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Defence spending and military capacity are increasingly shaping economic production, innovation, and global power, challenging traditional economic theory. The article explores how security has become a key factor influencing development, while also raising concerns about its trade-offs with social investment. Traditional economic theory explains production through the interaction of land, labour, capital, and organization or…
The anti-ESG backlash is weakening accountability systems and cutting funding for gender-focused programmes globally. As ESG rollbacks and aid reductions grow, women are disproportionately bearing the impact, slowing progress on equality. Trump-era ESG rollbacks and global aid cuts are hitting gender programmes hardest. The UN has the numbers. The corporate sector is looking the other…
The G20 Social Summit in Brasilia is pushing for a “Universal Care Floor” to formally recognize unpaid care work. This policy could transform millions of caregivers—especially women—by integrating them into social protection systems and redefining how societies value care. Take a moment to think, about the first person who woke up in your home today….
The Gates Foundation’s vast influence in global development delivers measurable gains while concentrating power and raising ethical, ecological, and accountability concerns. It highlights risks posed by reputational scrutiny, philanthropic exit, and private capital shaping public systems, particularly in countries like India. ———————————————————————————————————— Over the last two decades, private philanthropy has become a central force in…
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced its largest-ever annual budget, committing a record $9 billion in spending for 2026, even as it prepares to reduce its workforce by up to 500 positions over the next five years. The move marks a significant strategic recalibration for one of the world’s most influential philanthropic institutions,…
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the appointment of Archna Vyas as its new Country Director for India, marking a significant leadership transition for one of the world’s most influential philanthropic organisations. Vyas will succeed Hari Menon, who has led the Gates Foundation’s India Country Office since 2019 and will move into a…
When the UN shared the Food and Agriculture Organization’s shocking headline “Nearly 1.7 billion people live in areas where land degradation is impacting agricultural productivity and threatening food security,” it summarized a global assessment effort, but that’s a complicated technical report condensed down to a single socialize media line. However, the line encapsulates a broad…
As the world converges on Doha between 4 and 6 November 2025 for the Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2), the atmosphere will be one of guarded hope. Three decades have passed since leaders first congregated in Copenhagen in 1995 and promised to make social justice, employment, and inclusion the pillars of development. The…
