GLOBAL JUSTICE AND POVERTY
We can afford to scale back.
by Nelson Oppong
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As devastating as this global pandemic has been, there are some important lessons for the pursuit of effective governance and global justice. The “old normal” was defined by doubts and pessimism about what it means to scale back, on traditional economics, and on the consumptionist patterns that appeared so intrinsic to our survival and sanity. Today, we know we can afford to scale back and actually afford to transfer resources to the most vulnerable amongst us.
Combating poverty has to become the first priority. Most countries will be conditioned by their colossal debts on rescue spending but austerity cannot be at the expense of the poor or spending on social services. The quest for food security is also key to stabilizing the world post-Covid. With the UN warning of famines of biblical proportions, we need to help create systems of food security across the globe.
The pursuit of effective governance
Dr Nelson Oppong, Scholar and researcher and policy consultant.
OUR SPEAKER
Nelson Oppong
Dr Nelson Oppong is a Ghanaian scholar based at the Centre of African Studies at University of Edinburgh. His research unites contested perspectives and policy interventions around natural resources, sustainable energy transitions, governance, and institutional development in low-income countries across Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions. He has spent several years as a development and policy consultant for the World Bank, the Commonwealth Secretariat and different public sector organizations in West Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific regions. Nelson has a DPhil in International Development from the University of Oxford.
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Individuals contributed with their image and content in a personal capacity, not as a part of their role in any institution or company listed on this website.
Resources and points of view
Safeguarding Africa’s Food Security in the Age of COVID-19, article in IMF
Food security in sub-Saharan Africa is under threat. The ability of many Africans to access sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs has been disrupted by successive natural disasters and epidemics. Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, locust outbreaks in eastern Africa, and droughts in southern and eastern Africa are some examples.
The quest for secure property rights in Africa, article in The Economist
Handing out title deeds is not enough
Our current food system can feed only 3.4 billion people sustainably, article in New Scientist
Our current food system can feed only 3.4 billion people without transgressing key planetary limits, according to an analysis of the global farming system. However, reorganising what is farmed where – along with some changes in diets – would enable us to feed 10 billion people on a sustainable basis, suggests the analysis.
Building Food Sovereignty from Below, article by Abahlali baseMjondolo
There was a serious problem of hunger in South Africa before the Covid-19 lockdown as a result of the long history of colonial dispossession, exploitation and abandonment, all of which continued under the rule of the ANC. There has also been a serious problem with the limited food support that is offered by the state being politicised by ward councillors and their committees.
Are citizens’ assemblies the future of participation?, article in Citizen Lab
Assemblies are repeatedly mentioned as a solution for the most troublesome policy debates and the decreasing trust in democratic institutions. Are they a passing trend or lasting change?
Democracy is in Decline. Here’s how we can revive it, article in The Correspondent
According to Freedom House, a US think tank, democracies around the world have been in retreat for a decade and a half; and when the virus struck, governments around the world began rolling back democratic freedoms in their attempts to fight it.
