Providing Development Assistance Research Articles

Does health aid matter to financial risk protection? A regression analysis across 159 household surveys, 2000–2016

IntroductionUniversal Health Coverage (UHC) is a widely accepted objective among entities providing development assistance for health (DAH) and DAH recipient governments. One key metric to assess progress with UHC is financial risk protection, but empirical evidence on the extent to which DAH is associated to financial risk protection (and hence UHC) is scarce. MethodsOur sample is comprised of 65 countries whose DAH per capita is above the population -weighted average DAH per capita across all countries. The sample comprises of 1.7 million household observations, for the period 2000–2016. We run country and year fixed effects regressions, and pseudo-panel models, to assess the association between DAH and three measures of financial risk protection: catastrophic health expenditure (i.e., out-of-pocket health expenditures larger than 10% of total household expenditures [‘CHE10%‘]), out-of-pocket health expenditure as a share of total expenditure (‘OOP%‘), and impoverishment due to health expenditures, at the 1.90US$ per day poverty line (‘IMP190’). Resultson average, DAH investment does not appear to be significantly associated with financial risk protection outcomes. However, we find suggestive evidence that a 1 US$ increase in DAH per capita is negatively associated (i.e., an improvement) with at least one financial risk protection outcome for the poorest household quintile within countries (in fixed effects models, IMP190: 0.05 percentage points, p < 0.1; in pseudo-panel models, CHE10%: 0.12 percentage points, p < 0.01). DAH is also negatively associated (i.e., an improvement) with most financial risk protection outcomes when it is largely channelled via government systems (i.e., when it is “on-budget”) (CHE10%: 0.68 percentage points, p < 0.05). Several robustness checks confirm these results. DiscussionDAH investments require careful planning to improve financial risk protection. For example, positive DAH effects for the poorest quintiles of the population might be driven by DAH targeting poorer populations and doing so effectively. Our results also suggest that channelling more resources via governments might be a promising avenue to enhance the impact of DAH on financial risk protection.

Maintaining influence through economic statecraft: Australia's response to China's presence in the Pacific region

AbstractAustralia has historically been a prominent diplomatic partner for the Pacific Island countries, providing development assistance to support their social and economic progress. China gradually heightened its political and economic influence in the Pacific area by integrating the region into its Belt and Road Initiative. This development has encouraged scholars to examine Australia's diplomatic engagements in the Pacific region in response to China's growing presence. This article approaches this issue by using the concept of economic statecraft as an analytical tool. It argues that Australia's reactions to China's presence through the infusion of strategic motivations into foreign aid and the use of multilateral agreements and initiatives can be seen as positive economic statecraft with two characterizations: emulation of China's successful strategies and differentiation from Chinese approaches through the incorporation of multilateral and ideational methods.

Soft Power in the Foreign Policy of Pakistan: Prospects and Potentials

Transition and diffusion of power are changing the political context and have made soft power more relevant than ever. The Government of Pakistan has started taking some initiatives to harvest soft power through its foreign policy. These include providing development assistance, signing bilateral and multilateral agreements, promoting culture, providing scholarships to international students, contributing to global peace and providing humanitarian assistance. This study aims to describe how soft power operates within the foreign policy of Pakistan. It also aims to explain how far the integration of soft power in foreign policy benefitted Pakistan and what new strategies are there to explore. The study borrows the conceptual framework of soft power proposed by Joseph Nye, follows the qualitative research design and uses primary and secondary data.

Trust in Local Governments: An Insight for Good Governance Practices in COVID-19 Management

Various countries from almost all corners of the world and international organizations involved in providing development assistance have actively implemented and encouraged a paradigm shift in governance and development based on good governance. This study examines public trust in implementing good governance in terms of accountability, responsiveness, transparency, and information technology of the Samarinda City government in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The research method used in this research is qualitative. Data collection in this study prioritized in-depth interviews with twenty questions posed to six informants from the general public and six from the Samarinda City Government. The data analysis approach in this study uses the Nvivo 12 Plus software, and the processing uses the Crosstab Query Analysis functionality. The results of this study indicate that the practice of accountability, responsiveness, transparency, and information technology of the Samarinda City government varies greatly. In terms of responsibility, very good. Then, information technology in Samarinda City is quite good. Meanwhile, in terms of responsiveness and transparency, it still does not provide maximum results. Public trust in the government in handling COVID-19 has various perspectives based on findings from the implementation of good governance.

