In 2024, we launched Southern Lens on Development, a LinkedIn newsletter by our Executive Director, Prof. Jane Mariara, designed to shape public discourse through the leadership voice of the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP). In each monthly edition, Prof. Mariara shared key highlights from flagship projects. Read about select editions below. 

In one of the earlier editions , she highlighted how unpaid childcare responsibilities and the lack of accessible, high-quality childcare services remain major barriers to women’s access to decent work in the Global South—drawing on research supported by Co-Impact across six countries. In another issue, she addressed the pressing youth employment challenge in Africa, emphasizing the need for coordinated policy action, increased investment, and stronger accountability. These insights were based on a program conducted in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, which reviewed youth employment policies and their effectiveness across 10 countries in the continent. 

Climate change was also a recurring theme. In one edition, Prof. Mariara examined how multilateral development banks can play a pivotal role in financing the green energy transition in the Global South, based on research supported by the Center for Global Development. In another, she explored policy pathways to achieving a wellbeing economy in Kenya, contributing to the Earth4All vision of building resilient and inclusive societies. 

Additionally, PEP Research Fellows and Prof. Mariara wrote op-eds on platforms like Project Syndicate and VoxDev. These included opeds on building Africa’s future through ensuring gender equality, and how Southern researchers can bridge global divides.