All published articles in this category.
MUF Uppsala County's second vice chairman Andreas Celan argues that the Swedish development assistance budget needs to be reduced with reference to the fact that the money is not used efficiently and goes to corruption. We at SSU are of a different opinion: the development assistance budget should not be reduced and the 1% target should be defended, writes Pavlos Cavelier Bizas, chairman of SSU Uppland.
March 18, 2021, Debate
Together, the trade union movement works globally with gender equality, here at a seminar in Benin. Photo: Lina Karlsson
Of: Sofia Eastmark
Around the world, more women than men have lost income and jobs during the covid-19 pandemic. That is why strong unions are especially important right now. Together, we can put an end to the serious, historic decline for women in working life, says Sofia Östmark, Chancellor at Union to Union.
March 12, 2021, Debate
Of: Håkan Svenneling
The hunt for vaccines has not escaped anyone. First, the hunt was about inventing vaccines; now it's about making it. International solidarity is put to the test when patents ensure that pharmaceutical companies take precedence over human life and health, while at the same time exposing and exacerbating global inequality. It writes Håkan Svenneling, foreign policy spokesman, Left Party.
March 11, 2021, Debate
Photo: Rod Waddington, Flickr
Of: Pierre Frühling
Some silences can lead to disaster. The situation in Tigray in northern Ethiopia today is a dramatic example. The war in Tigray continues, the famine has probably already begun and may soon become extremely widespread. The Ethiopian government is blocking free access for humanitarian operations, and denying permits to independent journalists as well as to investigations into abuses and massacres. But to the outside world, the people in Tigray do not seem to exist.
March 4, 2021, Debate
Of: Elin Petersson
Living without a car, avoiding air travel, switching to a plant-based diet and having fewer children are some changes that have major environmental benefits and should therefore be prioritized. Despite this, many consumers associate environmental friendliness with less effective changes such as choosing locally produced products, organic food or introducing a vegetarian day a week. If the public lacks the ability to distinguish effective changes from ineffective ones, the chances are low that Sweden will achieve consumption-related environmental goals, says Elin Petersson, a student at Linnaeus University.
February 26, 2021, Debate
Of: Andreas Celan
Several cases of failed aid projects show that Sida cannot ensure that the aid money goes where it is supposed to. For this reason, the development assistance budget should be reduced and a larger part of the development assistance money will go to making the necessary investments in Sweden, says Andreas Celan, the Moderate Youth Association in Uppsala.
February 26, 2021, Debate
Of: Alan Atkisson
Covid-19 has turned difficult progress into setbacks. The latest figures from the World Bank give a gloomy picture in areas such as global poverty, hunger, health and education. But in the midst of a pandemic, we are also experiencing a dramatic acceleration of digitalisation, greater opportunities for equal inclusion and the development of new investment instruments to lift people out of poverty. We must look at the big picture, think long-term and continue to look for more effective levers for change, says Alan AtKisson, department manager at Sida.
February 15, 2021, Debate
Jamia Salimo: It's expensive to be poor. People in poor countries are forced to spend most of their income on food, and yet it is not enough. Farmer Jamia Salimo in Mozambique has just bought soap, salt and cooking oil. Photo: Edson Artur.
Of: Anna Tibblin and Eva Åberg
More people are at risk of starvation than of Covid-19 globally. The world is facing the worst hunger crisis in 50 years - at the same time, only 2,6 percent of Swedish aid goes to agriculture in poor countries. In order to avoid a hunger pandemic, and in general to succeed in achieving the UN's sustainability goal of eradicating world hunger, we must increase our agricultural aid and support for sustainable food production.
January 29, 2021, Debate
Photo: UNDP
Of: Josefin Pasanen
The new year comes with promises of large-scale Covid vaccination and a glimmer of hope that things can soon return to "normal" again. But there are many indications that it is precisely our "normal" way of life that has triggered the pandemic and the global socio-economic crisis that has come in its wake. The latest UN report on human development (HDR 2020) shows that the Covid-19 pandemic risks becoming a warning of what is to come, if humanity does not change course and work to restore balance on the planet.
January 29, 2021, Debate
About 30 percent of Sida's aid goes to democracy and human rights. Photo: Helena Bjuremalm
Of: Helena Bjuremalm
Both international and Swedish democracy aid is effective, according to a new study from the Expert Group for Aid Analysis (EBA). The report also shows that Sweden's democracy assistance has decreased at country level in recent years. Helena Bjuremalm, Deputy Head of Unit at Sida's Democracy Unit, has analyzed the results.
December 14, 2020, Debate