Opinion

The argument for a free press has always been strong. When journalists can work unimpeded, they fulfil essential democratic functions: holding those in power to account, scrutinising government performance, and highlighting underreported stories and perspectives.But press freedom is under threat like never before, and journalists around the world face increasingly complex and rapidly changing pressures that often are as much economic and technological as political. Democratic governments must therefore be steadfast in defending and promoting a free press at home and abroad. Two new reports make a compelling case for these efforts.The first, published by the Media Freedom Coalition, a partnership of 51 countries spanning six continents, demonstrates the broader societal benefits of a free press. For example, media freedom is necessary for a properly functioning democracy and economy. This may seem obvious, because markets depend on a steady stream of reliable information about companies and their financial performance. But the evidence is even more robust: one study cited in the coalition’s report found that companies in the media spotlight are less likely to window-dress their financial statements. Another shows that journalists are effective – sometimes more so than financial regulators – at spotting corporate fraud.Another key area where independent media have demonstrated their enormous value is health. During the Covid-19 pandemic, high-quality news outlets played an indispensable role in disseminating accurate information and debunking misinformation about the virus. Moreover, media coverage can help give health issues that carry social stigma the attention they need to be placed on the public-policy agenda. For example, one study found that developing countries with a freer press were more likely to have government leaders who were committed to curbing HIV/Aids.Investigative journalists have long exposed environmental crimes as well, and continue to break major stories on climate change and related issues, such as air pollution and illegal fishing. The Media Freedom Coalition’s report also highlights evidence showing that press freedom is positively correlated with more rapid adoption of renewable energy.Media freedom is also a crucial element of security, as shown by a report published by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in July. It illustrates, for example, the importance of an independent press both in exposing spurious claims that could mislead people into supporting a conflict, and in ensuring the peaceful resolution of disputes.Of course, a free press is valuable in and of itself, given that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right that arguably underpins all others. After all, how can governments uphold human rights when there is no one to investigate and expose violations? But the evidence presented by the Media Freedom Coalition (which Estonia co-chairs) and the OSCE can help policymakers and campaigners make an undeniable case for media freedom being essential to healthy and prosperous societies.The Media Freedom Coalition is doing just that. The co-chairs, Estonia and Germany, along with colleagues in government, civil society, media, and the legal sector, and with multilateral organisations such as Unesco, work to develop interventions that support journalists at risk and promote policies that protect their right to report, as well as to build norms around emerging challenges such as transnational repression.Diplomacy plays a vital role. As Estonia’s ambassador at Large for Human Rights and Migration, I have seen how embassies are a valuable tool through which governments can promote media freedom. Diplomats are well-placed to advocate for a free press, both publicly and privately, and support host governments as they implement related reforms.But effective diplomacy must be backed up with concrete action. This can take many forms, such as ramping up funding to support independent media, reforming domestic legislation to bolster press freedom, or providing emergency visas and safe refuge to reporters at risk – something that Estonia, which is ranked sixth on the latest World Press Freedom Index, is proud to do.Repression of press freedom undermines human rights and prevents societies from reaching their full potential. But the case for protecting media freedom has never been stronger. It is now up to us – democratic states, including the members of the Media Freedom Coalition – to make this case more loudly than ever. – Project SyndicateKatrin Kivi is Estonia’s ambassador at Large for Human Rights and Migration. Estonia is Co-Chair of the Media Freedom Coalition.

This month, Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the 2024 Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit. It will be the first annual meeting to include the four new members – Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates – that joined last year, and many other countries also reportedly will participate. South Africa joined in 2009. But what will come of it?Putin undoubtedly will use this year’s summit to signal to the world that he is not as isolated as Western governments want him to be. It is an ideal occasion for him and other leaders to promote a vision of a world that the US does not lead. But it is worth noting that two other countries that were expected to join the expanded Brics have not done so. After originally accepting the invitation, Argentina reversed course following Javier Milei’s election as president in 2023; and Saudi Arabia still has not decided what it will do.To be sure, there are photo ops. Brics+ leaders can stand alongside Putin and decry their countries’ under-representation in many of the big global governance organisations. They do this every year, and it appears to be one of the only real achievements that comes out of each meeting.Meanwhile, the Brics have done nothing to effect meaningful organisational or structural change within international institutions. In fact, they have done exactly the opposite. Owing to the evolving geopolitics around Ukraine and the rise of more nationalistic leaders in the West and within the Brics, international institutions have been rendered even less effective.The fact is that truly global challenges cannot be addressed through narrow groupings like the Brics (or the G7 for the matter), and this will remain the case no matter how many members they add. What we really need is a rejuvenated G20, which proved highly effective in its earliest days, following the 2008 financial crisis. Despite being rather large (it includes all members of the G7 and the Brics), it best reflects today’s world in all its complexities.Moreover, it is not clear that the Brics had ever shared a purpose beyond symbolism. There are many areas where it could pursue collective action to benefit its members and the rest of the world. These include, but are not limited to, advocating freer trade among themselves (and others), and making stronger commitments to fight climate change and infectious diseases. True, the launch of the New Development Bank – which was originally called the Brics Bank – was a positive development; but the institution has never had a clear, powerful mandate linked to shared goals.The 2024 summit will surely include plenty of lofty statements about creating an alternative to challenge the US dollar-based global monetary system. But until the key members – namely China – are serious about opening up their own capital accounts and financial markets, this is not going to happen.Similarly, until the two most important members, China and India, can agree to co-operate on joint initiatives, the Brics will have almost no chance of delivering on its stated ambitions.For all these reasons, Brics+ will come to little. The hodge-podge of new members appear to have been selected not for any long-term strategic reasons, but because they can be cajoled. Even if they – along with Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkiye, South Korea, and Vietnam – did join, the result would be little more than larger summits. The G20 would still be the more appropriate and effective vehicle for multilateralism.

