Category: Child Poverty

MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Minister for Development speech at Chatham House

Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

UK Minister for Development outlines a new “modern approach to development” in first major speech at Chatham House today

Location:

London

Delivered on:

17 October 2024 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

It is an immense honour and privilege to be here today for the first time as Minister for Development and for Women and Equalities.

Chatham House of course has a long history of being at the cutting edge of foreign policy and development thinking. It is the perfect place to share my vision for a modern approach to international development. I am delighted to see so many of you here, including so many of our partners – from Gates, to Gavi, to the Global Fund.

I am proud to be able to say to you all – Britain is back on the world stage, with a minister at the top table, advocating for projects and assistance to advance that goal just mentioned of a world free from poverty on a liveable planet.

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Today is the ‘International Day for the Eradication of Poverty’. Between the late 1990s and the early2020s, the world did make headway in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Lives saved and lives changed.

Many of these gains can never be undone. But as was mentioned the geopolitical challenges now are stark – and progress against the Sustainable Development Goals is stalling.

We do live in a multipolar world with intense competition. We need to adapt and respond to to that world. The world is different – first – because over the last four years, the number of people in humanitarian need has doubled. A vicious cycle of an unprecedented profusion of conflicts and the climate crisis, which is now compounding the suffering of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. And many women, girls, and marginalised people are experiencing a devastating roll-back of hard-won rights, services, and democratic freedoms.

I saw this first-hand during my recent trip to South Sudan. In the horrendous conditions of the camp in Bentiu for internally displaced people, I heard heart-breaking accounts from those who were forced to flee the brutal civil war in Sudan, as well as meeting people suffering from South Sudan’s own humanitarian emergency, caused by the legacy of civil war and the climate crisis.

The conflict in Sudan has now forced more people from their homes than any other conflict – some ten million people. It has pushed nearly nine million people into emergency or famine levels of food insecurity, and as I raised at the UN last month – there is a real risk that without global action to prevent it, the worst famine in several generations could happen on the world’s watch.

Around the globe, millions of people, who long to return home are beginning to despair that they ever will – including the Syrian refugees I met in Jordan, still there over a decade after they fled the conflict, and so many communities enduring such suffering – from the DRC, to Yemen, Ukraine, and Myanmar, to Gaza and the wider Middle East.

In all this, political efforts have been vital to get aid in – including our reinstatement of £21m of UK funding to UNRWA, as the only Agency able to deliver at scale in Gaza, and the further £10-million of wider humanitarian support for Lebanon we announced earlier this month.

By the end of this decade, unless more action is taken, some two-thirds of those living in extreme poverty will be living in fragile and conflict-affected states. At the same time courageous humanitarian aid workers on the front lines of getting help to them around the globe are under attack.

We have a moral imperative to help turn things around. People everywhere – including the British people – understand instinctively that this is the right thing to do, Compassion, fairness, and refusing to look the other way when someone is in need are all British values. And action is in all our interests as well.

The new government’s commitment to tackle irregular migration at source is important for those who would otherwise be forced to leave their homes, and important for people in the UK too. That is why, during the European Political Community meeting, the Prime Minister announced up to £84 million for projects across Africa and the Middle East – to address the factors that end up pushing people into small boats.

The world is also changing because we see new leadership from the likes of President Lula of Brazil, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, on everything from reforming the global financial system, to tackling hunger and poverty around the world – through the emerging G20 Global Alliance for which I was so proud to announce UK support in Brazil.

I have seen leadership among the women forest rangers who I met in Sulawesi in September. Visiting them gave me an inspiring reminder of the difference we can make to our planet and to peoples’ lives, when we work together as genuine partners – where action to preserve forests also promotes sustainable livelihoods, and where economic development goes hand in hand with combatting climate disaster.

Today’s world is very different. But as our Foreign Secretary set out, our progressive, realistic approach draws on the same spirit that Ernest Bevin and Robin Cook animated and energised. For our country to once again lead on development, we will need a new, modern approach, based on genuine partnership, trust, and respect.

It will mean recognising that for our partners, tackling the climate and nature crises is not separate from promoting economic growth and meeting humanitarian need, but intrinsic to both. And it will mean making good on our word, not leaving our partners high and dry and making the most of British talent and expertise to improve peoples’ lives, now and in the future.

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We have to turn the page, if we are genuinely to work in partnership again. Consider that asylum costs, which have spiralled in recent years, at present account for almost 30% of our development spending while the backlog has soared, with people waiting years to receive a decision – which the Home Secretary is now taking action to rectify.

Consider too that so much of our country’s current international climate finance commitment was backloaded into these final two years – but we are now committed to make good on the promise that the UK will get help to those who need it.

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While we do not underestimate the significance or the complexity of these challenges in the shorter term. Neither should we underestimate our ability to respond under pressure in the long term. The UK has been ambitious on international development before. I am determined it will be again. Of course, that starts with boosting the effectiveness of our efforts.

I want to thank everyone from the sector who fed into the White Paper, and the civil servants who worked so hard – and I want to reassure you that I value it, as a diagnosis of the problems we face and how UK development can help meet them.

But I must be clear that we must now prioritise, and provide the strategy and the plan that has been lacking – and that is what I am now building. A core element of this is increasing our capability and capacity.

The Development Review, led by Baroness Minouche Shafik, is about building on the breadth and depth of development experience, expertise, and innovation represented here today. In addition, we will work closely with the Independent Commission for Aid Impact – making sure our official development assistance reaches those who need it most, and where and when it is most effective.

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Yet we must go further still if we are to shift our approach, quite determinedly – so it is truly modern. First and foremost – that means genuine partnership. Britain is back. Back in business. Back on the world stage.

And back pursuing our mission of a world free from poverty, on a liveable planet. And my message is that we will work with others, in good faith, to build genuine partnership, underpinned by our respect for other governments, organisations, communities, and individuals.

That means building shared plans for the future – not imposing our own, and – to quote the Prime Minister – listening a lot more, speaking a bit less.

This is exactly the approach the Foreign Secretary is taking – as he recently set out so movingly in his speech at Kew Gardens, to friends from across the Commonwealth, and at the United Nations in New York.

Currently, we are seeing those nations which were unable to industrialise bearing the brunt of the climate crisis – with a terrible cycle of floods, droughts, and hurricanes. Because climate and development are interlinked and interdependent, we will put tackling the climate and nature crisis at the heart of everything we do. Domestically, this government has an ambitious climate policy.

The drive for cheaper, cleaner power, being led by Ed Miliband, will not only bring down bills here, help us achieve energy security, and meet our goals to decarbonise – it also gives us credibility and expertise abroad, as we lead the response to the climate and nature crisis both bilaterally and through multilateral organisations.

Secondly – we will champion reform for a global, multilateral system that includes everyone, works for everyone, and is fit for the future.

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That means not just listening to our partners, as a priority – but making sure we take action together. When it comes to the humanitarian and development system that is so stretched, we look forward to seeing Tom Fletcher making the most of his new role as UN Relief Chief, and to working with our partners to take a less siloed, more joined up approach – across everything from climate, to the needs of women and girls, to humanitarian relief.

And when it comes to finance, time and again, we have heard from small islands and other vulnerable states, how difficult it is to access what they need to pursue their ambitions and priorities, escape the trap of unsustainable debt, and get on a sustainable footing.

That is why, in his speech to the UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister set out the case for accelerating reform of the multilateral development banks, including shouldering more risk so they can unlock hundreds of billions of dollars so they can do more to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars and do more to build a more sustainable economy and help the poorest.

Next week I will go to the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington so they to press them to shoulder more risk so they can unlock the money that is so desperately needed. We will work with our partners – including fragile and climate vulnerable states to help them access more, better-quality, well-targeted, multiannual finance, including for adaptation, through a global financial system that is reformed and ready for the future, and through wider global forums where they have greater representation in the bodies that help shape our shared future – including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

We will champion financial innovation – from the insurance and guarantees our partners are seeking, to the Climate Resilient Debt Clauses promoted by the UK, that we are calling on all creditors to offer in their current and future lending.

Both within government and working with the financial services industry, we will make sure there is more to come – including helping countries tackle the barriers to investment that choke off the flow of private finance.

On so many fronts, from trade to taxation – globally, momentum is now building for the sort of change we need to see, and we are committed to making the most of every opportunity to urge it ahead.

That is why at the UN, the Prime Minister called on all donors to make the most of the International Development Association replenishment, as a critical milestone in the fight against poverty.

It can be bigger, better, and help more people, especially those in fragile states and conflict zones. So, on that basis, under this new government, the UK will be ambitious too – increasing our pledge, and encouraging others to play their part. And as the Prime Minister highlighted at the UN in recent weeks, there are measures that we can crack on with right now, to unlock further resources for sustainability, resilience, and renewal – like a new levy on global shipping that takes account of the true cost of emissions, and puts the proceeds cutting them even further, and helping communities cope with their impacts.

Third – we will make sure the UK’s expertise and ideas are at the heart of reliable development partnerships. When we work together across development and diplomacy, we maximise our impact – in everything from helping countries harness the opportunities of renewable energy, to reversing the vicious cycle of conflict, to empowering women and girls. This government will be proactive about all that the UK has to offer the world. Our country is brimming with talent and brilliance.

We are home to research and innovation on everything from nutritious and resilient crops, to new medicines and vaccines, cleaner mining, and emerging technologies. We have world-class universities, finance institutions, and expertise in leveraging private capital into low-income emerging countries – including through BII.

Both within government and in the City of London, we will make sure there is more to come, Including helping countries tackle the barriers that choke off the flow of private finance.

We also of course harbour top-tier businesses ready to share their insights and innovation with peers around the world. And we harbour dedicated volunteers in everything from health to education, to search and rescue, to the protection of nature – and so much more.

We are determined to put this talent and commitment to work, making sure we can connect British expertise and British solutions with international partners, in the spirit of collaboration and partnership.

And as the Member of Parliament representing a large part of Oxford, a city full of people who have dedicated their entire working lives to serving others in need, this is personal priority for me.

Fourthly – in doing all of this, the new government will be confident in publicly championing the power of international development – so we all feel the benefits of working together to make headway.

At a time when the Prime Minister and Chancellor have set us all a challenge to grow our economy and bring opportunity to people across our country, we know our partners around the world share these goals for their countries and their people as well – from clean energy, to protecting and restoring nature – land and sea – and from trade, to tackling illicit finance.

So that means no more apologising for making progress where we can, and more recognition that putting our best foot forward, in all we do at home and around the world, is in everyone’s best interests.

Finally – I want to emphasise how much I look forward to working with all of you in the months and years ahead. In the last fourteen weeks, I have seen what development can achieve. From promoting green growth in Indonesia to helping keeping Syrian girls in school in Jordan, to promoting a literal life-line in South Sudan.

I have seen how the UK can promote modern partnerships – at big global meetings from Rio to New York to Hamburg. And time and again, I have been reminded that as Mandela said, our human compassion binds us to one another, not in pity or paternalism, but in pursuit of our common purpose – of relieving suffering, and reinvigorating hope for our shared future by working towards it together.

Mandela also said that together, as you all know, we could make poverty history. Well, much has changed since that time, twenty years ago, under a Labour government – for good and for bad.

But it remains the case that the only way we can tackle shared challenges – from getting help to those in need, to preventing global health crises –i s by working towards it together.

That is the only way we can make the most of shared opportunities – from reforming the global financial system, to healing the natural world. And that is the only way we can make good on the promises we have made at home as well – from the first duty of government to keep our nation safe, to our mission to grow our economy, so we bring opportunity to all.

Sadly, there are forces hell-bent on setting the Global North in opposition to the Global South. Yet partnership is part and parcel of how we overcome them, and make sure that those of us who care about our shared future are able to work towards it together – ministers and civil servants, everyone here today, medics, firefighters, teachers volunteering their services, brave journalists, and people up and down our country – including our proud diasporas doing so much for our communities here and their families overseas.

The British people understand this deeply, and it is extraordinary that even in such challenging times, people find a way to help – I have no doubt that the compassion of the British people will shine through once again now.

Today, I am delighted to announce that the government will match public donations to a new Disaster Emergency Committee appeal, to help charities do more to get life-saving help to civilians caught up in the conflict in the Middle East, across Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, people who find themselves in desperate need of humanitarian relief. This support builds on the humanitarian aid this government has announced for Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, since July. We will match public donations to the new appeal up to £10 million – and together, we will make a difference.

Updates to this page

Published 17 October 2024

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: We Can Do Better
Source: IMF – News in Russian

Speech by Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, IMF

October 17, 2024

Thank you, Andrea, for your kind words. And thanks to all of you for coming.

Five years ago in this hall I delivered my first curtain-raiser as head of the IMF.

At that time my main concern was a synchronized slowdown in global growth. Only months later it paled in comparison with the sudden shock of the pandemic, followed by other dramatic events—the tragic wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, the cost-of-living crisis, and a further fracturing of the global economy.

Next week, the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors will converge here to reflect on where we are, where we are headed, and what to do about it. Let me offer you a preview of what this conversation will look like.

First, we will cherish the good news—and rightly so, because we haven’t had much of it lately. The big global inflation wave is in retreat. A combination of resolute monetary policy action, easing supply chain constraints, and moderating food and energy prices is guiding us back in the direction of price stability.

And this has been done without tipping the global economy into recession and large-scale job losses—something we saw during the pandemic and after past inflation episodes, and which many feared we would see again. Both the US and euro area labor markets, to take two examples, are cooling in an orderly manner.

This is a big achievement.

Where did this resilience come from? Answer: from strong policy and institutional foundations built over time, and from international policy cooperation as countries learned to act fast and act together. We are benefiting from central bank independence in advanced economies and many emerging markets; years of prudential reforms in banking; progress made in building fiscal institutions; and capacity development worldwide.

But, despite the good news, don’t expect any victory parties next week—for at least three reasons:
- For one thing, inflation rates may be falling, but the higher price level that we feel in our wallets is here to stay. Families are hurting, people are angry. Advanced economies saw inflation rates at once-in-a-generation highs. So too did many emerging market economies. But look how bad the situation was for the low-income countries. At the country level and at the level of individuals, inflation always hits the poor the hardest.
- Even worse, we are in a difficult geopolitical environment. We are all very worried about the expanding conflict in the Middle East and its potential to destabilize regional economies and global oil and gas markets. Its humanitarian impact, alongside the prolonged wars in Ukraine and elsewhere, is heartbreaking.
- And on top of it all, this is happening at a time when our forecasts point to an unforgiving combination of low growth andhigh debt—a difficult future.
Let’s take a closer look: medium-term growth is forecast to be lackluster—not sharply lower than pre-pandemic, but far from good enough. Not enough to eradicate world poverty. Nor to create the number of jobs we require. Nor to generate the tax revenues that governments need to service heavy debt loads while attending to vast investment needs, including the green transition.

The picture is made more troubling by high and rising public debt—way higher than before the pandemic, even after the brief but significant fall in debt-to-GDP as inflation lifted nominal GDP. And do please notice the shaded area in the chart—what it shows is that, in a severe but plausible adverse scenario, debt could climb some 20 percentage points of GDP above our baseline.

What does this mean for “fiscal space”? To answer this, let’s look at the share of government revenue consumed by interest payments. This is where high debt, high interest rates, and low growth come together—because it is growth that generates the revenues governments need to function and invest. As debt increases, fiscal space contracts disproportionately more in low-income countries—not all debt burdens are made the same.

And fiscal space keeps shrinking. Just look at the frightening evolution of the interest-to-revenue ratio over time. We can immediately see how the tough spending choices have become tougher with higher debt payments. Schools or climate? Digital connectivity or roads and bridges? That is what it comes down to.

To make matters worse, we live in deeply troubled times. The peace dividend from the end of the Cold War is increasingly at risk. In a world of more wars and more insecurity, defense expenditures may well keep rising while aid budgets fall further behind the growing needs of developing countries.

Not only is development assistance too small, but major players, driven by national security concerns, are increasingly resorting to industrial policy and protectionism, creating one trade restriction after another. Going forward, trade will not be the same engine of growth as before. It is the fracturing I warned of back in 2019—but worse. It is like pouring cold water on an already-lukewarm world economy.

My message today: we can do better.

As Ajay Banga, President of the World Bank and my dear colleague from across the street, likes to say: forecasts are not destiny. There is plenty we can and must do to lift our growth potential, reduce debt, and build a more resilient world economy.

Let me start with the domestic agenda. Governments must work to reduce debt and rebuild buffers for the next shock—which will surely come, and maybe sooner than we expect. Budgets need to be consolidated—credibly, yet gradually in most countries. This will involve difficult choices on how to raise revenues and make spending more efficient, while also making sure that policy actions are well-explained to earn the trust of the people.

Here is the problem though: fiscal restraint is never popular. And, as a new paper by IMF staff shows, it’s only getting harder. Across a wide sample of countries, political discourse increasingly favors fiscal expansion. Even the traditionally fiscally conservative political parties are developing a taste for borrow-to-spend. Fiscal reforms are not easy, but they are necessary and they can enhance inclusion and opportunity. Countries have shown that it can be done.

Ultimately, over the medium term, growth is key—to deliver jobs, tax revenues, fiscal space, and debt sustainability. Everywhere I go, I hear the same: an aspiration for higher growth and better opportunities. The question is: how?

Answer: focus on reforms—there is no time to waste:
- First area of reforms: make job markets work for people. We confront a world of deeply uneven demography: surging young populations in some places, aging societies elsewhere. Economic migration can help, but only up to a point given the anxieties in many countries. So too can supportive steps to help get more women into the workforce. Above all, there is a need for reforms to enhance skill sets and match the right people to the right jobs.
- Second area: mobilize capital. There is an abundance of it globally, but often not in the right places or right types of investments—just think of all the money from all corners of the globe poured into liquid but less-productive assets in a few major financial centers. Putting savings to work for maximum economic benefit requires policymakers to focus on eliminating barriers such as weak investment environments and shallow capital markets. Financial sector oversight must not only ensure stability and resilience, but also encourage prudent risk-taking and value creation.
- Third area: enhance productivity. This is what yields more output per unit of input, and there are many ways to raise it, from improving governance and institutions to cutting red tape to harnessing the power of AI. More and better spending on education and R&D help. Among advanced economies, those that lead on innovation show what works: venture capital industries, ecosystems that bring not only financing but knowledge, advice, and professional networks—screening new ideas, identifying winners, feeding them from birth to graduation. There are many lessons for others to learn.
Globally, the pace of reforms has been slowing since the global financial crisis as discontent has risen.

But progress is possible. A new IMF study shows that resistance to reforms is often driven by beliefs and misperceptions about the reforms themselves as well as the distributional effects. Reforms are best developed through two-way dialogue with the public, with measures to mitigate the impact on those who risk losing out. We have learnt how much this matters.

As policymakers pursue reforms at home, they must also look outward.

There is much that countries can do together as members of an integrated economic community, each benefitting from its own comparative advantage.

The forces of technology, trade, and capital mobility have delivered a hugely valuable degree of interconnectedness.

Yet still, we live in a mistrustful, fragmented world where national security has risen to the top of the list of concerns for many countries. This has happened before—but never in a time of such high economic co-dependence.

My argument is that we must not allow this reality to become an excuse to do nothing to prevent a further fracturing of the global economy. Quite the opposite. My appeal during these Annual Meetings will be: let us work together, in an enlightened way, to lift our collective prospects.

Let us not take the global tensions as given, but rather resolve to work to lower the geopolitical temperature and attend to the tasks that can only be tackled together:
- Exhibit one: trade, which has lowered prices, improved quality, and created jobs. Thus far, trade has shown remarkable resilience in the face of new barriers, often flowing around them via third countries. But such redirection is not efficient, nor can we assume it will continue indefinitely. Countries would do well to recognize that the rules-based global trading system delivered many benefits and is worth preserving.
- Two: climate, where we face an existential challenge, with countries that contributed the least to global emissions now first to suffer. Unexpectedly fast global warming should be ringing alarm bells. The glaciers are melting, the icecaps crumbling. Adverse weather events have telegraphed a frightening message from the future. We know what we must do: create fiscal space for the green transition, eliminate fossil-fuel subsidies, and get capital to where it is most needed. But we must do it!
- Three: artificial intelligence, our single best shot at higher productivity. IMF research finds that AI, if managed well, has the potential to lift world growth by up to 0.8 percentage points—with that alone, we would go to a higher growth path than in the years before the pandemic. Yet AI is urgently in need of regulatory and ethical codes that are fundamentally global. Why? Because AI is borderless—it is already on smartphones everywhere. We better hurry. This technology will not wait!
In all these areas and many more, the bottom line is that countries need to relearn how to work together. And institutions like the IMF—born from the basic idea that pooling resources together is efficient—play a vital role.

