AUMONITOR

Health Campaign Countdown to AU Summit

2008-05-16T07:26:00Z

The Africa Public Health 15% Now Campaign has launched a 30 day countdown to the mid year African Union summit which holds in Egypt from the 24th of June. The 30 day countdown which starts from the 15th of May to the 15th of June is aimed at mobilising national level and continental support for a civil society message to urge African Heads of States to restate their commitment to and urgently implement the Abuja 2001 pledge by African Heads of State to allocate 15% of national budgets to health.

In a statement to launch the Countdown, 15% Now Campaign Coordinator Rotimi Sankore stated:

"The countdown to the coming African Union summit is an opportunity for Africans and friends of Africa of all persuasions to remind African Heads of State and government to meet their commitments to health development and financing. Unlike any other matter, disease and non disease issues affect every single person regardless of age, religion, race, gender or any other consideration."

He underlined that "African citizens unlike many leaders, do not have the options of going abroad to treat illnesses. Indeed it is a vote of no confidence in their own health systems, and lack of faith in their own governments ability to provide health care that leads many of our leaders to flee abroad at the slightest sign of ill health".

He called on African civil society and citizens to sign on to the message to the summit and the rolling 15% Now petition to the AU and member states stating that "the new Chair of the African Union Commission His Excellency Jean Ping of Gabon has an excellent opportunity to utilise the implementation of the Abuja 15% Pledge to actualise the implementation of the African Union Health Strategy and other health frameworks finalised last year by the AU Social Affairs Commission under the leadership of his predecessor Professor Alpha Konare.

The first phase of presentation of the message to African Heads of State will be done at the national levels on the 15th of June including public and media presentations. The presentation to the AU and the continental level media and public Presentation will be done in Egypt on the eve of the Summit. A series of solidarity and campaign events will be also organised at national levels during the countdown.

Organisations and citizens are urged to support the message by sending their names, organisation and country as applicable to -   au-summitcountdown@africa15percentcampaign.org  , and advocacy@africapublichealth.org. On line sign-ups will also soon be possible.

STATEMENT ENDS.

The Civil Society Message to Egypt AU Summit and Heads State and Government is Below

To Heads of States and Governments of African Union Member States
His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, Chairman of the African Union and President of the Republic of Tanzania
His Excellency Jean Ping, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union

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15 May 2008

Civil Society Message of Concern on Non-Implementation of the 2001 Pledge by African Governments to Allocate 15% of National Budgets to Health

Your Excellencies, we write to express our grave concern that 7 years after the Abuja April 2001 Pledge by African Heads of Sates and Governments to allocate 15% of national budgets to health, this pledge has not been met by most member states with only a hand full even moving towards or meeting the commitment.

Our serious concern is based on the fact that unlike some other pledges which may go unmet without instant and grievous consequences for citizens of our countries, the non implementation of the 15% pledge is rapidly devastating our populations and countries through the deaths of fellow African's on such a scale that annual deaths from both disease and non disease related health issues now exceed the populations of many African countries combined and also surpass the deaths from any combination of modern day wars and conflicts.

For Tuberculosis: African’s living with TB are currently estimated to be 4.2 million with 2.8 million new cases annually making TB one of Africa’s greatest Public Health threats. African TB deaths are now running at 639,089 per annum – the highest in the world (38.6% of global deaths). TB is also the biggest killer of HIV positive people an increasing number of which are women; Africa’s pivotal countries, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, DRC, South Africa have the continents highest overall TB prevalence levels; and a person with active TB can infect 10 to 15 persons a year. Latest Stop TB partnership / World Bank analysis indicates that the cost of not treating TB to Africa between 2006 and 2015 would be $519bn while TB can be controlled with $20bn in the same period.

For HIV: Latest statistics for 2007 indicate that HIV prevalence in Africa is 22.5 million of the global total of 33.2 million, with 1.7 million new infections annually; Annual AIDS related death figures for Africa are 1.6 million and Aids Orphans are estimated at 12 million; the 10 countries globally with highest HIV-TB co infection are African 9 being from SADC and the 10th Kenya.

For Malaria: Annual African deaths are estimated at 1,136,000 (89.3%) of the world total with an increasing impact on maternal, infant and child health. Malaria costs Africa more than $12bn in lost GDP annually although it can be controlled for a fraction of this sum.

For Maternal Mortality: Latest comparable global maternal death statistics indicate that of the 536,000 women that died in 2005 of childbirth related complications, about half or 261,000 were African women. The 2005 figures also indicate that Africa is the only region where maternal deaths have increased since 1990 up from 205,000. Maternal deaths which is almost 100% preventable dropped in every other continent over the same period.