On September 13, the Chinese government approved plans to raise the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 63 for men, 55 to 58 for white-collar women, and from 50 to 55 for blue-collar women.These changes, which will be phased in over the next 15 years, aim to mitigate the effects of China’s rapidly ageing population and shrinking pension budget. But after two decades of inaction, this long-overdue reform falls far short of what the country needs, merely kicking a political time bomb down the road for future generations to defuse.China’s retirement ages, among the world’s lowest, were set in 1955, when the country’s median age was 21 and just 7% of its population was older than 60, and they remained in place even after China introduced its one-child policy in 1980. The government’s promise to take care of the elderly lulled people into complacency.For a quarter-century, alarm about China’s looming ageing crisis has been sounded. Yet despite China’s profound demographic shifts, the country’s leaders have been reluctant to raise the retirement age.Chinese policymakers continue to be more concerned about overpopulation than about ageing. In 2012, government demographers warned that allowing all couples to have two children could push the fertility rate above 4.4 births per woman.When China finally implemented a universal two-child policy in 2016, official projections suggested that the fertility rate would peak at 2.09 in 2018, then decline to 1.75 by 2023 and 1.72 by 2050. Despite these trends, China introduced a three-child policy in 2021, driven by fears that abolishing population controls altogether could trigger a baby boom reminiscent of the 1950s.Moreover, Chinese leaders worried that raising the retirement age would fuel unemployment. More recently, the Communist Party of China wanted to minimise the risk of unrest ahead of its 20th National Congress in 2022, and pension reforms are often politically charged. For example, the United Kingdom’s 2011 decision to raise the retirement age for women from 60 to 65 triggered strikes by nearly 2mn public-sector workers.But even according to the government’s exaggerated figures, China’s fertility rate was just 1.5 births per woman in 2018, far below official projections. In 2023, it dropped to 1.0, with some provinces reporting rates as low as 0.6, in stark contrast to the official forecast of 1.75.Meanwhile, China’s life expectancy rose from 47 in 1955 to 79 in 2022 (compared to 77 in the US).The number of Chinese citizens aged 60 or older has grown from 72mn in 1980 to 282mn today, accounting for 21% of the total population. This number is expected to reach 358mn by 2030 and 475mn – or 47% of the total population – by 2050.Consequently, China’s pension spending surged from just 1.5% of household disposable income in 1990 to 12% in 2022. Today, nearly one-third of China’s provinces are grappling with pension deficits. In Heilongjiang, which has the country’s lowest fertility rate and oldest population, pension expenditures account for 29% of household disposable income, forcing local authorities to rely on transfers from the central government to cover up to 43% of their pension costs. Given that the national pension fund is expected to run out of money by 2035, the fiscal outlook appears increasingly grim.China’s pension system is also deeply inequitable. In 2022, 21mn of the country’s 301mn retirees were government employees, 115mn were enterprise workers, and 165mn were primarily rural elderly people, each of whom received an average monthly pension of $907 (CN¥6,100), $468, and $30, respectively. With their only child unable to support them, many rural elderly will depend on government assistance.China’s failure to confront its demographic crisis stands in stark contrast to other countries that have taken meaningful steps to address similar challenges. Despite widespread protests, the UK raised the state-pension age to 66 and plans to increase it to 68 by 2044, with some experts predicting it could eventually rise to 71. In the US, the retirement age is already set at 67 for those born after 1960.Fortunately, alarming demographic trends have finally prompted Chinese leaders to shift their focus from overpopulation to the aging crisis. But they still seem to downplay its severity, as official population figures – and even UN projections – remain grossly exaggerated.Estimates suggest that China will struggle to stabilise its fertility rate at 0.8. As the workforce ages and shrinks, economic growth will slow and reduce government revenues, while the growing elderly population will drive up pension costs.With too few workers to support the system, no amount of political manoeuvring or creative accounting can avert the impending pension crisis.In 1980, China had 11 workers aged 20-64 for each person aged 65 or older. That ratio has since dropped to 4.3 and is projected to fall to 2.0 by 2040 and 1.5 by 2050. By comparison, the US ratio declined from 5.2 in 1980 to 3.2 today and is expected to reach 2.6 by 2040 and 2.4 by 2050.In the UK, the dependency ratio has fallen from 3.7 to 2.9 since 1980 and is projected to decrease to 2.4 in 2040 and 2.2 in 2050. Given its demographic challenges, China will need to keep raising its retirement age, potentially triggering civil unrest and political instability.Women disproportionately bear the costs of low fertility rates and ageing populations because they outlive men yet face more health problems.With pensions too small to cover their basic needs, many elderly women are forced to keep working well past retirement age. This is evident in Japan, where the employment rate for women aged 60-64, 65-69, and 70-74 has increased from 38%, 23%, and 14% in 2003 to 64%, 43%, and 26% in 2023, respectively. And it is especially true in China, where the disastrous one-child policy not only deprived women of the right to have more children but also condemned many to poverty and precarity in old age. – Project SyndicateYi Fuxian, a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spear-headed the movement against China’s one-child policy and is the author of Big Country with an Empty Nest (China Development Press, 2013), which went from being banned in China to ranking first in China Publishing Today’s 100 Best Books of 2013 in China.

It is easy to think of humans as existing separately from nature. But the greatest threats to humanity come from crises affecting nature, not least climate change, biodiversity loss, and rampant pollution. The world cannot address any of these issues until nature is stopped being taken for granted and more investments are made to protect it.“Nature-positive” investments in marine conservation, sustainable land management, water security, and afforestation could deliver around 30% of the emissions abatement needed to limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius – the target enshrined in the Paris climate agreement. Moreover, such investments not only improve global resilience to climate change; these would also help to prevent future pandemics.Ahead of the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in Cali, Colombia, this month, the world needs to remember that the crises affecting nature also pose structural risks to the global economy, collective well-being and prosperity, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Fully 55% of global GDP is highly or moderately dependent on nature.In Cali, delegates from nearly 200 countries will discuss how to accelerate action to protect 30% of the planet’s land and maritime areas, reduce pollution, and restore degraded ecosystems by 2030.One of the key obstacles to meeting these ambitious targets is financing. Not only do nations currently invest far too much in activities that harm nature and make the problems worse; only one-third of what is needed is invested to meet the 2030 targets for climate, biodiversity, and land degradation.To scale up nature-positive investment, the world needs to do four things. First, more effective public-private partnerships between countries and public development banks need to be built, as well as with nature organisations, companies, and private-sector financial institutions.This would help de-risk investments, prepare projects, and deliver impact at scale for climate, nature, and inclusive economic development.Second, there is a need to revive and mainstream regenerative practices and stewardship of biodiversity, particularly in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors.Third, there must be common principles, standards, and disclosure mechanisms to track nature-positive finance and its impact, and to disclose more information on the nature-related footprints, dependencies, and risk exposure of companies and financial institutions.Finally, to take nature into consideration in all policies and investment decisions, the flow of financing to activities that are harmful to nature must be decreased.Multilateral development banks will play a key role in scaling up green investments. Institutions like the European Investment Bank are already stepping up support for the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of nature with the launch of common principles for tracking nature-positive finance. Such information is essential for measuring and incorporating nature into multilateral lenders’ operations, as well as informing other investors about what constitutes a nature-positive investment. Partnerships and joint efforts to put these principles into practice are ongoing.Nations urgently needs to reduce the flow of finance to activities that harm nature.Doing so is central to overcoming the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss.

