Major multilateral institutions have long claimed that their market-oriented trade rules reduce poverty and advance development. Instead, they hold back the developing world from a more human-centric, social-justice approach that it needs to reach its potential. South Africa has the potential to set an example of how a global “middle power” can drive change. The Covid-19 pandemic has provided extra impetus – and a test.
Health inequality increased sixfold in South Africa under COVID-19, suggesting that the crisis affected the health of the poor far more than the relatively well-off. Race is not a significant predictor of vaccine hesitancy, but trusting social media as an information source is positively correlated with vaccine hesitancy. South Africa has pushed hard against opposition to the proposal for a waiver of IP for COVID-19 technologies at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The momentous African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which went into effect on 1 January 2021, demonstrates the continent’s desire to carve its own economic destiny. But as Africa’s biggest trading partner, the European Union’s actions will have a strong impact on the project’s chances of success. The EU’s historical record suggests it would benefit from more serious listening to what its African partners want on trade.
Les pays africains ont de plus en plus accès à l’Internet haut débit, les questions liées à la neutralité de l’internet, à la régulation et à l’interopérabilité adéquate se posent, il est nécessaire de veiller à ce que les citoyens puissent exercer librement leurs droits. En tant qu’intermédiaires, les plateformes numériques peuvent mettre en relation, faciliter l’accès à l’information, à la liberté d’expression et de communication. Ce qui fait que la force des plateformes tient en grande partie à leur capacité à multiplier les flux d’informations collectées auprès de leurs utilisateurs.
The aim of this paper is to contribute to an informed dialogue on the most appropriate forms of development finance. In view of the critical debt situation of African countries in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, and of the longer-term ambition to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, this discussion is more vital than ever.