For Child Mortality:  Most worryingly for the future of Africa, an estimated 4.8 million children under the age of 5 years die annually. Just five diseases - pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, measles and AIDS - account for half of these deaths.

Often ignored environmental health issues, or neglected diseases such as river blindness or Onchocerciasis and Human African Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness together affect around 60m people in 36 African countries - and in turn facilitate vulnerability to HIV, TB, malaria, maternal and child mortality.
This loss of over 8 million lives a year to preventable, treatable and manageable diseases and health conditions – is unacceptable and unsustainable.[1]

The above also constitutes an infringement on the right to health of African citizens as guaranteed in Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, Article 12 of the International Convention on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, The World Health Organisation constitution, and other instruments.

We Fully Acknowledge the efforts of African governments to address Africa’s enormous Public Health crisis through: the AU Abuja April 2001 declaration incorporating the pledge by member states to allocate at least 15% of the national budgets to health; the 2007 African Union Health Strategy and other African health frameworks such as the Maputo Plan on Reproductive and Sexual Health, the AU plan on HIV, TB and Malaria, the African Pharmaceutical Plan and the health based MDGs.

However current evidence indicates gravely that it is not just enough to make declarations. The landmark AU African Health Strategy and other Health Frameworks recently finalised by the African Union Commission must also be sustainably financed by our own governments if they are not to become yet another collection of reference papers on Africa's failed attempts to resolve its most serious development challenges.

Africa’s human capital is its greatest asset and that there can be no competing priorities more important than the lives of citizens – as other issues are meaningless if the people they are meant for are dead. Indeed no efforts at sustainable social and economic development can be successful when the average healthy life expectancy of African countries has now fallen to less than 40 years.

We therefore urge Excellencies to:
   1.   Restate their commitment to the Abuja 15% pledge and increasing overall per capita expenditure on health at the next AU Summit and to accelerate its implementation.
   2.   Take urgent steps to ensure that African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development begin immediately to work with Health Ministers through a joint meeting to develop the details for the implementation of the Africa Union Health Strategy and other Health Frame works.
   3.   Facilitate the African Union and UN-Economic Commission for Africa to implement the recommendations for the joint meeting of Finance and Health Ministers as adopted by the conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development organised by both AU and ECA in April 2008.
   4.   Recognise that just as the global community urges the more industrialised countries to meet their own commitments to global health, that African governments are also expected to honour national commitments.
   5.   Ensure that regions, states, provinces and local governments within countries recognise that they have a responsibility to provide needs based primary health care services and as such must along with national governments allocate commensurate amounts of financing for health.
   6.   Work urgently with national, sub regional and continental parliaments to ensure implementation of the AU Abuja 15% commitment, combined with commensurate overall increase of per capita expenditure on health and implementation of the Africa Union Health Strategy and other African Health Frameworks.
   7.   Recognise the crucial role of health workers and professionals in delivering health care, and ensure strengthening of health systems to guarantee retention of health professionals and sustainable quality health care.
   8.   Through the African Union and UN-ECA work with civil society to ensure that a progress report on implementation of the 15% pledge is on the agenda of the January 2009 African Union Summit

Signatories [ to be added below]
Organisations and citizens are urged to support the message by sending their names, organisation and country as applicable to - au-summitcountdown@africa15percentcampaign.org , and advocacy@africapublichealth.org. On line sign-ups will also soon be possible.

Africa Public Health – “15% Now!” Campaign: Background Note for Editors.

The Africa Public Health “15% Now!” campaign launched on December 10 2006 - International Human Rights Day - is the first to articulate Public Health for Africa as a Rights and Development issue across Africa and beyond. It brings together actors from various key sectors of civil society.

The Campaign is based on the premise that “we all have to be alive and well to exercise any other rights in any meaningful way” and therefore that Right to Health and to Healthcare is arguably the most crucial right of all as articulated by Article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, the constitution of the World Health Organisation and Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Current social development and health indicators from international and African institutions show that over 8 million African lives are lost annually to preventable, treatable and manageable health conditions and diseases mainly - Child Mortality, Maternal Mortality, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and TB.

Any loss of life to disease is bad enough. The annual loss of populations equivalent to entire African countries - and over a few years greater than the losses from all modern day global wars and conflicts combined is both unacceptable and unsustainable, and brings Africa closer to the slippery slope to collapse of society and extinction. Public Health is not realisable without adequate and sustainable health financing. Meeting the Abuja 2001 by African leaders to allocate 15% or more of annual budgets to health is crucial to Public Health in Africa. Yet this pledge remains largely unmet with just two countries, Botswana and Seychelles demonstrating their commitment to the 15% pledge.

