for the needs of Collyhurst residents, the model has been localised which means that partner groups are required to undertake employability assessments and adequately advise and support those who want to take part in training.
Following this, successful candidates will be invited to attend civil engineering and groundworks Bootcamps which will enhance employability and training with the Ride on Roller, Forward Tipping Dumper and Plant Vehicle Marshall certifications.
There are also opportunities to undertake trade specific training such as Bricklaying, Plastering and Joinery, while being guaranteed an interview with local contractors.
Community days will also be held at the centre to encourage residents to learn new skills such as painting preparation and general DIY.
More information about training opportunities at the Community Construction Skills Centre is available at Construction Skills People.
John Hacking, Executive Member for Employment, Skills and Leisure, said: “I’m thrilled to see the opening of the Community Skills Centre in Collyhurst which has been created to upskill residents and build confidence as they enter into the workforce.
“This has been a significant collaborative effort with important partners who are all working towards the same goal of advancing Collyhurst residents and fully recognise the struggle the North Manchester region has had to deal with poverty and unemployment.
“By increasing the accessibility for hands-on training, this centre gives eager learners the encouragement and support they need to work through the training to employment pipeline with robust skills and confidence.”
Rebecca Kirkland, Community Liaison Manager for FEC, said: “The Community Construction Skills Centre will provide local residents with a first hand insight into the construction industry and give them access to unique employment opportunities.
The Centre has been in the works for a long time and we couldn’t have opened its doors without the support of our partners who will continue to help us find the next generation of talent from right across the community.”
James Broome, 38, from Moston, said: “The Collyhurst Community Skills Centre has been a brilliant learning experience. I’m in the final week of training for a CSCS Greencard which is giving me important skills in labouring. Once I’ve completed that I will then go on to train for the Bootcamp Dump Truck License.
“The course has been really helpful, it’s opened my eyes and broadened my horizons massively. My tutor on the course is fantastic; she’s really clear and easy to understand when she’s teaching and is also helping me write my CV for jobs.
I’ve been working in production and in warehouses too so my confidence has really grown with my hands-on skills and with all the different types of people you meet, it has really boosted my self-esteem socially.
“For anyone considering joining a course, I’d say give it a go and throw yourself into it to get the most out of it.”
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty:
“Today, on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, we stand united to build a world where poverty is not just reduced, but eradicated. A world where every person has the chance to live in dignity, security, and comfort.
“Reducing poverty and inequality across the country starts with building more affordable housing. Earlier this year, we launched our ambitious Housing Plan, which is helping build more affordable homes, faster, and addressing chronic homelessness, especially in underserved communities. Since 2019, the Reaching Home program has supported thousands of projects that have helped over 87,600 people across the country find a stable home and over 148,500 others receive homelessness prevention services, such as short-term rental assistance or help settling disputes with landlords.
“The Canadian Dental Care Plan is helping millions of uninsured Canadians access affordable dental care – and 750,000 people have already received care. Our new National School Food Program will be getting healthy school meals to kids. This Friday, parents across the country will see the monthly Canada Child Benefit payment in their bank accounts. The program – which has lifted hundreds of thousands of kids out of poverty – puts money back in the pockets of Canadians. And with initiatives like $10-a-day child care and the upcoming Canada Disability Benefit, we’re making sure Canadians have the extra savings they need for the things that matter most.
“Our commitment extends beyond our borders as well. Canada’s leadership includes our Poverty Reduction Strategy and Feminist International Assistance Policy, our commitment to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and most recently, the adoption of the Pact for the Future last month at the Summit of the Future. Just this year, we contributed nearly $1.3 billion to the International Monetary Fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust to lift countries out of poverty and make the world a better place.
“Canada is steadfast in its commitment to building a future where poverty is eradicated and where every generation is given a fair chance to succeed.”
A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.
The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.
Washington, DC – October 17, 2024:
An International Monetary Fund mission visited Warsaw during October 8-17 in the context of the 2024 Article IV consultation.
