What is development financing?

These are among the 17 goals agreed by almost all countries, called the Sustainable development objectives (ODD). The plan is to hit these targets by 2030.

But we are late. A great reason? There is simply not enough coherent funding to make real progress.

This is why world leaders, economists and other decision -makers meet at the end of this month in Seville, Spain, for a major event called the fourth international conference on development funding. It is called a “unique opportunity” to rethink the way the world pays for sustainable development.

What is development financing?

Basically, development funding works to answer a simple question-how does the world pay for a more balanced and more balanced aid, trade and development system?

The global community’s response has been to create a system that mobilizes the entire international financial architecture – taxes, subsidies, trade, financial and monetary policies – to the development agenda.

Architecture aspires to be as inclusive as possible, engaging a wide range of funding sources allowing countries to become more self -sufficient so that their citizens can lead a healthy, productive, prosperous and peaceful life.

Development financing essentially consists in “changing the functioning of the system to ensure that developing countries can … actually invest in their future”, Shari Spiegel, director of Funding for sustainable development the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (Desa), says UN News.

Among these sources of financing are multilateral development banks which provide financial and technical support to developing countries. International and national commercial and revised trade policies also strive to relaunch development economies.

And, official development assistance (ODA) creates a channel through which aid from developed countries can flow directly to developing countries.

Why is development for development important?

From increasing debt and the decline in investments to help reduce development objectives, the current system fails to the people it is supposed to serve.

People everywhere pay the price:

• The debt increases, investments decrease and helps the donors shrinks.
• 600 million people could still live in extreme poverty by 2030 if we do not change lessons And it will take much more decades to reach the SDGs.
• Today, 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more to reimburse debt than for health or education.
• In addition, billions of people will continue to live in countries that must prioritize debt payments on development.
• This means less money for schools, hospitals, drinking water and jobs – the basics that people need to prosper.

And for people who face the consequences of the inaction of the world, it is an unacceptable chronology.

What systemic changes should be made?

As growing commercial obstacles and official development aid decreasing each year, an approach to financing financing for development is not sustainable.

The next conference in Seville offers the opportunity to change course, mobilize large -scale finance and reform system rules to impose people’s needs at the center.

The conference will bring together countries, representatives of civil society and financial experts to discuss new approaches to development financing.

Above all, this conference will also offer developing countries a headquarters at the table, so that their needs are treated in international financial decision -making.

What role does debt play?

In the current financing system, developing countries continue to pay exorbitant amounts to serve their debt while being confronted with borrowing costs which can be up to two or four times higher than their developed counterparts.

These costs tend to increase in particular during or directly during crisis periods, creating a feedback loop through which developing countries cannot afford to develop the very structures which would allow them to pay these costs.

“Faced with debt expenses and a high capital cost, developing countries have limited prospects of finance the objectives of sustainable development,” said UN secretary general, António Guterres.

What can we expect from the conference?

The secretary general said that “big ideas” and “ambitious reforms” would need to get back on the right track to end poverty, hunger and inequalities.

“” [The conference] Presents a unique opportunity to reform an overwhelmed, dysfunctional and unfair international financial system, “said Chief António Guterres of the UN.

Member States have reached an agreement on a project that will launch an ambitious set of reforms and actions that countries must fill to fill the financing gap of $ 4.

The United States has withdrawn from the conference process on Tuesday During the final negotiations on the result documentsaying he couldn’t get on board with the project.

The reform will partly come from the effective mobilization of all stakeholders – private and public, formal and informal, developing and developed – and aligning their incentives and commitments to a sustainable future.

This includes emphasis on multilateralism as the basis of all development, increasing taxes that directs public funds towards international development objectives, reducing the cost of capital for developing countries, restructuring existing debt and the search for even more innovative financing methods.

“Seville is a moment in time. It’s really the start, not the end of the process. So now, the question is how to implement commitments? ” said Ms. Spiegel.

The reform of a broken financing system is difficult, but Ms. Spiegel is optimistic that multilateralism is up to par.