In October 2025, Southern Voice convened its global network in São Paulo to reimagine the global development architecture. At a critical moment for the SDGs, the conference created space to address power asymmetries, strengthen Global South perspectives, and advance more representative and effective multilateral decision-making.
The SDG financing gap has surged to $4 trillion annually, posing urgent challenges for the Global South. Ahead of the FfD4 conference, Southern Voice and its partners outline key priorities—debt sustainability, climate finance, taxation, and more—to reshape global financial systems and support inclusive, sustainable development. Join us in Seville.
Global challenges—climate change, conflict, disease—demand collective solutions. International cooperation, often polarised in public debate, is essential to align national and global interests. Global South Perspectives offers a platform for researchers from the Global South to propose actionable, locally grounded solutions that contribute to restructuring international cooperation for a better future.
The multilateral agenda is increasingly complex, requiring revitalised approaches. The Global South’s think tanks offer critical research to support negotiations on issues like climate change, finance, and technology. Stronger links with negotiators, improved funding, and bold, out-of-the-box proposals can enhance multilateralism and benefit communities across the Global South.
Youth engagement is key to advancing the SDGs, yet mechanisms to promote meaningful participation remain unclear in the Global South. This study finds that information framing—especially in digital formats—can boost youth involvement in policy debates, but effectiveness depends on institutional, individual, and contextual factors, requiring a multifaceted engagement approach.
Developing countries face a mounting debt crisis, exposing flaws in debt sustainability analysis and global financial inequalities. This article proposes a complementary debt threshold measure and finds much lower safe debt levels for the Global South. It urges systemic reform and alternative financing—like better taxation and aid—to reduce reliance on borrowing.
This article explores how the EU Deforestation Regulation may affect smallholder coffee farmers in Indonesia and Uganda. With limited access to inputs and declining yields, farmers face additional strain from costly traceability requirements. The study urges public-private partnerships to boost productivity and support compliance, protecting livelihoods and coffee sector sustainability.
Industrialisation is vital for economic growth in the Global South, yet it often worsens environmental harm. This article explores the tension through the lens of a ‘just transition’, recommending local job creation, green tech transfer, and global cooperation to support sustainable industrialisation while addressing climate and development goals.
This article explores health equity during crises in the Global South, drawing on cases from Nigeria, Nepal, and Brazil. It highlights how community-based approaches, adaptive systems, and culturally sensitive interventions—like mobile health and community health workers—can reduce disparities, strengthen resilience, and guide equitable health responses in crisis-affected settings.
Under-governed spaces in stable Global South states can enable non-state armed groups (NSAGs) to thrive and link to transnational threat networks. Through case studies from the Caribbean, this article explores governance gaps and highlights policy solutions—like land tenure reform—to reduce NSAG influence and strengthen both local and international security.