Poland’s near-term outlook is positive and has improved relative to last year despite ongoing sluggish growth across Europe and Russia’s war in Ukraine. A consumption-led recovery is underway, and the outlook is further supported by recently unlocked NextGen EU Funds (NGEU). Inflation has declined helped by a tight monetary stance, and its descent to the target range by close to end-2025 is on track, provided prudent policies are maintained. Policy priorities for the near- and medium-term include balancing the mix of monetary and fiscal policy , preserving debt sustainability, while strengthening the economy to face longer-term challenges. Specifically:
• Monetary policy is appropriately tight and interest rate cuts should commence only when there is clear evidence that wage growth is decelerating, and inflation is firmly on track towards the target.
• The medium-term Fiscal Structural Plan is welcome and it targets sufficient cumulative fiscal consolidation by 2028, meeting the EU’s new fiscal rules. The full set of measures to achieve this is yet to be identified.
• Bringing more of the authorities’ medium-term deficit reduction plans up front in 2025 would build more resilience against future shocks, reduce debt, and support more rapid interest rate reductions, which would foster private sector investment and growth while still bringing inflation to target.
• Population ageing, diminishing cost-competitiveness, and climate transition present significant challenges to Poland’s export-driven growth model. Thus, medium-term growthis expected to decline, unless structural reforms are deepened and progress on the energy transition accelerates.
Economic growth is accelerating in 2024 led by recovering domestic demand. Private consumption has picked up as strong nominal wage growth coupled with lower inflation led to a sharp rebound in real wages. Fixed investment also continued its gradual recovery though remaining as a share of GDP below pre-pandemic levels. Net exports, however, are imposing some drag as imports recovered on the back of higher consumption while exports are held back by weak demand from the Euro Area. As a result, growth is expected at 3 percent in 2024 up from around 0 in 2023.
The near-term outlook is positive due to the ongoing cyclical recovery in consumption and investment, and the absorption of EU funds. Growth is expected to accelerate to 3.5 percent in 2025 and 3.4 percent in 2026. Real and nominal wage growth are expected to gradually decelerate, while profits are expected to continue declining as firms have limited capacity to pass-through increases in wage costs into prices given that the output gap remains negative. Stronger consumption, normalization of inventories, lagged impact of the appreciation of the real exchange rate, and release of EU funds are expected to support imports and with it a narrowing in the current account surplus.
Over the medium term, growth is expected to moderate and converge to potential as the support from rebounding consumption and NGEU funds subside. Growth will decelerate to slightly below 3 percent by 2029 as EU-financed investments decline and the population ages. Productivity is expected to modestly recover from the impact of recent labor hoarding. However, productivity growth is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels given that much of the productivity gap with advanced economies has already been closed.
Amidst high uncertainty, risks remain elevated and tilted towards lower growth and higher inflation. A slower-than-expected recovery in the Euro Area, delayed absorption of EU funds, and heightened geopolitical tensions could dampen the recovery. At the same time, risks to inflation remain elevated from the tight labor market against the backdrop of accelerating domestic demand and potential supply-side shocks. There are also upside risks to growth including a stronger-than-expected catalytic role from EU funds on private investment and productivity, a larger-than-expected workforce from higher immigration, and potential nearshoring as a result of geoeconomic fragmentation. Risks are well mitigated by ample foreign exchange reserves, a flexible exchange rate, modest debt levels, and robust financial sector buffers.
Monetary policy is appropriately tight.While the policy rate was kept on hold at 5.75 percent since November 2023, the monetary stance has tightened as inflation expectations declined. This is appropriate because inflation is well above the central bank inflation target. The momentum of core inflation is elevated in the context of strong wages growth amid still-tight labor market and substantial wage increases in the public sector.