Mario Draghi’s report on the state of the European economy is meant as a wake-up call. But will Draghi’s alarm be heard, or will European policymakers hit the snooze button?The report points to three areas where Europe is economically challenged. The European Union lags behind the US and China in innovation, especially in areas involving advanced technologies. Its competitiveness is handicapped by high energy prices. And its fragmented defence industry weakens its security.The report then argues that deeper integration is needed to address these shortfalls. Europe needs to complete its capital markets union to foster its venture capital industry. It needs fewer regulatory roadblocks in order for new companies to scale up. It must build an integrated power grid and co-ordinate investments in decarbonisation to bring down energy costs. And Europe must undertake more defence spending at the EU level. Here the costs of failing to collaborate are reflected in the fact that Europe produces and operates 12 battle tanks, whereas the US focuses on just one.All of this implies the need for more joint decision-making, which puts Europe at another of those critical junctures where it must choose between the status quo and a quantum leap to deeper integration.It has taken such leaps before, agreeing to create the Single Market in 1986, introducing the euro in 1999, and moving to Banking Union in 2012. But will the challenges identified by the Draghi Report prompt a similar reaction?One answer, espoused by Jean Monnet, the intellectual godfather of the EU, is that quantum leaps in European integration occur when leaders realise there is no other way to avert the worst. The Draghi Report seeks to leverage this theory by adopting the language of crisis.But not everyone will agree that Europe’s challenges rise to the level of an existential crisis. Moreover, some quantum leaps in European integration have occurred during periods of relative stability.The Delors Report, which laid the groundwork for the euro, was followed by financial crises, rather than negotiated in response to them. Some crisis-ridden periods, such as the 1970s, did not hasten integration. Rather, they ushered in a “dark age” or lost decade of stagnant progress toward “ever-closer union.” Monnet’s theory, clearly, is underspecified.Then there are so-called neo-functionalist theories of European integration, which suggest that if Europe can somehow get the integration process going in one domain, the progress it makes will spill over into other issue areas.Thus, creation of the Single Market, which entailed the removal of capital controls, applied pressure to move to a single currency, which in turn created pressure for banking union.Economically, a single currency implied further efficiency advantages once the Single Market was established, as did a single banking supervisor once the single currency was introduced. Politically, the removal of capital controls created an exit option for financial interests, which used their leverage to push for the single currency and banking union.Recent events are a reminder, however, that political decisions are not always driven by efficiency considerations. Nor is it obvious which way special interests will push.Currently, politicians in Berlin are pushing back, neo-functionalist spillovers be damned, against efforts by Italy’s UniCredit to purchase a controlling stake in Germany’s Commerzbank. Evidently, pressure to hasten integration can equally precipitate a backlash, as opposed to creating forward momentum.Alternatively, some argue that European integration is driven or stymied by hard-headed bargaining among governments.Integration will occur if national interests converge – if governments all see themselves as beneficiaries of, say, more collaboration on defence spending. History suggests, however, that some governments will fear that their countries will be harmed – their domestic defence industries will be the ones going out of business – leading them to resist calls for deeper integration.Or perhaps governments can concoct mutually advantageous policy trades, as in the 1990s, when France dropped its opposition to German reunification in return for Germany’s commitment to proceed with monetary unification.Given the multiple, interlocking challenges identified by the Draghi Report, identifying such mutually advantageous policy trades is an approach that may have legs.A final view holds that national governments agree to deeper integration when it strengthens them domestically. If they can more effectively deliver on domestic political promises when acting in concert, then national actors will reap popular (and electoral) support.In the 1950s, governments enhanced their constituents’ sense of security by creating a European Coal and Steel Community that locked Germany peacefully into Europe. In the 1980s, they delivered prosperity by creating the Single Market. As a result, national governments were strengthened by these integrationist initiatives.The Draghi Report has opened the door to similar steps. Whether European leaders are prepared to walk through it will be evident soon enough. - Project SyndicateBarry Eichengreen, Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, is the author, most recently, of In Defense of Public Debt (Oxford University Press, 2021).

For Europe’s economy, the November 5 US election offers a “least bad” outcome of a challenging Kamala Harris presidency or a second encounter with Donald Trump which threatens to be yet more bruising than the first.On two key areas - trade policy and the sharing of rising security costs among Nato allies - Europe expects few favours from a Harris presidency which it sees as “Biden continuity”.Trump 2.0, on the other hand, presents multiple dangers: if he were to pull US support for Ukraine, European governments would need to ramp up defence spending fast; and if he triggered a global trade war, Europe fears it would be the big loser.Anti-China measures are a rare area of bipartisan agreement in the US election campaign. For Europe’s export-driven economy, that raises the question as to whether it can continue to juggle trade ties with both the US and China.Whoever the winner of the US election is, it is unclear whether Europe can continue to benefit from US growth without reducing trade with China itself.Both US candidates have the same direction of travel - Trump less predictable and perhaps willing to be more confrontational with the European Union.Half of Europe’s output comes from trade, double the rate in the US, while the region’s 30mn manufacturing jobs - compared to only 13mn in the US - mean it is highly vulnerable to anything that restricts commerce.Support for free trade in Washington has evaporated in the past decade. Joe Biden chose not to scrap outright tariffs levied in Trump’s first presidency and has added his own focus on US jobs with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) subsidies.While Harris is seen pursuing a path similar to Biden, Trump has threatened to go further with across-the-board tariffs of 10-20% on all imports - including those of Europe, with whom America still has annual trade worth over 1tn euros.Spanish olive producers have seen their exports to US, once their main foreign market, slump by 70% after Trump in 2018 imposed tariffs which remain in place despite World Trade Organisation (WTO) rulings against them.For those European companies with US presences, the added uncertainty is whether Trump will follow through on promises to scrap Biden’s IRA green energy subsidies.German machinery firm Trumpf, which employs 2,000 US staff and supplies equipment for electric vehicle batteries and solar, said it was not expanding those activities in the US due to uncertainty about the election outcome.The US election could also have major implications for the defence budgets of European governments struggling with debt levels inflated by post-pandemic recovery spending.Again, the question is more one of timing than destination: Harris is expected to pursue US pressure on Europe to pick up more of the tab for regional security while the lack of clarity around Trump’s commitment to Ukraine hugely ups the ante.While a Harris presidency could have little measurable impact on Europe’s economy, the downside risks of a second Trump term in office are clearly tangible.Goldman Sachs economists estimate that if Trump went ahead with his tariffs, their direct effect plus the trade uncertainty they would generate could shave one percentage point off output in the 20 countries of the euro area - more than the weak 0.8% growth they are forecast to eke out this year.Any economic growth benefits to be had if an ebbing US commitment to Ukraine forced Europe to boost defence spending would be cancelled out by the hit the regional economy would take from the resulting geopolitical risk.The European Commission has a closed-door team of officials to study how the EU will be affected by the election outcome. But any policy conclusions they draw will need to secure an EU consensus - which, as shown by the bloc’s divisions over how to deal with Chinese electric vehicle imports, can be elusive.Pro-European optimists suggest the US election - especially in the event of a Trump victory - could have a salutary shock effect of finally spurring the region to adopt the type of deep reforms proposed by former ECB chief Mario Draghi last month.

