Background
The theme of the 2024 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) is “Reinforcing the 2030 Agenda and eradicating poverty in times of multiple crises: the effective delivery of sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions”. The 2024 HLPF will have an in-depth review of Sustainable Development Goal 1, End poverty in all its forms everywhere; Goal 2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture; Goal 13, Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; Goal 16, Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; and Goal 17, Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
The HLPF in July 2024 will be the first HLPF under the auspices of ECOSOC after the 2023 SDG Summit - the HLPF convened under the auspices of the General Assembly in September 2023. The 2024 HLPF will support the implementation of the Political Declaration and other outcomes of the SDG Summit for advancing the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The Forum will provide an opportunity to translate the political guidance and commitments from the SDG Summit into tangible policy guidance and practical actions.
In preparation for the review of SDG 1 – and its role in advancing sustainable development across the 2030 Agenda, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development Goals (UN-DESA/DSDG), the World Bank and UNCTAD together with other partners, are organizing an Expert Group Meeting (EGM).
The objective of the meeting will be to take stock of where we are in terms of progress towards SDG 1; to identify innovative solutions and different ways forward in the second half than what was tried before; to consider how the enabling environment for ending poverty has changed including in relation to the intensifying climate crisis, ongoing recovery from COVID-19 and other challenges; to build on new opportunities, learnings and good practices that have emerged; and to harness the political momentum from the SDG Summit.
These discussions will help inform the HLPF, assist in planning its sessions, and help to identify collaborations and programmes of work on SDG 1 going forward from 2024. They will also consider how progress on SDG 1 can generate synergies across the 2030 Agenda, and how progress on other Goals can be aligned with poverty reduction.
Announcements
ECLAC
Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023: labour inclusion as a key axis of inclusive social development https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/68703-social-panorama-latin-america-and-caribbean-2023-labour-inclusion-key-axis
Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2023. Financing a sustainable transition: investment for growth and climate change action https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/67990-economic-survey-latin-america-and-caribbean-2023-financing-sustainable-transition
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: Halfway to 2030. Goals, targets and indicators https://www.cepal.org/en/publications/68017-2030-agenda-and-sustainable-development-goals-halfway-2030-goals-targets-and
Social Panorama of Latin America 2021 (cepal.org)
IOM
Leveraging Human Mobility to Rescue the 2030 Agenda: IOM Flagship Report for the SDG Summit https://publications.iom.int/books/leveraging-human-mobility-rescue-2030-agenda-iom-flagship-report-sdg-summit
ITU
SDG Digital Acceleration Agenda (https://www.itu.int/initiatives/sdgdigital/acceleration-agenda/)
Measuring digital development Facts and Figures 2023 (https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-figures-2023/)
OHCHR
Input by the Special rapporteur on extreme poverty - Eradicating Poverty Beyond GDP February 2024
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/udhr/publishingimages/75udhr/united-nations-department-of-economic-and-social-affairs-en.pdf)
UNDRR
GAR Special Report 2023: Mapping resilience for the Sustainable Development Goals https://www.undrr.org/gar/gar2023-special-report
Strengthening risk analysis for humanitarian planning https://www.undrr.org/publication/strengthening-risk-analysis-humanitarian-planning
Financial arrangements for addressing losses and damages: A disaster risk reduction primer https://www.undrr.org/publication/financial-arrangements-addressing-losses-and-damages-disaster-risk-reduction-primer
UNCTAD
'World Investment Report 2023 (in particular chapters 1 and 4 - which also includes results and recommendations relevant for SDG 17 https://unctad.org/publication/world-investment-report-2023
SDG Investment Trends Monitor https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/diaemisc2023d6_en.pdf
Global Investment Trends Monitor https://unctad.org/publication/investment-flows-least-developed-countries-affected-disproportionally-global-crises
FDI in the LDCs Special Report https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/diaeia2022d1_en.pdf
UNDP
Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023 https://hdr.undp.org/content/2023-global-multidimensional-poverty-index-mpi#/indicies/MPI
Growth Without Gains https://www.undp.org/blog/growth-without-gains