Monetary policy should remain tight at least through 2025 with rate cuts commencing only when data and forecasts confirm that inflation is on a clear downward path towards the target. Absent surprises, both core and headline inflation should peak in year-on-year terms before mid-2025, significantly above the target, before moderating around the upper end of the target range of 2.5±1 percent by end-2025. However, uncertainty on the inflation trajectory is substantial, including due to uncertainty regarding energy prices, developments in the labor market, and the pace of economic recovery. While, monetary policy should remain both data-dependent and forward-looking, the current context warrants placing significant weight on realized inflation declining towards the target over several months on the back of decelerating wages. On this basis, there may be scope for limited and gradual policy rate cuts to start around mid-2025.
Near-term growth acceleration presents an opportunity to rebuild buffers and help complete the disinflation process by tightening fiscal policies. The general government (GG) deficit is projected to widen from 5.1 percent of GDP in 2023 to 5.7 percent of GDP in
2024, due to expansionary policies resulting in a fiscal impulse of 0.4 percent of GDP. The 2025 budget targets a slightly lower GG deficit of 5.5 percent of GDP largely owing to higher growth. Staff recommends a tighter fiscal stance by around 0.5 percent of GDP. This can be still achievable within the 2025 budget by saving possible revenue overperformance and limiting non-priority spending. Such a shift would lower debt, thereby rebuilding fiscal space to mitigate against future shocks. It would also lift some of the burden from tight monetary policies to rein in inflation, potentially freeing space for additional policy rate cuts.
Fiscal consolidation should be anchored in a clear medium-term plan to stabilize debt. The recently published Fiscal Structural Plan is an important and welcome step in this regard as it targets appropriate fiscal balances by 2028 – entailing an adjustment of about 2½ percent of GDP from 2024 in terms of the structural fiscal balance – that would allow exiting the EU’s Excessive Deficit Procedure while stabilizing debt at levels close to 60 percent of GDP notwithstanding large increases in spending on defense. Fully identifying the necessary fiscal measures now and bringing more of the planned fiscal consolidation upfront into 2025 would help strengthen its credibility.
Potential measures that would support consolidation while also further reducing inequality include: i) raising Personal Income Tax revenues by increasing progressivity to bring them more in line with EU peers , ii) addressing the preferential and regressive treatment of the self-employed, iii) better targeting of social benefits to more effectively support the vulnerable, iv) raising property tax revenues closer to EU comparators, and v) taxing more non-essential items at the standard VAT rate. In this context, raising the PIT tax-exempt threshold, which is under consideration, would require even stronger consolidation measures to offset the fiscal cost. Finally, aligning the retirement age for men and women and then adjusting it over time in line with longevity would help limit the expected shortfall in pensions’ adequacy over the longer-term.
The authorities have made commendable progress in strengthening the fiscal framework. They have expanded the coverage of the stabilizing expenditure rule and improved oversight over extrabudgetary funds. Establishing a fiscal council as planned would further strengthen accountability and governance.
Financial sector policies should safeguard the nascent credit recovery, building on a robust banking system. Systemic risks to the financial sector have moderated, with the banking sector being well-capitalized and liquid. Past prudential policies have focused on buttressing stability through regulatory tightening. At the same time banks had to face large costs of legal risks and regulatory burdens such as mortgage credit holidays. Together with weak credit demand and serious legal and regulatory uncertainties, this has created further headwinds for new credit resulting in one of the steepest declines in private sector credit-to-GDP in the EU. Moving forward, policy makers should: (i) take into account the impact of possible further tightening of regulations on the nascent credit recovery, while enhancing regulatory stability; (ii) proactively reduce legal risks to financial sector stability, including by exploring legislative solutions; (iii) even the playing field for private sector credit by replacing the bank asset tax in a manner that eliminates the preferential treatment of public debt` and (iv) allow the mortgage credit holiday to expire.