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An autonomous car is a vehicle capable of sensing its environment and operating without human involvement.The terms “autonomous” and “self-driving cars” are often used interchangeably.Two decades ago, the US military kicked off the race to build a self-driving car by sending a fleet of fledgling robot vehicles across the Mojave Desert in its seminal Darpa challenge.Ten years later, the auto industry was buzzing with predictions that self-driving cars would be all over the roads by now.That hasn’t happened. But the industry has started to put limited bits of automation, such as hands-free driving and crash-avoidance systems, into mass-produced models.Although these features have been promoted for their potential to make driving safer and easier, regulators are subjecting them to scrutiny after years of notable crashes, some of which resulted in fatalities.Some companies have abandoned their autonomous vehicle efforts, citing excessive costs and complexity. Others are continuing to make progress, including Alphabet’s Waymo, which this year expanded its driverless taxi service to a third major US city.Elon Musk’s Tesla has failed repeatedly to realise its ambitious targets for autonomous vehicles. The CEO told investors in 2019 that Tesla would have more than 1mn robotaxis on the road by the following year. The company hasn’t deployed a single autonomous vehicle in the years since.General Motors Co’s self-driving Cruise unit has also had problems. One of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian in San Francisco in 2023.GM then halted Cruise’s service in the three states where it was operating and dismissed top executives.Nonetheless, GM announced in September it would resume driving robotaxis on public roads in California, and has been testing self-driving cars — accompanied by a human — in Texas and Arizona.Among other positive developments in 2024, technology leaders such as China’s Baidu and Waymo are expanding services to new cities, with Alphabet in July announcing it would put $5bn more into the business.China has been a hotbed of innovation thanks to dozens of startups and robust regulatory support.There some alternatives to full autonomy.Advanced driver-assistance systems — known as ADAS — help drivers to park, stay in their lane and avoid objects using cameras, radar and other electronic sensors. They can alert drivers and in some cases briefly take control of the car to avoid collisions.The industry categorises automation systems from Level 0 to 5. Level 0 features simply pass on information to the driver, like sounding a warning when you’re driving out of a traffic lane.The pinnacle — which has yet to be achieved — would be Level 5 cars that can drive autonomously everywhere and in all conditions.Virtually every major automaker has embraced ADAS, with the fanciest systems reserved for higher-price vehicles.There some advantages of limited autonomy.Auto-safety regulators in the US see so much potential in automatic emergency-braking systems that they’ve decided to mandate them as standard equipment for new cars beginning in 2029.But fatal crashes involving ADAS attract a lot of attention, especially if a Tesla is involved. Musk argues that Autopilot saves lives, but he’s used questionable data to make his case.The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened dozens of investigations into crashes involving ADAS since 2016, most of them involving Teslas.In 2015, Ford’s then-CEO Mark Fields predicted that self-driving cars would be on the road in five years. A year later, Musk said Tesla would demonstrate a fully autonomous Los Angeles-to-New York trip by the end of 2017 — another goalpost that came and went.A true self-driving car — Level 5 — won’t be available before 2035, and probably not for some time after that, S&P Global Mobility said in September 2023.

In August, 14 of Africa’s poorest countries, alongside international organisations and private companies, pledged over $45mn to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s new Investment Round, which aims to raise $7.1bn in voluntary contributions to close its current funding gap for the next four years, improve primary care, and build a more robust, better-trained health workforce.Amid climate disruptions, pandemics, and rapid population ageing, the WHO estimates that its fundraising effort could save an additional 40mn lives over the next four years. The African Development Bank has committed $10mn, while countries like Ethiopia and Niger have each pledged $2mn.Earlier this month, countries and partner organisations from the WHO South-East Asia Region – including India, Indonesia, North Korea, and Sri Lanka – pledged $345mn.This raises an important question: if low-income countries like Chad and lower-middle-income countries like Côte d’Ivoire can contribute their fair share, will their wealthier counterparts step up?The WHO, which provides critical aid to roughly 166mn people in conflict zones such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, urgently requires more consistent and predictable funding.Otherwise, its ability to respond to health crises caused by wars, disease outbreaks, famines, droughts, and floods will be severely constrained, denying millions of people the emergency medical assistance they need.The WHO must also sustain its ongoing efforts in impoverished countries, where billions of people lack regular access to healthcare. In response to these evolving needs, the new Investment Round calls for just 0.1% of the $9tn spent annually on healthcare.When the WHO was founded after World War II, member states provided flexible funding that allowed for long-term planning. But nowadays, the organisation can be certain about only 20% of its budget and relies on voluntary, often earmarked, contributions for the rest, limiting its effectiveness. Even with institutional reforms underway, the current Investment Round is vital for securing the flexible funding required to implement the organisation’s strategy over the next four years.If Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that health emergencies know no borders and that another pandemic is not a question of if, but when. Alarmingly, as global health threats grow more frequent and severe, the number of unvaccinated children is rising for the first time in modern history, exposing them to deadly diseases again. Moreover, communicable diseases have re-emerged as a leading cause of premature deaths.The climate crisis, too, is undeniably an escalating health crisis, with millions more people projected to die from malnutrition, cancer, malaria, air pollution, and extreme weather events. Meanwhile, the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance, which contributes to 5mn deaths annually, threatens to reverse a century of medical progress.Against this backdrop, the world is grappling with a profound mental health crisis. As our understanding of mental health disorders has deepened, it is now recognised that they are far more prevalent than previously thought. Notably, more than 700,000 people worldwide die by suicide each year.While health is enshrined as a human right in the constitutions of 140 countries, more than 4bn people lack access to basic care, leaving them so vulnerable that they cannot afford to get sick. Investing in healthcare is thus the best insurance policy to have. The results speak for themselves: every dollar invested in the WHO generates a remarkable $35 return in improved health outcomes. But the organisation’s 194 member states currently contribute just $0.30 per person annually to keep it afloat.Closing the funding gap is crucial for enabling the WHO to respond to the next pandemic swiftly and effectively. Of the $7.1bn it aims to raise, $1.6bn will be used for expanding healthcare in low- and middle-income countries – equivalent to just $0.13 per year from each of the 3bn people in the global middle class.With adequate funding over the next four years, the WHO can address gender-based health disparities, which account for 75mn years of life lost each year, by tackling issues such as post-partum haemorrhage, the leading cause of maternal deaths. These funds will also accelerate the implementation of the global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer. And