Global South Development Magazine

What protesters consider as the Rajapaksa government’s failures have been symptoms, rather than causes, of the structural weaknesses threatening to tear apart the economy.

The surging crisis is a combination of complex causes: intensifying conflict which has brought on an economic collapse, including dramatic food price increases in Yemen’s south, and a fuel import embargo hitting families in northern areas. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded suffering as remittances have fallen, earning opportunities have dried up, health services been stretched to the limits and travel restrictions have compromised access to markets. On top of that, a locust plague and flash floods have battered local food production in some areas.

COVID-19 has constrained many of the ongoing SDG-readying support provided to the Government of Afghanistan and may have major implications for judicious and long-term development policymaking and programming that are needed to achieve the priority SDG targets in Afghanistan.

"Our approach to South-South cooperation is about generating mutually beneficial opportunities and results by cultivating values with one another and our counterparts in the North. In the process, we demystify stereotypes and create innovative standards for collaborations and measures for success," says Zaynah Khanbhai, founder of South South Women.

In the past, dependency thoughts broke some political boundaries and explained the reasons why wealthy nations were taking advantage of poor countries, and today they are useful in explaining recurring financial crises, the reckless use of natural resources and widening inequalities both in the global South and the North.

According to the OECD’s latest Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development, developing countries are facing a shortfall of USD 1.7 trillion in the financing they would need this year to keep them on track for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as governments and investors grapple with the health, economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.

Youth-led cooperative play, initiated by Play for Peace, brings together people from different nationalities, religions, and backgrounds to find common ground, build friendships, and create a more peaceful world.

Accept International developed the RPA model so that the reintegration process could be applied to former violent extremists worldwide, and it appears to be a highly practical tool for conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and with the support of parties from around the world, it has the potential to become an internationally-accepted method in promoting peace.