After two decades of impressive income convergence, Poland’s growth model needs to adjust to new economic conditions. Exports, especially to the EU, have played a significant role in Poland’s success. However, sizable real appreciation over the past two years weighs on cost-competitiveness. Meanwhile, the regional growth outlook remains subdued, and geopolitical conflicts and geoeconomic fragmentation present headwinds to penetrating new markets. In addition, shallow domestic capital markets and low savings weigh on investment, with population ageing posing a substantial drag on the future size of the workforce. To sustain growth, policies should focus on: i) deepening capital markets (including steps towards a capital market union within the EU), ii) lowering barriers to resource reallocation (for example by strengthening re-skilling programs for adults), iii) fostering innovation capacity (including by promoting private equity and venture capital), and iv) supporting higher labor participation especially for women (by ensuring adequate child and elderly care). The new program supporting young parents’ return to the labor market aims to address this gap. Building on the successful absorption of refugees from Ukraine into the Polish labor market, ongoing efforts to enhance the integration of immigrants can further help contain labor shortages.
The government’s new decarbonization targets are appropriate; meeting these while safeguarding competitiveness and social cohesion will require strong measures.
Significant progress has been made on climate mitigation, but more is needed given Poland’s costly dependence on coal, which also undercuts competitiveness. The recent draft energy strategy update outlines additional policy targets and measures for bringing emissions in line with EU climate goals. Its success will be supported by EU funds, and depends on removing barriers to private investment in renewable energy, including by adopting EU legislation on faster permitting for green projects, liberalizing regulations for onshore windfarms, and prioritizing NextGen EU funds for expanding electricity grids. Extending carbon pricing to transportation and heating would also be important for reducing emissions; an early and gradual introduction would help limit adjustment costs. The authorities must address social challenges from the climate transition by cushioning the social impact on coal mining regions and reducing energy poverty.
The mission thanks the authorities and other counterparts for the fruitful discussions.
Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kieran Maguire, Senior Teacher in Accountancy and member of Football Industries Group, University of Liverpool
When the Premier League broke away from the rest of English football in 1992, its 22 clubs generated £205 million in its debut season, and the average player earned £2,050 a week. Thirty years later, despite having two fewer clubs, the league’s revenue had increased by 2,850% to £6.1 billion and the average player earned £93,000 a week.
At the heart of this extraordinary growth is an American revolution. In the Premier League’s inaugural season, football was still in recovery from the horrors of the stadium disasters at Hillsborough and Heysel. Owners tended to be from the local area and with a business background. The only foreign owner was Sam Hamman at Wimbledon, a Lebanese millionaire who bought the club on a whim having reportedly been much more interested in tennis. The season ended with Manchester United (under Alex Ferguson) winning the English game’s top league for the first time in 26 years.
Now, if the bid for Everton by the Friedkin Group (TFG) is ratified, 11 of the 20 Premier League clubs will be controlled or part-owned by American investors. The US – long seen as football’s final frontier when it comes to the men’s game – suddenly can’t get enough of English “soccer”.
Four of the Premier League’s “big six” are American-owned – Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea – while a fifth, Manchester City, has a significant US minority shareholding. Aston Villa, Fulham, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Ipswich Town also have varying degrees of American ownership.
And it’s not even just the glamour clubs at the top of the tree. American investment has also been significant lower down the football pyramid, led by the high-profile acquisition of then non-league Wrexham by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny, and Birmingham City’s purchase by US investors including seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady. American investment in football has reached places as geographically diverse as Carlisle and Crawley in England, and Aberdeen and Edinburgh in Scotland.
Manchester United was the first Premier League club to come under American ownership – after a row about a horse.
In 2005, United was owned by a variety of investors including Irish businessmen and racehorse owners John Magnier and J.P. McManus. Their erstwhile friend Ferguson, the United manager, thought he co-owned the champion racehorse Rock of Gibraltar with them – a stallion worth millions in stud rights. They disagreed – and their bitter dispute was such that Magnier and McManus decided to sell their shares in the football club.
The Miami-based Glazer family – already involved in sport as owners of NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – had already been buying up small tranches of shares in United, but the sudden availability of the Irish shares allowed Malcolm Glazer to acquire a controlling stake for £790 million (around £1.5 billion at today’s prices).