The key objective of the Africa Public Health 15% Now Campaign is to engage the African Union, sub-Regional Economic Communities such as the East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) etc, their institutions / member countries, and the African public towards: 1) Promoting greater awareness and understanding of African Health Issues 2) Actualisation of the AU African Health Strategy, other African Health Frameworks, Health based MDG's; and Universal Access Targets for Prevention, Treatment and Care; 3) Adopting Comprehensive Health Policies based on a Public Health Rights and Development philosophy - and mobilising the commitment of financial and other resources for sustainable implementation of health policies - including through meeting the 15% pledge.

The Public Health 15% Now Campaign will also engage global stake-holders and actors including donors, the UN, EU and their institutions, World Bank, IMF, and international Non-governmental Institutions and organisations especially those concerned with health, social and economic development.

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Support the Africa Public Health Rights Alliance 15% Now Campaign for the Right to Health, Sustainable Health Development and Financing in Africa - http://www.africa15percentcampaign.org

Africa Office:
Africa Public Health “15% Now!” Campaign
11 Dideolu St, Ogba, Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: +23416611899 ;+234 703 6886 199; Tel/Fax: +2341492556

Int Office:
Africa Public Health “15% Now!” Campaign
AFA, 22 Highbury Grove, London N5 2DQ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7226 2933, Fax +44 (0)20 7226 2934

Déclaration de Niamey

2008-05-15T09:30:00Z

(Afrique en ligne) -- La troisième rencontre des femmes d'Afrique et d'Espagne a adopté mercredi une Déclaration dite de Niamey, constituée d'un ensemble d'engagements politiques sous-tendus par des plans d'action qui seront mis en oeuvre et évalués l'année prochaine. Le texte, qui s'est fondé sur les différentes thématiques débattues au cours de la rencontre, réaffirme, entre autres, la nécessité d'éliminer les pratiques pernicieuses, de soutenir la Société civile africaine et les réseaux des femmes pour la promotion des droits économiques, politiques et culturels.

La Déclaration de Niamey relève que "les lois et les politiques de par elles-mêmes ne feront pas avancer l'égalité de Genre, si elles ne sont pas suivies de leur application et d'une appropriation appropriée de ressources".

Elle incite par ailleurs les gouvernements à faire de la réduction de la mortalité maternelle et infantile une priorité en matière de santé et à garantir l'accès des femmes aux ressources, à la terre, à l'éducation, à la formation, au crédit, etc.

Pour accompagner ce processus visant la promotion et l'autonomisation des femmes, la Déclaration de Niamey convient d'un certain nombre d'actions concrètes comme, au plan économique, la création, par l'Espagne, d'un fonds multidonnateurs avec l'appui de l'ONU et à travers l'UNIFEM pour promouvoir et financer les politiques de l'égalité de Genre.

Il s'agira aussi de conclure, avant la fin de l'année 2008, un accord avec la Banque africaine de développement pour la mise en place d'un fonds de 5 millions de dollars destiné à accompagner et financer les initiatives d'entreprises et de travail indépendantes des femmes africaines.

La Déclaration de Niamey convient également de donner la priorité à la participation des femmes artistes africaines à la Foire internationale d'art contemporain de Madrid en 2009.

Au plan de la formation, le texte souligne la mise en route du Centre de formation du Mali au cours de l'année 2009 et la souscription d'accords avec des universités et institutions scientifiques et culturelles, toujours en faveur des femmes.

Il est aussi prévu l'organisation d'un forum international sur des thèmes comme la Santé maternelle et reproductive, celle d'un forum des femmes parlementaires africaines et espagnoles et de cours de formation sur le leadership social, politique et économique.

La Déclaration de Niamey annonce enfin le lancement très prochain d'un plan d'action sur la sécurité alimentaire et les changements climatiques.

La rencontre des femmes d'Afrique et d'Espagne se veut un cadre de regroupement des femmes pour qu'elles réfléchissent et voient ensemble quelles stratégies et objectifs elles peuvent mettre en oeuvre pour faire du lobbying afin de faire avancer la cause des femmes en Afrique et dans le monde.

Environ 120 participantes ont assisté à cette rencontre parmi lesquelles la présidente du Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, la vice- présidente du gouvernement espagnol, des représentants de la France, de la Belgique et de nombreux autres pays de l'Union européenne.