In my first term as Managing Director—an unprecedented crisis period—we acted decisively to help our membership. We provided one trillion dollars’ worth of liquidity, and we delivered critical economic analysis and advice that helped policymakers synchronize their actions.

Now, in the first days of my second term we have delivered again.

Our Executive Board, in full consensus, has just approved important reforms that reinforce our strong financial position and directly benefit our membership. We are reducing charges and surcharges on our regular lending, and putting in place a comprehensive package that secures our concessional lending capacity to support low-income countries.

And on November 1 our Board will welcome a third Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring more voice for what has been an underrepresented region.

Combined with the fifty percent quota increase agreed at our last Annual Meetings, these actions give us the strength to continue to deliver high value-added to a membership that engages not out of charity but self-interest.

It is the value we bring to our members that has resulted in our membership growing—and on that note, a very warm welcome to the Principality of Liechtenstein as it joins us as our 191st member!

From our founding at Bretton Woods in the dark days of 1944 to today, the IMF has established a tradition of adapting to the changing world around it. Today, I give you my word: this will continue. We will stand with our members, always looking for the most impactful ways to serve.

By the time I complete my second term at the helm of the IMF, I will have led it for most of this decade. And if I were granted one wish, it would simply be this: let not this decade be remembered as one where we allowed conflict to get in the way of existential tasks, storing up vast costs and potential calamity for those to follow. Let it be remembered as a time when we rose above our differences for the good of all.

For our mutual prosperity—and ultimately for our survival—I say we can do better: let there be peace on earth and a revival of cooperation.

Thank you!

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Mayada Ghazala

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/17/sp101724-annual-meetings-2024-curtain-raiser

MIL OSI
MIL OSI Russia News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Kamlager-Dove Secures $1 Million to Fund Construction of SoLa Impact’s New Tech & Entertainment Center in Crenshaw and Leimert Park

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager California (37th District)

LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) announced that she secured a $1 million grant for SoLa Impact’s affiliated nonprofit, the SoLa Foundation, in support of the completion of SoLa’s second state-of-the-art youth center. The SoLa Foundation is one of fifteen organizations that Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove secured a total of $12.4 million for through Fiscal Year 2024 government funding legislation.

Opening in the first half of 2025, the 10,000 sq ft Art, Tech and Entertainment Center will be located on the ground floor of “Crenshaw Lofts,” SoLa Impact’s 195-unit workforce and affordable housing development in the LAX-Crenshaw Corridor. The center will train and mentor young people to become the next generation of professionals and entrepreneurs in arts, media, entertainment, emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, and the live events industry. The facility will feature a collaborative workspace, professional recording studio, and indoor/outdoor event space. It will serve at least 1,000 youth and young adults annually. A video preview of the center is available here.

The funds are part of Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove’s commitments to the continued revitalization of the Crenshaw and Leimert Park communities as well as increasing access to career training and jobs in entertainment.

“Crenshaw—the heart of Black LA—has seen many resurgence efforts since the 1992 Riots, many of them short-lived,” said Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove. “By connecting young Angelenos with workforce training in arts, entertainment, and technology careers, SoLa’s new youth center will make a real, lasting impact on South LA for generations to come. I was proud to secure funding for this center, and I look forward to seeing the vital role it will play in empowering future creators, entrepreneurs, and innovators from the storied community of Crenshaw.”

SoLa Impact CEO, Martin Muoto, added, “With our second SoLa Tech Center powered by Live Nation, and Crenshaw Lofts, we are proud to be part of Crenshaw revitalization. As we develop hundreds of affordable and workforce housing units across Los Angeles, we also want to ensure that the young people in communities like Crenshaw and South LA see a brighter future. Training them for jobs of the future is perhaps the most important way we can build California better.”

“This center will have a transformative impact on the lives of our youth. This is my community and I am on a mission to ensure every young person has a shot at a brighter future. The center is about closing the racial digital divide in South LA. It’s about creating a more equitable playing field. It’s about creating access and pipelines to careers in the arts and technology. Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove shares this urgent mission and we are deeply grateful to her for being a catalyst in making our tech center possible,” said Sherri Francois, Chief Impact Officer of SoLa Impact and Executive Director of the SoLa Foundation.

Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove tours the site of SoLa’s new youth tech and entertainment center in Crenshaw, which is currently under construction.

ABOUT SOLA IMPACT’S FOUNDATION:

The SoLa Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit affiliate of SoLa Impact, aims to improve the lives of South LA residents and break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by providing opportunities for education and economic mobility. SoLa’s Technology and Entrepreneurship Center Powered by Riot Games is a state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind center at the heart of South Central Los Angeles. SoLa provides the community with skills-based technology programming, as well as scholarships and career development opportunities for underinvested communities to ensure Black and brown Angelenos get increased access to jobs, mentorship, and placement in the most competitive fields of business. Learn more at www.thesolafoundation.org.

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MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Missions – Ad-hoc DEVE delegation to Guatemala – 28-10-2024 – Committee on Development
Source: European Parliament

A delegation of 6 Members, led by MEP Lukas MANDL (EPP, AT), will travel to Guatemala from 28 to 30 October. The purpose of the mission is to review the EU development portfolio in the country, especially in the context of the current programming period.
The mission will particularly focus on:

– human development issues: the country suffers very high levels of poverty and social inequality (especially in rural and indigenous areas), chronic child malnutrition and violence against women, which represent major obstacles for the development of the country;

– the consequences of climate change which causes recurrent humanitarian disasters that trigger displacement and counteract the country’s development efforts. Guatemala is considered one of the 10 most vulnerable counties to the effects of climate change.

The mission includes meetings with Guatemalan authorities, local actors, civil society organizations and international institutions, as well as visits to EU-funded projects.

In addition to Mr MANDL, the delegation will be composed of

Mr Gabriel MATO, EPP (DLAT Chair)

Ms Carla Tavares, S&D

Mr Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR, S&D

Mr Hermann TERTSCH, PfE

Ms Diana RIBA I GINER, Greens/EFA (DCAM Chair)
MIL OSI Europe News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Commend Canada’s Childcare Programme, Ask about Women’s Representation on Boards of Private Sector Companies and Gender-Based Violence against Indigenous Women

Source: United Nations – Geneva

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its consideration of the tenth periodic report of Canada, with Committee Experts praising Canada’s childcare programme, and raising questions about the lack of representation of women on the boards of private sector companies and gender-based violence against indigenous women by extractive industry workers.

One Committee Expert said the State’s childcare programme was very effective in increasing women’s labour participation. However, the Expert noted that there were shortages in places and staff in some childcare centres. How was the Government addressing this?

Another Committee Expert asked if there were mandatory reporting mechanisms for gender representation in large private organizations, where women occupied just one-fifth of board positions. Just six per cent of management roles were held by women of colour. How was the Government addressing these issues?

A Committee Expert noted an increased level of gender-based violence against indigenous women caused by influxes of male extractive industry workers in indigenous communities. How was the State party ensuring that the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous women was sought regarding extractive activities?

Introducing the report, Gail Mitchell, Assistant Deputy Minister, Departmental Programmes and Operations, Department of Women and Gender Equality of Canada and head of the delegation, said that in 2018, Canada implemented several measures that strengthened its national machinery to advance women’s equality, including the establishment of the Department for Women and Gender Equality Canada. The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act of 2018 incorporated gender-responsive budgeting into legislation.

In the 2021 federal budget, the delegation reported, the Government had devoted 9.2 billion Canadian dollars into ongoing investment in early learning and childcare. This funding promoted access, affordability and inclusion in childcare. Fees had already been reduced by around 50 per cent on average across the country. Work was ongoing to address shortcomings in places and staff.

On women’s representation in the private sector, the delegation said that in 2024, legal amendments were made to require private employers to disclose statistics on the representation of women and equity-deserving groups. The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy was supporting women to obtain careers in fields that were traditionally male dominated.

The Government had developed a plan of action to address violence related to the influx of extractive industry workers in indigenous communities, the delegation said. It provided funding for training for workers on respecting women’s rights, activities to identify risks, and capacity building activities to prepare communities for the arrival of workers. This work had also been expanded to the shipping industry.

In closing remarks, Ms. Mitchell said the dialogue had been rich, with important contributions from Committee Experts and civil society. The Committee had asked many questions that the State party would do its best to follow up on.

Marion Bethel, Committee Rapporteur and Acting Chair, in her concluding remarks, said that the dialogue had provided insight on the situation of women and girls in Canada. The Committee would develop recommendations that would aim to strengthen implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in the State.

The delegation of Canada consisted of representatives from the Department of Justice; Department of Women and Gender Equality; Federal Secretariat on Early Learning and Child Care Employment and Social Development; Department of Public Safety; Statistics Canada; Department of Environment and Climate Change; Department of Global Affairs; Department of Canadian Heritage; Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs; Quebec Ministry of International Relations and la Francophonie; and the Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will issue concluding observations on the report of Canada at the end of its eighty-ninth session on 25 October. All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 17 October to consider the ninth periodic report of Japan (CEDAW/C/JPN/9).

Report

The Committee has before it the tenth periodic report of Canada (CEDAW/C/CAN/10).

Presentation of Report

GAIL MITCHELL, Assistant Deputy Minister, Departmental Programmes and Operations, Department of Women and Gender Equality of Canada and head of the delegation, said that since its last appearance before the Committee, Canada had made progress in advancing gender equality, but recognised that there was still work to be done. Canada remained committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and girls. The State was advancing key priorities regarding respect for the rights of indigenous women and girls, the elimination of gender-based violence, and the empowerment of women and gender-diverse people in the economy and leadership. Canada was also deeply committed to accelerating reconciliation and renewing its relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

Following a 2016 recommendation from the Committee, Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments endorsed a ten-year National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence in 2022. Combined funding from federal, provincial and territorial governments to address and prevent gender-based violence was more than one billion Canadian dollars over four years, starting in 2022-2023. This funding contributed to measures such as building capacity to prevent violence through educational resources and other prevention initiatives. The first annual report on implementation of this funding would be published this year.

In 2018, Canada implemented several measures that strengthened its national machinery to advance women’s equality, including the establishment of the Department for Women and Gender Equality Canada. The Canadian Gender Budgeting Act of 2018 incorporated gender-responsive budgeting into legislation and required the Government to consider the impact of policies on all Canadians, particularly women and marginalised groups. The Gender Results Framework, the Government’s vision for gender equality, was also put in place.

In 2021, Canada passed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act to advance the implementation of the Declaration, and in 2023, the State released a detailed action plan to implement the Act. This action plan included 181 measures to advance transformative change and reconciliation with indigenous peoples over the next five years, including measures to address violence against indigenous women, girls and gender-diverse people. Following a recommendation from the Committee, the State established an independent national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, and in response to the inquiry’s findings, a national action plan was launched. The Federal Government had also developed an indigenous justice strategy and made investments to provide safe spaces and transitional housing for indigenous women, children and gender-diverse people experiencing and fleeing violence.

In 2017, Parliament adopted a bill that added “gender identity or expression” to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and to the list of characteristics of identifiable groups protected from hate propaganda in the Criminal Code. In 2022, the first “Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan” was launched. It aimed to advance rights and equality for this community, prioritising community work and establishing a Partnership Committee between this community and the Government. Canada had also developed the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub, and invested 170 million dollars in 2021 in advancing the Disaggregated Data Action Plan. Data collection on sex and gender at birth had been standardised.

Since 2019, the Government had also launched two anti-racism strategies that represented an investment of over 200 million dollars. Last month, Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate was also unveiled. It provided more support to victims of hate and at-risk communities, investing 273.6 million dollars over six years.

In 2021, the Government made investments up to 30 billion dollars over five years to build a Canada-wide early learning and childcare system with provinces, territories, and indigenous partners. Over 750,000 children were already benefitting from the system; eight provinces and territories were delivering regulated childcare for an average of 10 dollars or less. In 2023, Canada’s labour force participation rate among core-aged mothers with young children was at a record 79.7 per cent, nearly four percentage points higher than pre-pandemic levels, and the overall labour force participation rate of women aged 25 to 54 reached an all-time high of 85.5 per cent.

The women entrepreneurship strategy aimed to increase women-owned businesses’ access to the financing, networks, and expertise they needed to start up, scale up, and access new markets. In January 2023, Canada ratified the International Labour Organization Violence and Harassment Convention, which came into force in January 2024.

Canada had been pursuing a feminist foreign policy since 2016 through the Feminist International Assistance Policy; the Trade Diversification Strategy, with its inclusive approach to trade; and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Canada ranked as a top Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development bilateral donor for the share of aid supporting gender equality for the past five years. It continued to rank among the top donors investing in women’s rights organizations and ending violence against women and girls, as well as in sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Questions by a Committee Expert

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, said Canada had made many efforts to address gender equality, including the commendable federal strategy for gender equality. Canada had closed 76.5 per cent of the gender gap. There had been an almost overwhelming number of reforms aiming to promote gender equality over the reporting period. How did the State party ensure that the substantial funds invested and the various programmes created to promote gender equality were effective? Did the State party have plans to improve disaggregated data on gender, ethnicity, race and other characteristics?

The current framework for responding to treaty body recommendations reportedly did not engage sufficiently with civil society. How would the framework be improved? There had been few programmes targeting men and promoting positive masculinity. What was the State party doing to address masculinised stereotypes and to encourage men to take up care roles?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the national action plan to end gender-based violence included multi-level actions to engage men and boys, including educational programmes. The federal “It’s Not Just” campaign aimed to raise men and boys’ awareness about various forms of violence, including technology-assisted violence.

For years, Statistics Canada had collected statistics through the national census. In 2021, data on gender was collected in the census for the first time. A disaggregated data action plan was also launched in 2021, which aimed to improve data on marginalised groups. There were plans to add questions on gender identity and ethnicity in future surveys. Funding was also being provided to regional partners to improve their disaggregated data.

In Quebec, childcare aimed to develop the potential of children and support women’s labour participation. Daily costs for childcare users were around 10 dollars, thanks to Government subsidies. This had helped to increase the regional employment rate to over 90 per cent.

The federal body providing follow-up to recommendations from United Nations human rights mechanisms planned to launch more formalised and frequent engagement with indigenous peoples and other stakeholders regarding the implementation of these recommendations. A national database tracking the implementation of these recommendations was being piloted. Women and Gender Equality Canada was working to implement the Committee’s recommendations and reported on efforts to promote gender equality annually.

Questions by Committee Experts

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked if there was a protocol for integrating inputs from civil society into policy planning and if there was media coverage of the Government’s interaction with stakeholders.

Another Committee Expert said the childcare programme was very effective in increasing women’s labour participation, but there were shortages in places and staff in some childcare centres. How was the Government addressing this?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the Government engaged broadly with civil society when conducting surveys. Depending on the topic, there was more or less engagement with the media.

In the 2021 federal budget, the Government had devoted 9.2 billion dollars into ongoing investment into early learning and childcare. This funding promoted access, affordability and inclusion in childcare. A national advisory council on early learning was also established. The Government aimed to create 22,000 new places in childcare by 2026. Fees had already been reduced by around 50 per cent on average across the country. Work was ongoing to address shortcomings in places and staff, and the Government was monitoring the situation in collaboration with civil society.

Questions by Committee Experts

One Committee Expert asked how the work of Canada’s various bodies promoting gender equality was coordinated? Did these bodies have a sufficient budget and a national presence? What communication did they have with women’s organizations?

Another Committee Expert noted the State party’s efforts to achieve gender equality. Significant challenges remained, however. Marginalised women continued to experience significant barriers to public participation. In 2024, temporary special measures were issued to increase women’s representation in politics and science, technology, engineering and maths fields. Were these measures effective? Was their implementation being independently reviewed? How had the State party modernised the Employment Equity Act? How did the State party ensure that temporary special measures were inclusive of marginalised women?

The Committee appreciated the State party’s ratification of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. To what extent were indigenous peoples involved in deciding their future?

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, said that the Gender-Based Analysis Plus Initiative reportedly remained insufficient. Were there plans to improve it? What were the barriers to engaging with civil society?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the Gender Results Framework included key actions to end gender-based violence, reduce poverty and promote gender equality. It was underpinned by data collection. The Government was engaging regularly with stakeholders, including civil society organizations, which it supported with funding to implement projects as part of the framework.

Over 30 per cent of representatives in Canada’s Government were women. Women held prominent positions in the Government, including Deputy Prime Minister. The Supreme Court had five women judges and four male judges. Around 47 per cent of judges in the judiciary were women, and women represented 47 per cent of Canada’s heads of missions in its foreign service.

A taskforce had been set up to review the Employment Equity Act, which had produced a report with recommendations to modernise the Act in 2023. The recommendations included measures to make terminology and definitions in the Act more inclusive. Consultations were currently being held on proposed revisions.

The Government had several mechanisms to engage with indigenous partners. There were legally established mechanisms for engagement with these partners on specific topics, such as missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. The Government had met with over 100 civil society organizations to discuss this topic. There were multiple sources of funding for building indigenous capacity.

The Government had been working with various stakeholders to strengthen the Gender-Based Analysis Plus Initiative. Engagement with civil society on different issues was ongoing at all levels of Government; the Government was working to address gaps in this engagement.

Questions by Committee Experts

One Committee Expert said Canada had implemented several positive measures to address gender-based violence. However, the media continued to portray women in stereotyped manners. Was the State party considering mechanisms for holding media accountable for harmful stereotypes? There had been an alarming increase in hate speech against indigenous and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. There was also reportedly a culture of misogyny within the mounted police. Were there plans to address these issues?

Women continued to experience intimate partner violence at rates three times higher than men. Did the State party plan to expand the Criminal Code’s definition of domestic violence to include psychological abuse and coercive control? What measures were in place to ensure that survivors received effective remedies? The national action plan on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls was commendable, but more than 50 per cent of the plan’s measures were yet to be fully implemented. How would the Government speed up these efforts? How would the Government tackle the continued practice of female genital cutting and ensure that medical practitioners were aware of regulations concerning free, prior and informed consent?

Another Committee Expert said that between 2018 and 2022, the majority of trafficking victims in Canada were young women. Disaggregated data on trafficking for all regions of Canada was still not available. In some regions, police did not have sufficient resources to address trafficking. How did the national action plan on trafficking address these challenges? How did the Government ensure compensation for victims, including by seizing traffickers’ assets?

Legislation from 2014 prohibited the purchase of sex and defined prostitution as a form of exploitation. The act was in line with the Committee’s general recommendation 36. The Government needed to continue with the implementation of the act. What had been done to protect women in prostitution and ensure that marginalised women had means of obtaining livelihood other than prostitution?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Canada had implemented initiatives to make it easier for women to participate in the workforce, including measures supporting access to childcare, parental benefits, and legislation ensuring equal pay for equal work. The Media Code prevented the broadcasting of material that was stigmatising on the basis of gender. Data collected under the Gender Equality Framework included indicators on efforts to address gender stereotypes.

Several institutional reforms had been made to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including the establishment of a harassment resolution body. Work was underway to ensure a safe workplace for employees. The police had also taken steps to enhance the Gender-Based Analysis Plus Initiative.

Hate crimes had increased dramatically over the past few years, disproportionately targeting marginalised groups. The Government had launched an anti-hate action plan recently, which aimed to empower communities to identify and prevent violence, promote a sense of trust within communities, provide support for victims of hate-motivated crimes, and improve the availability of data on hate crimes.

Canada was committed to addressing gaps in the Criminal Code related to gender-based violence. The Government supported a bill proposing the creation of a new offence of coercive control. The bill was currently before the Senate and would facilitate investigation and prosecution of the offence. The Government had implemented reforms to the Criminal Code to better protect women and girls from gender-based violence. Victims and survivors of crime now had the right to information and to seek restitution. Canada had also made funding available to support victims to access the justice system. Free legal advice was provided to survivors of sexual assault.

