Development Finance International
13 September - DFI Contributes to UNESCO’s Flagship Education Report
DFI was commissioned by UNESCO to provide a background paper and case studies which were used for the new Global Education Monitoring Report. This publication series provides independent monitoring and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG 4) and on education in the other SDGs, for the next fifteen years.
The 2016 instalment entitled “Education for People and Planet: Creating Sustainable Futures for All” aims to bring insight for governments and policymakers to monitor and accelerate progress towards SDG 4.
2 September - Social Spending Fall in DRC
Despite stable overall public spending figures, DRC’s expenditure in some key social sectors as percentage of total expenditure has declined from 2014 to 2015, notably in health and agriculture. GSW’s latest country spending summary highlights DRC’s shift of budgetary priorities in an election year where government spending seems to be reoriented towards public order and security, and infrastructure projects.
19 August - Eurodad Paper on Debt in Developing Countries
Brussels-based organisation Eurodad has published a discussion paper which analyses the evolving nature of debt in developing countries and investigates currently available solutions for change. In a context where developing country debt is increasing, despite taking a relative downward path between 2000 and 2010, this report aims to figure out the reasons behind this debt burden increase, analyse the risk of new debt crises and to examine the changing nature of the type of debt countries are now facing. It also makes recommendations for sustainable and progressive solutions to prevent further debt crises and to improve policy processes of crisis resolution and management.
3-5 August - BWIs’ Role in Mobilising Tax Revenues, Cotonou
DFI and OIF helped prepare and facilitate a session at the Caucus of African Governors of the IMF and World Bank, held in Cotonou, analysing how to enhance the role of the BWIs in assisting African governments with revenue mobilisation.
The session discussed the role of the two institutions in providing policy advice, technical assistance and capacity-building support, as well as the potential for the World Bank to stop asking for tax exemptions on World Bank and especially IFC projects, and for it to drop the Doing Business tax sub-criterion which encourages cuts in corporate tax rates. The conclusions of the meeting were incorporated into a Memorandum by African governors, to be discussed with Managing Director Lagarde and President Kim in October.
22 July - Monitoring the Contribution of Private Sector Flows to the SDGs, New York
DRI chaired a plenary Development Cooperation Forum session as part of the UN ECOSOC meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on the SDGs. The subject of the session was how to monitor the contribution of private and blended development cooperation, and broader private flows, to progress on the SDGs. The session was based on a background report written by DFI for the DCF, and discussed how the effectiveness and impact of these flows could be assessed, and how to overcome financial, political and technical barriers to achieving this.
Stakeholders from the official and private sector all agreed that this should be a priority going forward and undertook to participate in further discussions during the next 2016-18 phase of the DCF.
