The THRIVE project is incredibly grateful to Dr. Ginish Cheruparambil, Martin Drewry, and Mishal Athar Shah for their captivating and inspirational presentations during the October 2024 Thrivability Matters Webinar. This webinar focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 1 & 2: No Poverty & Zero Hunger // Innovative Policies. With their extensive knowledge, our presenters captivated us by highlighting the significance of Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) and its impact on poverty, the invitation to evolve from aid and gear towards tackling inequality; and values-led interest-free micro-financing for a poverty-free world.
Here are the highlights from our webinar!
About The October 2024 Speakers
Dr. Ginish Cheruparambil is a researcher specialising in policy analysis, sustainability, and economic research. He is experienced in ESG consulting, data analysis, and project management. Holding a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Ginish has worked across academia and industry, with a focus on research and economic policy. Currently, he is working as a research assistant under Fadhel Kaboub and Steven Hail.
Martin Drewry is the CEO of Health Poverty Action (HPA) – a politically progressive INGO with programmes in 17 countries. With 400 staff worldwide, mostly originating from communities they serve, HPA works with some of the world’s poorest and most marginalised populations. Martin has worked in the international development sector for over 30 years. He was the co-founder of the Trade Justice Movement. He is also one of the leaders of Make Poverty History and several other high-profile campaigns.
Mishal Athar Shah is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). She has served in various roles at Akhuwat. Currently, she is the Head of Projects, overseeing operations and the implementation of projects in education, community development, and the inclusion of marginalised communities. She has also been involved in piloting projects, facilitating collaborations between partners, conducting research, trainings and representing the organisation locally and internationally.
Summary Of The October 2024 Webinar
As an organisation, the THRIVE Project endeavours to guide humanity towards a more sustainable future. We had the privilege of hosting these three speakers as guest presenters for our webinar.
Dr. Ginish Cheruparambil – “Illicit Financial Flows and Their Impact on Poverty”
In a compelling presentation, Dr. Ginish Cheruparambil introduced and defined Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) and its significant challenge to global development, undermining economic growth and exacerbating poverty. His talk explored the nature of IFFs, including activities like tax evasion, corruption, and money laundering. These activities lead to substantial financial losses in developing economies. By redirecting crucial resources away from public investment in healthcare, education, and infrastructure, IFFs impede poverty reduction efforts and widen inequality gaps. He discussed how IFFs drain much-needed resources that could otherwise foster development and support social programs to improve living standards.
Finally, the discussion addressed the challenges of tracking and measuring IFFs and policy gaps that allow these flows to persist. Hence, there is a need for stronger international cooperation and governance reforms. By understanding the link between IFFs and poverty, Dr. Ginish emphasised the importance of transparent financial systems to support sustainable development and social equity.
Martin Drewry – “From Aid To Tackling Inequality”
Martin’s presentation took a look at poverty, aid and inequality; the political obstacles, to the necessary changes, and how these might be overcome. In particular it highlighted two key areas:
Firstly, the framing of anti-poverty work and how the language of development (especially the aid narrative) can be a major obstacle, and instead of winning public support fuel the rise of racist populist nationalism.
Secondly, he took a look at the development sector’s reluctance to adequately address more controversial issues impacting poverty. The level of attention given to issues such as tax and trade is far less than their importance warrants compared to the focus on aid levels.
He then explored a key example of a neglected policy area – the War on Drugs. Martin goes on to share that “while this is of course a hotly debated issue, development voices are largely absent. Yet the War on Drugs’ impact on progress towards the SDGs is profound.”
Mishal Shah – The Story of Akhuwat – “Envisioning a Poverty-Free World.”
Akhuwat was founded in 2001 on the vision of creating a poverty-free society. In order to achieve its vision, Akhuwat used interest-free microfinance, education, provision of clothing, community development and inclusion of marginalised as tools for poverty alleviation. To date, Akhuwat has disbursed PKR 230 billion in interest-free loans empowering over 4 million families across Pakistan. This presentation also shared insights on Akhuwat’s efforts in eradicating poverty in Pakistan through a participatory development approach. Furthermore, the learnings, challenges and sustainable plans going forward was discussed.
Specifically focusing on SDG 1: No Poverty, Mishal shared a community development project (Mustafabad Mawakhat Project) as a case study to discuss the work Akhuwat is pursuing in light of the Sustainable Development Goals. Through the Mustafabad Project, Akhuwat adopted a town of over 6,000 individuals and implemented various interventions to develop it into a model town. These interventions included sanitation and waste management, clean drinking water, education, and vocational training among several others.
Moving Forward From October 2024
The Thrivability Matters Webinar for October 2024 showcased insights from Dr. Ginish Cheruparambil, Martin Drewry, and Mishal Shah. If you missed the presentations or the live Q&A session, you can view the recording on our YouTube channel or download the PDFs from each of the speakers.
If you’re interested in joining us after the October 2024 Thrivability Matters Webinar, there are a variety of ways to stay connected. You can follow us on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Additionally, you could subscribe to our YouTube channel, listen to our podcasts, sign up for our newsletter, stay up to date with our blogs, attend our free webinars, or even join us as a volunteer to make an even bigger difference in the world.
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