Bir Ülke Neden Başka Bir Ülkeye Yardım Eder? Kalkınma Yardımlarının Ortaya Çıkışı, Gelişimi ve Donörlerin Motivasyonları

In addition to the development approaches they adopt, countries that are in the position of donor and provide development assistance may have different orientations according to the beneficiary country they are dealing with, the global conjuncture they are in, and the methods they prefer. These factors and many other factors constitute the motivation of donor countries to offer assistance. Herein, donors acting according to their national strategic priorities, donors taking positions according to their position in the global economic order, donors which display different attitudes according to the beneficiary country they deal with, and donors which evaluate development assistance in the context of international relations have different motivations. In the study, primarily, the concept of development assistance was conceptually discussed, and the theoretical foundations on which it is built were explained. Afterward, historical changes and transformations were discussed. The donor countries' motivation to offer assistance, which is the main focus of the study, was examined through the categorization of countries that have common characteristics among themselves. In this context, a heading was specifically opened for Turkey, and Turkey's history of development assistance was included as well. Moreover, the role played by international organizations, which are among the most important actors in this field, in the provision of assistance was also discussed under a separate heading.

Involvement of the Gulf Cooperation Council States in Kosovo: development assistance, soft power, and neofundamentalism

ABSTRACT The development assistance activities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have prompted debates and scrutiny of how the Gulf countries use assistance or aid for religious soft power goals, which has a potentially destabilizing effect on local religious communities. This article explores how the Gulf states provide development assistance and their potential motivations. Using Kosovo as a case to describe the techniques used in the field by the GCC charities and development agencies, the article finds that GCC agencies/charities’ activities in Kosovo are negligible in classical development sectors such as the transport, institutional, and social spheres; however, they are very active in promoting and financially supporting religious education, other religious activities, and the reconstruction of religious infrastructure. The article discusses the effects of the assistance on the local Muslim community and how the state reacted to the possible threats this assistance poses.

The Factor of Knowledge Implementation and the Development Status of Sub-Saharan African Countries

Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries have generally remained relatively poor for many decades, despite various internal and external measures. Every year, African governments conceive and implement poverty reduction and eradication policies, and multi-lateral agencies and developed countries provide development assistance to enable SSA countries achieve their development goals. This article utilises systems theory to advance the thesis that sub-Saharan countries’ failure to develop is, to a significant extent, a consequence of poor knowledge utilisation. The significance of knowledge utilisation arises from the fact that in modern society, differentiation is pronounced and each sphere requires special knowledge for optimal outcomes. However, in sub-Saharan countries, knowledge is largely utilised to secure the vulgar goals of the political elite. When knowledge is perceived to require policies that are in disharmony with those goals, it is not utilised. This paper demonstrates that the selective under-utilisation of knowledge accounts for the failure of sub-Saharan countries to realise their development goals. The analysis concludes that while in his Social Systems Niklas Luhmann conceived society to be a constituent of systems and sub-systems that work to enable it to maintain and renew itself, in SSA countries dysfunctional political systems impede the process of self-maintenance and self-renewal. As such, Sub-Saharan states must re-orient to utilise knowledge correctly.&#x0D; &#x0D; Keywords&#x0D; Knowledge, modern society, differentiation, political elite, development

Divisional Administration for Conservation of Environment in Sri Lanka: Opportunities and Challenges

