Of: Elina Scheja and True Schedvin
Oxfam recently launched a report showing that 8 individuals own as much as half of the earth's population. The extreme inequality is impossible to justify, but the report blames outdated assumptions. Leading economists no longer believe that poverty can be eradicated through growth that "seeps down". If current economic thinking is put into use, an inclusive development is possible, write Elina Scheja and True Schedvin in Sida's chief economist team.
January 31, 2017, Debate
Of: Elin Andersdotter Fabre and Johan Hassel
The importance of cities for global development is growing as the world becomes more urbanized. Therefore, global challenges must be tackled at the local level. Today marks the start of Habitat III, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Urban Development, in Ecuador's capital Quito. Nordic cities can and should take the lead in the transition to sustainable development - let the conference be the starting point for this, write Johan Hassel and Elin Andersdotter Fabre from the think tank Global Challenge.
October 17, 2016, Debate
Of: Maria Andersson
By 2030, everyone will have access to contraception. The world leaders have promised that. But it is not enough to just ensure distribution and infrastructure. People must be given power and the right to decide over their own bodies. So far, more than 225 million people lack contraceptives, writes Maria Andersson, Secretary General of RFSU, the Swedish Association for Sexual Enlightenment.
October 11, 2016, Debate
Of: Robert Höglund
The proportion of people in the world living in extreme poverty has more than halved in the last 20 years, but success does not seem to be stuck in the public consciousness. An excessively negative perception of the world situation leads to hopelessness. Therefore, we must increase knowledge about and rejoice in what gets better, writes Robert Höglund, communications manager at Oxfam Sweden.
September 29, 2016, Debate
Of: Anna Mia Ekström, Anna Sjöblom, Christina Franzén, Claes Ånstrand, Farhad Mazi Esfahani, Frida Sandegård, Gunilla Källenius, Mari Mörth, Maria Andersson, Mikaela Hildebrand and Tobias Alfvén
Every year, AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria cause the deaths of three million people. The challenges are many, but there is still hope of achieving the UN goal of stopping these diseases by 2030. In two weeks, world leaders will announce how much contribution they are willing to make to the Global Fund against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the next three-year period. It is time for a gathering of forces, write representatives of RFSU, RFSL, Médecins Sans Frontières, the Swedish Medical Association's Committee for Global Health, the World Infection Fund, Karolinska Institutet and HIV-Sweden.
September 9, 2016, Debate
Of: Lisa Roman
Knowledge and contributions from researchers, even from academically weak countries, are central to identifying relevant problems and solutions to global challenges. Therefore, strengthening research capacity in low-income countries should continue to be the focus of Swedish research cooperation in development assistance, writes Lisa Román, research secretary at Sida, in a reply.
August 22, 2016, Debate
Of: Carl-Johan Engström, Elin Andersdotter Fabre, Inga Björk Klevby and Johan Hassel
Decisive negotiations begin today on the UN's 20-year strategy for sustainable cities. Something that should be the highest priority for the new Minister for Housing, the Minister for the Environment and the Minister for International Development Cooperation. A global agenda for urban development is the fateful issue of our time, as it plays a crucial role in the implementation of both the climate agreement and Agenda 2030. But it also offers enormous opportunities for companies, local politics and citizens, writes the think tank Global Challenge.
July 25, 2016, Debate
Of: Claes Ånstrand, Gunilla Källenius and Knut Lönnroth
Sweden has chosen to reduce support for the fight against one of the world's deadliest diseases - tuberculosis. With a looming pandemic of multi-resistant tuberculosis, this is difficult to understand. The World Health Organization aims to reduce the number of tuberculosis patients by 90 percent by 2035, but then large research investments and new forms of collaboration are required. It is written by Gunilla Källenius, Knut Lönnroth and Claes Ånstrand.
June 30, 2016, Debate
Of: David Nilsson
Since the 1970s, Swedish research assistance has focused on building research capacity in developing countries, in order to strengthen the independence of these countries. But international cooperation is no longer just about solidarity - it is about common survival. Therefore, Sweden needs to rethink research and development assistance, and seriously bring the global challenges to the research agenda, writes researcher David Nilsson.
June 23, 2016, Debate
Of: Matthias Goldmann
Isabella Lövin has been given a new title. Instead of a Minister for Development Aid, Sweden now has a Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate. The title opens up new opportunities, writes Mattias Goldmann, CEO of the green and liberal think tank Fores, which here in an open letter delivers five challenges to the minister.
May 27, 2016, Debate