CSO Parallel Forum on Aid Effectiveness

2008-05-15T08:53:00Z

Participants for the CSO Parallel Forum must first complete the Pre-Registration Form and submit it to the Ghana Aid Effectiveness Forum secretariat on or before 15 June.

In addition to the Pre-Registration Form, CSOs requesting a subsidy and/or accreditation to attend the CSO Parallel Forum and the High Level Forum III must also submit relevant forms to the appropriate bodies on or before 15 June. The Ghana secretariat will receive all pre-registration, subsidy and accreditation forms and forward these to the appropriate bodies for processing and approval. The registration forms will contain more information regarding fees, methods of payment, accommodation and other logistical arrangements. To obtain registration form, visit:http://betteraid.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152&Itemid=6

Jean Ping Bientôt au Soudan

2008-05-15T08:43:00Z

(Destin de l'Afrique)--Le président de la Commission de l'Union africaine, Jean Ping se rendra à Khartoum (Soudan) dans les tous prochains jours, afin d'examiner la situation créée par l'attaque rebelle du Mouvement de la Justice et de l'Egalité (JEM), a appris la PANA de sources officielles.

La visite de M. Ping qui sera accompagné du commissaire chargé de la Paix et de la Sécurité, l'ambassadeur Parmatane Lamamra, vise à rechercher une solution rapide au problème du Darfour.

Dans un communiqué rendu public dimanche à Addis Abéba, la Commission de l'Union africaine a condamné la tentative de sabotage perpétrée par le Mouvement rebelle contre Khartoum et qualifié cette attaque d'injustifiable et inutile à la réalisation de la paix et de la stabilité au Darfour.

La Commission de l'Union africaine a dénoncé cette tentative préjudiciable à la population civile, tout en appelant toutes les parties au conflit d'agir en faveur du dialogue comme seul moyen d'en finir avec le conflit du Darfour.

"Cette attaque ne peut que compliquer les efforts tendant à trouver une solution politique à la crise de Darfour et à promouvoir la paix, la sécurité et la stabilité dans la région", précise le communiqué.

Le Soudan a décidé de rompre ses relations diplomatiques avec le Tchad, au lendemain d'une attaque spectaculaire menée dans à Omduram, ville jumelle de la capitale, Khartoum, par les rebelles islamistes du Mouvement pour la justice et l'égalité (MJE), le plus puissant des mouvements actifs au Darfour.

Policy Brief on 11th AU Summit

2008-05-14T09:26:01Z

CCP-AU (policy brief) -- The 11th Summit of the African Union will be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt under the theme of "Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation’’. This summit will be the first to be organized by the new leadership of the AU Commission with the new Chairperson H.E. Jean Ping who took over the Commission on the 28 April. The first important dossier of this new team is to manage the discussion on the outcome of the Audit of the African Union that strongly recommended the strengthening of the commission.

A/ AGENDA OF THE SUMMIT: KEY ISSUES

The theme of the Summit will be ‘’Meeting the Millennium Development Goals on Water and Sanitation’’. There will be presentations and discussions on the theme at the opening session of the Assembly of head of States according to the attached agenda. Normally, the Commission in Charge of the theme of the Summit within the AU Commission will come up with series of recommendations then the Assembly may adopt a declaration accordantly.

Despite the theme on ‘’Water and Sanitation’’, the following issues are likely to dominate the discussions during the summit:

1- The Audit of the African Union

One of the major focuses of the 11th AU Summit will be the Audit of the Union. The recent Audit of the AU requested by the Grand Debate on the Union Government in Accra Summit in July 2007 provided a comprehensive analysis of the performance of the institution to date. The report is entitled “Audit of the African Union: Towards a People-Centred Political and Socio-Economic Integration and Transformation of Africa”.

Most of the recommendations of the report – 40 per cent of which are on the AU Commission – are intended to rationalise, strengthen and improve the functioning of all organs and institutions directly involved in the integration process in the continent. These recommendations, if approved and fully implemented, will enable the AU to provide a higher level of service and thus pave the way for the achievement of the political and economic integration in the shortest time possible. Many of the recommendations have far reaching implications both in the short and medium run. There are, however, recommendations that require the urgent attention and decision of the Assembly.

The report has indicated some “accelerators” in order to speedy the economic and political integration of the continent. These include the following:

i. Free movement of people;
ii. Building inter regional and transcontinental infrastructures especially in the fields of transport, communications and energy;
iii. Promotion of African multinational private investment companies for financing integration projects including infrastructure, and;
iv. The early establishment of the financial institutions as provided for in the Constitutive Act.

