About: developing countries

Climate change and development aid: The economic case for prevention

Climate change affects developing countries more heavily, with broad impacts on the environment and the economy, insurers say, highlighting the need to act before damage is done.

Commission: Only ‘economic considerations’ could lead to tariffs on rice imports

An alliance of EU rice producers has called for restoring tariffs on rice imports from Myanmar and Cambodia, in part due to human rights concerns, but Commission sources clarified that the EU executive's ongoing safeguard investigation is linked to purely economic considerations.

Engineering disruptive innovation

Disrupting innovation, which could be compared to television replacing radio, finds fertile ground in the developing countries, write Gauri Khandekar and Thomas Wyns.

‘Partnerships in development’: We can do it

EURACTIV invited Emma Marcegaglia, President of BusinessEurope, Jacqueline Mugo, Secretary General of Business Africa, Pierre Gattaz, President of Medef, the largest employer federation of France, and Klaus Rudischhauser, EU Commission Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Development , to discuss the role of public-private partnerships in development.

‘Private sector development helps stabilise vulnerable countries’

Private sector development is crucial to stabilising the most vulnerable countries. But ensuring businesses respect social and environmental standards is a real challenge, Anne-Sophie Rakoutz told EURACTIV France.

European countries far from meeting development aid promises

European countries are far from meeting their official development assistance (ODA) targets. Factors related to migration are further adding to the financial pressure faced by development budgets, parts of which are being earmarked to take care of refugees.

By playing doctor, the UN may kill the patient

The United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines does not address the actual problems of developing countries, such as inadequate infrastructure and shortage of medical staff, writes Dr. Barbara Kolm.

Aid Effectiveness: From commitment to transparency?

Open data, and the transparency and effectiveness of international development aid, have failed to get the attention they deserve.

How does climate change hit poor countries?

In 2015, the world reached a historic deal to limit the temperature rise below 2 degrees celsius.

The plan to electrify Africa takes shape

Africa could be fully electrified in as little as ten years, according to the President of the Pan-African Parliament. But the project needs a further $50 billion of funding. EURACTIV France reports. 

Innovative microinsurance protects poor farmers against climate change

SPECIAL REPORT / Farmers in the Global South can protect their business by insuring their crops against climate hazards. But this system is held back by a lack of reliable climate data. EURACTIV France reports. 

Mental healthcare 50 times more accessible in wealthy countries

Nearly one in every 10 people has a mental health disorder, but just 1% of the global health workforce are working as psychiatrists, occupational therapists or social workers, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed in a report that highlights deepening inequality in access to mental health treatment.

War-torn Kosovar village faces new threat as World Bank considers coal power plant

HADE, Kosovo – In 1999, Serbian commandos wearing hoods over their heads and greasepaint on their faces entered this mountain village and executed five Muslim men ages 25 to 80. The soldiers forced the surviving inhabitants onto buses headed for Albania and Macedonia. Then they set nearly every home in Hade ablaze.

Poor nations waiting for a deal on climate, says French minister

Developing countries are “waiting to see” what rich nations will offer them in global warming talks, the French minister of environment has said, ahead of crunch negotiations to be hosted in Paris later this year.

Putting the brakes on New Alliance land grabs

What kind of role should the private sector have in the post-2015 fight against poverty and food insecurity? And how should EU governments ensure it is genuinely inclusive and responsible? Yaekob Metena explores the possibilities.

Cancer is the poor parent of development aid

SPECIAL REPORT: Long considered a disease of rich countries, cancer is no longer sparing Africa, where, to general indifference, the number of deaths is soaring.

‘Swiss Leaks’ catastrophic for African economies

Developing countries in Africa have been hit by the full force of the recent Swiss Leaks scandal. The Swiss branch of HSBC bank cost Tanzania, Senegal and the Ivory Coast over 30% of their national health budgets. EURACTIV France reports. 

Foodwatch: German TTIP study ‘utopian’

Consumer rights NGO foodwatch sharply criticised a German Development Ministry study on TTIP, saying the planned EU-US free trade agreement is a poverty scheme for the world’s poorest countries, and is an “interest-driven sham”. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Campaigners warn against diluting the Anti-Money Laundering Directive

As representatives of the EU institutions will meet tomorrow (16 December) to strike a deal on the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, a pressure group has warned that the stakes are high, as member states could be tempted to drop a mandatory public register of who controls anonymous trusts and companies.

Abortion: Choice is a human right

In many developing countries today women and girls have their human rights violated by their own government, resulting in mental torment, horrific injury or even death, write MEP Heidi Hautala, Greens, Finland and MEP Sophie in 't Veld, ALDE, Netherlands, Co-chairs of the European Parliament Working Group on Reproductive Health, HIV/AIDS and Development (EPWG). 

Congolese gynaecologist wins Sakharov Prize

Dr. Denis Mukwege is the laureate of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2014, following the decision yesterday (21 October) by European Parliament President Martin Schulz and the political group leaders. Mukwege is a gynaecologist specialised in the treatment of rape victims and founder of the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic Congo.

Women’s development goals

As the 2015 deadline for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, world leaders will face a choice: move the goal posts back another decade or two, or hold accountable those who have failed to deliver on their commitments. For women, the choice is clear.

Study: Education and health spending compromised by climate change

Impoverished states have had to divert large chunks of their budget to adapt to climate change and run the risk of crowding out spending on health and education, a new report suggests.