The Transfer of Powers (Divisional Secretaries’) Act No. 58 of 1992 enhanced the powers andfunctions of the divisional administration system, and also merged the central government and provincial governments at the divisional levels, creating a new power center for development planning, regulation, and resourcing. The divisional administration carries functions under several laws including Land Development Ordinance, State Land Ordinance, Land Acquisition Act, State Land Recovery Act, Land Development (Special Provision) Act, Forest Ordinance, Agrarian Development Act, and Irrigation Ordinance. Natural resources are the key to the rural economy in Sri Lanka and natural resource depletion is accelerated by anthropogenic causes such as population pressure, encroachment, and over-extraction of natural resources. Environmental pollution and degradation challenge sustainable development significantly. The objective of this paper is to examine the potentiality of divisional administration in environmental conservation, focusing on the legitimate powers vested. Qualitative methodology was used for the research, a desk review was done with the relevant legal sources; acts, regulations, and judgments, and challenges were examined through ten key informant interviews. The study identifies that the divisional has a three-fold role in environmental conservation; land management, development management, and law enforcement. The divisional administration holds the guardianship of the state land and associated natural resources, with powers of granting or leasing land for settlements or developments, and is also responsible for the land use planning. In the perspective of development management, the divisional administration is more significant as it has opportunities to coordinate the development through various committees, mitigate climate change impact and natural disasters, and provide development assistance and relief. The wider regulation powers vested with the divisional administration is ranging from issuance of permits to enforcing laws against unlawful acts. This function directly relates to controlling deforestation and encroachment and managing over and illegal extraction of natural resources. The significant element of the divisional administration for environmental conservation is the availability of a vertical mechanism connecting the community at a lower level to the respective departments at the higher levels and the horizontal mechanism connecting all public, private, and community organizations. However, the study reveals several challenges such as the nature of political and community priorities that limit divisional administration in environmental conservation. The study recommends that recognition and revaluation of the role of divisional administration in environmental conservation are timely essential.&#x0D; Keywords: Divisional administration, Environmental conservation, Land management, Development management, Law enforcement

Indonesia’s Self Identity in the Development Assistance Policy through South South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC)

This article aims to examine the link between self-identity and foreign policy, particularly focusing on how state’s self-identity is built and sustained through policy. Using Indonesian development assistance policy through South South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) as a case study, this article finds that Indonesia self-identifies as a middle power country with strong affiliation towards developing countries as a result of national role conception processes. This self-identity in turn are built and sustained through SSTC development assistance policy, due to the suitability of role obligations as a middle power country with the values carried by the act of providing development assistance, as well as the deeply rooted historical dynamics of SSTC development policy with developing country status.

The use of pseudo-causal narratives in EU policies: the case of the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa

ABSTRACT The EUTF aims to address the ‘root causes of migration’ by providing development assistance to countries of origin and transit. While it is allegedly based on scientific evidence, scholarly consensus suggests that development assistance is ill-suited to address irregular migration – which is something that some of the actors who designed the EUTF were aware of. We advance a new framework for understanding the emergence and success of pseudo-causal narratives (i.e., narratives relying on unproven and/or disproven causal claims) in EU policymaking. Using frame analysis, we argue that the pseudo-causal ‘root causes’ narrative was adopted against better evidence because it was plausible, compelling and had been used in EU external migration policies before. Faced with the salience of migration and the urgency to act in late 2015, and due to the absence of any clear ideas of what other measures could work, EU actors adopted this narrative to demonstrate that they were actively responding to the ‘crisis’. The narrative met little contestation, since it met the concerns of both those who were keen to stop migration and those who wanted to preserve the core of previous EU development policy.

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF POST-SOVIET COUNTRIES: EXPERIENCE OF CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRIES

After the disintegration of the USSR, the Central Asian countries started to pursue independent development strategies and identified new domestic policy priorities. It is of special scholarly interest to compare the efforts by Central Asian governments to improve female representation in politics. The article is devoted to the consideration of state policies and measures aimed at increasing the participation of women in political institutions in Central Asia. The most and the least effective strategies for women's political empowerment were highlighted based on the analysis of the regulatory framework in the field of women's empowerment, as well as on the degree of application of gender statistics and gender budgeting. In particular, the authors address the matter of electoral gender quotas, which are already introduced by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It is stressed that the adoption of this policy tool in the two counties has had its limitations, taking into consideration the existence of legal ways to circumvent the gender-quota requirements. The authors also indicate Kazakhstan’s progress in collecting gender data that is “open, accessible, comparable, free and understandable”. Improving data quality and representativeness facilitates the development of practical steps to achieve gender equality in politics. At the same time, theьauthors point out a negative trend in the region: some countries are gradually moving away from having aьdistinct strategy pertaining to genderьissues. Such approach may shift the focus from closing the gender gap to solving a wider range of social policy issues. The article shows that in general the countries in question implement a conservative gender policy and are not inclined to fully effect such practices as gender budgeting and the collection of relevant and complete gender statistics. It is concluded that Russia has an opportunity to act as a trendsetter, in particular by applying a gender-sensitive approach in providing development assistance to the countries of Central Asia.

