L.O.A.Ns – Leash On African Nations
Nana Agyeman, MSc. Development Economics and Policy, Global Development Institute
Much of the conversation around debt in Africa has been about its growing size, while very little attention has been paid to the terms and conditions under which African countries borrow. The devil they say is in the details, so it is critical that we understand both sides of the crippling debt story. read more…
Understanding dramatic change in the UK’s International Development NGO sector
Nicola Banks, Senior Lecturer, Global Development Institute and Dan Brockington, Professor, The University of Sheffield
The last 18 months have been some of the most challenging ever for the UK charitable sector, especially those working in international development. As the dust from 2018’s catastrophic safeguarding scandals began to settle, the Covid-19 pandemic hit globally. As demand for charities’ services increased, their work and incomes were hit by the lockdowns and unprecedented economic decline that accompanied the pandemic. Against this background of instability, the UK government reduced its ODA expenditure commitment and slashed provisions to many development charities. read more…
Football, social media and the far-reaching power of development language
Isis Barei-Guyot, PhD researcher, Global Development Institute
The day after the UEFA European Football Championship Final I hesitantly opened my social media apps to take stock of the aftermath of England’s loss against Italy. Two stories took prominence in the news; the online racial abuse levelled at the England players who had missed penalties, and the shocking amount of litter left on England’s streets by football fans. read more…
Remembering former President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda
David Hulme, Admos Chimhowu and Kate Pruce, Global Development Institute
Many of us at The University of Manchester are greatly saddened by the passing away of Kenneth Kaunda (known as KK) one of the giants of the African anti-colonial movement and a leading figure in promoting Pan-Africanism. read more…
From Global Britain to Little England
David Hulme, Professor of Development Studies, Global Development Institute
The hypocrisy could not be greater. While Boris Johnson chaired the G7 meeting, and waxed lyrical about what the UK will contribute to reducing the impacts of Covid-19 and climate change in poorer countries, his government is systematically dismantling some of the world’s most effective poverty reduction programmes. read more…
Global value chains, private governance and multiple end-markets: insights from Kenyan leather
Giovanni Pasquali, Research Associate, Global Development Institute
The recent growth of South-South trade and talks about the ‘great convergence’ between developing economies in the global South and developed ones has sparked increasing attention among development studies scholars. The GDI has been at the forefront of ground-breaking research evaluating the economic and social impact of this phenomenon. In particular, the work of Khalid Nadvi, Stephanie Barrientos, and Rory Horner has significantly contributed to understanding the different value chain configurations of global value chains across Northern and Southern end-markets, as well as their consequences for firms and workers. read more…
Remembering Dr Franklin Adorsu-Djentuh
We are deeply saddened to share the tragic passing of our colleague and friend Dr Franklin Adorsu-Djentuh.
Franklin was a much loved member of the GDI community who spent time with us as both a PhD researcher and colleague. He completed his PhD in 2018 looking at the role of local actors in the implementation of environmental sanitation policies in Ghana. As part of his PhD, Franklin attended the General Debate of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During his studies, Franklin worked as a Teaching Assistant and rejoined us earlier this year as a Senior Tutor teaching on a number of our courses.
He will be greatly missed by all of us. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. read more…
Foregone healthcare and severe food insecurity: dynamic impacts of pandemic lockdown in Uganda one year on
Gindo Tampubolon, Lecturer in Poverty, Global Development Institute
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many countries imposed severe restrictions or lockdowns on a swath of activities across society. Uganda is no exception. On 20 March 2020, a stay at home restriction was issued. The death toll is globally reported, but amongst those still living, it is not known how much suffering remains one year on: how many forego healthcare thus storing problems for their health in future and how many forego eating thus compromising their wellbeing. read more…
MSc Human Resource Management virtual meeting with the European Commission
The Global Development Institute offers a range of taught master’s programmes. The MSc Human Resource Management programme aims to equip learners with a robust theoretical framework for careers in HRM and at the same time to provide students with an opportunity to gain insights into practice-focused HRM across a wide range of management contexts and sectors. The MSc HRM Enhancement Programme (HRMEP) has been developed over five years to offer closer student engagement with a wide range of organisational contexts in the field of HR practice. This year, due to the impact of Covid-19, alternative plans have been made for the enhancement programme to invite experienced HR practitioners from a wide range of organisations to engage in a series of webinars. with our HRM students on matters of HR practice. read more…
Extreme risk makes the journey feasible
We have just launched a new master’s course on International Development: Migration, Mobility and Displacement. To coincide with this and to give students a greater idea about the course we will be sharing a series of blogs from members of our Migration, Refugees and Asylum research group.
In this blog Oliver Bakewell explores his and Caitlin Sturridge’s recent paper on Extreme Risk Makes the Journey Feasible: Decision-Making amongst Migrants in the Horn of Africa
What is the role of risk in determining how people move? We might think that the more someone knows about the risks of going on one route, the more they try to find another way. In a recent paper based on research from the Horn of Africa undertaken by the Research and Evidence Facility, Oliver Bakewell and Caitlin Sturridge, show how the extreme danger of kidnapping and extortion by traffickers opens up a narrow window of opportunity for some young Somalis to find a way to reach Europe. In the absence of any safe routes, increasing the danger has the perverse effect of making it easier for young people to go. read more…