The fact Glazer did not actually have sufficient funds to pay for these shares was a solvable problem. In the some-might-say commercially naive world of top-flight English football before the Premier League, Manchester United was a club without debt, paying its way without leveraging its position as one of the world’s most famous football clubs. Glazer saw the opportunity this presented and arranged a leveraged buy-out (LBO), whereby the football club borrowed more than £600 million secured on its own assets to, in effect, “buy itself” in 2005.
Despite the need to meet the high interest costs to fund the LBO, United continued winning trophies under Ferguson – including three Premier League titles in a row in 2007, 2008 and 2009, as well as a Champions League victory in 2008. Amid this success, the club felt that ticket prices were too low and set about increasing them, with matchday revenue increasing from £66 million in 2004/05 to over £101 million by 2007/08.
Commercial income was another area the Glazers were keen to increase. United set up offices in London and adopted a global approach to finding new official branding deals ranging from snacks to tractor and tyre suppliers – doubling revenues from this income source too.
But in this new, more aggressive world of “sweating the asset”, the debts lingered – and most United fans remained deeply suspicious of their American owners. (Following their father’s death in 2014, the club was co-owned by his six children, with brothers Avram and Joel Glazer becoming co-chairmen.)
Today, despite its partial listing on the New York Stock Exchange and the February 2024 sale of 27.7% of the club to British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe for a reputed £1.25 billion, United still has borrowings of more than £546 million, having paid cumulative interest costs of £969 million since the takeover in 2005. But with the club now valued at US$6.55 billion (around £5bn), it represents a very smart investment for the Glazer family.
Indeed, while the prices being paid for football clubs across Europe have reached record levels, they are still seen as cheap investments compared with US sports’ leading franchises. Forbes’s annual list of the world’s most valuable sports teams has American football (NFL), baseball (MLB) and basketball (NBA) teams occupying the top ten positions, with only three Premier League clubs – Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City – in the top 50.
With NFL teams having an average franchise value of US$5.1 billion and NBA $3.9 billion, many English football clubs still look like a bargain from the other side of the pond.
The risk of relegation
The latest to join this US bandwagon, TFG – a Texas-based portfolio of companies run by American businessman and film producer Dan Friedkin – is reported to have offered £400m to buy Everton, despite the club’s poor financial state.
“The Toffees” have been hit by loss of sponsorships as well as two sets of points deductions for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, leading to revenue losses from lower league positions. While the new stadium being built at Liverpool’s Bramley-Moore dock has been yet another financial constraint, it will at least increase matchday income from the start of next season.
Everton’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock will open in time for the start of the 2025-26 season. Phil Silverman / Shutterstock
A wider reason for the relative bargain in valuations of European football clubs is the risk of relegation – something that is not part of the closed leagues of most US sports. While the threat of relegation (and promise of promotion) has always been an integral part of English and European football, the jeopardy this brings for supporters – and a club’s finances – does not exist in the NFL, NBA, Major League Soccer and similar competitions.
The Premier League, with its three relegation spots at the end of each season, has featured 51 different clubs since it launched in 1992. Only six clubs – Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton – have been ever present, with Arsenal now approaching 100 years of consecutive top-flight football.
Other Premier League clubs have experienced the dramatic cost-benefit of relegation and promotion. Oldham Athletic, who were in the Premier League for its first two seasons, now languish in the fifth tier of the game, outside the English Football League (EFL). In contrast, Luton Town, who were in the fifth tier as recently as 2014, were promoted to the Premier League in 2023 – only to be relegated at the end of last season.
While it is difficult to compare football clubs with basketball and American football teams, the financial difference between having an open league, with relegation, and a closed league becomes apparent when you look at women’s football on both sides of the Atlantic.
Angel City, a women’s soccer team based in Los Angeles, only entered the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in 2022 and is yet to win an NWSL trophy. But last month, the club was sold for US$250 million (£188m) to Disney’s CEO Bob Iger and TV journalist Willow Bay – the most expensive takeover in the history of women’s professional sport.
