This article is part of Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific’s COVID-19 Response Series, “Resisting Repression; Recovering Together”, which aims to document the struggles, best practices, and lessons learned, as well as share recommendations of RoA-AP members as they responded to the pandemic at the national or regional level. Read more stories here.   By Md. Mujibul Haque Munir, COAST Foundation In March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in Bangladesh, the COAST Foundation reacted

Reality of Aid Statement on the IMF-WBG Annual Meetings 2021November 2021The Covid-19 pandemic has created the deepest economic crash in recent history highlighting the critical role of development finance now more than ever. With Official Development Assistance (ODA) underperforming in recent years, developing countries are in desperate need for financing to boost their domestic budgets and contain the pandemic.In response, the World Bank Group has provided its biggest loan commitments in history. But a closer

Reality of Aid Network statement on the 26th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCCThe UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow came at a critical point, where the multi-faceted impacts of the climate emergency pose even greater challenges for the international aid system. Amid already stretched Official Development Assistance (ODA) levels, the growing gap betweenwhat available climate financing there is, and escalating needs for Covid response and recovery threaten prospects to fulfill climate finance commitments. But

Current aid and development models have long been instruments of colonialism and structural racism, perpetuating power imbalances in the global South. The persistence of these models have a profound impact on the marginalized and vulnerable peoples of the South, endangering their lives, livelihood and environment, further impeding their development.  Last October 21, 2021, Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific and Aid/Watch Australia held the fourth Aid Talks, “Re-imagining Aid: Ending Structural Racism in the Modern-Day

Last October 26 to 28, 2021, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) held its 6th Annual Meeting with the theme, “Investing Today, Transforming Tomorrow”. The Meeting aimed to discuss the bank’s priority areas and solicit feedback from various stakeholders regarding its plans.  The events in this three-day meeting highlighted ‘Infrastructure for Tomorrow’ as the AIIB’s approach in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, climate emergency, and persisting development challenges. The Annual Meeting further expounded on the bank’s

The Reality of Aid-Asia Pacific and Aid/Watch Australia are currently hosting a webinar series called Aid Talks, which discusses the most pressing issues on aid and development cooperation today and the critical issues surrounding it. The fourth Aid Talks will be focused on the decolonisation of aid, entitled “Re-imagining Aid: Ending Structural Racism in the Modern-Day Aid System”.  Thursday, October 21, 2021 9 am UK / 11 am East Jerusalem / 4 pm Manila /