The Government of Quebec had made considerable efforts to address gender-based violence. In 2021, it established a specialised tribunal for gender-based violence and established training for members of the judiciary on the subject. An electronic bracelet was used to ensure that perpetrators of violence could not approach their victims.

Annual reports were being produced on the implementation of the federal pathway on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. Most of the goals of the pathway were being advanced and two of them had been completed. A ministerial representative had engaged with over 600 civil society organizations and with governments on the proposal to establish an indigenous rights ombudsperson, and consideration of this proposal was ongoing.

Canada’s foreign assistance included measures to address sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and cutting. Informed consent policies were administered at the local level.

The national strategy to combat human trafficking was funded by an investment of over 52 million dollars over five years. Federal and provincial tables were in place to assess the implementation of the plan. A national awareness raising campaign on trafficking was also in place. The Government was working on the next iteration of the strategy, which would be informed by recent evaluations and consultations with domestic and international stakeholders, including victims.

Canada was very concerned about the safety of persons engaged in the sex trade. New offences were added in 2019 that criminalised the procurement of others to provide sexual services. The Government continued to protect persons who provided sexual services, providing them with services suited to their diverse needs. It was providing funding to prevent gender-based violence against women in the sex trade and to end stigmatisation of these women. Canada’s model aimed to reduce demand for the sex trade while ensuring protection for women involved in sex work.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert said the most recent federal budget did not commit specific funding to improve indigenous women’s safety; would this be addressed? There was a lack of research on femicide, which was not recognised as a distinct crime. Were there plans to do this?

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked if the Government ensured that persons who fled domestic violence and gender-based violence had access to shelter. How many journalists and media workers had been trained related to gender stereotyping? Had there been a decline in gender stereotyping in the media?

Another Committee Expert said the Education Act referenced online bullying, but more than four in five students had reported experiencing online violence. How was the State party responding to this growing pandemic?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the Justice Victims Fund provided support for victims of gender-based violence and domestic violence. The national action plan to end gender-based violence provided funding to over 100 indigenous groups.

There was no single definition of femicide in domestic legislation, but the conduct that it referred to was covered by the Criminal Code, which took into account aggravating factors, including evidence that the crime was motivated by hate related to gender. Gender-related homicide offenders received longer sentences overall than other homicide offenders. The rate of gender-related homicides had generally declined since 2001. A disproportionate percentage of victims were indigenous.

Nova Scotia provided assistance to victims fleeing violent family situations. Funding was provided for nine transition houses, crisis lines and housing support payments.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert commended the State party for its strong representation of women in its foreign service, with women making up 53 per cent of this service. However, women’s representation in other areas remained a concern. Were there mandatory reporting mechanisms for large private organizations, where women occupied just one-fifth of board positions? Were there policies for increasing women’s representation in politics? Just six per cent of management roles were held by women of colour. How was the Government addressing these issues?

What progress had been made to adopt draft legislation on hate speech? Would the State party consider adopting legislation that allowed for the removal of online hate speech against women?

Another Committee Expert congratulated Canada on its numerous legislative reforms and investments related to nationality rights for indigenous women, and its extensive efforts to overcome the legacy of the colonial period. When would the State’s additional report on the Optional Protocol be submitted? How had State investments helped to better protect indigenous women and girls from violence and address the root causes of this violence?

How was the Government working to inform indigenous women and girls on their rights to nationality and indigenous status? How many indigenous women and girls had benefitted from legal reforms related to this? What measures were in place to eliminate discrimination against women in their ability to transfer indigenous status? How accessible and affordable was the registration process?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said that in 2024, legal amendments were made to require financial institutions and other private employers to disclose statistics on the representation of women and equity-deserving groups.

The Online Harms Act was currently in its second reading. This was a priority bill for the Government. The bill included a duty for social media services to remove sexualised content involving children, and would amend the Human Rights Act to recognise online hate speech as a human rights violation, allowing individuals to file complaints with the Human Rights Commission related to online hate speech.

The Government hoped to draft a report on the implementation of the murdered and missing indigenous women and girls action plan by December this year. Indigenous services had launched a collaborative project to assess the second-generation cut-off for indigenous status. The Government was engaging regularly with indigenous persons who were affected by this cut-off.

Questions by Committee Experts

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked about efforts to promote the representation of indigenous women in all areas of public life. What funding was provided to indigenous organizations?

Another Committee Expert praised the ambition of the State party’s third women, peace and security action plan. How was the State party addressing lethal autonomous weapons systems from the perspective of the women, peace and security agenda? Canada had commendably joined other States to launch action in the International Court of Justice against the Taliban for restricting access to education for women and girls in Afghanistan. What measures would the State party take to promote gender parity in educational programmes on artificial intelligence? How would indigenous knowledge be included in policies related to data sovereignty?

There was a crisis-level gap in education outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous children; how was this being addressed? How was the State party supporting access to education for indigenous girls? There were calls to revise textbooks to strengthen education on indigenous heritage, culture and knowledge. How would the State party respond to these calls?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Canada was considering amendments to the Elections Act that would require political parties to make diversity regulations public. The Forum of Ministers on the Status of Women had discussed the importance of supporting women politicians. The Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy was supporting women to obtain careers in fields that were traditionally male dominated.

Canada had been actively engaged in discussions at the United Nations considering lethal autonomous weapons systems. States needed to consider algorithmic bias against women in these systems.

Canada did not recognise the Taliban as a legitimate Government. It had formally warned the Taliban about its treatment of women and girls. The Government had offered to resolve this issue through dialogue but would take legal action if necessary.

There had been a significant increase in Government engagement with partners representing indigenous two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex peoples. Canada recognised the impacts of historical sex-based inequities in the registration of indigenous women. Reparations related to this were currently not being considered.

The 2021 budget included measures on indigenous data strategies. There were plans to transfer digital data assets on indigenous peoples to indigenous communities, and efforts were ongoing to advance indigenous data sovereignty.

Education in Canada was administered by provinces and territories, which had made varied degrees of progress in educational outcomes for indigenous peoples.

Questions by Committee Experts

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked about steps taken to encourage men to become teachers. Was gender equity mainstreamed in schools? Was the Federal Government holding provinces to account regarding the quality of education they were providing? What steps had been taken to prevent discrimination of refugee mothers in the provision of places in childcare?

Another Committee Expert asked about the percentage of indigenous women in academic faculties and the support provided to indigenous women in academia.

One Committee Expert said there was a 17 per cent difference in annual earnings between women and men employed full-time. What achievements had the Pay Equity Act made, including for marginalised women? Were there plans to extend the Act to provincially regulated workplaces? Women spent more time doing unpaid work than men. What measures were in place to address the care burden and support women to find employment in non-traditional fields?

How was Canada addressing employment challenges for indigenous women and women with disabilities? Was the State party working to ratify International Labour Organization Convention 189 and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families? How had reporting of workplace harassment incidents changed since the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 190?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Canada was committed to reducing the gender pay gap and had implemented many measures toward this aim. The Pay Equity Act sought to provide equal pay for work of equal value. It required employers with more than 100 employees to publicise data on pay levels for male and female employees. The Government was also encouraging more men to take paternity leave to support mothers to return to the workplace. It was further supporting civil society’s work to advance women’s economic participation. Provincial governments had their own legislation on pay equity. The amount of time women spent on unpaid work was decreasing. Canadian men contributed more to unpaid work than the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development average.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert asked whether progress to address the gender pay gap differed between provinces.

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked how the State party planned to address the care deficit. How many fathers took paternity leave and for how many weeks on average? Were there still employer-specific work permits?

Another Committee Expert asked about workplace segregation and how it contributed to the pay gap.

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the pay gap was closing across all provinces.

The care benefit helped Canadian families to provide care for loved ones. Measures had been taken to help caregivers to balance their responsibilities and to promote more equitable sharing of care responsibilities between men and women. Around 1.7 billion dollars had been invested in expanding the recruitment of caregivers to alleviate the burden of unpaid care.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert said the United Nations Committee against Torture had called on Canada to implement legislation on free, prior and informed consent related to sterilisation procedures. Was this being done? Indigenous women continued to distrust State-sponsored health care facilities and geographic and financial barriers to health care remained for indigenous communities. How was the State party addressing this? Was the State’s legislation on health data gender sensitive? How was the State party promoting access to menstrual products domestically and abroad?

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, asked about safeguards to support the right to life for women with disabilities who applied for medical assistance in dying. Did the State party plan to expand health coverage for asylum seekers? How did the State party ensure that health policies that supported access to health for trans women did not threaten safe spaces for cis women?

Another Committee Expert said Canada’s support of Israeli military forces had indirectly facilitated various violations of the rights of women and children in Gaza. How did Canada regulate domestic corporations whose actions were contributing to human rights violations in Gaza? Would the State party stop providing arms to Israel?

One Committee Expert asked whether migrant women and girls had access to safe abortions in Canada. What steps had been taken to end forced and involuntary sterilisation of women with disabilities?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the Criminal Code stipulated that any procedures performed without the consent of the patient constituted aggravated assault. The Government was working to address harms caused by forced sterilisation procedures to indigenous women.

Canada had invested large sums in addressing anti-indigenous racism within the health care system. Indigenous women and girls had the right to access high-quality health care no matter where they lived. The Federal Government was working with provinces and territories to improve the quality of health care for indigenous women and girls. It had expanded support for indigenous midwives and prenatal and postpartum care for indigenous mothers, and was funding grassroots organizations that provided culturally safe health services for indigenous peoples.

In 2023, the Government launched an initiative with a civil society organization to support access to menstrual products. It planned to expand this initiative in future.

Canada supported the right to choose regarding abortions. No one should be forced to carry an unwanted baby. Federal and provincial governments were providing health care providers with training to ensure access to safe abortions. Safe abortion medication had been approved for use.

There was ongoing debate about circumstances in which medical assistance in dying should be available. For medical assistance in dying requests where there was no immediate risk of death, patients needed to be informed to alternative treatments such as palliative care. Assessments needed to be carried out for at least 90 days. A report on this topic would soon be published.

Canada had one of the strongest export control regimes in the world. All exports were assessed against arms trade regulations. Trade of arms was not permitted if there were suspicions that they would be used in human rights violations. Since January this year, no arms exports to Israel had been permitted.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert said that Canada had implemented several initiatives to address poverty and homelessness. Women often survived on lower incomes, and marginalised women in particular experienced greater levels of income inequality. How was the State party developing a mechanism to eliminate housing insecurity among women in Canada? What measures were in place to raise social assistance rates for women and girls? Would disability benefits be raised so women with disabilities could get out of poverty? Had the Government considered the unpaid care work of women in its analysis of gross domestic product?

There was an increased level of gender-based violence against indigenous women caused by influxes of male extractive industry workers in indigenous communities. How was the State party ensuring that the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous women was sought regarding extractive activities?

Canada reportedly engaged in indirect military exports to Israeli operations in Gaza by transferring arms to the United States. How was it ensuring that arms exports to the United States were not transferred to Israel?

Another Committee Expert asked about actions being taken by the Government to ensure that disappearances and murders of indigenous women no longer occurred. Around 42 per cent of imprisoned women in Canada were indigenous, and this population continued to grow. What were the causes of this phenomenon?

What was the Government doing to overcome barriers that women with disabilities faced in employment? What programmes had the State party implemented to support migrant women?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said Canada was committed to poverty reduction. It had launched a poverty reduction strategy in 2018 that established a poverty line. A national advisory council on poverty publicly reported annually on progress toward reaching poverty reduction targets. The child benefit had been introduced to support families with children under 18 years of age. Public pensions had helped to reduce poverty amongst senior women. Employment insurance provided three types of benefits for workers who needed to provide care to critically ill or injured family members.

Through the National Housing Act and its 2024 “Reaching Homes” strategy, the Government had provided a wide variety of housing supports and services. There were projects established under the strategy for women leaving domestic violence and for women with disabilities.

The Government had developed a plan of action to address violence related to the influx of extractive industry workers in indigenous communities. It provided funding for training for workers on respecting women’s rights, activities to identify risks, and capacity building activities to prepare communities for the arrival of workers. This work had also been expanded to the shipping industry.

Canada was providing access to non-judicial dispute resolution and remedy mechanisms related to alleged human rights violations occurring in the context of business activities. Canadian companies involved in this procedure were expected to participate in good faith; they could be denied trade permits if they did not.

Compensation was not currently being offered to families of persons who had gone missing or been murdered, but mental health support was being provided.

Questions by a Committee Expert

DAPHNA HACKER, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Canada, said cuts in legal aid had affected women’s access to justice. How was the State party addressing this issue? How was it supporting female prisoners to access justice? What training was provided to members of the judiciary on responding to domestic violence and respecting children’s rights in custody decisions? Were remedies provided to women and children whose rights were harmed by custody decisions?

Responses by the Delegation

The delegation said the Federal Government had increased funding in 2024 for criminal and immigration legal aid, which was expected to increase access to justice in these fields. A number of provinces had also implemented measures that had improved access to civil legal aid.

The Government continued to study the effects of family law legislation. Changes to the Divorce Act ensured that the best interests of the child were the key consideration in custody matters. Judges had access to contemporary training on intimate partner violence and family violence.

Concluding Remarks

GAIL MITCHELL, Assistant Deputy Minister, Departmental Programmes and Operations, Department of Women and Gender Equality of Canada and head of the delegation, said the dialogue had been rich, with important contributions from Committee Experts and civil society. The Committee had asked many questions that the delegation would do its best to follow up on.

MARION BETHEL, Committee Rapporteur and Acting Chair, said that the dialogue had provided insight on the situation of women and girls in Canada. The Committee would develop recommendations that would aim to strengthen the implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in the State.

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not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: On World Food Day, Rededicating Ourselves to Food Security for All

Source: USAID

When Tanzanian farmer and entrepreneur Prakseda Melkior was in just the third grade, she sold a head of spinach that she had grown in her backyard – and decided that she wanted to make a career out of producing food.

After studying agriculture at university, she went on to start her own farm, cultivating tomatoes, peppers, and bananas. But the usual method of watering crops using an old pumping water generator powered by diesel fuel was cutting into her profits, costing her the equivalent of thousands of U.S. dollars per year in fuel costs. Fortunately, a local USAID program was offering training to farmers in Melkior’s area in innovative farming techniques and irrigation methods. She used those techniques to water and grow her crops more efficiently, and went on to help train other farmers in the same methods. She also championed an idea for the U.S. government’s Feed the Future initiative to support farmers in installing solar-powered irrigation systems. When Melkior’s own solar system is completed, it will slash her irrigation costs by 70 percent and allow her to keep expanding her farm. “We’ll be harnessing the power of the sun to irrigate our crops,” she said. “It is a game-changer, allowing us to grow more, serve more customers and create more jobs in our community.”

Helping farmers like Melkior grow more food is particularly important today, as we mark World Food Day amid a historic number of food crises. More than 175 million people globally face life-threatening food insecurity, fueled by conflicts and climate-driven disasters including the recent historic floods in West Africa and El Niño-induced drought across southern Africa. As the world’s largest donor of emergency food assistance, USAID provided more than $5 billion in food security assistance to 134 million people in 61 countries in 2023 – including surging emergency food items to civilians in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gaza, Sudan, and South Sudan.

On World Food Day, it is also important to underscore that our ambition is not just to respond to hunger crises, but to strengthen food systems so we can help prevent many of these crises altogether. As part of this goal, I announced last month the launch of the “Feed the Future Accelerator,” an effort to deepen our partnerships with Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia – three countries with both high need for investment in their food systems and high potential for their agricultural sectors to drive long-term, regional reductions in poverty, malnutrition, and hunger. In these countries, we are aligning resources from across the U.S. government, NGOs, foreign governments, and the private sector to advance their progress at becoming agricultural breadbaskets that not only feed hungry people within their borders, but also help to stabilize the food supply across the African continent.

As we commemorate this year’s World Food Day, USAID is committed to taking action to address hunger crises and build a future where everyone has sufficient, nourishing, and safe food.

MIL OSI USA News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Social investment is back – and so are the risks of using data to target disadvantage

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eileen Joy, Professional Teaching Fellow in Social Work, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Getty Images

With the recent establishment of a new Social Investment Agency – described as a “driving project” for the government by Finance Minister Nicola Willis – it seems New Zealand has come full circle on this approach to social welfare.

First championed by then finance minister Bill English in 2015, social investment was rebranded “social wellbeing” by Labour-led governments between 2017 and 2023. But Willis signalled before last year’s election that its time had come again.

In a speech in 2022, she argued taxpayer money wasn’t being spent responsibly by the Labour administration, and that a targeted social investment approach was needed. During the 2023 election campaign, the National Party promised social investment would return.

Essentially, the policy involves using data to calculate which groups of people cost the government the most over a lifetime. Interventions aimed at reducing that cost are then targeted at those people. The idea is that early investment saves later social costs.

Right now, however, we don’t know the finer details of how Willis intends to implement the policy. But we do know how it worked in the past – and what lessons might be drawn from its earlier, short-lived implementation.

An actuarial approach to welfare

In New Zealand, the idea of social investment can be traced back to the fifth National government which held office for three terms between 2008 and 2017.

In September 2015, English outlined his approach in a Treasury lecture, explaining how the government had commissioned Australian actuary firm Taylor Fry to calculate the lifetime welfare cost to the state of people on benefits.

Typically, actuaries use statistics to calculate risk for insurance companies, information that is then used to set premiums. English said the Taylor Fry calculations would identify which beneficiary “is going to cost us the most money”.

The answer was single parents receiving a benefit. Consequently, they were deemed most in need of direct government intervention, including giving an approved mentor control of their money.

According to English’s version of social investment, data enabled the government to calculate the “forward liability” of its citizens, and target interventions accordingly.

This is not the only way to define social investment, however, and other countries often adopt a more universal approach. For example, European models tend to focus on social equality and inclusivity rather than targeting specific groups.

English’s model focused on applying benefit sanctions and conditions. The aim was to “reduce the lifetime public cost of the welfare-recipient population, thereby offering fiscal returns-on-investment, absorbed into public coffers”.

A Social Investment Unit was created in 2016, followed by a Social Investment Agency in 2017. This was a standalone agency providing advice across government departments.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis: social investment is a ‘driving project’ for the National-led government.
Getty Images

No accounting for structural disadvantage

Official thinking about social investment predates the establishment of the unit and agency. In 2015, the second of two reports produced by an expert panel review of the Child, Youth and Family agency (now Oranga Tamariki) recommended a new child-centred social investment agency be created.

The report’s analysis and advice focused on intervening early to reduce the risk of vulnerable children growing up to be beneficiaries, teen parents, substance users or prisoners (among other negative outcomes).

It was suggested these potential future behaviours almost always stemmed from the actions (or inactions) of parents. Māori were identified as being especially costly due to their over-representation in child protection statistics. They were described as a “forward liability associated with poor outcomes”.

The proposed response was early intervention and social investment. That would include the removal of very young children from whānau/families where they were perceived to be at high risk. The reasoning was that the predicted damage might then never eventuate, thereby saving taxpayer dollars.

As my doctoral research found, no consideration in the report was given to the effects of systemic conditions such as poverty and the legacies of colonisation.

Costs to the state

The social investment model, with its emphasis on financial liability to the state, became a major influence on Oranga Tamariki’s practice.

It led to an increase in the early removal of tamariki Māori, especially babies, from their birth families – as demonstrated in the 2019 Hawkes Bay “uplift” case, where social workers attempted to remove a Māori baby soon after birth.

In 2017, the new Labour government promised a review of the Social Investment Agency, renaming it the Social Wellbeing Agency in 2020. The social development minister at the time, Carmel Sepuloni, said the agency would have a more holistic approach. Data would be only one of a number of considerations when delivering social services.

But with the agency now reverting to its original name, the idea of using data to guide early intervention seems to be central again. It’s unclear, however, whether the actuarial approach of Bill English’s earlier model will return.

Nicola Willis does seem to be aware of the criticism of the English-era model’s apparent focus on fiscal risk and returns. She has stressed that measuring other outcomes is also important.

As yet, though, there is no indication the policy’s highly targeted approach to welfare will account for structural factors such as colonisation and poverty.

Given the government’s drive to remove any special policy considerations based on te Tiriti of Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi, the risk remains that some Māori will again come to be viewed as a “cost” to the state.

Eileen Joy 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.