Демократичні зміни: критерії та фактори

The article is aimed at studying democratic changes in terms of characterization of criteria and factors of these transformations. The modern political process can have different trajectories and fluctuations. They determine the directions of political transformations. These can be a wide range of political regimes: from democracies to new forms of autocracy and dictatorships. And it is important here to determine what are the objective conditions that promote or hinder the formation of new democratic institutions. Therefore, this article draws attention to the identification of key factors influencing the trajectories and results of regime change. Directly, attention is paid to the analysis of factors and processes that are important to explain the nature and results of regime transformations. It is determined that the urgent task now is to use the opportunities that arise in transition processes in changing societies. This is necessary to simultaneously deepen the challenges facing democracy and development. There is a need to ensure that national development plans and economic reforms are comprehensive and collective, that state institutions become more accountable and that the structure of electoral and constitutional processes ensures the maximum participation of citizens, especially minorities, women and vulnerable groups. Accountability and transparency, based on the principle of checks and balances, are the main components that in the coming years will remain one of the most important tasks for countries where democracy is being formed and this is crucial for their development prospects. It is justified that the traditional approach to strengthening democracy should be reconsidered, as well as the generally accepted procedures for providing development assistance. The concept of democratic development should also be further developed. Particular attention should be paid to defining the purpose of such development: eliminating isolation in strengthening democracy and the practice of partnership for development, especially in terms of coherence of their implementation, determining the level of influence of rights and participation of citizens on the likelihood of sustainable progress.

Does the COVID-19 pandemic threaten global solidarity? Evidence from Germany.

The global COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges to the economy, politics and public health systems of developed and developing countries alike. However, the latter are less well placed to cope with adverse effects. In particular, important advances towards sustainable development might be reversed. Tackling the pandemic and its effects therefore requires global cooperation as well as solidarity in the form of development assistance. Yet, support for development assistance among donor publics might be dampened by individual health-related and economic worries as well as decreasing trust in government during the pandemic. Against this backdrop, we investigate the possible effect of pandemic-induced worries on public support for development assistance as well as the moderating role of moral considerations and trust in government. Drawing on literature on aid attitudes, and using survey data for Germany provided by the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) project from April 2020 (N = 1,006), our analyses show that neither health-related nor economic worries are associated with less support for providing development assistance during the first wave of the pandemic. However, we observe a marginal interaction between health-related worries and trust in government in predicting support for development assistance. For those with high levels of trust in government the effect of worry regarding the loss of friends or relatives on support for development assistance is positive, whereas it is close to zero for those with low levels of trust. We conclude that at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic there was little need for concern by policy-makers endorsing development assistance as neither form of worry correlated negatively with public support for development assistance and trust was high. However, when worries recur and trust in government simultaneously decreases, public support for global solidarity may wane.

Canada’s economic assistance to the OPT: ideology, politics, and flawed responses

ABSTRACT While Canada has been providing development assistance to the Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since 1993, its economic development assistance program took shape in 2007 after the formation of the Palestinian technocratic government. Even though the Canadian government had access to substantial analysis regarding the most significant impediments to the economic development of the OPT, its chosen areas of focus were informed more by its ideology, politics towards the region, and a belief in maintaining a viable economy until such time that efforts to work out the political issues related to illegal settlements, access and movement, borders, and the final formation of a Palestinian state bear fruit. As demonstrated, Canada’s actions, along with that of other donors, have allowed for Israel to continue undertaking actions that have a significant economic cost for Palestinians and that make adequate economic development impossible and a long-term viable Palestinian economy less likely.

