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Sunday, August 16, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Eye on the IFIs
Research Grant Aims to Meet Critical Maize Shortfalls
As the world's largest international agricultural research coalition celebrated its 40th anniversary here this week, it also announced the launch of a programme to help provide enough maize to meet the annual food demands of over 600 million consumers by 2030.Strauss-Kahn’s Accuser Doubly Vicitimised, Advocates Say
Despite questions about her credibility, the Sofitel maid who is accusing former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault is still a victim and should be treated as one, according to her attorney.Egypt Rejects IMF Conditions
Egypt has cancelled plans to borrow 3 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund because of conditions that violated the country’s national sovereignty and a public outcry that warned against terms that were blamed for impoverishing many Egyptians.Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Bill
The Greek parliament has passed an austerity package by a slim majority to slash 40 billion dollars off the national debt.Lagarde Takes Helm of IMF Amidst Multiple Crises
Two days ahead of a formal vote scheduled for Jun. 30, former French finance minister Christine Lagarde became the first woman to be appointed managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), headquartered in Washington, Tuesday.
“Microfinance Can Help Rural Communities Adapt to Climate Change”
Projects to fight climate change are being designed all around the world. But only five percent of them can be financed with the current international funds available, which means resources have to be used more wisely. Microfinance could be one solution.
Gender Indicators for Global Climate Funds Still an Afterthought
Of the millions of dollars spent on climate change projects in developing countries, little has been allocated in a way that will benefit women. Yet, in Africa, it is women who will be most affected by climate change.
Days Ahead of Official Election, Lagarde ‘Crowned’ IMF Chief
In a small park situated between the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United States Department of the Treasury in Washington, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was crowned head of the world's most powerful monetary institution on Thursday.
AFRICA: Poor Excluded From Benefits of High Economic Growth
The high economic growth enjoyed by many African states during the 2000s have not led to poverty elimination. This is because the growth did not happen in the sectors where poor people work, as in agriculture, or in the rural areas where poor people live, or simply did not involve labour provided by poor people.India Looking to South Africa to Anchor its Involvement in Africa
Some Indians and Africans believe Africa is on the verge of becoming a world economic power, but changes are needed to ensure that the continent takes up its rightful place in the global economy. From India’s perspective, South Africa is vital to its engagement with the continent.Solid Growth Forecast for Global South, But Threats Loom
While most of the developing world should enjoy solid economic growth through 2013, several factors could upset such a scenario, according to the latest Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report released by the World Bank here Tuesday.Asia Fires Warning Shots Over IMF Chief
Even if French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde secures the top post at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rumblings across Asia convey the message that the international lender's clubby custom of picking a European national to be its managing director smacks of discrimination.ELECTIONS-PORTUGAL: Rubberstamping IMF Prescriptions
Voters in crisis-stricken Portugal will go to the ballot boxes next Sunday to choose not a government, but something more like delegates who will administer decisions already taken by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.Arab Spring Wary of Economic Lifelines
Governments and international institutions that once bankrolled the authoritarian regimes of Tunisia’s Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak have begun floating aid packages to speed up the economic recovery and transition to democracy in these countries. Arab revolutionaries have reason to be wary.China Takes Back Seat on IMF, For Now
The sex scandal in the top couloirs of the IMF and the power struggle to find a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn has fascinated the Chinese. Rife speculations about political intrigues and shadowy deals behind the scenes have spilled into cyberspace and the usually restrained media.
World Bank Calibrating its Measurement of Sustainability
The World Bank is working to update the mechanisms it uses to measure the effects of the financing it provides, particularly in environmental and social terms, now that it is gearing up to administer the new Green Climate Fund.IMF Still Colonial
The International Monetary Fund will probably continue to be headed by a European after the resignation of France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, but the debate over his replacement indicates this degree of Eurocentrism is unlikely to prevail the next time a successor is sought.NGOs Call for IMF Head to Be Chosen by Double Majority
More than 100 civil society groups called Monday for the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be approved by a majority of its 187 member countries, as well as a majority of the voting shares that are heavily weighted in favour of the world's wealthiest countries.Hotel Maids Say Sexual Harassment Is Part of the Job
With the arrest of the once powerful head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, following allegations that he tried to rape a maid in his 3,000-dollar- a-night penthouse suite at the Sofitel Hotel, a spotlight has been turned on the treatment of female cleaning staff, many of whom are immigrants who keep silent for fear of losing their jobs or being deported.‘IMF Chief Nationality Not Relevant, Change Is’
With the search for a new chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increasingly likely to stay within the European pale, a top Indian economist says that what matters is that the Fund changes its approach to countries in distress.
Europe Holds Tight to IMF Monopoly
Since the election of Camille Gutt of Belgium as the first managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) back in 1946, the Europeans have continued to claim that job as their political and intellectual birthright.« Previous Page — Next Page »
They underpin the world's financial architecture, with the power to revamp whole economies and channel billions of development dollars each year. But the so-called International Financial Institutions -- the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund and regional investment banks -- face a new era of public scrutiny and challenges to their relevancy. How are the IFIs responding to growing demands from the South and civil society groups for greater democracy and accountability? And are they living up to their stated mission of promoting economic prosperity for all? IPS reports.
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