
The political economy of pandemic prevention and preparedness in Africa - Policy Brief 13
The huge costs of the COVID-19 crisis have revealed a global failure to learn lessons from previous health crises, and to invest sufficiently and consistently in the public goods of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This health security agenda has been seriously neglected in sub-Saharan Africa, which is in a weak position to respond to the present crisis and future pandemics.
Based on research conducted for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme (TDDAP), this Policy Brief suggests that the neglect of the health security agenda in sub-Saharan Africa is above all a political economy problem best understood in terms of the political incentives facing leaders, institutionalised power relations and the collective action problems shaping health security systems and international funding. The Policy Brief explores five political economy problems that are found to be particularly undermining of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and develops recommendations for addressing each of these.
Financial Times article on 'how to rethink climate change'
TPP Director Neil McCulloch’s book Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies: the politics of saving the planet was featured in the Financial Times (paywalled) as one of three good books on ‘How to rethink climate change’.
A Policy Brief summarising the book's main messages is available here.
New blog from Laure-Hélène Piron and Alina Rocha Menocal with Kate Byom - What does politically smart support to democracy and human rights look like?
Duncan Green has published this blog to coincide with a webinar on “Making a difference: How Applied Political Economy Analysis contributes to impact through better informed decisions” on Wednesday 24 May. It shares the findings of a Learning Review on the use of PEA in three USAID-funded human rights projects under the Human Rights Support Mechanism, which is led by Freedom House with the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative and Pact as core consortium partners.
GovEnable clinics in Islamabad, Kinshasa and Nairobi
During May 2023, Laure-Hélène, TPP Director, and Ben French, TPP Associate, are delivering workshops in Islamabad, Kinshasa and Nairobi to introduce government officials and World Bank staff to a new way of designing and implementing public financial management reforms - based on participatory diagnostics and action planning.