– ref. Social investment is back – and so are the risks of using data to target disadvantage – https://theconversation.com/social-investment-is-back-and-so-are-the-risks-of-using-data-to-target-disadvantage-240799

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Soaring benefit sanctions push more into poverty

Source: Green Party

Sanctions on beneficiaries have sky-rocketed since the Coalition Government came to power, pushing more families into poverty.

“This heartless Government has more than doubled benefit sanctions, stripping people of their dignity and ability to put food on the table,” says the Green Party’s spokesperson for Social Development and Employment, Ricardo Menéndez March.

“People deserve to live in dignity, they deserve to be supported in times of need. We can afford to look after one another, all that is missing is the political will.

“Families living in poverty deserve more than smoke and mirrors from Louise Upston who is refusing to address child poverty while introducing more ways to push beneficiaries into hardship.

“Benefit sanctions for missing an appointment have almost tripled. This is quite clearly not about supporting people into work but depriving people in need of the means to survive.

“The Government has turned its back on our communities in need, adding fuel to the fire when it comes to growing inequality and widening poverty.

“The Prime Minister may be ‘wealthy’ and ‘sorted’ but a lot of people out there are struggling. It is time he woke up to this reality and started doing something about it.

“A Green Government will overturn this cruel system of sanctions that only makes life harder for beneficiaries and their whanau.

“We would instead guarantee liveable incomes for all, and provide tailored support to connect people to employment that provides secure hours, decent wages and helps them meet their aspirations,” says Ricardo Menéndez March.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: ADB to Support Green and Low-Carbon Urban Development in Chongqing, PRC

Source: Asia Development Bank

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (16 October 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $200 million equivalent loan to help build and implement green, low-carbon, climate-resilient, and cross-sector urban development measures in Chongqing Gaoxin District in Chongqing Municipality, the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“Chongqing has ambitious climate change targets, as well as a strong commitment to evolving Chongqing Gaoxin District into a low-carbon, nature-based, and climate-resilient city. But a holistic and integrated approach is critical to long-term success,” said ADB Country Director for the PRC Safdar Parvez. “This results-based lending program will foster collaboration among stakeholders and benefit almost a million residents.”

Chongqing experiences severe climate events, such as high temperatures, mountain fires, heavy rain, and droughts. The city’s rapid urban and industrial development has also degraded environmental quality, with Chongqing Gaoxin District facing frequent flooding, subpar infrastructure, and poor river water quality.

The Chongqing Gaoxin District Green and Low-Carbon Urban Development Program will support green and low-carbon infrastructure and services, including improved domestic wastewater management, green buildings, and renewable-energy-powered district heating and cooling supply. It will also support the development of a green eco-district—which applies sustainable urban practices like efficient resource usage and lowered carbon emissions into design and operation—and application of nature-based solutions, including enhanced flood mitigation capacity and urban green spaces.

The program will also strengthen institutional capacity and human capital to build and implement green and low-carbon initiatives, as well as train students, especially females, for roles toward climate-resilient urban development.

ADB’s climate finance for the program is $124 million, with an estimated $72.75 million in mitigation costs and $51.25 million in adaptation costs. The total program cost is $841.9 million equivalent. It is expected to be completed in 2030.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.

MIL OSI Economics –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Paul Taylor, 3BA 102.3FM, Ballarat

Source: Australian Treasurer

PAUL TAYLOR:

It’s nice to have in studio in person the federal Treasurer of Australia Jim Chalmers. Good morning to you, my friend.

JIM CHALMERS:

Good morning to you Paul, thanks for having me.

TAYLOR:

Well, we’ve only met once but I feel like I’m –

CHALMERS:

We’re old mates.

TAYLOR:

Well we have met, we’re old mates, aren’t we?

CHALMERS:

That’s how Australia works.

TAYLOR:

Once upon a time I got to speak to a Prime Minister, he of the budgie smuggler fame, and now I get to speak to the federal Treasurer. How are you?

CHALMERS:

There you go. I’m really good thanks, and I wanted to shout out from the outset the wonderful people at the George Hotel for one of the best coffees I have ever had. Thank you so much.

TAYLOR:

I’ll have to go and get one now, now you’ve put that in my head. We only have Nescafe downstairs. But see the thing is, Jim, it’s free and I’m a bit of a tight person.

CHALMERS:

Oh, right. Yeah, the moths fly out of your wallet when you open it kind of guy.

TAYLOR:

Yeah, they do. I’m rather rapt that you joined us here today because today’s is a special day and, Jim Chalmers, it’s World Banana Day. So I went to our local fruit and veg, Wilsons Fruit and Veggies just up the road in Mair Street and I got you a banana.

CHALMERS:

You got me a nana.

TAYLOR:

I got you a banana for World Banana Day. Can I just say I probably, if I were you, would start to eat that because to get through this interview you’re going to need all the energy you can muster.

CHALMERS:

Oh, I see. You’re buttering me up at the start with a nana.

TAYLOR:

I’m trying to.

CHALMERS:

You know I saw that banana in front of me and I thought, ‘I wonder if Paul’s going to tuck into that while we’re talking’.

TAYLOR:

I’ve got one for me, don’t worry. There we go, we’ve got one each.

Where do we start? Well you and the Prime Minister, Mr Albo, must be, I don’t know, shaking in your boots at the moment. Coalition are ahead two‑party preferred basis, 2 points, 51 per cent. Behind in the primary vote as well, 38 to 31. It seems that Albo’s setting himself up for retirement, just bought himself a $4.3 million on the beach pad. What’s happening here, Jim?

CHALMERS:

Well I think when it comes to the opinion polls what I try and do, and I think what we try and do collectively, is we don’t get too carried away when they’re really good, we don’t get too carried away when they’re really tight. The truth is, when you’re in my line of work, you learn not to take anyone’s vote for granted, and particularly when people are doing it tough. There’s a lot going on around the world and around the country. we don’t take any outcome for granted. I think the polls are reflecting the fact that people are under pressure, and we understand that.

When it comes to the other part of your question, I work as closely if not more closely than anyone with the PM, with Anthony, and I’ve seen for myself his total focus is on how we roll out this cost‑of‑living help, how do we build more houses for people to rent and buy, how do we take some of this pressure off people where we can? And I understand there’s interest in the place that he bought. I do understand that, and I think we all understand that when you’re in our line of work, people will have an interest in those sorts of private decisions that you take. In this case, he and Jodie wanted somewhere a bit closer to Jodie’s family in that beautiful part of Australia on the Central Coast. But I want to assure your listeners and anyone who checks out our interview, I see how focused he is on the cost of living, on housing for more Australians because those are the main issues that are putting pressure on people right now, and I think that’s reflected in our politics.

TAYLOR:

Would you agree it’s bad timing on the Prime Minister’s behalf?

CHALMERS:

I’m not going to give him free advice or kind of second‑guess –

TAYLOR:

You are a money man though. Surely you can give him free monetary advice?

CHALMERS:

I don’t give him free advice about these sorts of things. He’s very fortunate that he has Jodie and Jodie’s very fortunate that she has that loving family on the Central Coast and they want to be nearer to them. I’m not pretending that people don’t have a legitimate interest in the sorts of things that Prime Ministers do.

TAYLOR:

This is the talk of Australia at the moment.

CHALMERS:

I understand that. I think he understands that too. I spent yesterday with him in my own community just south of Brisbane around Logan City. He understands that too. But really the assurance that I can give your listeners and the country beyond is, he is extremely focused on all of the things that we’re doing to try and ease some of these cost‑of‑living pressures that people are confronting. That’s his focus.

TAYLOR:

There’s a couple of things out of that answer that you’ve given me. You’ve mentioned cost‑of‑living crisis, you’ve mentioned the housing crisis. Jim Chalmers, are we still the lucky country or are we not the lucky country any more?

CHALMERS:

Well I believe you make your own luck. I’m not the first one to say that but I really believe that this country has not just an amazing history, and being in Ballarat is really to be struck by the incredible history of our country, but our future is even brighter, and when Donald Horn wrote that book about Australia being a lucky country it was tongue‑in‑cheek. He was saying we were lucky despite the leadership that was being shown at the time. And so how I think about the future of this place is I think we’ve got enormous potential, we’ve got almost limitless opportunity. It matters how we share that opportunity. And the decisions we take now about the energy transformation and how we adapt and adopt technology and how we provide good services to people and how we make sure regions like this one are part of our story of economic success, these are the big challenges that we confront. We can be more than lucky. We can be successful not by accident but by design.

TAYLOR:

I’ve got some stats that I want to give to you and throw your way which make it extremely difficult to see the brighter light here in Australia that you speak of going forward. Eighty‑five per cent of Australians, 85 per cent, are now convinced, convinced, they’ll never be able to buy their own home except maybe through the bank of mum and dad. Eighty‑five per cent.

CHALMERS:

There’s a real intergenerational element to this. I’m off to Ballarat High shortly and I anticipate that one of the questions I’ll get will be about housing because there’s a real sense in Australia, and not an unwarranted one, that it’s harder to get a toe hold in the housing market and that’s why probably the biggest, if not the biggest, and certainly one of the biggest investments we’ve been making as a government is the $32 billion we found in 3 budgets to try and build more homes. Because the best thing we can do to make it easier for people to find somewhere to rent or somewhere to buy, somewhere to raise a family, is to build more homes. We don’t have enough homes in this country. We’re starting from a long way back. We’ve got a lot of investment flowing right now and that’s really important because we need to turn this ship around.

TAYLOR:

Housing Accord, 1.2 million homes by 2029. The HIA have come out today and said we need 22,000 carpenters, 17,000 sparkies, 1,200 plumbers. Now we’re going to import a heap of doctors into the country. Should we be doing the same with our plumbers and our carpenters and our sparkies? I don’t know. Is immigration the way to go? Because once they get here they’re not going to be living in swags, they need homes to live in, don’t they, Jim?

CHALMERS:

The first priority, the most important thing we can do is train more tradies. The housing pipeline is nowhere near what we want it to be. We agree with some of the analysis from the industry and from others that says we’re starting from a long way back but that doesn’t mean you kind of throw your hands in the air and say, it’s all too hard. We’re investing a bunch of money, but we do need the tradies. We need the carpenters and the plumbers and the sparkies to be able to build these homes. And so it’s not talking out of school to say that a big part of the conversations we’ve been having with the new Housing Minister, Clare O’Neil, a proud Victorian, is how we actually build the capacity to build all these homes and the most important part of that is skills. There will be a role for migration in that but the primary role is for TAFE and training, making sure that we can get the skills that we need to build the homes that we need.

TAYLOR:

Yeah, there’s a lot of work ahead for the Albanese government, the Prime Minister saying he wants to be there for a long time to come. Is that the charter of this government, to dig in, to show Australia that we can find the light at the end of the tunnel?

CHALMERS:

That’s our objective because we want to bed down the changes that we’re making. We want to build the homes, build the skills base, all of these important things that you’ve been asking me about this morning and that sometimes takes time, takes more than one term.

If you think about the story of this government, we have done a lot, we’ve got a lot more to do, and the country has a lot to lose if we go back to the worst aspects of the government that preceded us.

We don’t pretend that we have every issue fixed in this country, but if you think about – in my part of the shop – the progress that we’ve made together, and I don’t claim 100 per cent of the credit for this, this is to Australia’s credit – we’ve halved inflation, we’ve got real wages growing again, we’ve created a million jobs in a soft economy, we’ve got tax cuts flowing to everyone, and yet we’ve still delivered a couple of surpluses and we’ve avoided $150 billion in debt which means we pay less interest on it. So we’ve made a heap of progress as a country together, working together, but we know that there is more to do and that’s why we need another term to do it.

TAYLOR:

Just quickly, direct you to a feature in our local paper, the Ballarat Courier this morning, a story that says growing numbers of Ballarat families are facing ‘relentless poverty’, quote unquote, with parents being forced to choose between buying food and paying for other essentials, including medication, bills and school costs because times are tough out there and it’s not easy. Families are suffering. I see it first‑hand. I volunteer for an organisation called the Soup Bus and the Soup Bus goes out and helps the homeless, those in need, and now it’s families in crisis who are showing up. We’ve now got a community house that I do a lot for up in Wendouree West and we are seeing more and more families come in for a feed because they simply can’t afford to put food on the table.

CHALMERS:

Yes. I don’t disagree that there are a lot of people doing it really tough, and if you think about those 3 budgets that we’ve handed down, really the most important part of those budgets, really the government’s reason for being, is in the near‑term to try and take pressure off people and in the longer term to build more opportunities for people.

If you think about the things that we’re doing which are motivated by what you’re raising with me, I don’t dispute what you’re raising with me, I see it in my own community and around Australia that people are doing it tough, so that’s why the tax cuts are so important, the energy bill relief for every household, cheaper medicines, rent assistance, cheaper early childhood education, fee‑free TAFE, getting wages moving again. All of those things are motivated by what we see with our own eyes around Australia, which is people doing it tougher than we would like them to do.

We have to get on top of this inflation and cost‑of‑living challenge and we are. We’re rolling out a bunch of help in the most responsible way that we can, but we acknowledge that even with that help that we’re rolling out, billions of dollars of assistance for people who are doing it tough, we know that that the pressures are still there and as a Labor government, we take our responsibilities to the people that you’re referencing very seriously.

TAYLOR:

I know you can’t tell the RBA what to do but in your mind how soon before we see interest rates drop?

CHALMERS:

Well the first part of your question’s right. I try not to pre‑empt or predict or second‑guess the decisions that are taken rightly and independently by the Reserve Bank. They do their job, and I do mine. My job is to help them in the fight against inflation and we made a heap of progress as a country in the fight against inflation, and they’ll weigh that up. They’ve got a meeting in November, another one in December, and then not ‘til February. I know there’s a lot of interest in that and the decisions that they might take, but I try and mind my own business and focus on what I can control and leave them to do their job.

TAYLOR:

All right, great to see the government backing the ACCC where price gouging is concerned with the supermarkets, the big 2, Woolies and Coles. How much, is it talk, is it rhetoric, that the government are now going to take the big banks to task about fees where credit and debit cards are concerned? Is it really going to happen? Are we going to see the end of that gouging when it comes to the big banks?

CHALMERS:

We don’t want to see people charged these big fees just to use their own money, that’s why our primary focus is on debit cards. Debit cards are now actually most of the payment system. I think it’s just edged over 50 per cent of payments are from debit cards, so that’s people using their own money, and you shouldn’t get slugged just to use your own money, so we do want to crack down on that.

We’ve got some work to do with the Reserve Bank and others to make sure that we do it the right way and one of the things we want to be really careful about there is the impact on small business and consumers. We want to make sure consumers and small businesses are beneficiaries of any change that we make but we are prepared to ban surcharges on debit cards subject to that work.

TAYLOR:

Jim Chalmers, it’s been an absolute pleasure to have you here in person. Great to see you getting out and about and into the regional areas given you’re the federal Treasurer. I want to thank you for your time, for your candid answers and enjoy your banana on World Banana Day.

CHALMERS:

Well thanks for having me on your show, Paul, and thanks for the nana as well. I’ll eat that shortly, it looks terrific.

TAYLOR:

Thank you very much. The federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

MIL OSI News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Universities – Conference addresses the systemic causes of poverty – Vic

Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Media are invited to attend ‘Pakukore: Poverty, by Design—Addressing the systemic causes of poverty and options for change,’ an upcoming conference which will analyse the interconnected web of economic, governmental, legal, and institutional systems that have locked poverty in.

Hosted by the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, the conference runs from 21‒23 November. It features speakers from research backgrounds and the front lines, who will provide evidence, present joined-up thinking, and examine where hope lies for eradicating poverty and assisting those who suffer its harms.

“Should a developed nation continue to tolerate poverty and inequality? The conference invites speakers who work at the front lines in the fight against poverty to tell us of the lasting and severe harms it inflicts on people’s lives,” says Rebecca Macfie, JD Stout Research Fellow and co-organiser.

The programme will be ordered around the systems that have played, and continue to play, key roles in underpinning and maintaining the crisis of poverty: economic management, the housing, health, welfare, and education systems, the courts and corrections, and short-term political thinking.

The conference will also look at where hope lies, and how we can choose to redesign Aotearoa New Zealand to eradicate poverty and heal those who suffer its harms.

Confirmed speakers include:

Murray Edridge, Maria English, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Judge Ida Malosi, Professor Lisa Marriot, Max Rashbrooke, Professor Tracey McIntosh, Professor Māmari Stephens, Associate Professor Anna Matheson, Dr Jin Russell, Craig Renney, Jennie Smeaton, Pat Hanley, Brooke Pao Stanley, Agnes Magele, Rebecca Macfie, Dr Huhana Hickey, Sue Bradford, Bill Rosenberg, Dr Kay Saville-Smith, James Te Puni, Miriana Stephens, Professor Nikki Turner, Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Paine, Dr Avataeao Junior Ulu, Dr Hana O’Regan, Amanda Coulston, Jess Berentson-Shaw, MPs Carmel Sepuloni, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, and Kassie Hartendorp. Journalist and commentator Bernard Hickey will be the conference rapporteur.

The conference opens on Thursday 21 November 2024 at 5 pm with the JD Stout Memorial Lecture from Rebecca Macfie, and then runs from 9 am to 5 pm on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 November. A full programme can be viewed here. https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/stout-centre/about/events/poverty-by-design-addressing-the-systemic-causes-of-poverty-and-options-for-change

Venue:
Lecture Theatre 1
Rutherford House
Pipitea Campus
Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (1)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is the translation of the speech made by the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to the Legislative Council this morning (October 16):

Mr President, Honourable Members and fellow citizens,

I. Reform and Embrace Changes to Achieve Prosperity

1. This is my third Policy Address.

2. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The Resolution calls on Hong Kong to fully harness the institutional strengths of “One Country, Two Systems” while consolidating and enhancing its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre. It also supports Hong Kong’s position to become an international hub for high-calibre talents, to exert a greater role in our country’s opening up to the world, and to deepen collaboration within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) through better harmonisation of rules and mechanisms.

3. In running for office, more than two years ago, I stated that “we must embrace a reform mind-set” and we “need further revamping”. I proposed to build a “result-oriented” government, setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to create a new government culture. I put forward a series of reform measures, including the establishment of Care Teams to enhance district services, introduction of the Advance Allocation Scheme to shorten the waiting time for public housing, and assistance to junior secondary students living in subdivided units (SDUs) for tackling intergenerational poverty. I believe that we must maintain our development momentum and self-renewal, and that we must embrace changes while staying principled, innovative and flexible in meeting challenges and opportunities.

4. Regarding system reforms, I work on the principle that anything essential but lacking in the system must be established; any serious shortcomings must be rectified; any bottlenecks, weaknesses or hurdles must be overcome; and any areas in need of consolidation must be reinforced and improved. In the reform process, we have to decide what should be built from scratch, what should be overhauled to set things right, and what should be consolidated and bolstered. In taking forward reforms, we must have a systemic mind-set and manage the relationships between overall and local interests, between the present and the future, between macro and micro concerns. While we may make reference to the successful experiences of other places, we cannot adopt them directly given the differences in the basis and structure of our systems. Our reform proposals must take heed of the prevailing circumstances and be tailored to local conditions.

5. Since becoming Chief Executive, I have carried out reforms along the above principle.

6. On implementation of “One Country, Two Systems”, we fulfilled the constitutional responsibility to enact local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law; we reformed the institutional set-up of the District Councils by implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”; we enacted a new legislation to enable an essentially automatic extension of land leases in an orderly manner for a term of 50 years to beyond 2047, manifesting the long-term adherence to “One Country, Two Systems”.

7. On governance, we reformed the government structure and reshuffled the duties among policy bureaux, increasing their number from 13 to 15. We created three new Deputy Secretaries of Department to strengthen co-ordination of work across bureaux, setting up task forces led by the Deputy Secretaries to enhance implementation. We cultivated a government culture focusing on results. We also introduced a mechanism mobilising the Government at all levels to respond to major incidents.

8. In economic development, we established the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) to optimise the use of government funds for the development of industries and our economy. We pressed ahead with the development of the “eight centres” and the Northern Metropolis, taking an industry-oriented approach. We set up the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to strengthen our efforts in trawling for talents and enterprises. We also established Hong Kong as a regional hub for higher education.