The Commission has also presented a Working Paper on the report of High Level Panel including its own observations as well as comments of the other Organs of the Union.

The Executive Council recently met in Arusha 6, 7 May 2008 on a special session to discuss on the 159 recommendations of the audit report. Heads of State will decide on the outcome of that is session (not yet available).

Significant pressure for change must come from the African people and those CSOs, which represent them and fight for them. Such pressure for the implementation of the Audit Report recommendations can be exerted on national governments and through ECOSOC and PAP. More importantly the African people if mobilized on this issue, will become a significant force in exerting pressure for change

2- The Union Government of Africa

At the last Summit held in Addis Ababa, a Presidential Committee composed by 12 Heads of States was created to make recommendation on how to move the Union Government process forwards. The is composed by Tanzania (current Chair of the AU), Ghana (immediate passed Chair of the AU), Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Egypt Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. This committee will meet in Arusha, Tanzania on the 22, 23 May 2008 and will recommend a decision to the Assembly. The Committee will be working on the base of the previous TOR of the Committee of 10 Foreign Ministers nominated in Accra (July 2007) and will be building on previous work done.

The Committee will be examining the domains of competence that would be assigned to the AU and the implications of this for sovereignty of Member-States and Regional Economic Communities, as well as, the roadmap and financing options for the Union. The Previous Committee reiterated that the Union Government should be a union of Governments and Peoples as well as the diaspora, the primary responsibility of popularising and ensuring participation of peoples rested with member states and Union Government should be the mechanism for coordinating key sectors at continentally and internationally.

Seven domains of competence were re-affirmed by previous committee namely; peace and security, environment, epidemics/pandemics, trans-national crime, communications/infrastructure, global trade and research/university. Agreement was not reached on defense and foreign policy. Financing for development/debt cancellation was not considered. Legal experts are likely to be brought in to study the implications on national sovereignty. No agreement was reached on which structures would be required or on whether Member States should be denied membership if they acted in a manner that violates key instruments (OAU Charter, AU Constitutive Act, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights etc).

3 - Peace and Security

The Heads of State will consider a report of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) on the state of peace and security in Africa. This report will be focusing mostly on the ongoing situations in Darfur, Somalia and Zimbabwe among others. The Assembly may decide to have to have a PSC meeting in the margin of the Summit on Darfur and or Somalia.

Darfur
Recent attack of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on Khartoum was the first in which Darfur insurgents attack Sudan’s capital. This operation will have serious repercussions on the political crisis in Sudan.

Resolution 1769, adopted in July 2007, authorized a force of 26,000 troops and civilian police (UNAMID) to protect Darfur's civilians and the humanitarian groups serving some 4.2 million desperate people. So far, no more than 10.000 troops and police are currently present in Darfur most of then being former AMIS troops.

Attacks continue on humanitarian workers. Four bomb attacks have taken place in Darfur along with further fighting in North and West Darfur leading to increased IDPs. Lack of access is the main reason along with security fears. There are reports of large numbers of rebels on borders. Government troops have started to mobilise although there has been no action so far. New IDPs continue to join camps. Information shows that aid beneficiaries have doubled in the last year

The African Union seems to be very quiet during the last 6 months. The upcoming summing might be an opportunity for CSOs to pressurize leaders not to forget the continuing suffering of millions of Darfur peoples. Key advocacy objectives may include:

- Cessation of Hostilities in Darfur and respect for International Humanitarian Law
- Quick deployment and effectiveness of UNAMID
- Acceleration of the political process in Darfur
- Acceleration of the peace process in Chad

Somalia

Violence in Somalia has being increased with serious attacks and assassinations even on AU troops. This has worsened the already dire situation of the hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. This violence and bureaucracy has choked the delivery of humanitarian supplies to a million people across the country, setting the stage for a terrible humanitarian crisis.
In a recent Communiqué, the Peace and security Council of the AU has Expresses it’s deep concern that AMISOM has not yet reached its authorized strength even after more than 18months of its initial decision authorizing deployment and appeals to member states to provide the required troops and other supports.

According to Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU/FEWSNET) the number of people needing immediate emergency assistance has increased to 2.6 million Somalis.
Meanwhile, the drought is deepening in parts of south and central Somalia (Bakool, Hiraan and Central Regions), pushing more pastoralists into Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis and Humanitarian Emergency.

If present trends continue, then 3.5 million people will need emergency assistance by the end of the year

On the political situation, there are signs that the TFG is committed to promote an inclusive dialogue and reconciliation.