UN Secretary-General Our Common Agenda Policy Brief: Beyond GDP (collaboration by UNDESA, UNDP, and UNCTAD and other agencies) https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/our-common-agenda-policy-brief-beyond-gross-domestic-product-en.pdf
UNDP 2023 Human Development Report (Upcoming: to be released in March 2024)
UNDP 2019 Human Development Report: Inequalities in the 21st Century https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2019
2024 UNDP Asia and Pacific Human Development Report: Making New Directions for Human Development
2023 Africa Sustainable Development Report (by African Union, UNECA, AfDB, and UNDP https://www.undp.org/africa/publications/2023-africa-sustainable-development-report
2022 UNDP Arab States Human Development Report: Expanding Opportunities for an Inclusive and Resilient Recovery in the Post-Covid Era https://www.undp.org/arab-states/publications/arab-human-development-report-2022-expanding-opportunities-inclusive-and-resilient-recovery-post-covid-era
2021 UNDP Latin America and the Caribbean Human Development Report: High Inequality and Low Growth in LAC https://hdr.undp.org/content/regional-human-development-report-2021-latin-america-and-caribbean-region
UNDP SDG Insights, covering 90+ country reports https://sdgpush.undp.org/reports.html
UNECA
Economic Report on Africa 2021, Addressing poverty and vulnerability in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic https://www.uneca.org/era2021
Economic Report on Africa 2023, Building Africa’s Resilience to Global Economic Shocks https://repository.uneca.org/handle/10855/49992?show=full
African Sustainable Development Report 2023; Salvaging the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development https://hdl.handle.net/10855/49986
UNHCR
A Global Compact on Refugees Multistakeholder Pledge on Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention https://www.peacebuildingwithrefugees.org/
Multistakeholder Pledge: Accelerate and Better Leverage Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus Approaches in Forced Displacement Settings https://globalcompactrefugees.org/multistakeholder-pledge-accelerate-and-better-leverage-humanitarian-development-peace-nexus
Multistakeholder Pledge: 2023 Global Legal Community https://globalcompactrefugees.org/pledges-contributions/multistakeholder-pledges-2023/multistakeholder-pledge-2023-global-legal
Policies and financing for forced displacement https://www.oecd.org/dac/conflict-fragility-resilience/humanitarian-financing/financing-forced-displacement.htm
UN Office of the Special Advisor for Africa
Solving paradoxes of Africa's development: financing, energy and food system https://www.un.org/osaa/sites/www.un.org.osaa/files/files/Reports/2023/2023-nepad-report/2023-nepad-report_en.pdf
UN WOMEN
Progress on the SDGs: The Gender Snapshot 2023: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2023-en.pdf
Sabina Alkire
Sabina Alkire is a Professor of Poverty and Human Development and directs the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) at the University of Oxford. Previously, she worked at George Washington University, Harvard University, the Human Security Commission, and the World Bank. She has a DPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford.
Augustin Fosu
Augustin Fosu is a distinguished economist holding positions as a Professor at the Institute of Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER) at the University of Ghana, an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria's Economic Management Sciences (EMS) department, and a Research Associate at the University of Oxford's Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). With a rich professional background, Fosu has previously served as Deputy Director of UNU-WIDER in Helsinki, Chief Economist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UN-ECA) in Addis Ababa, and Director of Research at the African Economic Research Consortium in Nairobi. He has made significant contributions to the field through publications in esteemed journals and advisory roles, including membership on Ghana's President's Economic Advisory Council and President's Fiscal Council. Fosu's expertise and leadership extend internationally, notably as a member of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration (UN-CEPA).
Andrew Shepherd
Andrew Shepherd is Director, and an Honorary Research Associate at the Institute of Development Studies, where the network hub is located. He was recently the lead author of the Chronic Poverty Report: Pandemic Poverty, and has led four previous international Chronic Poverty Reports, and published widely on chronic poverty and sustained escapes from poverty. His work focuses especially on policy responses to poverty and vulnerability. Having been employed between 2002-2022 at ODI London, he is also a Senior Research Associate there and is currently leading work on Inclusive, sustainable economic transformation. Prior to ODI Andrew worked at the University of Birmingham, and in the 1980s for UNICEF in the Sudan (Kordofan and Red Sea Hills).
