This week we welcome the release of a new CGD book: Relief Chief: A Manifesto for Saving Lives in Dire Times, by Mark Lowcock. A former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator—and a current Distinguished Non-Resident Fellow at CDG—Mark gives us an inside ...

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set ambitious targets for high-quality, universal education by 2030. But existing efforts to “cost the SDGs” return unattainable price tags. In this chapter, we first review approaches to costing the SDGs in the education sector.

In a recent note, we asked whether IDA, the arm of the World Bank that provides concessional lending to the poorest countries, has the right approach for determining the balance between grants and loans which its recipients receive. We noted that IDA concessionality depends on the level of recipient...

In 2021, Ghana announced a plan to issue sovereign bonds of up to $2 billion, with proceeds due partially to fund a free secondary school program. Just months later, Ghana’s rising debt burden means this is no longer feasible. Can developing countries tap the social bond market in order to fund publ...

Heightened food and energy prices are exacerbating humanitarian crises around the world. Resources and attention are being diverted to Ukraine, rather than expanded. Here, we identify existing and new countries at risk, and look at the major donors’ resources to respond to those needs. Policymakers...

The refugee crisis caused by the war in Ukraine is shaping up to be the worst the world has seen for 80 years. There are also millions of civilians inside Ukraine—some displaced by the fighting, others still at home—who (either now or in the near future) will need assistance from humanitar...

Humanitarian problems continue to grow across Africa. Conflict, climate change and COVID-19 are the main causes. This is a problem for Africa, but also for Africa’s friends and neighbours, including the European Union (EU). Humanitarian problems increasingly cross borders, with spill over effec...