CSOs may use the opportunity of the Summit to advocate on the following:
- A political solution rather than a military one is what is needed.
- Inclusive political Dialogue and national reconciliation process: Neutral interlocutors must be found which can facilitate this process
- Accountability and fight again impunity of gross human Rights violation
- African leaders to publicly condemn the serious abuses of international humanitarian law and human rights laws committed by all parties to the conflict.
- African leaders to call on all parties in the conflict to take all necessary steps, including public action, to ensure that their forces cease abuses against civilians and prosecute members of the forces alleged to have committed abuses.
- Protect the ability of civil society including the humanitarian agencies to operate

African Standby Force (ASF)
This Summit will be also examining the Operationalisation of the African Standby Force as part of the AU peace and security Architecture. According to current planning, the ASF should be operationalized by 2010 in each of the 5 geographical region of the continent but indicators show that this deadline may not be meet.

4- Effective Social policy Framework in Africa

It’s expected that the Summit will approve a Comprehensive Social Policy Framework for the continent.

Social Policy Framework developed in the Conference of Ministers of Social Development meeting to be held over May in Windhoek, Namiba. Prior to the Ministerial, national consultative workshops regional consultative workshops and experts meetings will have taken place co-hosted with international NGO Helpage Age International.

It is expected by the African Union that Member States will be better informed on social protection choices, opportunities and constraints, be able to articulate a clear demand for social protection and produce recommendations for policy making and resourcing. An important consideration is that social protection policy and programmes be linked with humanitarian programmes and fragile states.

Considerable challenges confront the adoption and implementation of a more responsive and rights based social policy framework for Africa. Among them are the non-implementation of existing social continental policy standards contained in various AU Decisions and Declarations and the MDGs, poor national inter-ministerial linkages and inadequate resourcing.

5- Other issues on the Agenda or likely to be discussed

- Merging of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and t the Court of Justice
- Election of Member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
- Election of members of the African Court on Human and People Rights

B/ ACCREDITATION

CSO community willing to attend the summit as observers will have to apply for accreditation. Normally, CIDO is the main organ to send the request to. Each organization should send its application ASAP to the following CIDO addresses: cido@africa-union.org

In addition, if you work with any other organ or Directorate, it’s advisable to request an accreditation from them as well.

Please note that normally, the AU Commission does not give accreditation to more than 2 persons from the same organisation.

Last year in Accra, a couple of countries have accepted to include CSO’s representatives in their national delegation. Please try this possibility as well.

There is also a possibility to use media accreditation if you have a media Officer within your organization. Please see media form on the AU website: http://www.africa-union.org.

Please send comments to: aucitizens@yahoo.com

Please refer to the AU Monitor calendar for details of events: http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=niyves%40gmail.com

L’énergie au Centre des Discussions

2008-05-14T09:25:01Z

(ABD Press Story)--L’énergie joue un rôle fondamental dans tous les efforts de développement dans le monde entier.

Le rapport entre l’énergie et le développement constitue le point focal d’une publication du Groupe de la Banque africaine de développement (BAD) intitulée Indicateurs sur le genre, la pauvreté et l’environnement sur les pays africains qui a été lancée à Maputo au Mozambique dans le cadre des assemblées annuelles de la BAD pour 2008.

