Crawford, Griffith...

a framework must also improve the global distribution of green financing, which to date has been skewed heavily toward developed economies. In the first half of 2021, for example, high-income countries issued 76% of the world’s green bonds.

Policymakers and multilateral development banks can help de-risk green infrastructure investment by encouraging the use of innovative financing instruments such as guarantees, insurance, blended finance, and credit-enhanced bonds. Attracting more banks and institutional investors would raise Africa’s share of global climate financing, which is currently just 5.5%.

Insuring investors against specific hazards and reducing the risk of losses, policymakers could increase that share. Similarly, offering credit protection and extending loan maturities would help leverage more private capital to develop long-term green infrastructure projects.

Donors and multilateral lenders have a crucial role to play in mitigating overinflated risk perceptions and creating incentives for investors to finance green projects in developing economies. Through concessional funds employed for blended finance and grants, these stakeholders could create first-loss positions to improve portfolio ratings and de-risk projects. As more investors enter the climate-debt market, multilateral institutions could also enhance the credit of green bonds, thus raising risk appetites and channeling patient capital to where it is most needed.

A robust global carbon market would promote transparency and encourage decarbonization. Likewise, multilateral development banks’ ability to leverage their financial resources to support a liquid secondary market in developing-country sovereign bonds is essential to putting African economies on a path to sustainable development. The nexus between the SDGs and climate change is such that environmental leapfrogging could also set the region on such a path.

The burgeoning greenbond market has entered a virtuous growth cycle and is fast approaching the longawaited milestone of $1 trillion in annual green investment. But to encourage equitable climate finance, investors must avoid the stigmas that have long plagued the fixed-income market, where foreign investors either shun Africa or invest there only at exceedingly high premiums.

Unbiased financing is crucial to winning the global battle against climate change. To ensure sustainable development, we must encourage asset managers to lead the charge.

SEATTLE – Like many others, I spent much of the last few years in isolation to avoid getting sick. And now we are learning that this widespread disappearing act produced some unexpected side effects. In particular, infections from once-common illnesses – like influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) – plummeted.

But now, as much of the world has returned to its normal pre-pandemic rhythms, that brief respite is over. RSV, a dangerous infection that kills more than 100,000 young children each year, has returned with a vengeance. Several countries, including South Africa and Australia, have recorded major RSV outbreaks, and hospitals in the United States are filled with babies who are struggling to breathe.

The alarming uptick in RSV cases bodes ill for the winter months in the northern hemisphere, especially with an expected bad flu season. Yet while RSV can result in serious illness, like pneumonia, for very young children everywhere, it is rarely fatal in high-income countries like the US. Over 97% of deaths due to RSV occur in low- and middleincome countries – a glaring disparity that has made the disease one of the leading killers of newborns and is developing and training their existing staff in these new technologies and ways of working whilst attracting new talent with digital skill sets.

What are the possible strategies that would ensure digital transformation for an organisation to progress steadily without harming the gradual disposal of manual operations for optimal success?

Digital transformation will only increase in different sectors of the market. So the first strategic choice for an organisation is to reimagine its business model and commit to changing it to ensure that they are a successful player in the digital 21st Century. Conceptually, this is no different than we saw during the industrial revolution, as young children countries.

Fortunately, new technological developments on the horizon may soon mitigate the threat posed by RSV. Promising advances in maternal immunization – vaccinating pregnant women to confer lifesaving protection on their babies – have the potential to save thousands of lives each year, and an effective RSV vaccine is finally in sight. Maternal immunization has been safely and effectively used for decades to protect newborns from other infectious diseases, including whooping cough and tetanus. If approved, this would be the first vaccine ever to protect children against RSV.

Although most RSV infections are mild, the virus can be much more severe in the youngest patients and can lead to pneumonia, which kills more children than any other infectious disease. Moreover, there are no drugs to treat RSV. For severe cases, medical oxygen is administered in a hospital to help babies breathe until the infection clears. But that, of course, assumes that they can get to a hospital with oxygen. For infants in parts of lower-income countries where hospital care or oxygen is out of reach, this common childhood illness can quickly become deadly. It is in these settings that an RSV vaccine has the greatest potential to save lives and spare families from crushing grief.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has supported efforts to advance the field of maternal immunization for 15 years, funding research and development for maternal vaccines against influenza, whooping cough, other newborn bloodstream infections, and RSV and Group B Streptococcus (GBS). Our most recent investment in maternal RSV vaccines is focused on improving affordability and access for lower-income in these manual labour gave way to steam engines, which were replaced by electrification and then computerisation. There are of course, organisations that were unwilling or unable to make this transformation and they no longer exist. The leaders of the organisation need to define their vision of the organisation and put in place a plan to execute this.

Why should executives attend TEXEM UK’s forthcoming programme on Strategic Leadership for Optimised Organisational Performance in an Era of Uncertainty?

With a more uncertain environment, those organisations that perform best are distinguished by their leadership capability more than ever. Those leaders who can demonstrate clarity and purpose of their strategic choices, countries. This is crucial for giving infants in these countries the best chance at life.

While the vaccine is still in development, I am hopeful that, if it is successful and gains regulatory approval, it will start to be rolled out – through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – in low- and middle-income countries as early as 2024. Quick and equitable access to this lifesaving vaccine in countries where RSV remains a major killer will have a real impact on reducing childhood illness and death around the world.

Yes, a successful rollout also depends on whether a vaccine is acceptable and taken up by local communities. But as matters stand, I am optimistic that it will be. Research has shown that pregnant mothers are more likely to receive a vaccine to protect their babies before birth than they are to protect themselves. Moreover, studies have found that if you can protect against RSV in the first few months of life, you can likely protect against other future respiratory infections, including pneumonia.

RSV is not a new problem. Pediatricians and many parents have long dreaded this illness, and for good reason. But we are on the cusp of finally developing and deploying the tools we need to protect infants when – and where – they are most vulnerable. We should all continue working toward a future where children – regardless of where they are born – can grow up to live full, healthy lives, safe from the dangers of RSV and childhood pneumonia. By ensuring equal access to these lifesaving vaccines, we can make that future a reality. exemplify being customer-led and translate and communicate their strategy through the organisation are best placed to deal with the challenges of a volatile and complex world. By joining this impactful TEXEM programme, you will be exposed to the thinking and frameworks that drive the development of the 4000 executives that TEXEM has helped to develop their leadership capabilities in the past 12 years. Also, this programme will leverage TEXEM’s proven and tested methodology, which makes learning fun, impactful and engaging with support from leading practitioners who would make it easy for you to apply these ideas pragmatically and strategically in your organisation. For more information, please visit texem.co.uk or email exec@texem.co.uk