Philip Schellekens
Philip Schellekens is Chief Economist for Asia and the Pacific at the United Nations Development Program and a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development. He has worked for 22 years at the Bretton Woods institutions. At the World Bank Group, he was Senior Economic Advisor to the CEO of the International Finance Corporation, manager of strategic foresight at the World Bank’s research department, and Senior Country Economist for Brazil, China and Malaysia, with the latter two in the field. At the IMF, he worked in the Asia & Pacific, Monetary & Capital Markets, and European Departments, conducting macro and financial surveillance for various countries. His academic journey took him through the Economics Departments of MIT, Harvard, LSE, and the University of Antwerp. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the LSE.
Marcie Roth
Marcie Roth is Executive Director and CEO of the World Institute on Disability, advancing the rights and opportunities for 1.3 billion people with disabilities worldwide, by leading global initiatives on equity, accessibility, and inclusion focusing on sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian action, climate justice and community resilience for governments, corporations, health systems, and the United Nations for over four decades. Appointed by President Obama to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security - FEMA from 2009 to 2017, she continues to lead strategy and solutions for disability accessibility and inclusion through analysis, design, implementation, and transformation addressing critical global priorities.
Shin Gyonggu
Dr. SHIN Gyonggu is an advocate for human rights and international collaboration in Gwangju, serving as the Senior Advisor for the City. As Director of the Gwangju International Center, he promotes the rights of international residents and has played a pivotal role in organizing the World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF), an annual event co-hosted by the City of Gwangju, OHCHR, and UNESCO. He holds the title of Professor Emeritus at Jeonnam National University, having dedicated 31 years to teaching there. His roles on campus included Language Center Director and International Dean, among others. His research interest has changed from language to human rights while working for WHRCF.
Zina Nimeh
Dr. Zina Nimeh is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Social Protection at Maastricht University/UNU-MERIT in the Netherlands. She has over two decades of international professional and academic experience. Her research lies at the intersection of social protection, human development, and sustainable governance. Zina’s multidisciplinary approach integrates research and education with practical, sustainable, and equitable solutions for global societal challenges. She advises governments and NGOs on policy reform, leveraging her background in finance, labor, social protection, and strategic development
Almudena Fernández
UNDP's Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, she leads the SDG Policy Team, providing strategic policy advice on economic trends, forecasts and challenges across the region and their impact on achieving the SDGs. She is also leading the research and knowledge production of the Regional Bureau for LAC, including the production of the Regional Human Development Report 2025. Almudena has 15 years of experience in technical positions at UNDP, where she has led the development of content and knowledge products in the region and specializes in issues related to inequality, poverty, innovation, and sustainable development in LAC.
Ruth Hill
Ruth Hill is a Lead Economist in the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank where she co-leads the work on the distributional impacts of climate change. She led the development of Rural Income Diagnostics and conducted Poverty Assessments and Systematic Country Diagnostics in East Africa and South Asia. From 2019-2021 she was on external service as the Chief Economist at the UK government’s Centre for Disaster Protection. Before joining the World Bank in 2013 she was a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute conducting impact evaluations on insurance and market interventions. Ruth has published in the Journal of Development Economics, World Bank Economic Review, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Experimental Economics, and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics and World Development. She has a doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford.
Pedro Manuel Moreno
Pedro Manuel Moreno was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Trade and Development, UNCTAD in November 2022. Prior to this, he held the position of Chief of Staff and Director of the Office of the Secretary-General of UNCTAD. He has over 20 years of experience working for multilateral and intergovernmental organizations in program, management, and strategic positions, including as Chief of Staff of the Ibero-American Conference in Madrid, held various positions both in the field and at headquarters of UNDP, and was the Deputy Secretary-General of the Communication for Development Committee at the Spanish National Commission with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Susanna Gable
Susanna Gable oversees international development finance and inclusive sustainable economic development for the Development Policy and Finance team at the Gates Foundation. Previously, Susanna held the Chief Economist position at Sida. She was the co-chair of the OECD-DAC CoP on Poverty and Inequality, co-founder of the global OECD-DAC Chief Economist Network, co-founder of the CoP on Country Diagnostics, and member of the Global Council on SDG1. Before joining Sida she was at the World Bank, in various positions. Susanna has a PhD in Economics from Gothenburg University, focused on reforms, economic growth, and the environment.