Selon l’étude, l’accès aux services énergétiques constitue un facteur essentiel au développement. L’énergie est vitale pour l’amélioration du bien-être des pauvres pour leur besoins culinaires, d’éclairage, de production, de chauffage, d’eau et de transport. L’accès à l’énergie a une incidence sur la qualité de la vie car il permet d’assurer de meilleurs services publics tels que les soins de santé et l’éducation, tout en multipliant les opportunités de création de revenus et d’emploi. Les services énergétiques peuvent assurer la protection de l’environnement local et mondial en contribuant à la réduction de la déforestation et des émissions des gaz à effet de serre. Le rôle crucial que joue l’energie dans le développement est égaleemnt présent dans la fourniture de services appropriés, fiables et abordables, absolument nécessaires à l’atteinte des Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement . L’accès à l’énergie n’est cependant pas une condition suffisante, car l’énergie n’est pas en soi une finalité, mais un moyen permettant d’atteindre un objectif. La mise en place de systèmes énergétiques durables doit être une partie intégrale des programmes plus larges de développement. Offrir des options énergétiques durables constitue un objectif hautement prioritaire au plan international, notamment la fourniture d’énergie à partir de sources renouvelables d’application plus propres des combustibles fossiles. Ceci a été le cas lors du Sommet mondial sur le développement durable de Johannesburg en 2002, et a récemment été renforcé au cours de la Conférence de Bonn (Allemagne) de 2004 sur les énergies renouvelables et la Conférence sur l’énergie pour le développement tenue aux Pays-Bas. Au cours de la conférence de Bonn, plusieurs gouvernements, instituts et organisations africains se sont engagés en faveur de l’adoption de cette forme d’énergie ou d’une utilisation plus efficace de l’énergie. Bien que la plupart des projets en la matière soient d’inspiration européenne (44%), l’Afrique en a été le second initiateur avec 20%. La situation énergétique de l’Afrique Plus de 580 millions de la population en Afrique, soit les deux tiers de la population du continent, n’ont pas accès à l’électricité. Dans les zones rurales, en particulier, les taux d’électrification peuvent descendre jusqu’à 2%. En moyenne, 92% de la population rurale en Afrique vit sans électricité. La pollution de l’air liée à l’énergie pose des risques majeurs d’ordre sanitaire et environnemental. En Afrique subsaharienne, la pollution de l’air provenant de la seule utilisation du bois de chauffe brûlé dans des fourneaux à faible rendement énergétique est responsable de 1100 décès des maladies respiratoires et apparentées par jour, touchant essentiellement les femmes et les enfants. Au sein des ménages, les femmes et les enfants sont les principaux utilisateurs de l’énergie et c’est sur eux que pèse le fardeau des problèmes liés au manque d’accès à un approvisionnement fiable en énergie. L’amélioration des services énergétiques en faveur des pauvres contribuera à améliorer considérablement leurs conditions de vie. Par ailleurs, la dépendance croissante des importations de combustible ainsi que la volatilité et le niveau élevé des cours du pétrole constituent une menace réelle à la sécurité de l’approvisionnement des pays africains en énergie et hypothèquent leurs réserves en devises. Fort heureusement, l’Afrique est dotée d’énormes ressources en énergies renouvelables qui restent inexploitées telles que l’énergie solaire, l’energie éolienne, l’hydroélectricité, la biomasse et l’énergie géothermique.

L’énergie et les pauvres

La pauvreté peut être perçue de diverses manières. Soit économique (vivre avec un revenu de moins de 1 $ par jour) soit social (manque d’accès à une saine nourriture, à l’eau, à l’habillement, au logement, à l’assainissement, aux soins de sante, a l’education, etc). La pauvreté énergétique peut être définie comme étant l’absence de choix a l’acces aux services énergétiques appropries, a couts abordables, fiables, de très bonne qualité, sans danger et intégrés dans l’environmment a l’appui du développement économique et humain.

L’énergie est un élément essentiel à la survie humaine. Sur un plan élémentaire, elle permet d’assurer la cuisson des aliments et le chauffage, et d’obtenir de l’eau chaude. La plupart des pauvres, notamment en Afrique subsaharienne, dépendent de la biomasse comme source principale d’énergie pour ces services énergétiques de base. Plusieurs zones de cette région connaissent une pénurie de plus en plus marquée sur le plan de l’approvissionnement en biomasse, ce qui ne manque pas d’alourdir davantage le fardeau des femmes à qui incombe la collecte du bois de chauffe. Les chercheurs, les spécialistes et les organisations internationales n’ont eu de cesse de tirer l’attention sur le problème. Cependant, dans la plupart des cas, le lien existant entre l’énergie et la pauvreté semble avoir été ignoré dans le cadre de la planification énergétique, ce qui peut surtout s’expliquer par le manque de visibilité de la question : dans la plupart des cas, l’énergie à base de biomasse est acquise sans contrepartie monétaire (collecte assurée essentiellement par les femmes et les enfants) et ne figure pas dans les statistiques et les bilans énergétiques nationaux.

L’utilisation par les pauvres de l’énergie à base de biomasse résulte souvent d’un choix opéré au niveau d’une gamme très limitée d’options qui leurs sont offertes. Avec leurs revenus limités, les ménages pauvres ne peuvent pas offrir des appareils ménagers à haut rendement énergétique, ce qui fait que leur consommation énergétique est plus élevée que celle des ménages aisés. La plupart des pauvres n’ont pas les moyens de s’acheter des foyers permettant de réaliser des économies sur la consommation de bois et sur le temps requis pour sa collecte et, par conséquent, ne peuvent utiliser que les feux en plein air et les fourneaux à faible rendement énergétique qui dégagent de la fumée. Ce faisant, au fardeau que représente la corvée de la collecte du bois vient s’ajouter pour eux un risque sanitaire. Compte tenu du fait que, faute d’argent, ces pauvres sont obligés d’opter pour ceux dont les coûts de revient sont les plus faibles sur leur durée de vie utile, ils sont amenés à consacrer des sommes précieuses à l’achat de sources d’énergie de qualité inférieure qui sont ensuite utilisées de manière efficace, réduisant ainsi leur capacité à constituer les épargnes requises pour les investissement dans des stratégies visant à améliorer leurs conditions de vie. Ce cercle vicieux de la pauvreté énergétique doit être impérativement rompu.