In comparison, Chelsea – seven-time winners of the English Women’s Super League and one of the most successful sides in Europe – valued its women’s team at £150 million ($US196m) earlier this summer. While there are a number of factors to this price differential, the confidence that Angel City will always be a member of the big league of US soccer clubs – and share very equally in its revenue – will have made its new owners very confident in the long-term soundness of their deal.
The story of Angel City FC, the most expensive team in women’s sport.
A further attraction for American investors is the potential to enter two markets – one mature (men’s football) and one effectively a start-up (the women’s game) – in a single purchase. In the US, the top men’s and women’s clubs are completely separate. But in Europe, most top-flight women’s teams are affiliated to men’s clubs – with the exception of eight-time Women’s Champions League winners Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, which split from the French men’s club when Korean-American businesswoman Michele Kang bought a majority stake in the women’s team in February 2024).
While interest in, and hence value of, the WSL is now growing fast, the women’s game in England is dwarfed by viewer ratings for the Premier League – the most watched sporting league in the world, viewed by an estimated 1.87 billion people every week across 189 countries.
These figures dwarf even the NFL which, while currently still the most valuable of all sporting leagues in terms of its broadcasting deals, must be looking at the growth of the Premier League with some jealousy. This may explain why some US franchise owners, such as Stan Kroenke, the Glazer family, Fenway Sports Group and Billy Foley, have subsequently purchased Premier League football clubs.
Ironically, for many spectators around the world, it is the intensity and competitiveness of most Premier League matches – brought on in part by the threat of relegation and prize of European qualification – that makes it so captivating. However, billionaire investors like guaranteed numbers and dislike risk – especially the degree of financial risk that exists in the Premier League and English Football League.
European not-so-Super League
In April 2021, 12 leading European clubs (six from England plus three each from Spain and Italy) announced the creation of the European Super League (ESL). This new mid-week competition was to be a high-revenue generating, closed competition with (eventually) 15 permanent teams and five annual additions qualifying from Europe. According to one of the driving forces behind the plan, Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer:
By bringing together the world’s greatest clubs and players to play each other throughout the season, the Super League will open a new chapter for European football, ensuring world-class competition and facilities, and increased financial support for the wider football pyramid.
The problem facing the Premier League’s “big six” clubs – and their ambitious owners – is there are currently only four slots available to play in the Champions League. So, their thinking went, why not take away the risk of not qualifying? However, the proposal was swiftly condemned by fans around Europe, together with football’s governing bodies and leagues – all of whom saw the ESL proposal as a threat to the quality and integrity of their domestic leagues. Following some large fan protests, including at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, Manchester City was the first club to withdraw – followed, within a couple of days, by the rest of the English clubs.
Under the terms of the ESL proposals, founding member clubs would have been guaranteed participation in the competition forever. Guaranteed participation means guaranteed revenues. The current financial gap between the “big six” and the other members of the Premier League, which in 2022/23 averaged £396 million, would have widened rapidly.
For example, these clubs would have been able to sell the broadcast rights for some of their ESL home fixtures direct to fans, instead of via a broadcaster. All of a sudden, that database of fans who have downloaded the official club app, or are on a mailing list, becomes far more valuable. These are the people most willing to watch their favourite team on a pay-per-view basis, further increasing revenues.
At the same time, a planned ESL wage cap would have stopped players taking all these increased revenues in the form of higher wages, allowing these clubs to become more profitable and their ownership even more lucrative.
American-owned Manchester United and Liverpool had previously tried to enhance the value of their investments during the COVID lockdowns era via ProjectBig Picture – proposals to reduce the size of the Premier League and scrap one of the two domestic cup competitions, thus freeing up time for the bigger clubs to arrange more lucrative tours and European matches against high-profile opposition.
Most importantly, Project Big Picture would have resulted in changing the governance of the domestic game. Under its proposals, the “big six” clubs would have enjoyed enhanced voting rights, and therefore been able to significantly influence how the domestic game was governed.
