Unknown commented on "Short videos on activism, influence and change : Shared by Lou Mendez"
2 hours ago
I agree! Super helpful and uplifting. Visible power gets too much credit and attention! Thanks!
Unknown commented on "Africa’s Aid Addiction: Why Cash Would Have Worked Better - Thomas Ekvall"
19 hours ago
A fair point that village-level evidence does not map neatly onto an entire continent. Africa’s economies are too varied, and multipliers too context-specific, for simple arithmetic. But that is precisely what makes the comparison with the current system so stark. Its leakage is not hypothetical; it is built into the model. A large share of aid funding cycles through expatriate payrolls, consultancy contracts and procurement chains that send money back to donor-country economies long before it reaches anyone poor.
Cash transfers, by contrast, have two awkward virtues. First, they reliably put money into the hands of households that spend it in local markets — a vastly more direct stimulus than funds absorbed by administrative machinery abroad. Second, they rest on a premise that much of the aid industry quietly resents: that poor people can be trusted to decide what they need.
Whether the multiplier is 2.6 or 1.4 or merely 1.0 is almost beside the point. The direction of travel is unambiguous: shifting even a fraction of the $80bn away from overheads and towards households would create more real activity, more resilience and more autonomy.
The inconvenient truth is that the chief obstacle is not a lack of evidence; it is that a cash-first model leaves far less room for the 700,000-strong development apparatus. And that, more than any econometric debate, is why the simplest, most transparent option has remained the least popular.
Cash transfers, by contrast, have two awkward virtues. First, they reliably put money into the hands of households that spend it in local markets — a vastly more direct stimulus than funds absorbed by administrative machinery abroad. Second, they rest on a premise that much of the aid industry quietly resents: that poor people can be trusted to decide what they need.
Whether the multiplier is 2.6 or 1.4 or merely 1.0 is almost beside the point. The direction of travel is unambiguous: shifting even a fraction of the $80bn away from overheads and towards households would create more real activity, more resilience and more autonomy.
The inconvenient truth is that the chief obstacle is not a lack of evidence; it is that a cash-first model leaves far less room for the 700,000-strong development apparatus. And that, more than any econometric debate, is why the simplest, most transparent option has remained the least popular.
24 hours ago
Well, if Africa's GDP is $2.8 trillion, and the aid to Africa is $80 billion, the aid adds about 2.9% to the GDP. If all this money went straight into the pockets of the poorest people in Africa, who would spend it locally, there would be a multiplier effect. How high that effect would be would vary and can be debated. However, the economic impact would be higher than if almost half of the $80 billion aid money stayed in or returned to the West due to HQ costs, overheads and staff salaries, which is broadly the case today.
Unknown commented on "Africa’s Aid Addiction: Why Cash Would Have Worked Better - Thomas Ekvall"
Yesterday
The evaluation referred to above was undertaken by "Give Direct", an NGO that gives unconditional cash directly to the very poor. It involved a one-off large sum to small communities in Kenya that might have had the stated impact. However, you can not extrapolate that to the entire continent of Africa; GDP growth is more complex than that. Other studies indicate that the impact of cash transfers is a lot more modest.
Yesterday
If this is anywhere close to accurate, the path forward for aid to Africa is clear. Over the last decade, aid to Africa amounted to just below $ 80 billion annually. If you provide that in cash to the poorest individuals and apply a "fiscal multiplier" of 2.6, as suggested above, you may have an economic impact that would grow Africa's total GDP by about 7% per year, over and above present growth rates. That would result in China-level growth, at its peak, and it would quickly make a difference. Subtle and nuanced empowerment indicators may all be good and well, but hard GDP growth beats them. If anyone bothered asking the poorest Africans, they would agree. The question might be how the 700,000-person-strong aid industry, which typically accounts for half of the $80 billion in staff costs and overheads, would react to such a paradigm shift.
Ken Gibbs commented on "WatSan pre-training - Part 2 : Ken Gibbs"
Yesterday
Ben, yes, I remember 'Sayers'. Thorn Valley as I recall. If my memory serves, Sayers came over to our farm at one stage, with some insects in an envelope, hoping that it wasn't the dreaded army worm. It was army worm.
Did you ever watch a column of army worm cross a road ? I stood and watched as birds feasted on them until they were over-filled; vomited and then started eating again. . . . .and where the army worm had been not a leaf remained. Farming in those days was like walking a tightrope every year. . . . .
Did you ever watch a column of army worm cross a road ? I stood and watched as birds feasted on them until they were over-filled; vomited and then started eating again. . . . .and where the army worm had been not a leaf remained. Farming in those days was like walking a tightrope every year. . . . .
