A Pledge for Africa
Prime Minister Ahmed places on a table an excellent agenda for the Global Health Pledging Conference that would take place on May 4th. As he argues, the agreements in the Conference should include, first of all, debt relief beyond what was agreed by the G-20 and including at least next year's payments. It should include also larger amounts of ODA and a larger grant element in new lending. A large emission of SDRs would also make a contribution to developing countries, and should include an agreement for developed countries to donate the SDRs they receive to support aid to developing countries. And, not least of all, it should include significant cooperation in the health area, including supporting the provision of ventilators, test kits and, when available, vaccines, to developing and, particularly, low-income countries. Avoiding monopolies and trade restrictions of these health inputs is essential.