The 4th Financing for Development Conference (FfD4) has been riddled with plethora of issues during its process—closed-door negotiations excluding civil society; member states blocking majority of reform demands especially from the Global South; and the United States walking out during the adoption of the Compromiso de Sevilla document.  Together with the broader civil society, the Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific remains apprehensive on the essence of Compromiso de Sevilla as a norm-setting document which

Multilateral development banks (MDBs)*, also referred to as international financial institutions (IFIs), remain relevant actors in the development cooperation arena. These institutions serve as channels of financing, including official development assistance (ODA), one of the most important instruments and sources of development financing. Over the years, MDBs have been criticized for their culpability for the widespread displacement of communities, environment degradation and climate crisis, and human rights violations. These resounding issues strengthened the calls of

By Jiten Yumnam, Centre for Research and Advocacy in Manipur (CRAM) Civil society organizations (CSOs) raised multiple concerns related to the financing of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) during its 58th Annual Governors’ Meeting (AGM), held from 5-7 May 2025 at Milan, Italy under the theme “Sharing Experience, Building Tomorrow”. While Mr. Masato Kanda, new President of ADB, underscored shared priorities in sustainable development, regional cooperation, and economic resilience, the AGM is marked by overt focus

This is an opinion piece by Jiten Yumnam, Secretary of the Centre for Research and Advocacy – Manipur.  The climate crisis has become an emergency across the South Asia region, affecting not just the environment, but also inter-community relations within countries and border disputes among South Asian countries. Glaciers are fast melting in the Himalayas[1]. Climate-induced disasters have been regular and intense, with recurrent floods, glacial lake outburst flow (GLOF), and hailstorms, among others. For

The Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific (RoA-AP) and CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) –  Asia held their Regional Meeting and Workshop (RMW) 2025 last February 19 to 21 in Bangkok, Thailand. The three-day event convened RoA-AP and CPDE Asia members, as well as partners engaging international financial institutions (IFIs) and the development effectiveness agenda. A series of discussions and workshops were offered as space to 1) brainstorm emerging trends and key priorities for

Building on previous and existing efforts to distill and discuss locally-led development and development effectiveness in international cooperation, RoA-AP and CPDE Asia will hold its regular Regional Meeting & Workshop (RMW) from February 19-21, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand to contribute to the advancing of the EDC agenda in Asia Pacific. The RMW will have the following components:  Observatorio Deep Dives Policy Conference Locally-led Development Strategy Workshop GPEDC 4th Monitoring Round (4MR) Training Organizational and Engagement