IMF Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) January 2022

 

Resilience and Sustainability

(Image: Rose Kouwenhoven/IMF)

A New IMF Trust Fund

The IMF's Ceyla Pazarbasioglu and Uma Ramakrishnan laid out in a new blog this week how a proposed IMF Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) will help low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience to balance of payment shocks and ensure a sustainable recovery.

The $50-billion trust fund would also be a place where countries could channel their Special Drawing Rights to more vulnerable nations.

--Key design features: About three quarters of the IMF's membership would be eligible for RST financing. This would include all low-income countries, all developing and vulnerable small states, and all middle-income countries with gross national per-capita income of less than roughly $12,000 per year.

The RST aims to address macro-critical longer-term structural challenges that entail significant macroeconomic risks to member countries’ resilience and sustainability, including climate change, pandemic preparedness, and digitalization. Access to RST financing would be determined case by case, based on the strength of reforms and debt sustainability considerations, and is expected to be capped at 150 percent of IMF quota or SDR 1 billion, whichever is smaller. 

--Timeline: Pazarbasioglu and Ramakrishnan said they hope for broad support from IMF membership and international partners. The aim is to secure IMF Executive Board approval before the upcoming Spring Meetings and for the trust to become fully operational before the year’s end.

Medical Reserve Corps. NACCO Publications and courses

 

NACCHO has published a number of new resources for MRC units in recent months. These include: 2020 Network Profile of the MRC 2021 MRC Deployment Readiness Guide Course: Developing Unit Training Plans  Course: Developing Unit Leadership  Course: Volunteer Management The NACCHO team shared details about each of these new resources during the January MRC Well Check Webinar. Watch the Listserv for a link to the recording.

The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits. Milton Friedman. The New York Times Magazine. September 13, 1970

http://websites.umich.edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman.pdf

Still in the Early 1900's of the 20th Century in 2022 of the 21st Century. Voting Rights. January 19, 2022

Missing the facts:

".......49 states in the 2021 legislative session alone, and at least 19 states enacted 34 laws that restrict access to the ballot,...."

That statement notes that 49 of 50 States in the U.S. are advocating for some form of voter restrictions and suppression.

Representative Kweisi Mfume U.S. Representative for the 7th District of Maryland  Washington D.C. | Baltimore Office (202) 225-4741 | (410) 685-9199

For Immediate Release January 19, 2022 Congressman Kweisi Mfume’s Statement on the Senate's Failure to Pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act January 19, 2022 | Press Release WASHINGTON – Congressman Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) issued the following statement on the Senate's failure to pass critical voting rights legislation today. “A record number of Americans voted in the 2020 elections because of expanded Election Day, vote-by-mail, and early voting opportunities. Less than one year later, state lawmakers in at least 19 states enacted 34 laws that restrict access to the ballot with many more on the way. Unfortunately, the U.S. Senate has proven it is more committed to protecting the filibuster than it is the right to vote,” said Congressman Kweisi Mfume. “I am baffled and disappointed to see people honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday and then by Thursday vote against the freedom to vote. This is a dastardly and shameful day for our democracy,” he added. ### More on the Congressional Effort for the Freedom to Vote  The United States House of Representatives has done its part in the fight for the right to vote by: Passing H.R. 1, the For The People Act, the most significant voting rights and democracy reform in more than half a century; and Passing H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, to restore the power of the Voting Rights Act to protect the right to vote. Last week, the House passed the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act which will do the following. Stop voter suppression and election subversion.  Lawmakers have enacted 34 laws in 19 states that not only restrict the right to vote but empower election officials to nullify the results of a free and fair election after the votes are cast. Empower the grassroots and reward their participation in our democracy.  This bill empowers states to amplify the power of small-dollar donors with matching funds, without putting any taxpayer dollars toward this purpose. Curb special interest money in politics.  This oppressive, anti-democratic dark money allows anonymous funders to suppress the voices of the American people.  The current landscape of state electoral systems: State lawmakers introduced over 440 voter suppression bills in 49 states in the 2021 legislative session alone, and at least 19 states enacted 34 laws that restrict access to the ballot, with many more on the way. Experts predict this wave of voter suppression and election sabotage will intensify in 2022.  This evening, the Senate failed to overcome procedural hurdles, thereby leaving the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to languish indefinitely in its Chamber.

Webinar: Aligning Stakeholder Priorities in Urban Resilience Thursday, 20 January 2022 - 09.00 AM EST

Webinar: Aligning Stakeholder Priorities in Urban Resilience   Thursday, 20 January 2022 - 09.00 AM EST / 03:00pm CET / 10.00 PM SIN/KUL    Register   Funding, including the need to mobilize various sources of investment capital, plays an important role in supporting cities to address their resilient development challenges. The link between donors and beneficiaries, however, can be indirect, or limited to progress reports and formal governance structures. The first Cities on the Frontline session of 2022, jointly organized by Resilient Cities Network and the City Resilience Program, will focus on “Aligning Stakeholder Priorities in Urban Resilience”. Join us to hear directly from two of the world’s leading donor-funded disaster and resilience platforms (GFDRR & UNDRR), one of the principal donor countries in this space, and a number of city officials about the role of donor support for delivering resilient urban development, what value it adds, and how it could become even more effective. Featured Speakers This session will be co-moderated by Lauren Sorkin, R-Cities Executive Director, and Sameh Wahba, Global Director for the Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice at the World Bank and will feature Mami Mizutori, Special Representative to the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR and Dagmar Vogel, Head of Infrastructure Financing Division, Head of Infrastructure Financing Division, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).  Their interventions will be complemented by three city officials: Anthea Stephens, Climate & Sustainability Component Lead, Cities Support Programme, National Treasury of South Africa; Joni Baboci, former General Director of Planning and Urban Development of the City of Tirana; and Silva Magaia, Superintendent of Territorial Planning, Urbanization & Environment at the Municipal Council of Maputo.    Register   Access previous sessions Cities on the Frontline is a virtual thought leadership speaker series. The series, which began in 2020 co-organized by the Resilient Cities Network and the World Bank Group’s City Resilience Program, provides city practitioners and the industries and residents that they support, an understanding and means for responding to the pandemic and associated stresses, as well as solutions for planning towards a more resilient recovery. For questions, please contact: media@resilientcitiesnetwork.org Resilient Cities Network is the world’s leading organization working in urban resilience. Present in more than 90 cities, 40 countries, and 6 continents, R-Cities is a global city-led nonprofit organization that brings together knowledge, practice, partnerships, and funding to empower cities to build a safe, equitable, and sustainable future for all. If you are interested in receiving information about our city-led, impact-focused initiatives around the world, subscribe, share, or follow us on social media here: Subscribe