The Impact of China-Burkina Faso Trade on Burkina Faso Economic Growth

The impact of trade expansion of China on Burkina Faso's economy is analyzed in this work through these two channels: trade in goods and services, foreign direct investment. To capture the direct and indirect effects of Chinese trade, a computable general equilibrium model is used. The different simulations that have been used are gathered in groups. The first group includes an increase of the transfers from China to Burkina Faso by 10%, an increase of 5% of the stock of productive capital, an increase of 2% in the total factor productivity. The second group includes an expansion of the exports from Burkina Faso to China by 5%w; a decrease of international export prices of manufactured products plus an increase in international prices of export commodities; and a decrease of the international import prices of products from China. The simulation results show that the simulations of trade expansion have led to an increase of domestic prices, exports and imports from China. In addition, the effect on economic growth, value added and household’s welfare is low. Regarding the first group of simulations, the results show a decline of domestic prices, and an increase of exports and a decrease of imports. More FDI inflows induce a raise of economic growth equal to 1.90%, of total labor demand 0.08% and an increase of the average well-being of household by 1.41%. The majority of the population in Burkina Faso is cotton farmers and they are those who welfare raise the more 1.81. China’s trade expansion is now playing a very important role in the global economy. More especially to the increasing investment in developing countries, China has also gained an important place among the main countries providing development assistance. For the past 15 years, and especially since the establishment of the “Forum on China-Africa Cooperation” (FOCAC), China has been one of the main economic partners of Sub-Saharan Africa both in terms of trade, investment and development aid. Some researchers from Burkina Faso are also investigating to measure the impact of this expansion of Chinese presence and trade on economic growth and employment in Burkina Faso. Keywords: trade expansion, economic growth, impact, computable general equilibrium, simulation, China, Burkina Faso DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-22-05 Publication date: November 30 th 2020

Geleneksel Kalkınma Yardımı Anlayışına Eleştirel Bir Bakış

Kalkınma yardımları en basit haliyle; kalkınmış ülkelerin, kalkınmamış ülkeleri, transfer ettikleri kaynaklar yoluyla desteklemeleridir. Ancak bahse konu kalkınmış ve kalkınmamış karşıtlığının dayanak noktası olan Batı merkezci bakış açısı, ülkeler arısında başta siyasi, ekonomik ve askeri olmak üzere bir güç dengesizliği ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Bu da donör ve faydalanıcı ülkeler arasında bir çeşit patronaj ve hiyerarşiye sebep olmaktadır. Dünya’nın farklı bölgelerinde en fazla askeri gücü olan ülkelerin, aynı zamanda en önde gelen donör ülkeler olması, bu durumun sahadaki somut tezahürüdür. Bahse konu siyasi, ekonomik ve askeri güç dengesizliği, donör ve faydalanıcı ülkeler arasındaki patronaj ilişkisinin de kaynağını teşkil etmektedir. Donör ülkeler bu ilişki sayesinde, kendi çıkarlarını güttükleri nüfuz alanları oluşturmaktadırlar. Faydalanıcı ülkelerin, donör ülkelerle yaşayacağı en ufak bir gerilim bile bu ülkelerin siyasi ve ekonomik açıdan ciddi problemler yaşamasına sebep olabilmektedir. Donör ülkelerin sahip oldukları hiyerarşik üstünlük, bu ülkelerin benimsemiş oldukları anlayış ve politikaların, faydalanıcı ülkeler tarafından koşulsuz bir şekilde kabullenilmesini zaruri kılmaktadır. Faydalanıcı ülkelerin talep ve önceliklerinin ikinci planda kalmasına neden olan bu durum, teorik temelleri Rostow’un Aşamalı Kalkınma Modeline dayanan geleneksel kalkınma yardımı anlayışının ortaya çıkardığı en büyük problemdir. Bu çalışmada, bahse konu geleneksel kalkınma yardımı anlayışının ortaya çıkışı ve tarihsel gelişim/dönüşüm süreci açıklanmakta ve bu anlayışı benimseyen donör ülkelerin sundukları kalkınma yardımları bağlamında sahip oldukları strateji ve politikalar incelenmektedir. Ayrıca, bahse konu donör ülkelerin, kalkınma yardımı faaliyeti yürüttükleri ülkelerle olan ilişkileri de bu çalışmada tartışılmaktadır. Söz konusu tartışmaların odağındaki donörler arasından seçilen bazı ülke örnekleri de bahse konu tartışmaların sahaya somut bir şekil nasıl yansıdığını göstermesi bakımından önem arz etmektedir. Örnek ülkeler belirlenirken, 1950’lerden sonra ortaya çıkan geleneksel kalkınma yardımları anlayışını benimseyen ilk ülkeler olmasına ve tarihsel olarak ortaya çıkan yapısal ve kurumsal dönüşümleri göstermelerine özen gösterilmiştir.

