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Kevin Watkins

Kevin Watkins

28 commentaries

Kevin Watkins, a former CEO of Save the Children UK, is a visiting professor at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics.

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  1. Food Sovereignty Increases Food Security
    watkins28_SEYLLOUAFP via Getty Images_sengal rice SEYLLOU/AFP via Getty Images

    Food Sovereignty Increases Food Security

    Jul 21, 2023 Kevin Watkins urges African policymakers to transform the agriculture sector and rethink part of their development model.

  2. Schoolchildren Deserve Free Lunch
    watkins27_Karen DuceyGetty Images_school meals Karen Ducey/Getty Images

    Schoolchildren Deserve Free Lunch

    Sep 2, 2022 Kevin Watkins shows why universal school-meal programs have become even more important for improving educational outcomes.

  3. Can the International Community Still Do Big Things?
    watkins26_EVA HAMBACHAFP via Getty Images_spring meetings imf EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images

    Can the International Community Still Do Big Things?

    May 9, 2022 Kevin Watkins laments the failure to mobilize financing to address the developing world’s multiplying crises.

  4. End the Economic Blockade of Afghanistan
    watkins25_Sayed Khodaiberdi SadatAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_hunger afghanistan Sayed Khodaiberdi SadatAnadolu Agency via Getty Images

    End the Economic Blockade of Afghanistan

    Jan 6, 2022 Kevin Watkins calls for an immediate resumption of international funding before crisis turns into catastrophe.

  5. Ending “Trickle-Down” Vaccine Economics
    watkins24_Gregor Fischerpicture alliance via Getty Images_vaccines Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images

    Ending “Trickle-Down” Vaccine Economics

    Sep 6, 2021 Kevin Watkins highlights three priorities that can make global vaccine distribution more equitable.

  1. bp iran israel Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images

    An Iran-Israel War?

    Iran’s mass ballistic missile and drone attack on Israel last week raised anew the specter of a widening Middle East war that draws in Iran and its proxies, as well as Western countries like the United States. The urgent need to defuse tensions – starting by ending Israel’s war in Gaza and pursuing a lasting political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – is obvious, but can it be done?

  2. nasheed3_MANDEL NGANAFP via Getty Images_georgieva MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

    What a Climate-Aligned IMF Would Look Like

    Mohamed Nasheed & Rakesh Mohan explain how the managing director can fully position the institution to help the most vulnerable countries.
  3. ghosh76_Kristin Palitzapicture alliance via Getty Images_afrigen Kristin Palitza/picture alliance via Getty Images

    The Key to Transforming African Health

    Jayati Ghosh highlights efforts to foster scientific innovation and drug manufacturing on the continent.
  4. op_roach3_ Kevin FrayerGetty Images_china lagging consumption Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    China’s Rebalancing Imperative

    Stephen S. Roach

    The most successful development stories almost always involve major shifts in the sources of economic growth, which in turn allow economies to reinvent themselves out of necessity or by design. In China, the interplay of mounting external pressures, lagging household consumption, and falling productivity will increasingly shape China’s policy choices in the years ahead.

    explains why the Chinese authorities should switch to a consumption- and productivity-led growth model.
  5. castaneda88_GERARDO MENOSCALAFP via Getty Images_latin america safety GERARDO MENOSCAL/AFP via Getty Images

    From Welfare State to Safe State in Latin America

    Jorge G. Castañeda & Carlos Ominami

    Designing a progressive anti-violence strategy that delivers the safety for which a huge share of Latin Americans crave is perhaps the most difficult challenge facing many of the region’s governments. But it is also the most important.

    urge the region’s progressives to start treating security as an essential component of social protection.
  6. ocampo57_Celal GunesAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_imf Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    The Urgency of Sovereign-Debt Restructuring

    José Antonio Ocampo highlights the need for a comprehensive mechanism to deliver relief to low- and middle-income countries.
  7. fischer215_Mostafa AlkharoufAnadolu via Getty Images_tel aviv iran attack Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images

    The Gaza War Goes Global

    Joschka Fischer considers the implications of Iran’s unprecedented decision to launch a direct strike on Israeli territory.
  8. nyirinkindi1_ISAAC KASAMANIAFP via Getty Images_women phone fintech ISAAC KASAMANI/AFP via Getty Images

    Gender-Neutral Fintech Isn’t Working for Women

    Emmanuel Nyirinkindi & Jessica Schnabel show that the industry is not fully delivering on its promise to accelerate financial inclusion.
  9. evans72_Alex WongGetty Images_palestine statehood Alex Wong/Getty Images

    The Urgency of Palestinian Statehood

    Gareth Evans explains why formal international recognition is crucial to ending the intolerable status quo.

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