Blogs
Private lending and debt risks of low-income developing countries
Low-income developing countries (LIDCs) are greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and sovereign debt has become a major concern. While the current situation is unprecedented, concerns about the potential for debt problems in LIDCs have been mounting in recent years.…
Interventions gone wrong: Learning from the failures we didn’t see coming
About the author: Thokozile Munthali, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Officer in the Government of Malawi. Thokozile was awarded a bursary to attend LIDC’s short course “Evaluation: From Innovation to Impact” in 2019. No one wants a project to…
Seeing is believing: What field work showed me of curable vision loss
People with dwindling eyesight often face a dark future. Children who can’t see letters and numbers lag behind in school. Workers without reading glasses are forced to give up their livelihoods prematurely. When a person with vision loss gets behind…
Zero chance for zero hunger?
One of three living in chronic food insecurity. More than two million regularly relying on food handouts. During floods and droughts, this figure doubles. Last year, this was the harsh reality for Kenyans. In 2020 – a year that…
World Malaria Day: Covid-19’s wrecking ball on SDG 3?
A few years ago, it looked like the world was on track to stamp out malaria for good. Malaria cases and deaths fell fast in the first 15 years of the millennium. But then progress stalled. In 2017, there were…
Sniffing out the smell of Covid-19
Photo by James Barker on Unsplash Can sniffer dogs be used on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19? Professor James Logan at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is hopeful that it is possible to train…
Education in emergencies: unknowns, evidence gaps and research needs
On Thursday 27 February 2020, LIDC hosted a roundtable panel discussion on the challenges of delivering education to children affected by conflict and crises. The event convened a panel of high-profile speakers from organisations including UNESCO, UNICEF and the World…
Is it time we stop worrying about biting off more than we can chew?
Committing to transform food systems in the next century LIDC’s event on the future of food in January generated a lot of attention. From alarm bells of the dire consequences of climate change to enthusiasm about collaborative movements to…
Mental Health is Part of Everything We Do in Development
Mental health is everybody’s business Everyone has mental health, and mental health conditions can affect anyone. This alone should make mental health relevant to all of us working in international development. But dig a little deeper, and you will find…
China: Predatory Lender or Development Partner in the Developing World?
All roads lead back to China The ancient Silk Road is experiencing a revival and reinvention through China’s ambitious infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Arguably one of the largest infrastructure plans in history, China’s reach now stretches…