they will help finance the organisation’s Special Initiative for Mental Health, increasing support for the 1bn people living with mental health conditions.Altogether, fully funding the WHO’s programme of work for the next four years could prevent 40mn deaths by 2028, including 7.5mn deaths from climate-related causes, 6.5mn from noncommunicable diseases, and 5mn from infectious diseases.Moreover, it could improve health outcomes for 6bn people and provide access to healthcare for 5bn individuals facing financial hardship as a result of out-of-pocket expenses.The past few decades have shown what international co-operation, spearheaded by the WHO, can achieve. Co-ordinated global efforts have successfully eradicated smallpox, advanced the fight against tuberculosis, and reduced HIV deaths by 70% within 20 years. Over the past five years alone, it is estimated that 25 countries have eliminated at least one tropical disease, allowing the WHO to expand its efforts to eliminate 30 communicable diseases.Just imagine what can be accomplished in the next four years. A fully funded WHO could protect the world from health emergencies, reduce gender-based disparities, eliminate many more diseases, bridge the mental-health treatment gap, combat antimicrobial resistance, and ensure that displaced people worldwide have access to essential medical services.Achieving these goals depends on closing the current funding gap. In the face of what Martin Luther King, Jr, famously called the “fierce urgency of now,” the world cannot afford to wait. - Project Syndicate• Gordon Brown, a former prime minister of the United Kingdom, is UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of Education Cannot Wait.

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In light of the strenuous efforts and blessed march, accompanied by confident steps to secure a prosperous present and a bright future for its various generations, Qatar will inaugurate today a new station on the path of its journey to enhance participation in decision-making, in accordance with the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, aimed at supporting and strengthening the edifice of a modern state with solid foundations that enjoys security, stability, progress, development, and growth.Marking the beginning of a new legislative term, His Highness the Amir will inaugurate this morning the fourth ordinary session of the first legislative term — corresponding to the Shura Council’s 53rd annual session — at the Council’s headquarters.On this occasion, the Amir will deliver a speech in which he will address the state’s financial, economic, as well as development policies, priorities, achievements, visions and future plans, which express the aspirations of the Qatari people, move Qatar to new stages and promising horizons of achievement and creativity, and outline the features of a renaissance based on transparency that depends on loyal national competencies, within the framework of Qatar National Vision 2030.On the external level, the speech of His Highness the Amir will address some aspects of Qatar’s policy and its firm stances toward a number of Arab, regional, and international issues and files, mainly the situation in the Middle East, especially in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and the challenges facing our Arab region.The new legislative term of the Shura Council comes as Qatar, under the guidance of the wise leadership, continues its blessed development journey and strategic plans to invest in people and consolidate the foundations of the state of institutions and the rule of law to advance the country, thus consolidating its distinguished position regionally and globally, enhancing its readiness to face challenges, and moving to the ranks of advanced countries.The principle of Shura was the most appropriate choice for Qatar to progress and advance this process, as it stems from the teachings of our true Islamic religion, our true Arabism, our authentic heritage, our ancient traditions, and the characteristics and features of our generous Qatari society.The Shura experience in Qatar is a rich and distinguished experience, characterised by co-operation, giving, harmony and concord between all state institutions, to consolidate participation in decision-making. The Council is proud of its journey extending to more than 50 years, during which it has been a supporter and backer of the modernisation and development process witnessed by the state, and it fulfils its prescribed role through the proposals it presents that touch upon the concerns of citizens and meet their aspirations, within a framework of co-operation and integration with the esteemed government, in light of the uniqueness and distinguished cultural heritage enjoyed by Qatari society, which respects the principle of Shura and attaches great importance to it as a principle rooted in the system of government since the era of the founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani.The lofty directives of His Highness the Amir are a beacon that guides the Council in its journey, which motivates it to exert more efforts and work to achieve the goals that meet the aspirations of citizens and contribute to development and prosperity in various parts of the country.In this context, the Council spared no effort during the previous session in studying and approving draft laws, making proposals, and discussing issues of interest to society, based on its keenness to achieve the aspirations of citizens, in a way that achieves the supreme interest of the country.During its previous session, the Council held 33 regular sessions and 63 meetings of permanent and temporary committees. It discussed and studied 24 draft laws, in addition to draft laws amending some provisions of existing laws. The Council approved 15 draft laws after discussing them in detail, including the draft general budget for the fiscal year 2024, and important draft laws such as regulating real estate registration, judicial enforcement, and nationalising jobs in the private sector.The Council also discussed nine draft laws amending some provisions of the laws, and submitted 13 requests for general discussion and a proposal of desire on various topics, such as rainwater collections, developing the tourism economy, supporting national and foreign investment, and procedures for domestic workers to leave the country.As part of its communication with the community, the Council hosted some members of educational institutions and co-operated with the Ministry of Sports and Youth in implementing the “Simulation of Shura Council Sessions” programme, to enhance the role of youth in decision-making.Issues of concern to citizens have always been at the forefront of the Council’s priorities, guided by the directives of the wise leadership and its aspirations to develop national legislation to respond to all requirements of comprehensive development. The Council plays an important and pivotal role in the legislative process, and through the role assigned to it and stipulated in the constitution, the Council carries out its work, keeping in mind the supreme interests of the country.In order to develop its work and increase the efficiency of its various bodies, the Shura Council approved in January a draft law to issue its internal regulations, which inaugurates a new phase in the Council’s work process, in terms of enhancing oversight and legislative work, and outlines the broad outlines regulating the Council’s work, and defines the roles of committees and members in requests for general discussion and proposals of desire, and how to co-ordinate with the government and how to implement decisions in accordance with the provisions of the constitution and relevant laws.The internal regulations keep pace with the development of legislative work in the country and consist of 244 articles distributed over eight chapters, which include general provisions that define the role of the main bodies of the Council, their working mechanisms, and the rules for holding regular and extraordinary sessions. The regulations also define the role of the Shura Council General Secretariat in supervising all the administrative units that comprise it, distributing work among them, and other powers assigned to it.In terms of its external activities, the Shura Council