In Response to a comment by Unknown
Unknown commented on "Africa’s Aid Addiction: Why Cash Would Have Worked Better - Thomas Ekvall"
Yesterday
Cash may also help stimulate the economy. In a trial in Kenya, an intervention was evaluated that gave the poorest people in some randomly selected villages a lump-sum cash. They found that people living near villages, where the poorest received cash transfers, also had higher food consumption, partly because recipients spent their money in local businesses. There were no meaningful inflationary effects. Most striking of all, the study estimates a "fiscal multiplier" of 2.6 for this area of Kenya, implying that every $1 invested in fiscal stimulus will grow the local economy by $2.60.
Maie Ayoub von Kohl commented on "November 20th Marks the 36th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child : Marta Santos Pais"
Yesterday
Greetings and thank you Marta. Shared on facebook :-)
2 days ago
As an old Africa hand I had trouble locating Eswatini on the continental map. Finally I learned that the country of SWAZILAND had changed its name on 19 April 2018, during their 50th year independence celebrations. Eswatini is apparently its original, indigenous name, which means "Land of the Swazis"..
2 days ago
As for the hat of the typical Turkoman, here is our former colleague (click) Samphe wearing one.
Nov 26, 2025
I learned that T. Gullingham discovered the law of gravitation before Newton. However, instead of an apple, an anvil fell on his head, and so Gullingham was unable to publish his findings.
Nov 26, 2025
You have to improve your offer; a case of beer is nowhere near enough
Nov 26, 2025
A case of beer for the first UNICEF retiree doing the bungee jump at Victoria Falls.
Lou M commented on "The State of Australia's Children" : Shared by Tom McDermott"
Nov 25, 2025
Feedback from Aussie friends: "The UNICEF findings are correct. The current Australian government is addressing this issue now. To start with, the government is reviewing the standards in daycare centres and screening all of their employees after recent reports of physical and sexual abuse of children in their care. They are now considering retraining and monitoring the daycare centres throughout the country. Unfortunately, some daycare centres were shut down due to numerous complaints that were not addressed immediately. New changes had been implemented in improving the quality of care in the childcare centres."
George McBean commented on "November 20th Marks the 36th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child : Marta Santos Pais"
Nov 25, 2025
Bravo Marta… Children now have a much larger set of global visual references to compare their growing lives to those of others. At the base of this new era, anything that explains their hard won legal rights to them while they are still children should be amplified and applauded as you have done. The CRC needs protection from becoming lost in the volume of knowledge now available for browsing through by both children and adults. The more poets on the job the better.
Nov 24, 2025
I meant, the news talks about the situation in Jamaica, but not a beep about the prior the hurricane dire situation made far worse by Melissa. I meant the news stations are not saying anything about Cuba.
Rohini De Silva commented on "November 20th Marks the 36th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child : Marta Santos Pais"
Nov 24, 2025
Slowly but surely progress. Congratulations Martha for your dedicated work
Nov 24, 2025
Correlation is not causation. Many countries experienced a rapid decline in child deaths before the CRC.
In Response to a comment by Thomas Ekvall
Fouad commented on "Mini-Reunion : Sam and Myung Koo Meet up with Gianni Murzi in Rome"
Nov 23, 2025
Ciao, what a delightful trio ! So good to see our ex_fellow editor Gianni looking great and enjoying the stimulating company of Sam and Myang. Most certainly the conversation must have centered around music to a large degree, or to other cultural topics. We are pleased that you included the XUNICEF group in sharing this pleasing get together. Good health to all.Regards.
Nov 23, 2025
I dont think I have met our colleague Marta Pais, but am happy to join my other XUNICEF members in congratulating her on an exceptionally well written article about the CRC. It is one of the best reviews about the subject I have read todate. It is understandable that her personal involvement in its development is amply reflected in the depth of sensitivity that comes out in her text. It is also most apt to expound on the subject seeing how so much has happened since the CRC came out, but especially that the recent past has not been kind to the cause of children, nor to UNICEF. To Ms. Pais' reflections on the issues related to the anniversary of the CRC, we must also contemplate the historical evolution of international concerns for children and their wellbeing. Long before the CRC there were many moves around the world to give special attention to children, but from the view point of the United Nations it is important to name a few other anniversaries that have a direct bearing on the Cause for Children; the establishment of UNICEF itself in December 1946 is an important testimony ; the resolution of 14 December 1954 to establish a Universal Children's Day which has now been changed to "World Children's Day" and celebrated on 20 November each year; and the 20 November 1959 adoption by the UN GA of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. These precursors to the CRC have all contributed to galvanizing world attention to the vulnerability of children who constitute about one third of humanity and the need to act in areas that further their welfare and development. Nowadays, more than ever, such attention is vitally needed and all of us have an individual and collective responsibility to support.
Nov 23, 2025
👍👍👏👏
Nov 23, 2025
Thirty-six years after the world embraced the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), wars multiply, malnutrition rises again in parts of Africa, school systems are fraying, and online predators have discovered scale. From Gaza to Sudan to eastern Congo, children absorb the worst of a world that seems determined to repeat history.
