Ukraine’s defiant stand against Russia’s invasion has captured the world’s attention — and provoked coordinated action at a speed and scale beyond what most predicted. For people who have experienced or sought to alleviate the catastrophes of war in other places, it begs the question of why human suffering does not always produce that kind of determined and visceral response.
The crisis in Ukraine was front and center in U.S. President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address Tuesday.
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“While it shouldn’t have taken something so terrible for people around the world to see what’s at stake, now everyone sees it clearly,” Biden said.
“We see unity among the people who are gathering in cities in large crowds around the world — even in Russia — to demonstrate their support for Ukraine. In the battle between democracy and autocracy, democracies are rising to the moment, and the world is clearly choosing the side of peace and security,” Biden continued.
Some attempts to explain why there has been so much international solidarity with Ukraine, especially when compared to coverage and rhetoric about crises in Afghanistan or Syria, have exposed racial biases among Western commentators who claim that war in Europe is somehow different than war in other parts of the world — or that refugees from Ukraine are compelling in a way that refugees from other places are not.
“This double standard is so evident in how we as Westerners engage in international relations. Far too often, we dehumanize non-White populations, diminishing their importance, and that leads to one thing: the degrading of their right to live in dignity,” British scholar H.A. Hellyer wrote this week in the Washington Post.
Notably, Biden’s speech did not mention the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan and what the U.S. is doing about the ongoing threat to civil society and democratic leaders there.
At least when it comes to funding, the European Union’s aid chief has offered assurances that the bloc’s response to the conflict in Ukraine won’t come at the expense of assistance for other crises around the world.
“We have not taken any funding from any other humanitarian programs that we are funding all over the world … and we will continue with this approach,” Janez Lenarčič told members of the European Parliament Tuesday.
The European Commission has pledged $100 million toward the United Nations’ flash appeal for $1.7 billion for Ukraine, and Lenarčič said this was all “fresh funding.”
After the hearing, he told my colleague Vince Chadwick that Europe’s sanctions on Russia were “well calibrated” to avoid negative humanitarian repercussions.
“What we wanted to ensure is that sanctions would not hamper humanitarian work wherever and whenever it is needed, and we were able to do that,” he said.
EU: Aid chief vows not to neglect other crises amid Ukraine needs
In a joint statement on Tuesday, World Bank President David Malpass and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also outlined new financial assistance for Ukraine, including preparations for a $3 billion “package of support” from the World Bank in the coming months.
Meanwhile, my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo reports that WHO medical supplies have arrived in Poland for transfer to Ukraine, with a focus on the medical oxygen supplies critical for patients with severe COVID-19 and other conditions. Less than 40% of Ukraine’s population is fully vaccinated.
Treading lightly
The U.S. Agency for International Development has fallen behind on issuing requests for proposals for its largest-ever suite of contracts as it takes a seemingly more cautious approach to its award process following recent criticism. The NextGen Global Health Supply Chain includes nine 10-year agreements — some including multiple awards — that are collectively valued at $17 billion.
The agency was expected to issue requests for proposals on all contracts by last Friday but has, so far, only published four calls, with two of those in draft form, according to Devex Business Editor David Ainsworth. Experts following the process let David in on what they think is going on, in this analysis for Devex Pro subscribers.
USAID’s NextGen: How will its contracts fit together?
Devex Pro recap: ‘NextGen Global Health Supply Chain,’ the backbone of USAID’s global health initiatives
+ Haven’t gone Pro yet? Start your 15-day free trial and access all of our coverage of USAID, including funding insights.
Global glass ceiling
The World Bank’s “Women, Business and the Law 2022” report, released Tuesday, paints an unsettling picture of the state of women’s rights:
• 2.4 billion women lack the same economic rights as men.
• 95 economies legally allow women to be paid less than men for work of equal value.
• Only 12 countries have full equality in areas of the legal system that were measured.
On gender equality: Women have only about three-quarters of the legal rights of men
Who’s who
The CEO at a startup tackling COVID-19 and future pandemics, a new global health security lead on Biden’s National Security Council, and a principal adviser for resilience and communities at the Bezos Earth Fund. Catherine Cheney has the rundown on global development’s executive appointments in February for Devex Pro subscribers.
In other news
The World Bank on Tuesday approved the use of $1 billion in frozen Afghan funds to deliver essential services in Afghanistan, as well as help the country's ailing economy. [VOA]
The U.S. announced yesterday that it will resume the Iraqi refugee resettlement program it suspended in January 2021 due to allegations of fraud. [Reuters]
According to a new analysis, 358 human rights activists were killed around the world in 2021, the majority in Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. [Front Line Defenders]
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About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