9. As for people’s livelihood, we implemented healthcare reform and took steps to build our primary review mechanism for drugs and medical devices. We set up a system for bringing in healthcare professionals to alleviate manpower shortage in the public healthcare system. We also launched Light Public Housing (LPH) to fill short-term gaps in the supply of public housing, and established the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units. We pooled resources for targeted poverty alleviation. We established an annual review mechanism for minimum wage protection. We also rationalised traffic flow among the three road harbour crossings.

10. Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihood through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas. Measures include building an international gold trading market, promoting high value-added maritime services, and building a commodity trading ecosystem and internationally-accredited metal warehouses. We will promulgate the Development Outline for the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Loop, building a testing ground for policy and institutional innovation. We will also set up a working group on developing the low-altitude economy.

11. In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the “four proposals” put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on 1 July 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and KPIs. A Supplement offering more details on the policy measures and related matters has also been compiled.

(To be continued.)

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Secretary-General’s message on World Food Day [scroll down for French version]

Source: United Nations – English

strong>Download the video: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads2.unmultimedia.org/public/video/evergreen/MSG+SG+/SG+World+Food+Day+16+Oct+24/MSG+SG+World+Food+Day+16+Oct+24.mp4

Something is very wrong with a world in which hunger and malnutrition are a fact of life for billions of children, women and men.

On World Food Day, we remind ourselves of the 733 million people who are short of food because of conflict, marginalization, climate change, poverty and economic downturns — including those who face the threat of manmade famine in Gaza and Sudan…

Or the 2.8 billion people who cannot afford a healthy diet — including those who are overweight as global obesity rates soar.

The good news is that a zero-hunger world is possible.

The 2021 Food Systems Summit set us on a course to tackle the inefficiencies and inequities built into our food systems.

Food systems need a massive transformation, with the contributions of businesses, academics, research institutions and civil society, to become more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

Governments must work with all partners to incentivize the production and sale of healthy, nutritious food at affordable prices.

On World Food Day, let’s step up the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Let’s take action to uphold the right to food for a better life and a better future.
*****
Un monde dans lequel des milliards d’enfants, de femmes et d’hommes souffrent de la faim et de malnutrition, c’est un monde qui va très mal.

En cette journée mondiale de l’alimentation, nous nous tournons vers les 733 millions de personnes qui, victimes de conflits, de la marginalisation, des changements climatiques, de la pauvreté ou de la récession économique, ne mangent pas à leur faim, notamment vers celles qui font face à la menace d’une famine causée par l’humain à Gaza et au Soudan…

Nous pensons également aux 2,8 milliards de personnes qui n’ont pas les moyens d’accéder à une alimentation saine, y compris celles qui sont en surpoids, l’obésité dans le monde montant en flèche.

La bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’un monde sans faim est possible.

Le Sommet des Nations Unies sur les systèmes alimentaires, qui s’est tenu en 2021, nous a mis sur la voie de la lutte contre l’inefficacité et l’injustice de nos systèmes alimentaires.

Les systèmes alimentaires doivent faire l’objet d’une transformation massive, avec la contribution des entreprises, des établissements universitaires, des instituts de recherche et de la société civile, pour devenir plus efficaces, plus inclusifs, plus résilients et plus durables.

Les pouvoirs publics doivent collaborer avec tous les partenaires pour encourager la production et la vente d’aliments sains et nutritifs à des prix abordables.

À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de l’alimentation, redoublons d’efforts pour lutter contre la faim et la malnutrition.

Agissons pour défendre le droit à l’alimentation et promouvoir une vie et un avenir meilleurs.

MIL OSI Africa –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE lays out agenda for development

Source: Hong Kong Information Services

This is my third Policy Address.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. The resolution calls on Hong Kong to fully harness the institutional strengths of “one country, two systems” while consolidating and enhancing its status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre. It also supports Hong Kong’s position to become an international hub for high-calibre talents, to exert a greater role in our country’s opening up to the world, and to deepen collaboration within the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) through better harmonisation of rules and mechanisms.

In running for office, more than two years ago, I stated that “we must embrace a reform mindset” and we “need further revamping”. I proposed to build a “result-oriented” government, setting key performance indicators (KPIs) to create a new government culture. I put forward a series of reform measures, including the establishment of Care Teams to enhance district services, introduction of the Advance Allocation Scheme to shorten the waiting time for public housing, and assistance to junior secondary students living in subdivided units (SDUs) for tackling intergenerational poverty. I believe that we must maintain our development momentum and self-renewal, and that we must embrace changes while staying principled, innovative and flexible in meeting challenges and opportunities.

Regarding system reforms, I work on the principle that anything essential but lacking in the system must be established; any serious shortcomings must be rectified; any bottlenecks, weaknesses or hurdles must be overcome; and any areas in need of consolidation must be reinforced and improved. In the reform process, we have to decide what should be built from scratch, what should be overhauled to set things right, and what should be consolidated and bolstered. In taking forward reforms, we must have a systemic mindset and manage the relationships between overall and local interests, between the present and the future, between macro and micro concerns. While we may make reference to the successful experiences of other places, we cannot adopt them directly given the differences in the basis and structure of our systems. Our reform proposals must take heed of the prevailing circumstances and be tailored to local conditions.

Since becoming Chief Executive, I have carried out reforms along the above principle.

On implementation of “one country, two systems”, we fulfilled the constitutional responsibility to enact local legislation for Article 23 of the Basic Law; we reformed the institutional set-up of the District Councils by implementing the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”; we enacted new legislation to enable an essentially automatic extension of land leases in an orderly manner for a term of 50 years to beyond 2047, manifesting the long term adherence to “one country, two systems”.

On governance, we reformed the government structure and reshuffled the duties among policy bureaus, increasing their number from 13 to 15. We created three new Deputy Secretaries of Department to strengthen co-ordination of work across bureaus, setting up task forces led by the Deputy Secretaries to enhance implementation. We cultivated a government culture focusing on results. We also introduced a mechanism mobilising the Government at all levels to respond to major incidents.

In economic development, we established the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) to optimise the use of government funds for the development of industries and our economy. We pressed ahead with the development of the “eight centres” and the Northern Metropolis, taking an industry oriented approach. We set up the Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE) and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to strengthen our efforts in trawling for talents and enterprises. We also established Hong Kong as a regional hub for higher education.

As for people’s livelihoods, we implemented healthcare reform and took steps to build our primary review mechanism for drugs and medical devices. We set up a system for bringing in healthcare professionals to alleviate manpower shortage in the public healthcare system. We also launched Light Public Housing (LPH) to fill short-term gaps in the supply of public housing, and established the Task Force on Tackling the Issue of Subdivided Units. We pooled resources for targeted poverty alleviation. We established an annual review mechanism for minimum wage protection. We also rationalised traffic flow among the three road harbour crossings.

Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihoods through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas. Measures include building an international gold trading market, promoting high value added maritime services, and building a commodity trading ecosystem and internationally accredited metal warehouses. We will promulgate the Development Outline for the Hong Kong Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park in the Loop, building a testing ground for policy and institutional innovation. We will also set up a working group on developing the low altitude economy.

In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the “four proposals” put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on 1 July 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and KPIs. A Supplement offering more details on the policy measures and related matters has also been compiled.

This is the English translation of the opening remarks in Chief Executive John Lee’s 2024 Policy Address, delivered on October 16.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Nations: Secretary-General’s message on World Food Day [scroll down for French version]

Source: United Nations secretary general

Download the video: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads2.unmultimedia.org/public/video/evergreen/MSG+SG+/SG+World+Food+Day+16+Oct+24/MSG+SG+World+Food+Day+16+Oct+24.mp4

Something is very wrong with a world in which hunger and malnutrition are a fact of life for billions of children, women and men.

On World Food Day, we remind ourselves of the 733 million people who are short of food because of conflict, marginalization, climate change, poverty and economic downturns — including those who face the threat of manmade famine in Gaza and Sudan…

Or the 2.8 billion people who cannot afford a healthy diet — including those who are overweight as global obesity rates soar.

The good news is that a zero-hunger world is possible.

The 2021 Food Systems Summit set us on a course to tackle the inefficiencies and inequities built into our food systems.

Food systems need a massive transformation, with the contributions of businesses, academics, research institutions and civil society, to become more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

Governments must work with all partners to incentivize the production and sale of healthy, nutritious food at affordable prices.

On World Food Day, let’s step up the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Let’s take action to uphold the right to food for a better life and a better future.
*****
Un monde dans lequel des milliards d’enfants, de femmes et d’hommes souffrent de la faim et de malnutrition, c’est un monde qui va très mal.

En cette journée mondiale de l’alimentation, nous nous tournons vers les 733 millions de personnes qui, victimes de conflits, de la marginalisation, des changements climatiques, de la pauvreté ou de la récession économique, ne mangent pas à leur faim, notamment vers celles qui font face à la menace d’une famine causée par l’humain à Gaza et au Soudan…

Nous pensons également aux 2,8 milliards de personnes qui n’ont pas les moyens d’accéder à une alimentation saine, y compris celles qui sont en surpoids, l’obésité dans le monde montant en flèche.

La bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’un monde sans faim est possible.

Le Sommet des Nations Unies sur les systèmes alimentaires, qui s’est tenu en 2021, nous a mis sur la voie de la lutte contre l’inefficacité et l’injustice de nos systèmes alimentaires.

Les systèmes alimentaires doivent faire l’objet d’une transformation massive, avec la contribution des entreprises, des établissements universitaires, des instituts de recherche et de la société civile, pour devenir plus efficaces, plus inclusifs, plus résilients et plus durables.

Les pouvoirs publics doivent collaborer avec tous les partenaires pour encourager la production et la vente d’aliments sains et nutritifs à des prix abordables.

À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de l’alimentation, redoublons d’efforts pour lutter contre la faim et la malnutrition.

Agissons pour défendre le droit à l’alimentation et promouvoir une vie et un avenir meilleurs.

MIL OSI United Nations News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Challenges and Opportunities for Adopting Alternative Dispute Resolution in Developing Asia

Source: Asia Development Bank

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MIL OSI Economics –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE’s speech in delivering “The Chief Executive’s 2024 Policy Address” to LegCo (10)

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

(C) Take Forward the Construction of Transport InfrastructurePromote Major Transport Infrastructure Development183. The Government is actively following through the Major Transport Infrastructure Development Blueprint for Hong Kong, under which the Hung Shui Kiu Station and the NOL Main Line are to commence construction this year and next year for tentative completion in 2030 and 2034 respectively. In parallel, cross‑boundary railway projects are pressed ahead at full speed, including the Hong Kong‑Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu‑Qianhai) and the NOL Spur Line, to enhance linkage between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.Build Smart and Green Mass Transit Systems184. Devoted to take forward the three smart and green mass transit systems, and for compressing the time required for construction, we invited suppliers and operators to submit expressions of interest for the East Kowloon and Kai Tak projects this August. We will invite expressions of interest for the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen projects later this year. Through innovative implementation mode and construction methods, we aim to complete the Kai Tak project three years ahead of the original target completion date.(D) Deepen Reform of the Healthcare System185. To enhance the health of the people of Hong Kong, improve healthcare protection and quality, and capitalise on our healthcare professions’ strengths, the Government will conduct a comprehensive review on the positioning and objectives of the healthcare system. The review will cover the following areas: reforming the functions and division of work among the Hospital Authority (HA), the Department of Health (DH) and the Primary Healthcare Commission (PHC Commission), strengthening health promotion and disease prevention in primary healthcare, and improving public healthcare services. In parallel, we will reform private healthcare services in terms of their quality, cost‑effectiveness and price transparency, providing the public with high quality, cost‑effective and affordable healthcare service options. We will also support manpower training and technology innovation, helping to uphold the global standing and regional advantage of Hong Kong’s healthcare professions. This will also be conducive to the development of Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, an advanced medical service centre in Asia, a place where medical professionals cluster, as well as a bridge for East‑and‑West healthcare exchanges.Advance Primary Healthcare Development186. The Government will promote the development of primary healthcare on all fronts, including:(i) formulating legislation to strengthen the regulatory framework of primary healthcare and authorise the PHC Commission to set up quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms;(ii) developing a community drug formulary and launching a community pharmacy programme to help the public obtain affordable, primary‑healthcare drugs through central purchasing and the community network;(iii) devising health promotion strategies by adopting a life‑course framework to formulate health management plans for the public according to age and health conditions;(iv) revamping maternal and child health and family‑planning services to strengthen pre‑pregnancy counselling and parental education and promote healthy fertility;(v) strengthening the Whole School Health Programme to recommend targeted school‑based measures for physical activities, meals and other matters for each school to improve students’ physical and psychological well‑being;(vi) upgrading more District Health Centre Expresses into District Health Centres (DHCs), and expanding the service network, and integrating the services of Woman Health Centres and Elderly Health Centres;(vii) expanding the Chronic Disease Co‑Care Pilot Scheme to cover blood lipid testing; positioning the HA’s general out‑patient services as the comprehensive, primary healthcare service providers for the underprivileged;(viii) formulating risk‑based screening programmes for prevalent cancers on a gradual basis, including breast cancer screening, exploring the use of AI to assist lung cancer screening, and implementing hepatitis B screening to prevent liver cancer;(ix) launching a Primary Dental Co‑Care Pilot Scheme for Adolescents to encourage the prevention of dental diseases, as well as a Community Dental Support Programme to enhance dental services for underprivileged groups. This would include elderly persons in financial hardship, replacing the Community Care Fund Elderly Dental Assistance Programme, and introducing preventive dental services for pre‑school children; and(x) continuing efforts in tobacco control.Enhance Public and Private Healthcare Services187. The Government will strengthen the HA’s public healthcare services, including:(i) reviewing the structure and levels of the HA’s fees and charges to encourage prudent use of services and direct resources to patients who need them most and for those with serious or critical conditions, while increasing support for patients with financial difficulties and strengthening the financial sustainability of the targeted subsidisation of public healthcare services;(ii) strengthening the centralised procurement of drugs and medical devices by various clusters of the HA system in order to enhance their bargaining power and to expedite, in a more proactive manner, the introduction of new drugs, meeting efficacy and cost‑effectiveness standards to the Drug Formulary;(iii) formulating a directory for inherited and rare diseases by using the Hong Kong Genome Institute’s genomic data, thereby facilitating early diagnosis and treatment by clinical teams, while supporting relevant research and clinical trials to promote precision medicine;(iv) fully integrating the paediatric services of various clusters at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital and developing more advanced healthcare services to make the best use of the Children’s Hospital;(v) finalising the projects and timetable of the Second Hospital Development Plan to dovetail with the development of the Northern Metropolis and to address the needs of local districts;(vi) setting up, in accordance with national accreditation standards, the first stroke centre and the second chest pain centre;(vii) enhancing the triage system and referral arrangements for specialist out‑patient services, including setting up inter‑specialty, integrated, out‑patient clinics to avoid the need for multiple referrals; and(viii) increasing the service capacity for cataract surgeries by at least 20%.188. The Government will also enhance the quality and efficiency of healthcare services, including:(i) establishing a professional platform for developing evidence‑based clinical protocols and exploring the feasibility of devising service quality and efficiency standards for public and private healthcare sectors;(ii) developing quality indicators for public and private healthcare systems and exploring legislating for private healthcare price transparency to enhance service efficiency and address the issue of medical inflation, with the plan to consult the healthcare sector next year; and(iii) amending relevant legislation to require all healthcare providers to deposit essential health data in the personal eHealth accounts of members of the public, enabling the latter to have more complete electronic health records and enhance continuity of medical care.Bring in More Healthcare Professionals189. We will promote the use of the legislation passed earlier to proactively admit more non‑local doctors, nurses and dentists to enhance manpower. The Government will introduce a bill on the admission of qualified non‑locally trained supplementary medical professionals next year.Support Establishment of a Third Medical School190. In addition to increasing training places of the existing two medical schools, the Government supports the plan, by local universities, to establish a third medical school, increasing the number of doctors and supporting the city’s development as an international health‑ and medical‑innovation hub. A task group will be set up, inviting universities interested in establishing the new medical school to submit proposals. The Government will set aside sites in the Northern Metropolis Ngau Tam Mei to develop the new medical school campus and build an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.Promote Development of Chinese Medicine191. To develop Hong Kong into a bridgehead for the internationalisation of Chinese medicine (CM), the Government will make use of Hong Kong’s advantages in its healthcare system, regulatory regime, standard‑setting, clinical research and trade, and other areas. We will publish the CM Development Blueprint next year, and take forward the following measures:(i) exploring the application of big data to foster international research collaboration on herb‑drug interaction to discover more evidence of clinical significance, promoting the internationalisation of CM;(ii) expanding integrated Chinese‑Western medicine services to cover more diseases in which CM has an advantage, including respiratory diseases and knee osteoarthritis, and to progressively extend the cancer care programme to all hospital clusters;(iii) rolling out the first Chinese Medicine Hospital and the permanent premises of the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute, which are expected to be completed and begin phased operation next year; and(iv) organising the first edition of the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Cultural Festival to promote the culture of CM in collaboration with the industry.Promote Mental Health192. The Government will extend integrated services based on a medical‑educational‑social collaboration model to promote mental health. Relevant measures include:(i) formulating a stepped care model for mental health – We will develop a multi‑disciplinary framework with tiers, from dealing with general emotional problems in the frontline to handling cases requiring follow‑up and more serious mental illnesses cases. The framework sets out the roles of different professionals (such as teaching staff, social workers and healthcare workers) and their division of work in the provision of mental health services for cases in each tier, enabling them to work together and perform their respective roles smoothly;(ii) raising community awareness of mental health – An annual promotional theme will be set for the Mental Health Workplace Charter, and recognition will be given to participating organisations for achieving targets. We will also promote the 4Rs Mental Health Charter in schools to promote the mental health of students, teaching staff and parents in a more holistic manner;(iii) enhancing support for children and adolescents – We will extend and enhance the Three‑Tier School‑based Emergency Mechanism, and launch the “Mental Health Literacy” resource packages for senior secondary and lower primary levels. A real‑time, online youth‑emotional‑support platform will be set up in the second quarter of next year;(iv) facilitating the integration of persons in mental recovery into the community – We will set up Transitional Support Service Teams for Persons in Mental Recovery, offering support to discharged patients waitlisted for halfway house service. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) will also set up an additional Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness; and(v) strengthening teacher training and parent education – We will strengthen teachers’ capacity in the early identification of, and support for, students with mental health needs, and assist parents in acquiring the knowledge and skills in addressing children’s mental health.(E) Build a Caring and Inclusive Society193. I attach great importance to building a harmonious and stable community, one that is caring and inclusive, providing targeted assistance to the underprivileged and families in need. Social welfare tops public expenditures of all policy portfolios, with more than $300 million spent on social welfare each day. This underlines the Government’s emphasis on social welfare.Targeted Poverty Alleviation194. The Government has adopted the strategy of targeted poverty alleviation by directing resources to those most in need. This approach is well‑received by the community. We will focus on the following key areas:(i) expanding the Strive and Rise Programme – We will launch the third cohort of the programme this year to recruit 4 000 mentees. We will also encourage youth leaders of the Alumni Club to organise activities for self‑development, enhance training for mentors and related initiatives;(ii) extending the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room (CLR) – We will set up three additional CLRs next year in areas clustered with SDUs. They are expected to benefit about 1 300 target households, serving about 200 000 attendances a year. Including the four CLRs already launched, they are expected to serve about 3 050 SDU households, drawing about 470 000 attendances a year;(iii) enhancing the School‑based After‑School Care Service Scheme – Beginning this school year, the number of primary schools covered by the Scheme will increase from 50 to over 110, enabling students in need to stay at school outside school hours for care and learning support, allowing their parents to take up jobs. Subject to actual utilisation and outcome of the scheme, we plan to encourage more schools to participate in the scheme, without capping the number of places, in the 2025/26 school year; and(iv) subsidising elderly recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) to reside in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) in the Guangdong Province – We will launch a three‑year pilot scheme next year to subsidise elderly CSSA recipients retiring in Guangdong to reside in designated RCHEs in the Guangdong Province. Each eligible elderly person will receive a monthly subsidy of $5,000, subject to a quota of 1 000.Care for the Elderly195. The Government attaches great importance to caring for the elderly in need and has been constantly strengthening elderly services. The total number of vouchers under the Residential Care Service Voucher Scheme for the Elderly will be increased by 20% to 6 000, allowing more frail elderly persons to be admitted to RCHEs of their choice and receive subsidised care services without waiting.196. We will enhance the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong to provide more choices and support for elderly persons who opt to stay in RCHEs in the province. Relevant measures include:(i) increasing the number of participating RCHEs from the existing 4 to 11 in November 2024;(ii) sharing part of the elderly participants’ medical expenses in Guangdong; and(iii) engaging organisations to provide care services for participating elderly persons to help them adapt to living in Guangdong.197. We are providing, through the Special Scheme to Import Care Workers for RCHs, additional manpower support for local residential care homes (RCHs) and enhancing their staff quality. We are also conducting a holistic review of the skill and qualification requirements of RCH staff providing health and rehabilitation services, including the creation of promotion ranks for incumbent health workers and the relaxation of the academic qualification for the Certificate in Progression Training for Care Workers programme. The review is expected to be completed by the end of this year.198. The Government is also discussing with the banking sector possible ways to enable Hong Kong elderly persons retiring in Guangdong and Fujian Provinces to receive portable cash assistance from the Government more conveniently through banks.Support Carers199. The Government is committed to supporting carers. In addition to providing carers’ allowance, respite services, a one‑stop information gateway and the 24‑hour Designated Hotline for Carer Support 182 183, we launched the District Services and Community Care Teams – Pilot Scheme on Supporting Elderly and Carers in Tsuen Wan and Southern District this March. Trained by the SWD, Care Teams of the two districts identify and reach out to households in need, and provide support to the elderly and carers who seek help from the Designated Hotline. The scheme has achieved good results. In the past six months, the Care Teams visited 4 700 families and referred about 900 cases to social welfare organisations for follow‑up. Next year, we will extend the scheme to across the territory, supporting elderly persons and carers in all 18 districts.200. We will also explore the setting up of an inter‑disciplinary and inter‑organisation database. It will cover carers of elderly persons and carers of persons with disabilities (PWDs) and the use of identification tools designed by university teams for the detection of high‑risk cases and early intervention and support.Strengthen Support for Persons with Disabilities201. We will further enhance the rehabilitation services for PWDs, including:(i) establishing 14 Integrated Community Rehabilitation Centres across the city with the provision of 1 280 additional service places, to support PWDs based on their individual needs and rehabilitation progress through an integrated, case‑management approach;(ii) creating 90 additional peer‑support posts to enhance peer assistance for PWDs and their carers;(iii) setting up an additional District Support Centre for PWDs in New Territories East; and(iv) providing about 1 040 additional places for day, residential and pre‑school rehabilitation services, and exploring the establishment of Special Child Care Centres on vacant kindergarten premises.202. To encourage and support PWDs to engage in employment, the Government will introduce the “Caring Employer” medal, commending employers who actively engage PWDs; promote the establishment of more social enterprises engaging PWDs; and enhance the services and training models of sheltered workshops and integrated vocational rehabilitation services centres, building a better vocational rehabilitation and training ladder for PWDs.Promote Women’s Development203. There are many women in Hong Kong playing leading roles. To promote women’s workplace development, we will establish a network run by leading women from all walks of life and launch a mentorship programme “She Inspires”. Under the programme, female university students will be paired with mentors from the senior management of different sectors.Support Working Parents204. To support working parents, I announced the setting up of 10 aided, standalone, child care centres last year. The Government will set up one more child care centre providing 100 additional places for day child care services. Service places under the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project will be increased by 25%, to 2 500, with the estimated number of beneficiaries increasing to 25 000.Protect Children205. The LegCo has enacted the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance to require professionals in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors to report serious child‑abuse cases. To strengthen parental education, the SWD will launch a pilot scheme to set up four Community Parents and Children Centres to promote parent‑child interaction and pass on positive‑parenting skills to parents through play‑based services, supporting families in need.Provide Support for Ethnic Minorities206. To help ethnic minorities (EMs) better integrate into the community, I announced the setting up of two additional support‑service centres for EMs last year, which will begin operation by the end of this year. The Government will engage one more support service centre to provide interpretation and translation services for EMs next year, reducing language barrier concerns. The EDB will strengthen Chinese learning support and parental assistance for non‑Chinese speaking (NCS) students (including EM students), providing after‑school Chinese‑language courses, enhancing the Online Chinese Language Self‑learning Resources and organising cross‑school, teacher‑learning communities. The EDB will also provide parental education activities for the parents of NCS children.Care Teams207. Care Teams are the Government’s key service teams under the improved district governance structure. Fully launched across the city last year, all 452 Care Teams have been working diligently and providing a wide range of caring and support services for the community. To date, they have visited about 230 000 elderly households and other households in need, and provided over 22 000 counts of simple household care or other support services. Their service have been well‑received by the public. The Government will regularise the funding provision for Care Teams and increase funding by 50% in the next term of service in support of their work.(To be continued.)