Cecilia García Peñalosa
Cecilia obtained a DPhil in Economics at the University of Oxford and is currently a professor at the Aix-Marseille School of Economics, where she holds the chair Gender, Growth and Development. Her research spans three areas: long-run growth, income inequality, and gender inequality. She has been a member of the Conseil d'Analyse Economique, an independent advisory group that reports to the French Prime Minister, and of the European Economy Advisory Group. She is associate editor of the Journal of Economic Inequality and has been a council member of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, of which she is currently president-elect.
Shahra Razavi
Shahra Razavi is the Director of the Universal Social Protection Department at the International Labour Organization. She is a development economist, with more than 25 years of experience working on social policy, social protection, gender and development. She obtained her Bsc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and her MSc. and D.Phil./PhD from Oxford University. Before joining the ILO in 2020, she was Chief of the Research and Data Section at UN Women, and prior to that Senior Researcher at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
Max Gollin
Max supports global policy engagement, thought leadership, and partnership development to advance government scale-up of the Graduation approach, a proven intervention for addressing the multidimensional nature of extreme poverty pioneered by BRAC. He is particularly interested in the evidence base behind Graduation and its intersections with climate adaptation and social protection. Max is a graduate of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs with a focus on international cooperation and policy analysis.
Elina Troscenko
Dr Elina Troscenko works at the Global Research Programme on Inequality (GRIP) engaging with various forms of inequalities, such as political inequalities, crises of care and gender inequalities, epistemic inequalities, and contextualized perceptions of inequalities. Dr Elina Troscenko is a political anthropologist and has extensive experience working with vulnerable groups, such as stateless and internally displaced people, exploring how various forms of inequalities intersect and permeate the lives of people affected by them. Her academic work has focused on inequalities relating to various forms of dispossession, as well as protracted and institutionalized forms of marginalization.
Stéphane Hallegatte
Stéphane Hallegatte, the Senior Climate Change Advisor at the World Bank, is renowned for his expertise in the economics of natural disasters and climate change. With a background in engineering and a Ph.D. in economics, he has led numerous influential reports, including "Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty." Hallegatte's contributions extend to the development of tools like the Resilience Rating System, aimed at monitoring resilience in investments. His recent focus involves overseeing the Country Climate and Development Reports, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to sustainable development and climate resilience.
María del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo
María del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo is the OECD Director for Development Co-operation. Before joining the Organisation, between May 2018 and May 2022, Mrs. Garrido was the Minister of Planning and Economic Policy in Costa Rica, responsible for the areas of climate-resilient development, sustainable public investment, public sector reform, and development cooperation policy. Also, in office, she has served as the Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, and as Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor of the Technical Secretariat of the 2030 Agenda. Prior to this, she worked for 13 years at the country level on locally-led sustainable development cooperation projects in Costa Rica, Central America and the Caribbean, and the Latin American region for UNDP, the European Union, and the Diputació de Barcelona. She has also worked for NGOs on multi-stakeholder partnerships for sustainable development, particularly engaging with the private sector and civil society organizations. Mrs. Garrido is both a Spanish and a Costa Rican national, holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Costa Rica, an MSc in Economics from Trinity College, and an MA in Political Science with an emphasis on democratic governance and public policy from the University of Costa Rica.
Isabel Whisson
Isabel leads global policy engagement on climate at BRAC, a large development organisation from the Global South. She has spent a decade at BRAC working in advocacy, strategy, fundraising, communications, operational development, and technical assistance to governments and civil society organisations. She played a key role in growing BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative - a practice dedicated to scaling an evidence-based approach for tackling poverty through government partnership. On behalf of BRAC, she served as Director of the Microfinance Network. Isabel previously worked with UNESCO and the UK Parliament. Isabel has a Masters in International Public Policy from University College London.