continued to support and strengthen its parliamentary relations with parliaments in various countries of the world, received many visiting parliamentary delegations, hosted several events and activities concerned with parliamentary affairs, and participated in various regional and international parliamentary conferences, highlighting the bright image of Qatar, its clear policies and firm positions towards various issues, and defending the interests of the nation, citizens, and just Arab and international issues.The Shura Council represents Qatar in parliamentary unions and international organisations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Arab Parliamentary Union, the Arab Parliament, the Parliamentary Union of Member States of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World, and others.The Shura Council was established in 1972 after the approval of the amended provisional basic law of the state on April 19, 1972, to provide its opinion to the Amir and the Council of Ministers in carrying out their duties. Upon its establishment, the Shura Council included 20 appointed members, and its composition witnessed a series of amendments on more than one occasion.The Shura Council consists of a number of bodies, including the “Council Presidency” and the “Council Office.” It has six permanent committees “according to the new internal regulations.” These committees include the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee, the Internal and External Affairs Committee, the Economic and the Financial Affairs Committee, the Health, General Services and the Environment Committee, and the Education, Culture, Sport, and Information Committee. The Council may form other permanent and temporary committees according to the needs of the work. Each permanent or temporary committee may also form one or more subcommittees from its members. The committee submits a report to the Speaker of the Council on each subject referred to it within thirty days at most from the date of referral, unless the Council decides otherwise. The General Secretariat of the Council is also one of its bodies.The Shura Council exercises its powers to adopt, approve, or even reject some laws from the draft laws and other matters presented to it. The Council is competent to discuss and propose many issues, the most important of which is the discussion of draft laws, decrees by laws, and the general policy of the state in the political, economic and administrative aspects, which are referred to it by the Council of Ministers.The Shura Council also discusses the draft budget for public projects, the Council’s draft budget, and its final account. It is also responsible for following up on the state’s activities and achievements regarding all matters referred to it by the Council of Ministers, as well as all matters related to the social and cultural fields, whether these matters were referred to it by the Council of Ministers or considered on its own initiative. It also directs questions to the ministers with the intention of clarifying a specific matter related to the affairs that fall within its jurisdiction and to make recommendations and express desires to the government regarding the matters referred to.

Artificial intelligence has captured the imagination of corporate leaders eager to implement new tech solutions in their industries. But AI could also be applied to broader and more complex problems, especially in education. This vision is on its way to becoming a reality, with the technology already helping to enhance student learning, create new pathways to rewarding careers, and align today’s education with tomorrow’s jobs.A recent report found that around half of the teachers and school administrators surveyed in the US who are currently using AI in their work are optimistic about its potential. But a lack of training is hindering widespread adoption.Fortunately, surmounting this barrier is relatively straightforward. For starters, business leaders and policymakers should work together to provide teachers with free training on the fundamentals of AI and its practical applications. A train-the-trainer model can be delivered through low-cost or free online learning and customised to specific education levels or local curricula. This approach allows educators to gain confidence with the new technology and begin experimenting with practical applications in their classrooms.Moreover, teachers trained in AI are better equipped to help students who want to learn more about the sector. An IBM survey shows that many learners want to pursue well-paying tech jobs, but believe that they are unqualified because they lack the academic credentials. Others say they simply do not know where to begin. That is where generative AI comes in: it can recommend coursework that matches learners’ levels and interests, and offer real-time feedback as they move through the material.AI-powered solutions can even pair students with mentors who can advise them on higher education and career progression. This results in a more personalised and immediate educational experience than the online learning of yesterday.One significant obstacle to narrowing the AI skills gap is the blistering pace of innovation, which has led to substantial unmet demand for expertise. According to the World Economic Forum, half of the global workforce needs to upskill or reskill, but the training market is not currently equipped to meet this need. It is encouraging that new offerings are being rolled out across the AI ecosystem, from coursework on ethics and prompt engineering to creative experiential resources for students. As the lifespan of technical skills continues to shrink, both young students and lifelong learners must be encouraged to invest in AI training.At the same time, AI is driving sweeping change across industries and markets, and the broad scope of this transformation requires an equally comprehensive response – individual efforts will not be enough. The first step in helping learners find their way to tomorrow’s jobs is ensuring that these positions exist. Corporate executives and policymakers must work together to create jobs that offer higher-value work to qualified candidates, who, in turn, will be better able to provide for their families.Equally important are multisector collaborations like the AI Alliance, which aims to encourage openness about these systems and accelerate knowledge sharing, and the AI-Enabled Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Workforce Consortium, which directs workers to relevant training programmes. Such collective action is creating opportunities to harness the excitement around AI to build common frameworks and develop a skills-first approach that can identify and nurture tomorrow’s tech leaders.But the work has only just begun. Industry leaders and policymakers must continue to develop a shared approach to education and job creation in the age of AI and encourage more widespread training in the technology’s fundamentals. – Project Syndicate

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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is rolling out a new tax-cut proposal about once a week in an unusual rush in the final stretch of the campaign to sway voters in an election that could be decided by just a few thousand votes.Trump’s parade of giveaways comes at a time when presidential hopefuls are typically busy fine-tuning existing proposals rather than making a host of new ones with little acknowledgment of the fiscal cost to be paid down the road.Want to buy a car? Trump has a tax cut for you. Wish you did not have to pay taxes on tips, or working overtime, or your Social Security? Trump has proposals to help you there, too.With a little over three weeks left until Election Day, both the former president and his Democratic rival, Vice-President Kamala Harris, are indulging in some economic populism to lure voters.Many economists say Trump’s promises, if fulfilled, are by far the biggest budget-busters. Trump pledged in a marathon Detroit Economic Club speech last Thursday to allow consumers to deduct the interest on car loans, a plan he said would boost the US auto industry. He did not mention the bill American taxpayers could be left footing.Less than 24 hours earlier, he had promised Americans living abroad that he would end double taxation.Some American expats are required to pay taxes to both the US government and foreign authorities. And on Friday, he said he would let Americans in some states that are vulnerable to hurricanes write off the cost of purchasing home generators on their income taxes.Michigan, an automotive manufacturing hub, is a pivotal battleground in the November 5 election and opinion polls show the race there between Trump and Harris to be neck and neck.