This post originally appeared on UrbanLinks. Quick infusions of public services are usually a surefire way for local officials to increase their political capital. But pushing through reforms that spur longer-term economic development and strengthen community cohesion is often much harder to accomplish amid competing priorities. In Jordan, USAID’s Cities Implementing Transparent Innovative and Effective…
Low literacy rates are a persistent problem in the Global South. Even with the increased enrollment in primary schools, illiteracy rates have not shifted. To actually move the needle on literacy, we need to focus not just on getting students into the classroom but on helping teachers be more effective. One of the best ways…
Down-and-dirty politics and political roadblocks have thwarted the success of agricultural development projects for decades. To achieve greater success, we need to consider how we can better understand and break down such blocks. Whether we like it or not, international development efforts are inherently political. Within the agriculture sector, the relationships and power dynamics among…
Water scarcity is nothing new to the Middle East. In fact, many would say that water — or the lack of it — has shaped its very history and culture. Looking forward, water will continue to play a pivotal role for this arid region of the world. Aging water infrastructure and increasingly uncertain climate events…
Despite the recent weakening of violent extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram, these threats continue to be a pressing global issue. In the development sector, countering violent extremism (CVE) and preventing violent extremism (PVE) are increasingly high priorities for government agencies and donors. As USAID, the State Department, and others grapple…
Collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) is an approach championed by USAID to help projects work effectively with partners, reflect on implementation, and change course when needed. The concept is simple, but implementing the approach in practice is another story. With projects’ detailed scopes of work and precise indicator targets, it can be difficult to figure out…
In the age of Amazon, efficient global commercial supply chains are essential for successful companies to deliver their products to consumers. These companies use sophisticated analytics, have end-to-end visibility in all aspects of their supply chain operations right down to the last mile, and operate with a level of precision that their customers demand. As…
Since the start of the global AIDS epidemic, women have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Today, women constitute for more than half of all people living with HIV. For women aged 15 to 44, HIV is the leading cause of death worldwide, with unsafe sex being the main risk factor in developing countries. Additionally, a…
Achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 will not be easy — or cheap. It is estimated that an extra $2.5 trillion in funding will be needed to achieve the SDGs by 2030. Soon after the goals were finalized in 2015, it became clear that traditional philanthropy and official development assistance at its current levels would…
For nearly four decades, HIV has not only been a public health emergency, but also one of the biggest barriers to global development. This disease costs national governments billions of dollars each year in treatment and prevention costs as well as opportunity costs in relation to immune-compromised citizens who are no longer able to contribute…
As always happens around the new year, my news feed is filled with many projections for 2018 — from the economy to politics to entertainment. They got me thinking about what we might expect in the global effort to end HIV/AIDS, and at the risk of being cliché, I offer a few projections for the…
Extraction of oil, gas, and mineral resources brings about profound changes to societies. While traditional wisdom suggests that communities and regions with valuable extractive resources are likely to become better off with resource development, substantial research has shown that, to a surprising extent, resource development does not lead to proportional economic development. In fact, in…