Sen Gong
Dr. Sen GONG is a Professor of social policy at the School of Public Affairs, at Zhejiang University. He is also the Director of the Centre for International Studies on Development and Governance at Zhejiang and Zhejiang University. Before joining the University, he had worked in the Development Research Centre of the State Council, an internal think-tank of the Chinese Government, as well as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He was a member of the United Nations DESA Committee for Development Policy from 2019 to 2022.
Rukshana Nanayakkara
Rukshana Nanayakkara is the Global Policy and Advocacy Expert at the International Land Coalition, the world's largest multi-stakeholder platform that advocates for the rights of the people who live on and from the land. Among others, Rukshana advocates for the implementation of the land indicators of the 2030 agenda through monitoring State party reporting, facilitating countries and civil society organisations to report effectively and realistically on the progress of the land indicators and providing leadership to the SDG Land Momentum Group which is a policy and advocacy coalition to promote and monitor the land indicators.
Rebeca Grynspan
Rebeca Grynspan, economist and former Vice-President of Costa Rica, was named Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in September 2021. She is the first woman to hold this position in the institution’s 60-year history. Prior to her appointment, she was the Secretary-General of the Ibero-American Conference, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, as well as Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. She was elected Vice-President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998 and held the positions of Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Finance Minister. A renowned advocate of human development, she has helped to focus the world’s attention on the reduction of inequality and poverty, gender equality, and multilateralism. She currently coordinates the task team of the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance created by the United Nations Secretary-General on whose behalf she leads negotiations to reintegrate food and fertilizers from Ukraine and the Russian Federation into global markets.
Simona Torotcoi
Simona Torotcoi is a Roma from Romania, representing the European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network within the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent. Simona graduated from the CEU Doctoral School of Political Science, Public Policy, and International Relations in 2020 and has collaborated with various Roma civil society organizations but also the Council of Europe, and the OSCE CPRSI on Roma-related matters. As an academic and activist, Simona conducted research related to Roma children and youth, discrimination experiences, unemployment, political participation, and more recently has been advocating at the UN for the recognition of work and descent-based discrimination across the world.
Mónica Orozco
Mónica Orozco is the co-founder and Director of GENDERS A.C., an external research associate at CEEY, and a consultant for various international organizations and public sector institutions across Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic. Holding a Master of Science in Statistics from the University of Chicago, her expertise encompasses poverty, inequality, and development; gender research focusing on time use, care systems, women's economic empowerment, and gender-based violence. Additionally, she specializes in planning, targeting mechanisms, and the monitoring and evaluation of social policies.
Manuel Mera
Manuel Mera is Director of Social Protection at the think tank CIPPEC, in Argentina. He holds a Ph.D. in Government from Georgetown University and specializes in social protection and labor policies in Latin America and the Caribbean. He has worked as an international consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme. As a public servant, he has held positions in the City of Buenos Aires and the National Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security of Argentina.
Olivier De Schutter
Olivier De Schutter is the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. A professor at UCLouvain and Sciences Po, he was the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food between 2008 and 2014 and was a member of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights between 2015 and 2020.
Haishan Fu
Haishan Fu is Chief Statistician of the World Bank Group and Director of the World Bank’s Development Data Group. In this dual role, she leads and coordinates the Bank’s development data agenda, including oversight of cutting-edge global data public goods, pioneering public-private partnerships, globally trusted technical advisory services, and innovative financing solutions, including the World Bank-hosted Global Data Facility. A lifelong advocate for unlocking the power of data to improve lives, Haishan has been at the forefront of the global data discourse as a prominent thought leader, expert advisor, and academic and policy researcher for over three decades. Prior to joining the Bank, she led statistical development programs at UNESCAP and was the Chief of Statistics of UNDP’s Human Development Report. Haishan holds a Ph.D. in Demography from Princeton University and a B.A. in Economics from Peking University.