Global Gender Justice and The Feminization of Responsibility

This paper morally evaluates the phenomenon Sylvia Chant calls "the feminization of responsibility," wherein women's unrecognized labor subsidizes international development while men retain or increase their power over women. I argue that development policies that feminize responsibility are incompatible with justice in two ways. First, such policies involve Northerners extracting unpaid labor from women in the global South. Northerners are obligated to provide development assistance, but they are transferring the labor of providing it onto women in the global South and expecting them to do it for free. Second, development policies that feminize responsibility increase women's exposure to sexist domination. These two problems are present irrespective of whether policies that feminize responsibility improve women's basic well-being.&#x0D;

What Does the Evidence Tell Us about ‘Thinking and Working Politically’ in Development Assistance?

This article provides a critical review of the evidence on ‘thinking and working politically’ (TWP) in development. Scholars and practitioners have increasingly recognised that development is a fundamentally political process, and there are concerted efforts underway to develop more politically-informed and adaptive ways of thinking and working in providing development assistance. However, while there are interesting and engaging case studies in the emerging, largely practitioner-based literature, these do not yet constitute a strong evidence base that shows these efforts can be clearly linked to more effective aid programming. Much of the evidence used so far to support these approaches is anecdotal, does not meet high standards for a robust body of evidence, is not comparative and draws on a small number of self-selected, relatively well-known success stories written primarily by programme insiders. The article discusses the factors identified in the TWP literature that are said to enable politically-informed programmes to increase aid effectiveness. It then looks at the state of the evidence on TWP in three areas: political context, sector, and organisation. The aim is to show where research efforts have been targeted so far and to provide guidance on where the field might focus next. In the final section, the article outlines some ways of testing the core assumptions of the TWP agenda more thoroughly, to provide a clearer sense of the contribution it can make to aid effectiveness.

Mainstreaming community-based forest management in West Sumatra: Social forestry arguments, support, and implementation

Although social forestry in Indonesia is envisioned as a policy for recognizing local practices to forest management, research is still limited. This research describes conditions of social forestry policy in West Sumatra Province as a form of mainstreaming community-based forest management. This paper provides the context of social forestry arguments, its support, and subsequent implementation. The research approach is qualitative, using a case study method. Data collection was conducted through unstructured interviews, field observations, and document studies. The analysis used categorization and coding, historical analysis, document analysis, and descriptive policy analysis. The findings revealed that the arguments for social forestry schemes were based on the persistence of state forest conflicts, forest degradation and deforestation threats, as well as human resource limitations of forestry officers. The Provincial government then initiated stakeholder support, mainly from non-governmental organizations. Social forestry implementation at the site in West Sumatra thus focused on providing development assistance programs after granting management rights to local people, as well as initiating similar schemes in other villages. Our discussions considered challenges that should be addressed, including the approach to granting management rights to secure a management area, the process of developing participatory institutions, synchronizing provincial government policies to overcome forest degradation and deforestation, and initiating activities for strengthening community solidarity and agency.

The SDGs: Changing How Development is Understood

AbstractThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute a truly transformative agenda which provides a framework to help us effectively confront the fundamental challenges of development in a way that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) did not. This commentary briefly describes the very demanding, at times antagonistic, process that produced the SDGs, including the crucial role of the Open Working Group (OWG). It points out the strengths of the SDGs by comparison with the MDGs, with respect to both process and product. The SDGs, proposed and championed by a country from the Global South, for the first time defined development as a universal agenda, and upended the traditional division of countries into those who need to act and those called primarily to provide development assistance. Many countries across the development spectrum rejected this proposal, which was finally agreed thanks to persistence, lengthy negotiations and consensus building. In the end, the adoption of the SDGs also broke down the divide between environment and development, offering an integrated and inclusive framework for structuring solutions. Yet an agenda of such deep transformative potential faces implementation challenges, and this commentary emphasizes the need for the sort of analysis contained in the papers in this Special Issue in order to ensure that the SDGs are strengthened and continue to evolve.