In pursuit of development
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China’s role in a post-Covid-19 world
When the coronavirus epidemic began attracting international attention three months ago, the strength of the Chinese state was in full…
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Free online course: What works?
We are living through an unprecedented global crisis and worried about our families, our jobs and our common future. Although…
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Leadership during a crisis
Humanity is witnessing an unprecedented crisis. Citizens all over the world are hoping and praying for a best-case scenario where…
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Brand Malawi
It has been great to be back in Malawi. Over the past few weeks, I have travelled across the country…
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Complete shutdown
I returned home to Norway exactly a week ago. A few hours before landing at Oslo airport, the government announced…
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Brand Malawi
I t has been great to be back in Malawi. Over the past few weeks, I have travelled across the…
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Planners, searchers and doers
There is an ongoing debate on the role and impact of development planning. Supporters of five-year or 10-year plans claim…
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Rethinking Africa’s transport needs
The city of Lagos has recently banned motorcycles. Locally known as “okadas”, the authorities accuse these vehicles of causing “chaos…
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Living within limits
The problem is enormous and growing. The evidence is compelling. Human activity, and our increased consumption of fossil fuels, has…
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Look to Malawi!
I t is Tuesday morning. For large parts of Monday, I patiently listened to the lengthy, meticulously detailed and landmark…
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Responding to epidemics
The global health crisis emerging from the spread of the coronavirus is attracting renewed attention on the ability of health…
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Politics and the SDGs
There is growing interest in “sustainable development”, defined by the Brundtland Commission’s 1987 report as “development that meets the needs…
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Ensuring seed security
T he Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world’s largest and most important secure seed storage facility, is located 1 300…
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Malawi in 2020
The start of a new year offers an opportunity to reflect on goals, aspirations and plans as well as assess…
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Appreciating what works in development
The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has recently proclaimed 2019 to be the “best year ever” in human history.…
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Inequality and human development
The Nobel laureate in economics Professor Amartya Sen has long argued that human beings constitute the ‘ends’ of economic activity,…
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Inequality and human development
T he Nobel laureate in economics Professor Amartya Sen has long argued that human beings constitute the ‘ends’ of economic…
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Ethiopia’s nobel laureate
On Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali became the latest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. According to the…
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Cash or cashless?
My wallet never contains any cash and I almost never use an automated teller machine (ATM) in Norway. My life…
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Culture and leadership
M ost discussions on African development tend to include the leadership question. There is growing frustration, especially among Africa’s youth,…
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