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Blog Post
April 16, 2024
Last month The Gambia’s National Assembly advanced a bill that, if ratified, would make it the first country to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation. These moves—supported by the predominantly male legislature—reflect the precarious nature of gains made in gender equality and have implication...
Blog Post
March 09, 2023
Many advanced-economy countries are looking for ways to recycle their excess Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) to support more vulnerable countries whose economies are being buffeted by the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The G20 has pledged $100 billion ...
Blog Post
February 15, 2023
Months of innovative work by AfDB staff have resulted in an attractive SDR recycling scheme that overcomes a major hurdle by successfully embodying the reserve asset characteristic. And it will allow leveraging SDRs to multiply their lending power 3-4 times. Now politicians have to step up and commi...
Blog Post
December 16, 2022
In 2020, we opened our end-of-year review by saying that “Not even Dr. Pangloss could put a positive spin on… a historic dumpster fire of a year.” The next year, we described 2021 as “not quite the best of times, not quite the worst of times”, which seemed like progress. But if we take one lesson fr...
Blog Post
November 30, 2022
SDRs are only part of the answer to Africa's economic and financial challenges. But they can be mobilized quickly and responsively to meet acute needs on the continent. The cost to the United States is essentially zero. The potential benefits to African countries and US credibility are immense.
Blog Post
November 29, 2022
The Global North can make an immediate down payment on the promises made at COP27 to increase financing for emerging markets and developing countries. How can countries ensure that funding starts to flow now? By pushing the limits of the funding mechanisms already in place.
Blog Post
November 16, 2022
Far too many adolescent girls experience violence, both in school and out of school. Last year, we published analysis—drawing on household survey data representing more than 80 percent of girls aged 15-19 across sub-Saharan Africa—which showed that more than one in four girls report having experienc...