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The Inter-American Development Bank seems to have handled the sex scandal that ousted its president, Mauricio Claver-Carone, swiftly and effectively. We take a look at the candidates — and at the possibility that a woman will be named to the top job for the first time.
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Also in today’s edition: The World Bank issued economic reports on three regions. It’s a mixed bag, but a lot of blame for the bad stuff is laid at the door of Russian President Vladimir Putin. We also look at how diminishing funds are throttling humanitarian assistance.
IDB norms ‘completely violated’
In the 63 years since its founding, the Inter-American Development Bank has only had five presidents — and all of them have been men. But the current search to replace its disgraced leader could change that.
Claver-Carone, a Cuban-American known by the moniker MCC, was fired last month after an independent ethics probe found evidence he had an intimate relationship with a staffer who received chunky pay rises well above her salary level. Claver-Carone, who was nominated by Donald Trump’s administration, has denied the embarrassing allegations and threatened to sue.
His was already considered a political post that deviated from the unwritten promise that leaders would come from Latin America, not the United States. He was also nominated by former President Trump, so his ousting is a bit of a windfall for President Joe Biden.
For now, the bank is being run by Reina Irene Mejía Chacón of Honduras — an interim solution. But leading contenders to take the job through to full term are Mexico’s Alicia Bárcena and former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla.
Morale was pretty low at the bank during Claver-Carone’s leadership, according to Michael Shifter, former president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank. But if it weren’t for his peccadillos he could have stuck it out, at least until his term ended in 2025.
“It’s true the Biden administration wasn’t very keen about him, but it’s not correct to say they tried to get rid of him,” Shifter tells Devex contributor Larry Luxner. He could have easily survived “had he not completely violated IDB norms and policies — and do it in such a way that was so obvious to others at the bank.”
Read more: IDB may get first woman chief following ouster of Trump nominee (Pro)
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It’s all about localization
With the world getting hammered right now — by famine, floods, drought, hunger, pestilence, and the apocalyptic list goes on — aid agencies in already struggling economies are being forced to do much more with much less.
My colleague David Ainsworth spoke with Anne Garçon of the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, who reckons there should be a shift from the conventional humanitarian response model toward one focusing on “both local and international actors working together in an equal partnership.”
She highlighted three ideas that can help humanitarians be more effective: localization, long-term sustainable resilience with less of a traditional parachute “act-now” mindset, and a focus on mental health support.
Learn more: How to prepare the next generation of humanitarians (Career)
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Forecast: mixed
The World Bank was fairly upbeat in its economic outlook for Latin America yesterday. “Economies have recovered to their pre-pandemic levels," it said — somewhat surprisingly, given the region’s fiscal issues. But it warned that without reforms it could risk falling prey to the global headwinds that may hobble progress on poverty reduction.
The bank was not so upbeat about Europe and Africa. In fact, my colleague Shabtai Gold found its appraisal rather grim. The anti-poverty lender warned that emerging economies in both regions face turbulence and that much of that can be blamed on Russia.
The global economic slowdown and fallout from the war in Ukraine have hit hard. Ukraine's economy is projected to contract a whopping 35% this year and recovery and reconstruction will cost $349 billion — more than 1.5 times the country's prewar economy. Overall emerging Europe and Central Asia growth is expected to contract 0.2% this year.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth will slow as inflation hits, especially for food. Hunger is up, affecting 1 in 5 of the population, and debt levels are setting off alarm bells, with governments spending 16.5% of their revenues servicing external debt in 2021, up from 5% in 2010.
All this is bad, bad news. World Bank's economists urge governments to immediately "restore macro-economic stability and support the poorest households." A chief recommendation: reorient agriculture spending to make it more effective.
+ Sign up to Devex Dish, our free, must-read newsletter on the global food system reform, and receive the latest edition — which talks about why the World Food Programme is worried about rice prices — today.
Ukraine is hiring
Even before Russia invaded, Ukraine had been battered by years of armed conflict and the ravages of COVID-19. Then came the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, compounding an already complicated humanitarian story.
The United Nations and its partners have provided Ukraine with more than $1.2 billion for relief and protection assistance since the beginning of the crisis in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, and pledges keep coming in.
My colleague Justin Sablich keeps tabs on some of the aid opportunities in Ukraine and elsewhere for our Devex job board, among them HelpAge International, Danish Refugee Council, and International Medical Corps.
Read: The globaldev organizations hiring in response to Ukraine crisis
Catch up: Here’s our coverage of the humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine.
Ford knocks
It’s an ugly old world, with some pretty rigid governments running the show. So the Ford Foundation yesterday launched an $80 million initiative to help civil society organizations in the global south fight the “rise in authoritarianism and a compounding decrease in democratic values.”
My colleague Stephanie Beasley says it’s the latest in a series of commitments from the Ford Foundation focused largely on the global south. Among them are a $16 million pledge to promote COVID-19 vaccine equity and a $1.7 billion promise Ford made with other funders to help Indigenous and local communities address climate change.
ICYMI: Apple partners with Ford Foundation to protect NGOs from state-sponsored spyware
In other news
The $10-billion Bezos Earth Fund intends to reinforce partnerships with African and European nations at the 27th U.N. Climate Change Conference to further support its land restoration initiatives in Africa. [Reuters]
The number of casualties in Yemen decreased by 60% during the six-month ceasefire, meaning the failure to renew the truce now puts millions of lives at stake, says Oxfam’s country director. [The Guardian]
Climate activists criticized Egypt's move to have Coca-Cola — the world’s top corporate plastic polluter, according to a 2021 analysis — sponsor this year's COP 27. [BBC]
Update, Oct. 5, 2022: This article has been updated to clarify the World Bank’s forecast growth for Europe and Central Asia.
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About the author
Helen Murphy
Helen is an award-winning journalist and Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development in the Americas. Based in Colombia, she previously covered war, politics, financial markets, and general news for Reuters, where she headed the bureau, and for Bloomberg in Colombia and Argentina, where she witnessed the financial meltdown. She started her career in London as a reporter for Euromoney Publications before moving to Hong Kong to work for a daily newspaper.