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Build Back Better Sector Guides—Volume 3: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH)

Source: Asia Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. It assists its members and partners by providing loans, technical assistance, grants, and equity investments to promote social and economic development.

Headquarters

6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Metro Manila, Philippines

MIL OSI Economics –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Policy Address: Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (October 16) announced his third Policy Address entitled “Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together”, setting out a range of initiatives to create new impetus for economic development, improve people’s livelihood and enhance their quality of life. Mr Lee said, “In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the ‘four proposals’ put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on July 1, 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and key performance indicators. “Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihood through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas.”Consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre Hong Kong has established strengths as an international centre for finance, shipping and trade, which are closely intertwined and can be developed in a synergistic and complementary manner. On the financial front, the Policy Address sets out the strategic development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre on all fronts. It strives to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as the world’s largest offshore Renminbi business hub, enhance the asset and securities markets, and develop Hong Kong into an international gold trading market through measures such as building world-class gold storage facilities and strengthening the trading mechanism and regulatory framework. This will in turn drive demand for related services such as collateral and loan businesses, opening up new growth areas of the financial sector. On the shipping side, the existing Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board will be reconstituted into the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board. Additional funding will be provided to enhance its research capabilities, strengthen its Mainland and overseas promotional work and step up manpower training, encouraging more Mainland and overseas maritime service enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong, promoting the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry. The Government will advance the development of Hong Kong into a green maritime centre, while at the same time exploring the introduction of tax concessions and facilitate international commodity exchanges to set up accredited warehouses in Hong Kong, so as to establish a commodity trading ecosystem, especially for the storage and delivery of non-ferrous metal products, further promoting the development of Hong Kong’s maritime and trading services. In respect of the trade sector, the Government will establish a high-value-added supply chain service centre. Through measures such as enriching a high value-added supply chain services mechanism and enhancing export credit services, as well as making good use of the new opportunities brought about by the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services, the Government will seek to attract Mainland and overseas enterprises to set up their headquarters or corporate divisions in Hong Kong. The Government will continue to vigorously expand Hong Kong’s global economic and trade networks, with particular emphasis on strengthening Hong Kong’s economic and trade ties with and marketing efforts in emerging markets, so as to enable Hong Kong to exert a greater role in the country’s opening up to the world. Moreover, the Government will reduce the import duty on liquor, fostering trading of liquor and boosting development of high value-added industries.Develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions The core element of new quality productive forces is to achieve high quality economic development through technological empowerment. The Government is striving to expedite Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. On top of the additional investment put in over the past two years, a $10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund will be set up to guide more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology and artificial intelligence. The Government will also launch the I&T Accelerator Pilot Scheme to attract professional start-up service providers to set up accelerator bases in Hong Kong, fostering the robust growth of start-ups. The Policy Address also proposed the establishment of the Working Group on Developing Low-altitude Economy. Starting with projects on low-altitude applications, the working group will designate specific venues for such purposes, draw up regulations and design the institutional set-up, study and map out plans to develop the required infrastructure and networks, and promote interface with the Mainland, pushing forward development of the low-altitude economy. At the same time, the Government is committed to promoting new energy development, such as green maritime fuel, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen energy. The Government will also expedite the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, establish the Real-World Study and Application Centre, and join hands with Shenzhen to establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform to enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capability and accelerate registration of new drugs, developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub.Build Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talents To boost synergy and effectiveness of policies, the Policy Address introduced the establishment of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents to co-ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talents. In addition to reforming various aspects of the talent admission regime to build a quality talent pool for long-term development, the Government will endeavour to create the “Study in Hong Kong” brand to attract overseas students, launch a pilot scheme to support the market to flexibly increase the supply of self-financed and private student hostels, and map out the development plan of the Northern Metropolis University Town. These measures aim to expedite the development of Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education, bringing in more global high-calibre talents.Promote integrated development of culture, sports and tourism and foster economic diversification Promoting integrated development of culture, sports and tourism is the objective of this term of Government in setting up the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. The Government will reinforce the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District to take a leading role in establishing an industry chain for the arts and culture and creative industries of Hong Kong. The Government will also strive to develop the Kai Tak Sports Park into a sports and mega event landmark, building an international sports mega event hub. The Government will publish the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0, putting emphasis on promoting areas including culture, sports, ecology and mega events, with a view to revitalising Hong Kong’s tourism industry. A Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots will be set up to strengthen cross-departmental co-ordination, and to identify and develop tourist hotspots of high popularity and with strong appeal in various districts. Hong Kong is facing economic restructuring. To assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to cope with the prevailing challenges, the Government will put in place a range of support initiatives. Key measures include: relaunching the principal moratorium to offer SMEs flexibility in managing cash flows; injecting $1 billion into the BUD Fund (Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales) to facilitate upgrading of enterprises; expanding the scope of the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to cover the industries of tourism and personal services; and launching the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0. In addition, a Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy will be set up to implement measures in five areas, namely consumption, industry, quality assurance, financial and security arrangements, and productivity, meeting the growing needs of the elderly and help the industry to seize business opportunities.Take forward the Northern Metropolis as growth engine and deepen GBA collaboration To take forward the development of the Northern Metropolis, it was announced in the Policy Address to explore the establishment of a pilot industrial park in the Northern Metropolis by granting it to a company established and led by the Government. The company will, in accordance with the Government’s industrial policies, be responsible for formulating the park’s development and operation strategies. To expedite the development, the Government will adopt, on a pilot basis, a large-scale land-disposal approach, for collective development by successful bidders. In addition, the Steering Committee on the Hong Kong Shenzhen I&T Park in the Loop, chaired by the Chief Executive, will formulate the overall strategy, planning and layout for the development of the Hong Kong Park. The Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone will be published later this year. Improve people’s livelihood in pursuit of happiness This year, the Policy Address outlined a number of new measures on different livelihood areas, including land creation and housing construction and healthcare, making Hong Kong a better place to live and enjoy life. On housing, a system on the renting of subdivided units (SDUs) in residential buildings will be devised, through legislation, to tackle the long-standing problem of SDUs at its roots in an orderly manner. The Government will also enhance the housing ladder to allow more people to realise their aspiration for home ownership. Regarding healthcare, as noted in the Policy Address, the Government will deepen the reform of the healthcare system, strengthen public and primary healthcare services and promote the development of primary healthcare on all fronts, and boost healthy fertility. The Government also supports the plan, by local universities, to establish a third medical school. The Government will set aside sites in Ngau Tam Mei to build a new campus and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital. To improve people’s livelihood, the Government will continue to take forward and enhance various measures for targeted poverty alleviation and focusing on different needs of the underprivileged. Meanwhile, the Government will regularise the funding provision for Care Teams and increase funding in the next term of service to strengthen support for their work. The Policy Address also proposed to reform the roles of the Employees Retraining Board to devise skills-based training programmes and strategies for the entire workforce, and lift the restriction on educational attainment of trainees. Mr Lee concluded, “This Policy Address deepens the reforms that I have introduced since I became Chief Executive. It presents enhanced measures to boost the economy and improve people’s livelihood. It seeks to address the prevailing needs of our people, while mapping our vision and long-term goals for building a brighter future for Hong Kong. I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to go from strength to strength and attain new heights. Through our united efforts to reform and innovate, our economy will go even stronger and our people will lead a better life, making Hong Kong a shining city.” A Supplement offering more backgrounds and details of various policy measures has been compiled with this year’s Policy Address. For related information and key initiatives of the Policy Address, please visit http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Video: World Food Day 2024 – UN Chief Message | United Nations

Source: United Nations (Video News)

Video message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on World Food Day (16 october 2024).

“Something is very wrong with a world in which hunger and malnutrition are a fact of life for billionsof children, women and men.

On World Food Day, we remind ourselves of the 733 million people who are short of food because ofconflict, marginalization, climate change, poverty and economic downturns — including those whoface the threat of manmade famine in Gaza and Sudan…

Or the 2.8 billion people who cannot afford a healthy diet — including those who are overweight asglobal obesity rates soar.

The good news is that a zero-hunger world is possible.

The 2021 Food Systems Summit set us on a course to tackle the inefficiencies and inequities built intoour food systems.

Food systems need a massive transformation, with the contributions of businesses, academics,research institutions and civil society, to become more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

Governments must work with all partners to incentivize the production and sale of healthy, nutritiousfood at affordable prices.

On World Food Day, let’s step up the fight against hunger and malnutrition.

Let’s take action to uphold the right to food for a better life and a better future”.

Website: https://www.fao.org/world-food-day/en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLarIuxGo6A

MIL OSI Video –

January 23, 2025

MIL-OSI Russia: Mexico: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2024 Article IV Mission

Source: IMF – News in Russian

October 15, 2024

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.

Key Messages

Activity is decelerating. Despite an expansionary fiscal stance, growth is slowing to around 1½ percent this year, due to binding capacity constraints and tight monetary policy. Continuing monetary restraint and slowing activity are expected to lower inflation to Banxico’s 3-percent target by 2025. The current account deficit is expected to widen slightly in 2024 as investment- and consumption-related imports outpace exports. Risks to growth are tilted to the downside while inflation risks remain on the upside. Weaker-than-expected growth in the U.S., an increase in global risk aversion, and unforeseen effects from recent institutional reforms could weigh on output. On the other hand, better-than-expected import demand from the U.S. or the ongoing reshaping of global value chains could boost activity and inward investment.

A medium-term fiscal strategy is needed to reduce deficits and debt, raise tax revenues, and create fiscal space for investments in human and physical capital. This would require putting in place a comprehensive tax reform early in the new administration, durably reducing the fiscal deficit while carefully prioritizing public spending, and reducing inequities in the pension system. Addressing the imbalances between the federal budget and Pemex, and enhancing corporate governance of the latter, are also important priorities.

The ongoing reshaping of global value chains offers the incoming administration an important opportunity to deepen the already-strong economic links with the U.S. Taking advantage of these prospects, however, requires a wide-ranging set of supply-side reforms to complement the well-established, very strong institutional framework for macroeconomic policies. Regulatory reforms, better-targeted public investment that further relieves infrastructure bottlenecks, broader access to financial services, and a more predictable supply of energy and water would all support private sector-led growth. Other priority measures include governance reforms that address corruption and tackle organized crime.

Recent judicial reforms create important uncertainties about the effectiveness of contract enforcement and the predictability of the rule of law. The replacement of judges at various levels of the judiciary in the coming year creates a new source of uncertainty that may impinge upon private investment decisions. It is critical that this reform be implemented in a clear and predictable way that ensures the independence and professionalism of the judiciary and strengthens the rule of law. Staff’s current baseline does not incorporate potential headwinds from these uncertainties.

Fiscal Policy

The authorities are committed to achieving their 2024 fiscal target. The overall deficit for the year is currently projected to be 5.9 percent of GDP, a fiscal impulse of around 2 percent of GDP that is expected to bring gross public sector debt close to 58 percent of GDP by end-2024. Increased spending on large infrastructure projects, wages, pensions, and social spending are all adding to fiscal support for the economy. There is, however, a risk that additional support for Pemex and/or greater-than-expected spending on infrastructure projects could lead to a modest fiscal overrun by end-year.

Mexico needs to put in place a credible medium-term fiscal consolidation underpinned by well-identified policy measures. The incoming authorities’ plan to initiate an important fiscal consolidation in 2025 that should lower the deficit to below 3 percent of GDP over the medium term, underscoring Mexico’s commitment to fiscal prudence. This will require the identification and implementation of additional fiscal measures, preferably including an overarching tax reform. In particular, the 2025 budget should focus on reducing tax expenditures and reassessing both tax rates and thresholds, particularly for the personal income tax. Further expenditure rationalization, including tax exceptions, and improved tax administration would contribute to this needed adjustment and help bolster market confidence.

A review of policies regarding support for Pemex, and the energy sector more generally, would enhance the credibility of the government’s fiscal plans. Federal government support for Pemex in the form of various tax reliefs, investments, and transfers have cost 1 percent of GDP in 2024. Further support should be conditioned on Pemex developing a viable business strategy and improving its corporate governance. This could include focusing Pemex activities on profitable fields, selling non-core assets, developing a new strategy for unprofitable refinery operations, and incentivizing public-private partnerships (including via equity participation). The strategy should also examine the implications for, and linkages with, the federal electricity company.

More is needed to address structural inequities in the pension system. Public pension spending has increased by 0.6 percent of GDP over the past three years and will continue to rise over the medium term. While the recent reform to raise the replacement rate,aimed to equalize treatment across workers, inequities remain between and within cohorts. A broader review is therefore needed of the benefit structure and the minimum contribution requirement.

Further deepening of financial intermediation would make growth more inclusive. The recent development of fintech products and digital payments have expanded access to financial products. In addition, financial regulations that lower loan-loss provisioning for female borrowers have increased women’s access to credit. These efforts could be complemented by expanding the adoption of digital payment systems and eliminating institutional barriers to entry for new products and entities that are deemed to be financially sound.

The IMF staff team would like to thank the Mexican authorities and other counterparts for their support, hospitality, and constructive discussions.

Table 1. Mexico: Selected Economic, Financial, and Social Indicators
I. Social and Demographic Indicators
GDP per capita (U.S. dollars, 2023)	13,643.3	Poverty headcount ratio (% of population, 2023) 1/					37.0
Population (millions, 2023)	131.1	Income share of highest 20 perc. / lowest 20 perc. (2022)					8.4
Life expectancy at birth (years, 2024)	75.5	Adult literacy rate (2020)					95.2
Infant mortality rate (per thousand, 2023)	13.6	Gross primary education enrollment rate (2022) 2/					102.0
II. Economic Indicators
						Proj.
		2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025

(Annual percentage change, unless otherwise indicated)
National accounts (in real terms)
GDP		-8.4	6.0	3.7	3.2	1.5	1.3
Consumption		-8.6	7.1	4.5	4.6	1.0	0.9
Private		-9.8	8.4	4.9	5.0	1.0	0.9
Public		-0.7	-0.5	1.7	2.1	1.2	1.1
Investment		-18.3	11.4	7.4	17.8	4.0	3.8
Fixed		-17.2	10.5	7.5	18.0	5.0	3.0
Private		-18.6	12.6	7.7	17.6	5.3	3.2
Public		-5.7	-3.5	5.8	20.9	3.8	1.2
Inventories 3/		-0.3	0.2	0.0	0.0	-0.2	0.2
Exports of goods and services		-7.0	7.1	8.9	-7.4	-0.6	3.3
Imports of goods and services		-12.0	15.7	7.6	5.0	1.1	2.3
GDP per capita		-9.1	5.4	2.9	2.3	0.6	0.5
External sector
External current account balance (in percent of GDP)		2.4	-0.3	-1.2	-0.3	-0.7	-0.9
Exports of goods, f.o.b. 4/		-9.4	18.6	16.7	2.6	1.4	3.6
Imports of goods, f.o.b. 4/		-15.9	32.0	19.6	-1.0	3.0	4.6
Net capital inflows (in percent of GDP) 5/		0.8	-1.0	-0.9	-0.9	-1.9	-1.4
Terms of trade (goods, improvement +)		0.8	-1.0	-3.1	16.9	-1.7	-0.3
Gross international reserves (in billions of U.S. dollars)		199.1	207.7	201.1	214.4	235.0	244.8
Exchange rates
Real effective exchange rate (avg, appreciation +) 6/		-7.7	5.9	5.3	16.4	…	…
Nominal exchange rate (MXN/USD) (eop, appreciation +)		-5.9	-3.2	5.7	12.8	…	…
Inflation, Employment and Population
Consumer prices (end-of-period)		3.2	7.4	7.8	4.7	4.5	3.2
Core consumer prices (end-of-period)		3.8	5.9	8.3	5.1	4.0	3.1
Formal sector employment, IMSS-insured workers (average)		-2.5	1.9	4.3	3.6	…	…
National unemployment rate (annual average)		4.4	4.1	3.3	2.8	3.0	3.3
Unit labor costs: manufacturing (real terms, average)		10.4	4.4	11.8	-1.3	…	…
Total population 7/		0.8	0.6	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.8
Working-age population 7/		1.1	1.0	1.1	1.2	1.1	1.0
Money and credit
Financial system credit to non-financial private sector 8/		0.9	4.2	10.9	8.7	8.0	7.5
Broad money		13.4	9.5	7.3	11.0	7.8	7.3
Public sector finances (in percent of GDP) 9/
General government revenue		23.5	22.9	24.3	24.4	24.2	23.8
General government expenditure		27.8	26.6	28.6	28.7	30.1	27.3
Overall fiscal balance 10/		-4.3	-3.7	-4.3	-4.3	-5.9	-3.5
Structural primary balance 11/		0.6	1.2	0.9	1.1	-1.1	0.9
Fiscal impulse 12/		0.5	-0.5	0.2	-0.2	2.2	-2.0
Gross public sector debt		58.5	56.7	54.1	53.0	57.6	57.9
Memorandum items
Nominal GDP (billions of pesos)		24,087	26,690	29,473	31,772	34,313	36,766
Output gap (in percent of potential GDP)		-2.8	-2.0	0.0	1.2	0.6	-0.1


Sources: World Bank Development Indicators, CONEVAL, National Institute of Statistics and Geography, National Council of Population, Bank of Mexico, Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, and Fund staff estimates.

