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‘Total Infiltration’: How Plastics Industry Swamped Vital Global Treaty Talks
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
- Categories
- Environment, WASH
- Region
- Global
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What It Really Takes for Technology Pilots to Become Public Policy
What does it actually take for a technology solution to become something a government truly owns, funds, and protects for the long haul?
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Global
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Connected Power: Ensuring Africa is Not Left in the Dark — or Offline
Sub-Saharan Africa has both the highest energy access and digital connectivity gaps in the world. As Ravi Suchak at Helios Towers explains, this is due not to a lack of demand, but to fundamental infrastructure barriers: Telecom towers and mobile networks require a reliable power supply, which is often absent or prohibitively expensive in rural areas, and electricity providers need consistent demand to de-risk rural energy investments. He explores a solution that addresses both of these needs: "connected power," a development approach that aligns energy and telecom infrastructure by positioning telecom towers as anchor customers for electrification projects.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology, Telecommunications
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It’s Time to Rethink Universal Health Coverage in Africa: Introducing ‘Access-as-a-Service’
As global health funding contracts, traditional brick-and-mortar healthcare delivery models are becoming financially and operationally unsustainable, in Africa and across low- and middle-income countries. Joanne Peter at Jhpiego and Rob Beyer at Villgro Africa argue that this raises the need for innovative new pathways toward universal health coverage. They propose one such approach, developed through their work at the HealthTech Hub Africa: "Access-as-a-Service," a model that combines in-person care options with first-line healthcare provided through digital channels.
- Categories
- Health Care, Technology
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Analysis: Nepal’s Electric Leapfrog: How This Himalayan Nation Is Leading Global EV Adoption
Nepal’s economy is undergoing a steady process of electrification, powered almost entirely by its indigenous hydroelectric resources which provide close to 100% of its electricity and allow exports to India.
- Categories
- Energy, Transportation
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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DOGE is WEIRD: Why India’s Public Sector Consulting Ecosystem Should Not Follow in America’s Footsteps
As part of its efforts to reduce U.S. government spending, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has taken aim at public expenditures going to private consulting firms. According to Manoshij Banerjee, and Mohammed Shahid Abdulla at IIM Kozhikode, this could inspire similar efforts in emerging markets like India, fundamentally reshaping how these governments approach external expertise. They argue that this would be a mistake, explaining why DOGE's approach is “WEIRD” (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic), and why it would be counterproductive to apply it to India’s unique governance landscape.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
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Which Countries Will Be Hit Hardest by the US Remittance Tax?
The figures in this article show how the United States’s proposed tax could impact formal remittances, including both the tax itself and the price effects.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Global
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Analysis: Harnessing the Private Sector for Better Development Data
Reliable, disaggregated, and up-to-date data is mission critical for companies expanding into frontier markets, investing in resilient supply chains or designing inclusive financial services.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Global
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