“He’s a salesman at heart, and one of his advantages in sales, as in politics, is that he’s unencumbered by shame or consistency or policy details,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist in Virginia who doesn’t work for Trump’s campaign.“In this case, Trump is trying to close a deal, and the spate of policy proposals are a bid to give the customer what they want.”Seven of Trump’s tax ideas were rolled out in September and October, while another three were announced since mid-May, according to a Reuters tally. Along with the auto loan and generator tax credits, Trump has promised to do away with taxes on tips and overtime hours for wage workers, eliminate a cap on a tax deduction known as “SALT” enjoyed mainly by wealthy taxpayers, and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. Trump recently also promised to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% for companies that make their products in the US and give companies purchasing heavy machinery a tax credit.Some of the proposals appear geared toward groups Trump will need to win on November 5.Trump first rolled out his pledge to eliminate taxes on tips during a rally in Las Vegas in June. The service sector is a major employer in Nevada, and many hotel and casino workers in that hotly contested battleground state would stand to gain directly from the proposal.Harris has also put forth tax proposals in recent weeks that would cut taxes for a large swathe of voters and expand the deficit. She has also pledged new investments in child care and healthcare. In August, she said she too would eliminate taxes on tips.Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor and former Democratic presidential candidate, was critical of both campaigns, accusing them of “pandering” and of being fiscally reckless. The Harris campaign declined to comment.“Pandering for votes is standard practice in election campaigns,” Bloomberg said in an opinion piece posted on the Bloomberg LP news site. “But the tax-policy proposals on offer during this presidential contest are setting new standards for shamelessness.”Most of Bloomberg’s venom was aimed at Trump, whose policies, he said, are “a recipe for disaster.”The Trump campaign said its proposals would put more money in the pockets of everyday Americans, though it did not address fiscal concerns in a statement to Reuters.“If Americans want less taxes and more money in their pockets, the only option is to vote for President Trump,” Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.The campaign says revenue from increased tariffs and a broadened tax base from higher growth would make up for any shortfall. Economists are not convinced. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which advocates reducing federal deficits, estimated that Trump’s tax cut proposals up to then would add $7.5tn to the federal deficit over 10 years – compared with $3.5tn for Harris’. Other economists have said his proposals would disproportionately benefit the richest Americans.Most, if not all, of Trump’s tax proposals would require approval by Congress, control of which is currently divided between Democrats and Republicans. While that may change after the election, both chambers will likely be closely divided, making approval of complex legislation a challenge.Arthur Laffer, a longtime economic adviser to Trump who frequently discusses tax policy with the former president, said Trump was no different from other politicians who make campaign promises on the trail.Polls show voters trust Trump more on the economy than Harris, with a Wall Street Journal poll on Friday giving the former president a 10 percentage-point lead on the issue. But Harris has narrowed the gap since July, when she took the reins from President Joe Biden, the Democrats’ previous candidate.“He’s trying to get elected,” Laffer said. “He’s thinking of what things can I do that would be good politically, and also be good for the economy.” – Reuters

With hurricanes, floods, drought and sea level rise happening across the world, the perils of climate change are staring humanity in the face like never before. The brutal wind and torrential rainfall of Hurricane Milton that killed 17 people in Florida last week were worsened by human-caused climate change, a team of international scientists said.Global warming made wind speeds around 10% stronger and rainfall greater by between 20% and 30%, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution. The group of climate scientists studies the role of climate change in fuelling extreme weather. Milton intensified from a Category 1 storm into a tempestuous Category 5 in less than 24 hours, feeding off record- and near-record-warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane.Previous scientific analyses have shown climate change has made such temperatures in the Gulf between 400 and 800 times more likely. This extra heat made Milton the third-fastest intensifying Atlantic hurricane on record, the US National Hurricane Center said, with maximum sustained wind speeds reaching 290kph. The scientist group noted that rainfall storms similar to Milton are now about twice as likely as they would be without human-induced warming.“This study has confirmed what should already be abundantly clear: climate change is supercharging storms, and burning fossil fuels is to blame,” said Ian Duff, a campaigner at environmental nonprofit Greenpeace. “Millions of people across Florida – many of whom lack insurance – now face astronomical costs to rebuild shattered homes and communities.”Scientists have previously identified a concerning trend of rapid hurricane intensification in the Atlantic over the past 50 years, which they said may be tied to climate change. In light of extremely warm surface-water temperatures around Florida and the Caribbean, forecasters had expected a supercharged Atlantic hurricane season, with between four and seven major storms.Milton is the second Category 5 hurricane this season, which runs from June through November. There have only been five other years since 1950 that registered more than one Category 5 hurricane in one season, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has long warned of rising sea levels linked to global warming, with populations living along Africa’s coastlines particularly at risk. The UN body says climate change will mean more frequent and severe flooding, increased coastal erosion and extreme weather events, which could occur every year instead of once a century in the past.For example, Senegal loses 0.5 to 2m of coastline every year. In Bargny, on Senegal’s western Atlantic coast, which is home to some 70,000 people, residents say the coastline has receded by around 60m since the early 1980s, with the problem worsening in recent years.Some 893,000 people have been affected by flooding in South Sudan and more than 241,000 displaced, the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said Thursday in a grim update on the disaster. Aid agencies have warned that the world’s youngest country, highly vulnerable to climate change, is facing its worst flooding in decades.On another front, harsh weather is reducing wheat production in major exporting countries, cutting inventories that have already been projected to hit nine-year lows while fuelling a sudden surge in prices. On top of everything, a major academic study has dampened the hopes of scientists that even if global temperatures temporarily exceed climate targets, the planet could eventually cool back down.The report highlights the dangers of “climate overshoot”– a temporary breach of the 1.5C warming limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement, an increasingly difficult goal to achieve. Even a brief overshoot could lead to long-term impacts, including rising sea levels and other lasting effects that may persist for thousands of years.