1/ CONEVAL uses a multi-dimensional approach to measure poverty based on a “social deprivation index,” which takes into account the level of income; education; access to health services; to social security; to food; and quality, size, and access to basic services in the dwelling.

2/ Percent of population enrolled in primary school regardless of age as a share of the population of official primary education age.
3/ Contribution to growth. Excludes statistical discrepancy.
4/ Excludes goods procured in ports by carriers.
5/ Excludes reserve assets
6/ Based on IMF staff calculations.
7/ Based on CONAPO population projections.
8/ Includes domestic credit by banks, nonbank intermediaries, and social housing funds.
9/ Data exclude state and local governments and include state-owned enterprises and public development banks.
10/ The 2020 PSBR is adjusted for some statistical discrepancies between above-the-line and below-the-line numbers.
11/ Adjusting revenues for the economic and oil-price cycles and excluding one-off items, in percent of potential GDP.
12/ Negative of the change in the structural primary fiscal balance.

IMF Communications Department

MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Brian Walker

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/15/cs-mexico-staff-concluding-statement-of-the-2024-article-iv-mission

MIL OSI

MIL OSI Russia News –

January 23, 2025

MIL-OSI Europe: Villers-Cotterêts Declaration (7 Oct. 2024)

Source: Republic of France in English
The Republic of France has issued the following statement:

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of countries which have a shared relationship with the French language, meeting on 4 and 5 October 2024 for the 19th Francophonie Summit in the French Republic;

2. Welcome the opening of this Summit at the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française, where in 1539 the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts was signed, for the first time making French the official language of France;

3. Reiterate our commitment to the French language, a language of teaching and communication, development, transmission and sharing, of creation and opportunities, a language of negotiation in international forums, for our populations, particularly young people, in accordance with the Declaration on the French Language in the Linguistic Diversity of Francophonie, adopted at the 18th Summit in Djerba;

4. Aware of the multi-faceted crises affecting the Francophone space, including armed conflict, situations of occupation and settlement, as well as terrorist acts, support the International Organisation of la Francophonie in its role as a key forum for dialogue, which is essential to strengthen the shared values of humanity, i.e. peace, sustainable development, democracy, the rule of law and human rights, pursuant to the Charter of the Francophonie, the Bamako Declaration (2000) and the Saint-Boniface Declaration (2006) and in compliance with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the United Nations Security Council resolutions;

5. Condemn violations of international law and international humanitarian law;

6. Remain committed to addressing the challenges of climate change, working to protect the environment, and supporting the work of the OIF through the 2023-2030 Francophonie Strategic Framework in order to encourage Francophone synergies and consultations prior to multilateral events on these issues, and highlight that the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) must urgently enter into force and call for swift progress in negotiating the International Treaty against Plastic Pollution with a view to the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC 2025); remain committed to the challenge of climate finance and recall that no State or government should have to choose between fighting poverty and preserving the planet; and in that regard, welcome the organization by France of the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris in 2023;

7. We therefore recall that climate financing is the cornerstone in the global effort to fight climate change and highlight, in that regard, the importance of the Loss and Damage Fund established at COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, recognizing its role in addressing the negative impact of climate change; Welcome the support provided by the OIF through the training of climate negotiators, in achieving this objective;

8. Recall our commitment to the role of civil society and non-governmental organizations, and support an active Conference of International Non-Governmental Organisations for the benefit of populations and Francophone institutions.

9. Renew our commitment to promoting gender equality, in accordance with the Francophonie Strategy for the Promotion of Gender Equality, the Rights and the Empowerment of Women and Girls, adopted at the 17th Francophonie Summit in Yerevan;

10. Believe that the future of our young people is a priority which requires us to continually work with them to foster peace and sustainable development in our societies, in line with the Francophonie values of solidarity, tolerance, justice and inclusiveness;

11. Reiterate that the promotion of the diversity of languages and cultures, as well as the diversity of expression and creation of cultural and educational content within the framework of a pluralistic, knowledge-based society are Francophonie’s most precious assets;

12. Urge all OIF countries as well as institutions and agencies of the Charter of the Francophonie to promote the spirit of solidarity and respect shown both at the 2023 Francophone Games in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in France in the summer of 2024, with a view to upcoming international sporting events, particularly the Francophone Games, to be hosted by Armenia in 2027;

13. Building on the legacy of Francophonie institutions, including the 36th session of the Francophonie Ministerial Conference (FMC) in Monaco and the 18th Francophonie Summit in Djerba, having highlighted the importance of innovation in promoting science and the digital economy in order to reduce the digital divide, ensure high-quality education and better access to employment;

Have decided to make the theme of the 19th Summit: “Create, innovate and do business in French”

I. The French language, serving an education, training and employability continuum

Considering that the French language remains the bedrock of our Organisation, while respecting linguistic diversity and promoting multilingualism;

14. Reiterate our commitment to the teaching of French, and teaching in French, and welcome the key role of educators and school communities. Commit to working alongside the OIF to develop linguistic training and teaching, in order to significantly increase the number of trained educators to ensure high-quality education for all; to this end, encourage sharing of expertise and best practices among training institution networks, the implementation of shared programmes and mechanisms, including greater online resources for educators and educational officials in the Francophone space;

15. Support the adaptation of academic, professional and technical Francophone training, including through work-based learning, apprenticeships and mentoring in French, in order to promote a spirit of creation, innovation and entrepreneurship for young people, in line with the necessary skills to make them employable and boost the economic development of OIF member countries;

16. Highlight the importance of facilitating exchanges among young Francophones in training, volunteers, academics, researchers and entrepreneurs, particularly within the framework of cross-cutting mobility projects in the Francophone space; encourage, to that end, multi-stakeholder cooperation involving OIF member countries and Charter of the Francophonie institutions and agencies, with economic and civil society stakeholders;

17. To better tackle pandemics, call for greater French-language training in the area of healthcare through digital tools and in this regard, welcome national and multilateral efforts, particularly within the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, which this year will open its continuous training centre, the WHO Academy in Lyon, and the cooperation agreement signed between the OIF and WHO in 2021;

18. Encourage Charter of the Francophonie institutions and agencies to strengthen their work for cultural diversity, in line with the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted by UNESCO in 2005, thus enabling greater visibility among the huge diversity of French-language productions;

19. Recall that Francophone cultural and linguistic diversity is very important within the digital space, and encourage Francophonie to actively continue its contribution to global digital governance, in accordance with the 2022-2026 Strategy for Digital Francophonie, particularly the process linked to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, the Global Digital Compact in New York and the 2025 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris.

20. Recognize the urgent need to take action in the digital environment and urge Charter of the Francophonie institutions and agencies to implement solutions for accessibility, linguistic diversity and the discoverability of French-language cultural, educational and scientific content and French-language training of generative artificial intelligence; welcome the scale of digitized collections of Francophone documentation centres and new cooperation opportunities created by the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française in Villers-Cotterêts in these areas;

21. Call for high-level dialogue and advocacy to continue in the area of culture, particularly with regard to protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural and linguistic expressions;

22. Reiterate our commitment to the multilateral media outlet, TV5, and commit to promote and distribute it; in this regard, we will take every appropriate measure, using all distribution methods, to ensure our populations have the widest possible access to TV5’s channels and the TV5MondePlus digital platform, which showcase the cultural diversity of the Francophone space;

23. Recalling UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, welcome the fact that advances in artificial intelligence can contribute to the fields of translation and interpreting, including within international bodies; and call for these technological developments to fully respect the essential role of French-speaking translators and interpreters;

24. Highlight the determination of OIF member countries to maintain a reliable, free and safe information space, in accordance with the resolution on good governance adopted at the 44th Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie (CMF) in Yaoundé; declare our full support for the Information and Democracy Partnership and the need to promote media and information education; in this regard, we welcome the 1st High-Level Forum of members of the Network of French-speaking media regulatory authorities (REFRAM) and the major digital space platforms, the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration of 24 April 2024 aimed at strengthening dialogue between regulators and major online platforms in Africa and the Francophone space, as well as the signing of the voluntary commitment protocol, and in this regard, welcome the Villers-Cotterêts Call for an honest, trustworthy digital space in the Francophone world, launched at the opening of this 19th Francophonie Summit;

II. Create, innovate and do business in the Francophone space

Considering that success in Francophonie can only be achieved once the French language has been acquired;

25. Highlight the essential role of compliance with the fundamental freedoms of creation, innovation and enterprise, in accordance with the Bamako Declaration;

26. Together call on all Charter of the Francophonie institutions and agencies to encourage freedom of creation, in all the diversity of artistic expression, invite them to develop their work for cultural and creative industries, particularly through the development and improvement of vocational training in these sectors, which offer a wide range of employment opportunities;

27. Recall that the future of artists and creators from all cultural sectors requires working in compliance with copyright and neighbouring rights, and we are committed to strengthening these legal and administrative mechanisms for the regular collection and payment of royalties, and to support the international distribution of works, including within the digital space;

28. Welcome the work of the OIF for Francophone authors and express our commitment to the Francophonie literary awards, including the Prix des cinq continents, as well as the programmes to support broadcasting productions through the Images de la Francophonie and the Francophonie TV5Mondeplus Funds;

29. Invite Charter of the Francophonie institutions and agencies in collaboration with civil society, to discuss the importance of Francophonie in sport, highlighting the social and economic opportunities it offers for young Francophones, as well as its positive impact on health and well-being;

30. Welcome the meaningful results of the Francophonie economic and trade missions, as part of the Economic Strategy for La Francophonie 2020-2025, and reiterate our support for the involvement of women and young entrepreneurs in these missions; support partnerships with Francophone economic networks to back companies as they develop internationally;

31. Encourage initiatives to promote Francophone entrepreneurship, particularly in sectors linked to climate change and sustainable tourism, and call for enhanced relations between companies and academic, vocational and technical training institutions, as well as Francophone standardization and intellectual property networks;

32. Also encourage concerted Francophone efforts to facilitate access for OIF member countries and local authorities to climate and biodiversity finance, in support of innovation and entrepreneurship;

33. Place special emphasis on actions to promote the empowerment of women and urge all OIF member countries to support the strengthening of the La Francophonie Avec Elles Fund, with regard to its importance for direct beneficiaries and positive impacts for local communities;

34. Aware of the economic and cultural cooperation opportunities opened up by the French language, we are committed to promoting mobility via Francophonie programmes and movement within our space for nationals of our countries, entrepreneurs, artists and graduates who, for professional purposes, are required to travel regularly, in compliance with national visa legislation and regulations;

35. Take note, in this regard, that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie (APF), in its declaration on citizen mobility in the Francophone space, recommends implementing measures to consolidate Francophonie as a more integrated space and to make better use of its social and economic potential;

36. In the interests of all these commitments, encourage the institutions and agencies of the Charter of the Francophonie to continue diversifying their sources of finance, in addition to voluntary contributions from OIF member countries, in order to strengthen the implementation of their programmes, including through public-private partnerships and development banks.

Source: Website of the Presidency of the Republic

MIL OSI Europe News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: 2023 IAEA Annual Report Presented to the UN General Assembly

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA

The 2023 IAEA Annual Report contains highlights of a significant year for the Agency. (Image: A.Vargas).

The 2023 IAEA Annual Report is now available to read online, in all the official UN languages. The 2023 report was submitted to the United Nations General Assembly today by the IAEA’s Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The 2023 IAEA Annual Report contains highlights of a significant year for the Agency. A new Atoms4Food initiative was launched by Mr Grossi, together with the Director General Qu Dongyu of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The initiative builds on the IAEA’s experience of helping countries to use nuclear techniques to help them tackle global hunger by enhancing food security and nutrition.

At the same time, the IAEA continued to implement its existing key initiatives. These include Rays of Hope: Cancer Care for All, aimed at closing the gap in cancer care in lower- and middle- income countries, its Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action initiative (ZODIAC) tasked with preventing future pandemics and NUTEC Plastics, which fights global plastic pollution.

“Every day on every continent, the IAEA assists nations in overcoming challenges like diseases, poverty, hunger, pollution and climate change,” said Mr Grossi in his written statement to the UN General Assembly. “In partnership with our 178 Member States, we are enabling communities to improve healthcare, agriculture and energy systems through the power of nuclear science and technology.”

An important part of the IAEA’s work in 2023 was to ensure transparency around the discharge of ALPS treated water from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. In July, Mr Grossi presented to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan an Agency report that concluded the discharge approach and activities to be consistent with international safety standards.

Another key priority was to support Ukraine’s nuclear safety and security. A total of 86 IAEA missions comprising 187 staff travelled to Ukraine in 2023. The IAEA also maintained a continuous presence at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine. In May, Mr Grossi presented to the UN Security Council the five principles for protecting nuclear safety and security at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

A significant milestone for the IAEA was at last year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, where leaders backed investment in nuclear as a low-carbon energy source for the first time. Further notable developments concerning nuclear energy included two interconnected mechanisms: the IAEA Platform on SMRs and their Applications and the IAEA’s Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative, launched together in 2023 to support its Member States with the safe and timely deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). SMRs offer a viable option to enhance energy security while helping to achieve global climate goals for many countries worldwide.

The IAEA’s unique laboratories at Seibersdorf achieved a milestone last year, fundraising was completed for the renewal of the Nuclear Application Laboratories (ReNuAL) initiative. In addition, the IAEA’s new Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre opened, ready to assist Member States in tackling nuclear terrorism and crime.

Mr Grossi also launched the World Fusion Energy Group in 2023, which will bringing together key stakeholders as this future technology continues its journey from experimentation to demonstration and deployment.

In addition, the IAEA celebrated achievements in promoting gender equality in the nuclear sector. By the end of 2023, the IAEA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme had 560 fellows, and the Lise Meitner Programme was also in place, offering early- and mid-career women in the nuclear sector new opportunities for career advancement. In 2023, gender balance was achieved in senior management at the IAEA.

More information about the significant activities of the Agency during the past year is available here. The 2023 IAEA Annual Report can also be read in the UN official languages of Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish, as well as English. Mr Grossi’s full statement can be read here.

MIL Security OSI –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Ultra-processed foods: Why Public Health warnings could backfire Scientists say issuing blanket advice against UPFs would be premature Least well off could actually end up switching to LESS healthy foods More research is needed first into the links between these products and poor health :east well-off may be most affected if blanket pubic health warnings issued without more scientific evidence.

Source: University of Aberdeen

Professor Alexandra JohnstoenScientists say issuing blanket advice against UPFs would be prematureLeast well off could actually end up switching to LESS healthy foodsMore research is needed first into the links between these products and poor health:east well-off may be most affected if blanket pubic health warnings issued without more scientific evidence.
Premature warnings to consumers to avoid eating all ultra-processed food products have likely social costs and may harm the health of people facing food poverty – at least in the short term.
This is the clear message to policymakers in a newly-published perspective article from Professors Alexandra Johnstone from the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen and Eric Robinson of the University of Liverpool.
They say that until the link between ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and poor health is better understood, the focus of official public advice should remain on avoiding known threats: high fat, sugar and salt content.
Issuing formal warnings about UPFs in the UK – which some other countries have done – could be counter-productive, leading some people to switch to alternatives that are not classified as ultra-processed but are less nutritious than what they were consuming before, they argue.
And they highlight the potential “social cost for many people with more limited resources” of removing convenient options and the possible negative mental health impacts on “those who worry about their health or live with eating disorders, particularly if social circumstances make avoiding UPFs difficult”.
The article – published by PLOS Medicine as part of a collection on the subject of UPFs – concludes: “Based on the balance of current evidence, we do not believe it is appropriate to be advising consumers to avoid all UPFs and we await further evidence to inform consumer guidance on the need to limit consumption of specifics foods based on their degree or type of processing.
“We know with certainty that foods which are energy dense and/or high in saturated fat, salt or sugar are detrimental to health and we should continue to advise consumers to limit consumption of these foods. Likewise, we should be encouraging consumption of health promoting foods, like fruits, vegetables and wholegrains.

We must guard against the possibility that the people in our society who are already most at risk of not being able to afford to eat healthily are not put in an even worse position as we continue to investigate the links between some ultra-processed foods and poor health.” Professor Alexandra Johnstone

“Mechanistic uncertainty over food processing and health should not prevent immediate and much needed public health policy to regulate the food industry in order to dramatically reduce the advertisement, availability and dominance of foods high in energy and/or saturated fat, salt or sugar on national diets.
“However, mechanistic uncertainty should determine how the public are communicated to and play a central role in determining public advice and emerging national dietary guidance on UPFs and food processing health risks.”
Pressure to issue guidance against eating UPFs – which account for a significant part of national diet – has mounted in the media and elsewhere because of consistent evidence from a growing number of observational studies that they are linked to poor health outcomes.
But many UPFs are also high in fat, sugar and salt and as yet, the Food Standards Agency believe other possible causes of ill health from consuming them “have not yet been fully explained by the science” and so specific public guidance has not been issued.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) warned in March that “there is a risk that the emphasis on ultra-processed foods creates a distraction from the key diet issues where there is robust evidence for action, i.e. high fat, salt and sugar foods, thereby providing further impetus for FSS to provide clear consumer messaging on this issue.” FSS has since published its organisational position on the topic, alongside consumer facing advice, reaffirming these conclusions.
Professor Johnstone said: “We must guard against the possibility that the people in our society who are already most at risk of not being able to afford to eat healthily are not put in an even worse position as we continue to investigate the links between some ultra-processed foods and poor health.
“We need more high-quality mechanistic research in humans, using controlled diets, to tease out the effects of nutrient profile and ultra-processing per se. Diet reformulation and diet quality are two key aspects of our food environment and alongside affordability, these remain food system challenges.”
Professor Robinson said: “Foods classed as ultra-processed which are high in fat, salt and/or sugar should be avoided, but a number of ultra-processed foods are not. We should be thinking very carefully about what advice is being given to the public, as opposed to providing simplified and potentially misleading messages that grab headlines.”

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Financing food security will yield high returns

Source: European Investment Bank

The problem is that countries with the highest levels of food insecurity often have the hardest time accessing financing. Among the biggest obstacles are high transaction costs, fragmented agriculture markets, insecure land rights, poor administrative capacity, weak governance, and political instability.

One of the keys to overcoming these hurdles is to pursue stronger international partnerships. That is why the EIB, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and other international organizations are working together closely to promote food security, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. By pooling resources and experience, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, we can overcome the chronic financing challenges.

For example, by drawing on the expertise and convening power of FAO, we can provide more funding for agrifood and bioeconomy activities. In 2023 alone, the FAO Investment Centre helped mobilize $6.6 billion in new investment by designing 38 public investment projects backed by financing partners in 26 countries. And this came on top of implementation support to ongoing projects, representing a total of around $46.7 billion.