Navid Hanif
Mr. Navid Hanif is the Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). He is also the UN sous Sherpa to the G20 finance and main tracks. He joined UNDESA in 2001. He was a Senior Policy Adviser in the Division for Sustainable Development and member of the team for the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in 2002. He served as the Chief of the Policy Coordination Branch and later Director of the office for Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) support and the Director for Financing for Sustainable Development Office. He was the first head of the DESA Strategic Planning Unit established in 2010. He was the Principal Officer in the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General, Vice-Chair of the UN High-Level Committee on Programming (HLCP), and Co-Coordinator of the UN team on the repositioning of the UN Development System that led to major reforms in 2018. He has contributed several articles on financing and investing in the SDGs in various journals and reports. He holds an MIA in International Political Economy, from Columbia University (NY), & an M.A., in English Literature, from Government College.
Shantanu Mukherjee
Shantanu presently heads the policy and analysis branch in the Sustainable Development Division within the UN's Department for Economic and Social Affairs. He is a micro-economist with interests in poverty, health, and sustainability. A particular area of focus in his current position is enhancing the impact of science, technology and innovation in advancing sustainable development.
Prior to this, he led the research unit of UNDP’s Human Development Report through two report cycles, preceded by a stint as head of UNDP’s global MDG policy work. In that position, he worked with national planning, finance and sector ministries in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Some of his most interesting experiences during this period were in Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Ghana, Togo, and Yemen. Shantanu began his career with the Indian Government in various areas of development policy planning, implementation and finance. He earned a PhD in Economics from Princeton University in 2006, and also holds advanced degrees in Public Policy and Physics.
Luis Felipe López-Calva
Luis Felipe López-Calva is the Global Director for the World Bank Group’s Poverty and Equity Global Practice, with over 30 years of experience in international institutions and advising governments. He rejoined the World Bank in 2022 from the UNDP, where he was the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. With expertise in labor markets, poverty, and inequality, López-Calva holds a commitment to elevating poverty reduction and equitable growth on the international agenda. He aims to expand the practice's technical expertise and strategic direction while addressing the intersection of climate action and equity.
Indermit Gill
Indermit Gill is Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. Before starting this position on September 1, 2022, Gill served as the World Bank’s Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance, and Institutions, where he helped shape the Bank’s response to the extraordinary series of shocks that have hit developing economies since 2020. Between 2016 and 2021, he was a professor of public policy at Duke University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development program. Gill led the World Bank's influential 2009 World Development Report on economic geography. His work includes introducing the concept of the “middle-income trap” to describe how countries stagnate after reaching a certain level of income. He has published extensively on key policy issues facing developing countries - among other things, sovereign debt vulnerabilities, green growth and natural-resource wealth, labor markets, and poverty and inequality. Gill has also taught at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.
Magdalena Sepúlveda
Dr Magdalena Sepúlveda is the Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. She is also a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT). From 2008 to 2014, she was the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. From 2013 to 2017, she was a member of the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS). In 2015, she was recognized in the Global Tax 50, a list of individuals and organisations with the most significant impact on taxation worldwide.
Lee Ann Jackson
Dr. Lee Ann Jackson is the Head of the Agro-Food Trade and Markets Division in the Trade and Agriculture Directorate (TAD) at the OECD. Dr Jackson manages a team that develops evidence-based advice for governments with the aim of helping them improve the domestic and international performance of their policies for agro-food trade and markets. Dr Jackson has over 20 years of experience in agriculture, multilateral trade, and management. She joined the OECD in 2020 after 16 years at the WTO where she served as the Secretary to the WTO's Committee on Agriculture in the Agriculture and Commodities Division and supported multilateral agriculture negotiations. Prior to the WTO, Dr. Jackson held various research roles including as a Research Fellow in the School of Economics at the University of Adelaide in South Australia and a researcher in the Environment Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC. Dr. Jackson completed her Ph.D. in applied economics at the University of Minnesota; and has joint master’s degrees in public and private management and environmental policy from Yale University.