Welcome to the blog of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development.
The blog highlights and brings together a variety of perspectives and policy recommendations on all issues on the Financing for Development agenda and on the outcomes of the Conference.
The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Secretariat of the United Nations.
The UN recently completed another part of its new global sustainable development agenda: the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA). Prior to the July conference in Addis, UNRISD set out on the “Road to Addis and Beyond” together with scholars, UN partners, civil society organizations and NGOs, inviting them to contribute to a Think Piece Series […]
The conversations around the need for greater infrastructure investment are a strong first step towards the ultimate goal of providing equitable basic amenities worldwide. While much has been said about the need for follow-through on implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), basic infrastructure development is the catalyst essential to achieve these goals. However, it […]
A common reaction to the UN financing for development conference in Addis Ababa last week was: nice narrative, now what? That narrative was the now-familiar beyond aid story, and we did not have long to wait for an example of what may follow: the UK’s Department for International Development has announced the first new money […]
The Third International Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa ended with an outcome document as ambitious as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the conference sought to underwrite. The document calls for “a new social compact” to provide fiscally sustainable and nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, with a […]
There has been a lot of discussion in Addis about how to finance Africa’s $100 billion per year infrastructure needs – and mainly how to attract private sector money. Everybody seems to have ideas for what needs to be done. Many have proposals for projects, large and small. However, so far, few have so far […]
The list of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals looks impressive on paper and, if they are all achieved, the world will be a very different and better place. However, writing them down is one thing, implementation is a different matter. What are some of the challenges: First, it is crystal clear that investment in infrastructure […]
This year, governments will make decisions that will shape sustainable development possibilities for generations to come. In September, world leaders will gather in New York to agree on a new set of international development goals. Less than three months later, in December, Paris will host crucial United Nations talks on a binding global agreement to […]
Almost 3000 miles from Addis Ababa, where delegates from around the globe have gathered for the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, the ground work is being laid for what may prove to be a catalyst for change for development financing: the Educate Girls Development Impact Bond, a pioneering new way to encourage private […]
The people for whom this week’s Financing for Development (FFD) Conference matters most will likely never hear a thing about it. They are the young girls and boys unable to complete school. They are women farmers not assured of inputs, tenure or a market for their produce. They are a growing legion of young people more […]
If this year is to go down as the one in which the global community set the world on a transformative development path and clinched a deal on climate change, ambitions will have to match means. This is what is at stake as we meet in Addis Ababa. In one of the most inclusive global […]