But scaling up such financing requires the right kind of tools, not least financial products that reduce risk for the private sector. For example, blended finance – which combines public and private funds – and innovative financing mechanisms like climate bonds can make these investments more attractive to capital that is still sitting on the sidelines.

Feeding the world is not just a moral responsibility; it is a strategic imperative. Hunger is an immediate global crisis that demands massive investments. Fortunately, the potential rewards are well worth it. Sustainable agrifood systems do far more than simply reduce poverty and hunger. They also create jobs, promote economic growth, reduce gender inequality, improve health, and build stronger communities. The return is enormous, and the cost of doing nothing is even greater.

This article was originally published by Project Syndicate.

MIL OSI Europe News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: The lasting scars of war: How conflict shapes children’s lives long after the fighting ends

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Kerry McCuaig, Fellow in Early Childhood Policy, Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

The world is witnessing some of the highest levels of conflict in decades, with more than 110 armed conflicts occurring across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and Europe.

The impact of these wars on children is vast and multifaceted. The trauma inflicted is enduring and will shape the rest of their lives — and by extension, the societies in which they, and we live.

As researchers who study how public policies can intervene to reduce adverse outcomes for children, we contend that wars are not bound by geography. Airstrikes terrorize children in conflict zones, while those living in the nations involved in these conflicts also experience trauma in the form of poverty, neglect, and discrimination.

Children as collateral — and targets

In the first decade of the 21st century, civilians accounted for 90 per cent of deaths in armed conflicts. Of these casualties, a significant number were children.

Modern conflicts are markedly lop-sided where often only one combatant has fighter jets, tanks, and explosives. Entire cities become war zones where children are not just caught in the crossfire, but are deliberately targeted.

War is the ultimate abuse of children’s rights. According to the United Nations there were a record 32,990 grave violations against 22,557 children in 26 conflict zones, in 2023. “The highest numbers of grave violations occurred in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Nigeria and Sudan.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund and other global humanitarian organizations have raised the alarm, saying women and children “are disproportionately bearing the burden” of the violence.

Beyond direct violence, children are subjected to the toxic stress of war. Suspended supply chains and agricultural production leave besieged populations vulnerable to acute and chronic malnutrition, with devastating consequences for children’s growth, immune and metabolic systems, and cognitive development. The destruction of schools, hospitals, and homes compounds the trauma, while attacks on humanitarian assistance eliminate any respite.

The disruption of vaccination programs allows preventable diseases to proliferate. Polio, once on the verge of global eradication, is spreading in Gaza. The direct targeting of sanitation and water treatment facilities creates conditions ripe for cholera outbreaks. Mpox, a deadly virus that causes painful blistering rashes, kills children at a far higher rate than adults and is prevalent in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The situation is particularly dire for infant and maternal health. Pregnancy in war zones is associated with fewer live births, increased preterm delivery, and low birth weight. War-generated pollution has been linked to birth defects. The fallout reaches beyond the war zone. A study found greater incidents of pregnancy complications and birth defects in the children of U.S. war veterans.

The psychological toll of war

Witnessing constant violence, death and destruction can permanently change how a child’s brain develops. Research has shown that trauma in early childhood particularly affects the areas of the brain responsible for stress responses. This means that children who experience war are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, and stress disorders.

As they grow into adulthood, these mental health issues can manifest in more profound ways, increasing the likelihood of depression and even neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Extreme stress also affects parenting, putting children at risk for maltreatment and neglect. Even when the fighting stops or families leave combat zones, parental substance abuse or deteriorating mental health can leave children vulnerable. Studies have documented increased physical and emotional mistreatment among the children of returning U.S. military personnel.

The experiences of trauma are cumulative and far-reaching, not only affecting children’s immediate mental health, but also their ability to form relationships, learn, and thrive later in life.

Impact on education

Armed conflicts devastate the critical infrastructure needed to support healthy child development. Children can spend months fleeing war zones or sheltering against bombardment disrupting their education. Schools are often destroyed or repurposed. Teachers are displaced or killed. For many, attending school is simply too dangerous, leaving millions of children without basic education, significantly reducing their future opportunities.

Girls are more likely to be kept out of school to fill in for absent or deceased adults. Those separated from their family are at increased risk for gender violence, exploitation, and teen pregnancy, further entrenching cycles of poverty and inequality that are difficult to break even after the conflict ends.

A BBC news report about a school in Yemen destroyed during the war.

Children in other countries also suffer, as public revenues are diverted from schools, health care, and other poverty-reduction measures to finance the machinery of war.

The long-term societal impact is profound. Education is one of the strongest tools for reducing violence and rebuilding societies. Yet tragically, less than three per cent of humanitarian aid funding goes towards education in war zones.

Read more:
The war in Gaza is wiping out Palestine’s education and knowledge systems

Breaking the cycle of violence

Despite the enormous challenges, there are pathways to reduce the harm inflicted on children. Humanitarian organizations work to provide safe spaces for children to play, learn, and heal.

These interventions, while often simple, are crucial for giving children a sense of normalcy during chaos. Supporting caregivers is another essential element, as the mental health of parents and guardians directly affects their children’s well-being.

While invaluable, these efforts are only band-aid solutions. The international community must increase funding for child protection and education in humanitarian responses and undertake serious action to eliminate the causes of war.

Kerry McCuaig receives funding from the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, the Atkinson Foundation and the Lawson Foundation.

Emis Akbari receives funding from The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, The Lawson Foundation and The Atkinson Foundation.

– ref. The lasting scars of war: How conflict shapes children’s lives long after the fighting ends – https://theconversation.com/the-lasting-scars-of-war-how-conflict-shapes-childrens-lives-long-after-the-fighting-ends-240640

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Malnutrition in women and girls costs $1.6 trillion annually: World Vision urges action for World Food Day
Source: World Vision

Two thirds of children under five are living in food poverty in low and middle-income countries, with one in three living in severe poverty only consuming milk and grain every day

Girls are 40-50% more likely to die in infancy and childhood than boys because parents prioritise nutrition and medical care for sons over daughters

Anaemia in low-and middle-income countries is costing women and girls $110 billion2 in lost productivity. Without the effects of stunting and anaemia, 15.8 million more girls would complete secondary school every year

In NZ, there is an estimated loss of $897m in income from malnutrition

Ultra-processed foods now make up 80% of diets in high-income countries and 30% in middle income countries, adding additional complexity to a global nutrition crisis

Without change more than three million girls will die in the next four years due to low birthweight and Vitamin A deficiencies.

Malnutrition in women and girls costs the global economy more than $1.6 trillion annually in lost productivity, according to a disturbing new report from aid agency, World Vision.

The report, Breaking the Cycle: Malnutrition’s Toll on Women and Girls, is launched ahead of World Food Day (October 16th) and underscores the urgent need for action to address a global nutrition crisis.

The research reveals that women and adolescent girls comprise nearly two-thirds of the world’s chronically malnourished, with more than one billion suffering from various forms of malnutrition.

World Vision New Zealand’s Head of Fragile and Developing Countries, Belinda Robb, says girls’ malnutrition weakens their immune system, heightens disease, and leads to higher mortality rates.

She says it is a pervasive global crisis with far-reaching implications, affecting their education, future earnings, and increasing their likelihood to experience violence and stress.

“This report highlights the enormous costs of malnutrition to girls and women worldwide, and the urgency needed to address it. We need to invest in essential nutrition and address systemic issues in food production so we can enhance health, expand educational opportunities, and improve economic outcomes for millions of women and girls to ensure a healthier, more equitable future for future generations.”

Currently, two thirds of children under five in low- and middle-income countries live in food poverty, with a third of these subsisting on a diet limited to milk and grain each day.

Robb says without significant intervention, hundreds of thousands of infants are expected to die from low birth weight, and 2.5 million girls could die due to Vitamin A deficiencies.

Globally, women face a higher risk of food insecurity than men, with a widening gender gap evident in Asia, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and anaemia predominantly affect women and girls in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries, the prioritization of nutrition and medical care for boys over girls reveals a tragic truth: girls are 40-50% more likely to die in infancy and childhood than boys.

Globally, 30% of girls and women globally are suffering from anaemia, which has a wealth of negative health implications for women and girls. Maternal iron deficiency and anaemia can increase the risk of maternal death from haemorrhage, causes low birth weight in infants, and impairs child development. Anaemia also harms women’s productivity and their ability to generate income, reducing the health and quality of life for millions of women and future generations.

Malnutrition, particularly anaemia, costs children and women $110 billion in lost productivity in low- and middle-income countries. Without the impacts of stunting and anaemia, an additional 15.8 million girls could complete secondary school each year.

World Vision’s Advocacy lead, Dana Buzducea, says many families turn to child labour to provide short-term economic relief, but this traps girls in a cycle of low-incomes and chronic food insecurity.

“The number of people going to bed hungry and living with the long-term effects of malnutrition shot-up during the pandemic and have not dropped. This is after years of success in reducing hunger. People who cannot feed their children are left with little choice but to leave their countries and seek survival elsewhere,” she says.

Buzducea says the nutrition crisis is not just an issue in low-income countries either. Since the 1990s, poverty among girls has risen in more than half of OECD countries, trapping many in a cycle of poverty and malnutrition that threatens the next generation.

She says ultra-processed foods now make up 80% of diets in high-income countries and 30 per cent in middle income countries, causing a plethora of health issues.

World Vision is calling on governments, organisations, and individuals to unite in combating malnutrition and advocating for the rights and health of women and girls globally.

To help ensure a girl has the nutrition she needs to survive and thrive, visit: https://www.worldvision.org.nz/give-now/sponsor-a-child/#choose
MIL OSI New Zealand News –
January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: West and Central Africa: About 10 million children forced out of schools by worst flooding in recent years

Source: Save the Children

About 10 million children across four countries in West and Central Africa are currently out of school due to massive regional flooding, which has damaged and destroyed infrastructure and displaced nearly one million people from their homes, said Save the Children.

The unprecedented heavy rains across Nigeria, Mali, Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have created a worsening education crisis with the damage or destruction of schools, the occupation of school buildings by displaced families, and the displacement of families away from schools. These kinds of extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe as a result of the climate crisis.

While back-to-school season was expected to start at the end of September, all four countries are seeing masses of children missing out on the start of the school year. The 10 million children currently stuck at home or displaced due to floods are in addition to about 36 million children – of which over 20 million are in Nigeria – estimated to ,already be out of school in the four countries due to conflict and poverty according to the UN [1].

At the end of September, Niger declared the postponement of the start of the school year for at least three weeks because of the floods, forcing 3.8 million learners out of school [2]. The floods have also leftover 5,520 classrooms in Niger damaged, destroyed, or occupied by displaced families [3].

Earlier this month, Mali also declared a month’s postponement to the start of the school year. This nationwide decision is impacting some 3.8 million learners from primary and secondary schools [4].

In Nigeria, at least 3 million children are out of school in Borno state, with 2.2 million children newly out of school due to statewide closures from flooding. [5] Heavy rains have affected 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states over the past month, killing 269 people and forcing 640,000 people from their homes [6].

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the beginning of the year, flooding had resulted in the destruction of 1,325 schools and impacted over 200,000 children [7]. As of today, at least 59,000 children are out of school, with the province of Tanganyika most affected [8]. In May, at the peak of the flooding season, another 120 classrooms were destroyed in the province forcing 12,000 children to miss out on school [9].

Before the flooding, 14,000 schools in Central and West Africa were already closed because of attacks and threats on education [10]. This catastrophic situation makes the already fragile chances of access to education for thousands of children even more dire.

Vishna Shah-Little, Regional Director of Advocacy and Campaigns for Save the Children said, said:

“Around the world, the start of a new school year is a time of joy and hope. For many children in West and Central Africa, the start of the school year is synonymous with sadness at the sight of their homes, schools and classrooms under water.

“As well as seeing their families devastated and their homes destroyed, the children have to come to terms with witnessing the flooding of their education.”

Save the Children is calling for donors to support scaling up the response to the devasting consequences of natural disasters on affected population especially children.

Governments and partners must urgently take measure to provide alternative offers to allow children missing out on school to continue their education in this period and ensure as a way forward that schools are more resilient to extreme weather events such as flooding so that children can learn safely.

Save the Children is responding to the situation in central and west Africa by providing emergency relief such as water, sanitation and hygiene kits, health and cash and voucher assistance support for affected families. We are also investing in strengthening national and community level early warning system for floods to better anticipate and prepare for such shocks.

In the global response to the climate crisis, Save the Children is calling for national governments to rapidly phase out the use and subsidy of fossil fuels to limit warming temperatures to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels and to include the voices, needs and rights of children in the global response to climate change.

Notes

[1] UNESCO: https://education-estimates.org/out-of-school/data/. Total based on UNESCO’s middle estimate for 2023 for the four countries of DR Congo, Mali, Nigeria and Niger. Breakdown of 2023 out of school children (primary and secondary) according to the UN estimates: Nigeria: 21.4m; DRC: 6m; Niger: 5.5m; Mali: 3.3m

[2] According to the Education cluster, 3,812,733 children were expected to go back to school at the start of the academic year in Niger.

[3] As of 8 th October 2024, 5,520 classrooms were affected by flooding.

[4] Based on national statistics on fundamental education from Mali’s Ministry of Education, noting that 2,972,650 children were enrolled in primary schools and 854,312 children were enrolled in secondary schools as of 2023.

[5] In Nigeria, we estimate 2.2 million children out of school due to floods in Borno, in addition to 800,000 children already out of school in the state before the floods, according to local sources.

[6] https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/unhcr-scrambles-aid-devastating-floods-sweep-nigeria

[7] As of 24 February 2024, the flooding in DRC had inflicted significant damage across the DRC, resulting in the destruction of over 98,000 homes and1,325 schools. https://cerf.un.org/what-we-do/allocation/2024/summary/24-RR-COD-63589

[8] DRC: As of July 2024, according to the Education Cluster, 10% of the 1,593 schools closed in the DRC were due to natural disaster. In total, the cluster estimates 590,000 children have been affected by school closures for all reasons in 2024.

[9] According to the Education cluster, 117 classrooms were destroyed by flooding in Kalemi and Moba, in the province of Tanganyika, affecting 12 289 children https://reliefweb.int/map/democratic-republic-congo/republique-democratique-du-congo-alerte-sur-les-inondations-des-ecoles-dans-la-province-de-tanganyika-mai-2024

[10] As of 9 September 2024, 14,364 schools have closed in central and West Africa because of armed violence according to the regional situation report Q2 2024 of Education in Emergencies Working Group for West and Central Africa [1]

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI Submissions: Africa – ATIDI and MIGA Partner to Streamline Investments in Africa

Source: MediaFast

· Organizations sign second three-year agreement to scale and replicate successful partnership models

· Agreement will set up mechanism to measure progress and results as well as joint marketing initiatives to strengthen cooperation and explore new investment opportunities

Washington, DC, USA – 15 October, 2024 – The African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of World Bank Group Guarantees, have signed a three-year partnership to accelerate foreign direct investment across Africa. This is the second agreement between the two organizations aimed at maximising development impact.

The organizations will collaborate by leveraging ATIDI’s expertise in insurance and guarantee products across the African continent and MIGA’s range of guarantee solutions and guarantee expertise through the World Bank Group guarantee platform. The partnership will also seek to improve efficiency in joint project due diligence, maximising cost savings and eliminating duplication.

Quote from Manuel Moses, CEO, ATIDI

“Enabling more investment to finance transformational projects is vital to Africa’s sustained development. MIGA and ATIDI’s de-risking solutions are essential to achieve this crucial agenda. Beyond signing of this agreement, we look forward to a dynamic collaboration with MIGA, to leverage our institutions’ respective assets for the benefit of our continent.”

The agreement framework emphasizes mutual reliance, accountability, and comparability. Each party will regularly share operating standards and procedures to help identify comparable outcomes to further both organizations’ development mandates.

Quote from Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President

“Our partnership with ATIDI will enable us to support countries in Africa in scaling and replicating development projects, thereby accelerating prosperity. This agreement will play a significant role in helping the continent attract foreign investment for key development projects.”

Both organizations have agreed to set up mechanisms to measure progress and results, including reports on joint projects, new products, capital mobilized, and reduced project processing times. Moreover, both parties will carry out joint marketing efforts, training, and seminars to strengthen cooperation and explore new investment opportunities in Africa.

The strategic agreement framework underscores the commitment of MIGA and ATIDI to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. The two organizations aim to mitigate investment risks by pooling resources, thereby accelerating sustainable economic growth in Africa.

About ATIDI

ATIDI was founded in 2001 by African States to cover trade and investment risks of companies doing business in Africa. ATIDI predominantly provides Political Risk, Credit Insurance and Surety Insurance. Since inception, ATIDI has supported USD85 billion worth of investments and cross border trade into Africa. For over a decade, ATIDI has maintained an ‘A/Stable’ rating for Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit by Standard & Poor’s, and in 2019, ATIDI obtained an A3/Stable rating from Moody’s, which has now been upgraded to A2/Positive.

For more on ATIDI, visit: http://www.atidi.africa

Media registration link: https://www.atidi.africa/media-kit/

About World Bank Group Guarantees

Initiated in 2024, World Bank Group Guarantees consolidates all guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group institutions at MIGA. It provides a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the instrument that best suits their needs. The platform streamlines processes, removes redundancies, and provides greater accessibility by de-risking investments in developing countries. Its goal is to boost the WBG’s annual guarantee issuance to USD20 billion by 2030.

For more information about the guarantee platform, visit: https://www.worldbank.org/wbgguarantees

MIL OSI – Submitted News –

January 23, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Eating ourselves to death: How the modern diet is destroying our bodies and our planet One of the UK’s leading food reform campaigners has been chosen to deliver the last in a decade-long series of prestigious talks at Aberdeen University.

Source: University of Aberdeen

Henry DimblebyOne of the UK’s leading food reform campaigners has been chosen to deliver the last in a decade-long series of prestigious talks at Aberdeen University.
Henry Dimbleby, the outspoken former government policy tsar and independent national food strategy author, will deliver the 2024 Carnegie Lecture on November 6.
The occasion marks the 75th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to the Rowett Institute’s founding director Lord Boyd Orr for his work improving global nutrition.
Boyd Orr’s pioneering research demonstrating the link between poverty, poor diet and ill health had a major impact, inspiring everything from school milk to war-time rationing.
After leading the Aberdeen-based Institute for three decades, he became the first director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1949 “for his lifelong effort to conquer hunger and want, thereby helping to remove a major cause of military conflict and war”.
Today, 75 years on, the food landscape may have dramatically changed but we still find ourselves grappling with stark inequalities when it comes to diet and health.
And echoes of Boyd Orr’s pleas for action – and of his frustrations at the pace of change and political will to force it – can be heard in the work of Mr Dimbleby.
The Leon restaurants founder and co-author of the bestselling book Ravenous: How to Get Ourselves and Our Planet into Shape, will use the lecture to further explore his forensic analysis of our malfunctioning food system and how we can fix it.
The Andrew Carnegie Lecture series, a ten-year programme of public talks at Scotland’s ancient universities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews) is a project funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to celebrate its centenary.
Mr Dimbleby will afterwards join a panel discussion featuring Rowett Institute Director Professor Jules Griffin, Professor Alexandra Johnstone, the institute’s theme lead for Nutrition, Obesity and Disease and leader of the £1.6m Food Insecurity and Obesity (FIO Food) project, and Food Standards Scotland chair Heather Kelman.
“John Boyd Orr’s contribution to improving British diets – and his clear understanding of the wider importance of nutritional health to our world – was immeasurable,” Mr Dimbleby says.
“It is hard to know quite what he would make of the way problems with the food system have evolved since he was putting his expertise and drive behind global reform.
“But it is a great pleasure to be able to go to Aberdeen – where the pioneering work that underpinned his achievements was done at the Rowett – to talk about how scientists, politicians, industry leaders and others can take a leaf out of the Boyd Orr book.”
University of Aberdeen Principal Professor George Boyne said: “For more than 500 years the University has been at the forefront of driving research which goes beyond the status quo, works across borders and delivers sustainable solutions to the challenges facing society.
“In Henry we are delighted to have a speaker delivering this special anniversary lecture who so clearly shares these principles and demonstrates the same commitment towards changing lives.”
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January 23, 2025

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