Lee Crawfurd

This is good news, but for me, the biggest shock and one of the most under researched areas in development is the stunning rates of sexual abuse *in schools* in many places

Great paper by Sofia Amaral, Aixa Garcia-Ramos, @selimgulesci.bsky.social, @Alejandra Ramos, Sarita Ore, & Maria Micaela Sviatschi

drive.google.com/file/d/1-6js...

Pleasure to host Selim at CGD in London yesterday (youtube recording here)

www.cgdev.org/event/gender...

Training a single teacher (the "gender focal point") in each school in Mozambique reduced sexual abuse of girls by school staff by 67%

Commitment to Development Index 2025 With levels of development finance falling, it is more important than ever to look beyond aid. The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) does just that—ranking the world’s most powerful countries on p...

As aid budgets decline, the ways rich countries are driving development are more important than ever.

🌟NEW: @cgdev.org’s Commitment to Development Index ranks the world’s richest nations, spotlighting impacts on the poorest & where nations can step up ⬇️🧵#CDI2025
go.cgdev.org/49ZJoD5

Stay tuned for follow-up, where we conduct an RCT involving vulnerable women in this area - half abducted as children - to assess the impact of:

1) cash only

2) cash+group life-skill training

3) cash+group mental health counseling

W/ @eeshani.bsky.social & @mirandainez.bsky.social

Indonesia built 6,000 secondary schools and you'll never guess what happened to enrolment rates next

cesarlgm.github.io/documents/pa...

Millions of Children Need Life-Changing Lead Poisoning Medicine. Why Isn’t It Affordable?

"To break the monopoly, we need a cheap generic with an international stamp of approval—either from a WHO-listed authority or through WHO prequalification."

www.cgdev.org/blog/million...

"We have become the destination of choice in Europe" according to the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Data from Eurostat & the Home Office shows the UK had the fifth largest number of claims of the EU/UK area in 2025, at 108,000... assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/691ae0...

i know “quiet, piggy” is just one raindrop in the flood of vile, shocking statements from trump, but it’s SO cruel, so threatening, such a violation of our most basic interpersonal norms. i would really like to see it get some actual coverage.

Can LLMs be personal tutors? Four big challenges

Can LLMs be personal tutors?

1. LLMs are good at explanations, but explanations are over-rated

2. LLMs are not as good at creating precise questions

3. There is a limit to what students will learn on their own and on a screen

open.substack.com/pub/daisychr...

Why the Joseph Rowntree Foundation needs to address its historic links to slavery This piece is maybe a little too parochial for the CGD blog where most of my writing goes, and is gated on the Yorkshire Post, so re-posting here for all those of you both interested in historical lin...

See my substack for more on the background to this: leecrawfurd.substack.com/p/why-the-jo...

The EU Should Ban Exports of Lead Chromate A staggering one in three children worldwide suffer from lead poisoning, causing lifelong damage to their health and brain development. It’s these harms that led the EU to ban toxic lead chromate pigm...

The EU banned toxic lead chromate pigments—but loopholes mean European exports (at least 242 tons) still put children worldwide at risk.

@rorytodd98.bsky.social & @leecrawfurd.bsky.social call for full export ban, a meaningful win for global health at no cost to the EU:
https://go.cgdev.org/4oTRelV

Delighted that the JRCT is taking this next step in reckoning seriously with their historical legacy

www.linkedin.com/posts/hiring...

We just spent 6 months to add 1 figure to this paper. Some people said, "Couples aren't prioritizing men's careers. Men just have better earnings opportunities when moving."

Earnings effects of moves for couples on the left, singles on the right. Negligible gap between single men and women.

Flu (and/or COVID) vaccines reduce *HEART FAILURE* (consider this your regular reminder to get yours)

academic.oup.com/eurheartj/ar...

Yes. We've been doing this successfully with terrestrial TV for decades.

TikTok It's time for the news...

Tim Leunig is prolific in his policy proposals but this is the one that has most stuck in my head - governments should mandate that social media video feeds play the news. 1 min of news for every 1 hour of watching.

open.substack.com/pub/timleuni...

The EU Should Ban Exports of Lead Chromate A staggering one in three children worldwide suffer from lead poisoning, causing lifelong damage to their health and brain development. It’s these harms that led the EU to ban toxic lead chromate…

www.cgdev.org/blog/eu-shou...

These loopholes undermine the EU’s credibility as a leader in global health and the environment.

Here is a simple shift in regulation that could make a meaningful impact on global public health, at essentially no cost to the EU.

The EU already bans exports of other toxic chemicals known as “Persistent Organic Pollutants,” so there is clear precedent here.

The economic cost to the EU of a ban would be negligible, and there are significant potential gains for global public health.

Lead chromate pigment is banned for use in the EU because it is toxic.

But literal tons of it are still exported each year from Spain, Germany, & Italy to poorer countries with weaker regulations.

New blog with @rorytodd98.bsky.social : The EU Should Ban Exports of Lead Chromate

Jobs | Lead Elimination LEEP is seeking a motivated and versatile Program Associate to support the delivery of programs across multiple countries, with a primary focus on French-speaking African countries. They will be…

LEEP are hiring for multiple program associate roles working on reducing lead exposure in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Application Deadline: Nov 16, 2025, salaries $35-50k depending on location (including remote).

leadelimination.org/jobs/

"Current proposals in Britain are exceptional even in the longer-term development of repressive European migration policy."

foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/05/b...

Good news that the UK Health Ministry has finally been shamed into thinking about child lead screening, great work @laurahughesft.bsky.social !

www.ft.com/content/e27f...

More From Less: Optimising Vaccines in a Constrained World More focus on how vaccines are dosed can deliver large benefits. The current practice of vaccine development and licensure delivers vaccines that are safe and effective, but the doses given are…

You may remember talk of "fractional dosing" during COVID. Its still relevant - we could save thousands of lives and millions of dollars by stretching vaccines for various diseases, giving lower doses to more people at less cost.

New by Witold Więcek

www.cgdev.org/publication/...

Dave Hill: Katie Lam should learn London's language Recent comments about the capital's school children's English skills suggest the Tory MP from Kent must try harder

Could Katie Lam identify the London schools where "more than three-quarters of children don’t speak English to a serviceable school standard". Well done to @davehillonlondon.bsky.social for giving Lam + CPS the chance to substantiate this claim at the Tory fringe

www.onlondon.co.uk/dave-hill-ka...

Catholic Schools in the Congo Ban Pregnant Girls Almost everywhere, girls who get pregnant in school are allowed to finish their education. Only five countries still have explicit bans or restrictions: Afghanistan, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kuwait, a...

Despite evidence that letting pregnant girls stay in school doesn’t raise teen pregnancy rates, Catholic schools in the Congo have imposed a ban.

@daveevansphd.bsky.social & @leecrawfurd.bsky.social warn of the costs: worse employment, wellbeing & more. Read on:
https://bit.ly/3Kq77lm

Rich Countries Are Exporting Thousands of Tons of Toxic Paint Pigment to Poor Countries One in three children globally suffer from lead poisoning, which harms their health and educational development. While there’s a lot we still don’t know about where exposure comes from, most experts w...

As we round out Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, read @rorytodd98.bsky.social
@leecrawfurd.bsky.social & @rachelbonnifield.bsky.social's research into lead chromate—finding that rich countries like the US & UK still export it to poorer nations, despite banning it at home:
https://bit.ly/4jusvlJ

"malaria is associated with lower student performance. Female students are disproportionately affected, widening the gender gap in education. Abatement such as insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) help to moderate the effects of malaria on students’ performance."

academic.oup.com/wber/advance...