But the contemporary gloom hides some truths: the CRC worked. It did not redeem the world, but it altered it in widespread ways. In 1990, 12.5 million children died before their fifth birthday. Today, fewer than 5 million do. There was also similar progress in, for example, basic education.
This is where the UN agencies, and UNICEF in particular, matter. Without them, the CRC would have been merely an aspiration. Instead, they turned it into a system of indicators. UNICEF became a part of the machinery that translated a treaty into measurable outcomes. Governments may have signed the CRC because it was seen as the right thing to do, but they implemented it because agencies like UNICEF drove it.
This represents progress that governments rarely produce without prompting. And yet, the sense of momentum has drained away. After 2015, progress stalled. Sub-Saharan Africa, where the child population is growing fastest, is now sliding backwards. Child poverty is rising; stunting is creeping upward; conflict has become the defining condition of childhood in whole regions.
The CRC anniversary should be less a celebration and more a warning. Progress on health, education, and nutrition is unsustainable without economic growth. Considering that the UN's development agencies have had limited success in helping countries in Africa to grow and develop economically, perhaps a focus on encouraging governments to live up to their commitments enshrined in conventions like the CRC would be a more fruitful pursuit going forward. It may have an impact without, importantly, in the present environment, requiring many financial resources.
Economic expansion and GDP growth, key to any sustainable development, may be better left to others with proven expertise in these areas.
But the contemporary gloom hides some truths: the CRC worked. It did not redeem the world, but it altered it in widespread ways. In 1990, 12.5 million children died before their fifth birthday. Today, fewer than 5 million do. There was also similar progress in, for example, basic education.
This is where the UN agencies, and UNICEF in particular, matter. Without them, the CRC would have been merely an aspiration. Instead, they turned it into a system of indicators. UNICEF became a part of the machinery that translated a treaty into measurable outcomes. Governments may have signed the CRC because it was seen as the right thing to do, but they implemented it because agencies like UNICEF drove it.
This represents progress that governments rarely produce without prompting. And yet, the sense of momentum has drained away. After 2015, progress stalled. Sub-Saharan Africa, where the child population is growing fastest, is now sliding backwards. Child poverty is rising; stunting is creeping upward; conflict has become the defining condition of childhood in whole regions.
The CRC anniversary should be less a celebration and more a warning. Progress on health, education, and nutrition is unsustainable without economic growth. Considering that the UN's development agencies have had limited success in helping countries in Africa to grow and develop economically, perhaps a focus on encouraging governments to live up to their commitments enshrined in conventions like the CRC would be a more fruitful pursuit going forward. It may have an impact without, importantly, in the present environment, requiring many financial resources.
Economic expansion and GDP growth, key to any sustainable development, may be better left to others with proven expertise in these areas.
Nov 23, 2025
Interesting tactical advice. Thanks for sharing Kul, Bilge
Jon Rohde, MD commented on "November 20th Marks the 36th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child : Marta Santos Pais"
Nov 23, 2025
Marta, at a time of horrific withdrawal from all legal principles, the plight of children seems one of the most neglected. Thank you for the trenchant reminder of the optimism attendant on the CRC ratification. The only country not to ratify, the USA, leads the world in selfish aggrandizement and global destruction of humanitarian norms. Far from a beacon of justice, it leads the world in militarism, disregard for the rights of children and purveyor of state terrorism. Perhaps recommitment to children can bring some humanitarian revival to the world of greed and rising disparity. Your reminder of the CRC and its potential to bring attention to the neglected commitments to children is timely and will hopefully get some traction in an otherwise global neglect of children. Thank you - Jon
Nov 22, 2025
Thank you, dear Marta, for this powerful reflection on the 36-year journey of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Your unique perspective—as one of the CRC’s architects and a lifelong champion for children—reminds us how much progress has been made, and how painfully much remains undone. I share your hope that the world will soon rediscover its moral moorings to fully honor the rights of every child - and woman too - for these remain the truest measures of our humanity and the best markers of human civilization. Amen!
Unknown commented on "Missing You - Simone Malak - Rest In Peace"
Nov 22, 2025
RIP Dear Simone. So many good souvenirs. Professionally I always valued and benefited from your advice and experience in our different incarnations. When Jim Grant decided to involve African artists and intellectuals to the UNICEF cause under Djibril Diallo’s able leadership, I was able to count on you in Abidjan and Dakar. You secured the full support of Bertram Collins in addition to facilitate our various exchanges. When you returned to NY after your WCARO assignment, we cooperated well. As Fouad also said, your sense of humour made you special. I will never forget your story about your first day in UNICEF with Dick Heyward. Mr. Heyward asked you to take note about a EXDIR that you transcribed as “EX DEAR” wondering about the culture of the new organisation you embarked in. Sincere sympathy to your beloved ones et merci pour tout Chère Simone.
Umberto CANCELLIERI
Umberto CANCELLIERI
Nov 22, 2025
Thanks so much, dear Lou. These are very helpful!
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