Any attempt to increase the concentration of power raises concerns of lower competitive balance, whereby fewer teams are in the running to win the title and fewer games are meaningful. This is a problem facing some other major European football leagues including France’s Ligue 1, where interest among broadcasters has dwindled amid the perceived dominance of Paris St-Germain.
So while to date, American-led attempts to change the structure of the Premier League have been foiled, it’s unlikely such ideas have gone away for good. The near-universal fear of fans – even those who welcome an injection of extra cash from a new billionaire owner – is that the spectacle of the league will only be diminished if such plans ever succeed.
And there is evidence from the women’s game that the US closed league format is coming under more pressure from football’s global forces. The NWSL recently announced it is removing the draft system that is designed (as with the NFL and NBA) to build in jeopardy and competitive balance when there is no risk of relegation.
Top US women’s football clubs are losing some of their leading players to other leagues, in part because European clubs are not bound by the same artificial rules of employment. In a truly global professional sport such as football, international competition will always tend to destabilise closed leagues.
Why do they keep buying these clubs?
Does this mean that American and other wealthy owners of Premier League clubs seeking to reduce their risks are ultimately fighting a losing battle? And if so, given the potential risks involved in owning a football club – both financial and even personal – why do they keep buying them?
The motivations are part-financial, part technological and, as has always been the case with sports ownership, part-vanity.
The American economy has grown far faster than that of the EU or UK in recent years. Consequently, there are many beneficiaries of this growth who have surplus cash, and here football becomes an attractive proposition. In fact, football clubs are more resilient to recessions than other industries, holding their value better as they are effectively monopoly suppliers for their fans who have brand loyalty that exists in few other industries.
From 1993 to 2018, a period during which the UK economy more than doubled, the total value of Premier League clubs grew 30 times larger. And many fans are tied to supporting one club, helping to make the biggest clubs more resilient to economic changes than other industries. While football, like many parts of the entertainment industry, was hit by lockdown during Covid, no clubs went out of business, despite the challenges of matches being played in empty stadiums.
Added to this, the exchange rates for US dollars have been very favourable until recently, making US investments in the UK and Europe cheaper for American investors.
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So, while Manchester United fans would argue that the Glazer family have not been good for the club, United has been good for the Glazers. And Fenway Sports Group (FSG), who bought Liverpool for £300 million in 2010, have recouped almost all of that money in smaller share sales while remaining majority owners of Liverpool.
Despite this, the £2.5 billion price paid for Chelsea by the US Clearlake-Todd Boehly consortium in May 2022 took markets by surprise.
The sale – which came after the UK government froze the assets of the club’s Russian oligarch owner, Roman Abramovich, following the invasion of Ukraine – went through less than a year after Newcastle United had been sold by Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley to the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund for £305 million – approximately twice that club’s annual revenues. Yet Clearlake-Boehly were willing to pay over five times Chelsea’s annual revenues to acquire the club, even though it was in a precarious financial position.
Clearlake is a private equity group whose main aim is to make profits for their investors. But unlike most such investors, who tend to focus on cost-cutting, the Chelsea ownership came in with a high-spending strategy using new financial structuring ideas, such as offering longer player contracts to avoid falling foul of football’s profitability and sustainability rules (although this loophole has since been closed with Uefa, European football’s governing body, limiting contract lengths for financial regulation purposes to five years).
Chelsea’s location in the one of the most expensive areas of London, combined with its on-field success under Abramovich, all added to the attraction, of course. But there are other reasons why Clearlake, along with billionaire businessman Boehly, were willing to stump up so much for the club.
From Hollywood to the metaverse
While some British football fans may have viewed the Ted Lasso TV show as an enjoyable if slightly twee fictional account of American involvement in English soccer, it has enhanced the attraction of the sport in the US. So too Welcome To Wrexham – the fly-on-the-wall series covering the (to date) two promotions of Wales’s oldest football club under the unlikely Hollywood stewardship of Reynolds and McElhenney.
Welcome To Wrexham, season one trailer.