Whenever the odds seem stacked against human progress – when economic growth looks set to remain feeble, when too many countries appear destined to grow old before they become rich, when climate change seems out of control – it is worth remembering the distinctive virtue of our species. Human ingenuity is the reason why predictions of global doom, which have proliferated throughout our history, have never materialised.It was ingenuity that defused the so-called “population bomb”, the 1970s threat that “hundreds of millions of people” would starve to death as rapid population growth exhausted finite supplies of food. Instead, agricultural innovations such as high-yield, pest-resistant crops caused global food production to grow faster than the population in nearly every part of the world. Equally, it was human ingenuity that brought deadly diseases – from HIV/Aids to Covid-19 – under control. If climate change is tamed by the middle of this century, you can bet that human ingenuity will have been the main factor.But progress is seldom the fruit of a “eureka” moment. Instead, human ingenuity delivers when governments, private enterprises, and individuals act in ways that benefit entire societies consistently over time. Such outcomes depend on conducive conditions, cultivated by the appropriate mixture of rules and practices. Recognising that sustained economic development usually reflects system-wide business success, we at the World Bank Group describe these conditions as “the business climate” or “the business-enabling environment.”For too long, though, we focused more on what governments can do for the good of business than on what governments and businesses can do together for the good of all. Thus, in a crucial first step to correct the imbalance, our new Business Ready report aims to build a comprehensive dashboard that, by 2026, will allow anyone to dial in the precise settings needed for vibrant private-sector development across 180 economies. Using this tool, policymakers can start to create the conditions to reduce poverty, advance shared prosperity, and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.The goal is to encourage healthy competition among businesses and countries, and to discourage “a race to the bottom” (one of the unintended consequences of Doing Business, our previous effort to help countries establish the right conditions for private-sector development). Our new analytical framework recognises that there is more to a healthy business environment than the “ease of doing business”. It accounts for the possibility that reducing the “cost of doing business” can unintentionally raise the costs for society at large.Accordingly, Business Ready assesses not just the regulatory burden on enterprises – how long it takes to start a business, for example – but also the quality of regulations. Do labour laws protect workers from being arbitrarily fired? Do they inadvertently make women workers less competitive than men and discourage them from seeking work?Beyond assessing the rules and regulations that govern business, Business Ready examines the public services needed to transform intentions into reality. Do public utilities provide reliable water and electricity? Do governments make it easy for businesses to fulfil their tax obligations and comply with environmental and social safeguards?The result is a breathtakingly detailed dataset that encompasses nearly 2,000 data points per economy. One can now zero in, for example, on the frequency of power outages suffered by firms, how long it takes to file and pay taxes, or the average cost to settle a commercial dispute. Since comparable data of this quality are unavailable anywhere else, Business Ready is an essential public good. The trove of insights it offers will enable businesses to make better decisions about where and how they operate, spur governments to adopt better policies by learning from one another, and help researchers everywhere to join the effort to get global private-sector development right.While this year’s edition covers just 50 economies, next year’s will include 100, and our coverage in 2026 will expand to about 180. With each iteration, we will refine the report’s design and methods to reflect lessons learned. Why not wait for the methods to be perfected before publishing the data? Simply put, the world lacks the luxury of time – development delayed is development denied – and getting feedback from the intended beneficiaries of an assessment is a big part of getting the assessment right. In any case, in a dynamic global economy, accuracy will always be a moving target.The data and methods used are more rigorous and more transparent than used in Doing Business. They consolidate the judgments of more than 2,500 business-climate experts, as well as the survey responses of more than 29,000 businesses. They are more exhaustive than anything that has been attempted so far by an international institution, and they are of immediate value to the 50 economies covered. Moreover, all data collected for this report are now publicly available – and verifiable – on our website.Analysis of this year’s data leads to two general observations. First, there is a sizeable implementation gap. Countries tend to be better at enacting regulations to improve the national business climate than at providing the public services needed to ensure actual progress. Fortunately, the gap shrinks when the quality of regulations improves.Second, while richer economies tend to be more business-ready, a country need not be wealthy to create a good business environment. Among the 50 economies assessed this year, several developing economies rank among the top ten in several categories: Rwanda for public services and operational efficiency; Colombia for its regulatory framework and public services; and Georgia for its regulatory framework and operational efficiency.This suggests that progress is possible for most countries, and that governments should step up their efforts to become business ready. But they should do so not merely to win national bragging rights or to chase the uncertain promise of a big surge in foreign investment. The rewards are far more encompassing. When correctly chosen and carefully sequenced, business reforms can simultaneously accelerate economic growth, boost productivity, and help reduce carbon emissions. Establishing a “Goldilocks” business climate will create the conditions for human ingenuity to flourish, and that is exactly what the world needs at a time of slowing growth, rising debt, and accelerating climate change. – Project Syndicate[This commentary has been adapted from the World Bank’s October 2024 Business Ready report.]Indermit Gill is Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President for Development Economics at the World Bank.

To tackle future pandemics on the scale of Covid-19, the world needs to adopt a multifaceted approach that involves international co-operation, stronger healthcare infrastructure, and proactive measures.Countries around the world need resilient healthcare systems capable of handling surges. This includes sufficient medical supplies, well-trained staff, and the ability to ramp up intensive care facilities.Investing in global early-warning systems, especially in areas with high potential for zoonotic diseases, will help identify outbreaks at their source. Rapid reporting mechanisms and surveillance tools need to be upgraded globally.Since many pandemics originate from animal populations, integrating human, animal, and environmental health into policy frameworks is crucial to minimise zoonotic disease outbreaks.A centralised body with adequate resources and authority should be empowered with more authority to lead, co-ordinate, and enforce health responses globally. Nations must commit to better transparency and information sharing.Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group (WBG), and World Health Organisation (WHO) have agreed on broad principles for co-operation on pandemic preparedness.This co-operation, signed recently, will allow a scaling up of support to countries to prevent, detect and respond to public health threats through the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST), the WBG’s financial and technical support, and WHO’s technical expertise and in-country capabilities.The RST allows eligible member countries to access long-term financing at low interest rates to help implement reforms that address structural challenges to the stability of the economy, such as those posed by pandemics, and to enhance countries’ health systems resilience.Operating within their respective mandates and policies, the IMF, the WBG, and WHO will leverage their expertise to enhance pandemic preparedness in their member countries, building on the synergies and complementarity of each institution’s in-country analysis and operations.This collaboration will strengthen the design and articulation of effective policy, institutional and public financial management reforms supported by the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), the policy reforms and investments supported by the WBG, and the technical and operational support provided by WHO. In strengthening the pandemic preparedness framework, member countries will also work to improve the resilience of their health systems and their ability to respond better to all health emergencies.Undoubtedly, more funding and co-operation are required to develop vaccines swiftly. Establishing global platforms for sharing research, manufacturing, and distribution of vaccines is key to faster response times.Governments and health organisations also need to improve the way they communicate with the public, counter misinformation, and foster trust. Transparency in decision-making processes is essential to ensure compliance with public health measures.The world’s reliance on limited supply chains for critical items like personal protective equipment (PPE) and vaccines was exposed during Covid-19. Countries need to diversify supply chains and create stockpiles for essential medical goods.Every country should have detailed pandemic preparedness plans that include emergency funding, logistics for lockdowns or quarantines, and rapid mobilisation of resources.Low- and middle-income countries need better access to vaccines, treatments, and healthcare resources. International organisations and wealthier nations should support equitable distribution, ensuring no region is left behind.