The growth in US interest in English football is reflected in the record-breaking Premier League media rights deal in 2022, with NBC Sports reportedly paying $2.7 billion (£2.06bn) for its latest six-year deal.
But as well as football offering one of increasingly few “live shared TV experiences” that carry lucrative advertising slots, there may also be more opportunity for more behind-the-scenes coverage of the Premier League – as has long been seen in US coverage of NBA games, for example, where players are interviewed in the locker room straight after games.
According to Manchester United’s latest annual report, the club now has a “global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers”. Such numbers mean its owners, and many others, are bullish about the potential of the metaverse in terms of offering a matchday experience that could be similar to attending a match, without physically travelling to Manchester.
Their neighbours Manchester City, part-owned by American private equity company Silverlake, broke new (virtual) ground by signing a metaverse deal with Sony in 2022. Virtual reality could give fans around the world the feeling of attending a live match, sitting next to their friends and singing along with the rest of the crowd (for a pay-per-view fee).
Some investors are even confident that advancements in Abba-style avatar technology could one day allow fans to watch live 3D simulations of Premier League matches in stadiums all over the world. Having first-mover advantage by being in the elite club of owners who can make use of such technology could prove ever more rewarding.
More immediately, there are some indications that competitive matches involving England’s top men’s football teams could soon take place in US or other venues. Boehly, Chelsea’s co-owner, has already suggested adopting some US sports staples such as an All-Star match to further boost revenues. Indeed, back in 2008, the Premier League tentatively discussed a “39th game” taking place overseas, but that idea was quickly shelved.
The American owners of Birmingham City were keen to play this season’s EFL League One match against Wrexham in the US, but again this proposal did not get far. Liverpool’s chairman Tom Werner says he is determined to see matches take place overseas, and recent changes to world governing body Fifa’s rulebook could make it easier for this proposal to succeed.
The potential benefits of hosting games overseas include higher matchday revenues, increased brand awareness, and enhanced broadcast rights. While there is likely to be significant opposition from local fans, at least American owners know they would not face the same hostility about rising matchday prices in the US as they have encountered in England.
When the Argentinian legend Lionel Messi signed for new MLS franchise Inter Miami in 2023, season ticket prices nearly doubled on his account. And while there is vocal opposition to higher ticket prices in England, this is not borne out in terms of lower attendances for matches against high-calibre opposition – as evidenced by Aston Villa charging up to £97 for last week’s Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich.
Villa’s director of operations, Chris Heck, defended the prices by saying that difficult decisions had to be made if the club was to be competitive.
Manchester United’s matchday revenue per EPL season (£m)
For much of the 2010s, with broadcast revenues increasing rapidly, many Premier League owners made little effort to stoke hostilities with their loyal fan bases by putting up ticket prices. Indeed, Manchester United generated little more from matchday income in the 2021-22 season, as football emerged from the pandemic, than the club had in 2010-11 (see chart above).
However, this uneasy truce between fans and owners has ceased. The relative flatlining of broadcast revenues since 2017, along with cost control rules that are starting to affect clubs’ ability to spend money on player signings and wages, has changed club appetites for dampened ticket prices. This has resulted in noticeable rises in individual ticket and season ticket prices by some clubs.
However, season ticket and other local “legacy” fans generate little money compared with the more lucrative overseas and tourist fans. They may only watch their favourite team live once a season, but when they visit, they are far more likely not only to pay higher matchday prices, but to spend more on merchandise, catering and other offerings from the club.
Today’s breed of commercially aware, profit-seeking US Premier League owners – pioneered by the Glazer family, who saw that “sweating the asset” meant more than watching football players sprinting hard – understand there is a lot more value to come from English football teams. The clubs’ loyal local supporters may not like it, but English football’s American-led revolution is not done yet.
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Kieran Maguire has taught courses and presented on football finance for the Professional Footballers Association, League Managers Association, FIFA and national football associations in Europe.
Christina Philippou is affiliated with the RAF FA, and Premier League education programs.