La Croissance Economique Augmente

2008-05-14T08:18:00Z

(Destin de l’Afrique)—La croissance économique de l’Afrique reste élevée à 5,7% pour 2007, une tendance qui devrait continuer en 2008 et 2009, selon un rapport conjoint de la Banque africaine de développement (BAD), de l’Organisation de Coopération et Développement Economique (OCDE) et de la Commission économique pour l’Afrique (CEA) de l’ONU.

"L’Afrique a continué à connaître une forte croissance économique. En 2007, la croissance réelle du PIB de 5,7% a été au-dessus de la tendance à long terme pour la cinquième année consécutive", note le rapport rendu public lundi avant la réunion annuelle de la BAD à Maputo. "Le taux de croissance du PIB devrait se renforcer autour de 6% en 2008 et rester à ce niveau en 2009", ajoute le rapport, soulignant que "la croissance économique s’élargit avec davantage de pays qui doivent atteindre un taux de croissance autour de 5%". Le rapport explique cette forte croissance essentiellement par "une forte demande extérieure pour les ressources pétrolières et minières, des investissements plus importants dans ces secteurs, et de bonne conditions climatiques pour l’agriculture". Ce constat optimiste est cependant modéré par les disparités régionales: en Afrique australe, la projection de croissance globale est de 5,2%, en baisse par rapport à 2007 où elle se trouvait à 7%; en Afrique du Nord, le taux est de 5,3% en 2007 et devrait passer à 6,2% en 2008 et 2009. En Afrique de l’Ouest en revanche, la croissance reste basse à 3,5%, mais les projections indiquent un taux de 5,6% en 2008 et de 5,7% en 2009. Les experts s’attendent à ce que l’Afrique centrale gagne un point, de 4,1% à 5,1%. L’Afrique de l’Est, en dépit de la crise politique au Kenya, reste en tête avec une moyenne à 8% en 2007, et devrait maintenir la tendance avec 7,3% en 2008 et 7,9% en 2009. La Banque africaine de développement tient sa réunion annuelle au Mozambique les 14 et 15 mai.

Challenges to EAC Monetary Union

2008-05-14T06:28:00Z

Edris Kisambira (East African Business Week) -- The Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) of the East African Community (EAC) has said high interest rate spreads and budget deficits continue to be major challenges facing all the five central banks. Other challenges are high domestic debt and relatively high levels of non-performing loans.

All these ingredients are part of a set of macroeconomic and economic policies that MAC thinks should be in place before a monetary union can be realised.

The governors have called on the EAC Secretariat to expeditiously commission a study aimed at reviewing the convergence criteria with a view to have it completed by end of December 2008.

In August last year, the heads of state decided to fast track the establishment of the monetary union to 2012 as opposed to 2015 as had earlier been agreed.

Bank of Uganda governor, Mr. Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile warned in an earlier meeting that meaningful monetary and financial integration could only be achieved only with a sustainable convergence of economic fundamentals, particularly price stability and sound fiscal, monetary and structural policies. Before the decision to bring the implementation of a monetary union was brought forward to 2012 from 2015, in stage one (2007-2010) governors had agreed to an overall budget deficit to GDP ratio (excluding grants) of not more than 6.0% and an overall budge deficit to GDP ratio (including grants) of not more than 3.0% and that annual average inflation rate not exceeding 5%.

Members had also agreed to the achievement and maintenance of stable real exchange rates, achievement and maintenance of market based interest rates, achievement of sustainable real GDP growth rate of not less than 7.0% and national savings to GDP ratio of not less than 20%.

In stage two (2011-2014), the criteria looked at an overall budget deficit not exceeding 5% and overall budget deficit to GDP ratio not exceeding 2%, annual average inflation rate of not more than 5%.

Others are maintenance of market based interest rates, a high a sustainable rate of real GDP growth of not less than 7%, sustained pursuit of debt sustainability and domestic savings to GDP ratio of at least 20%.

Stage three (2015) was initially meant to be the year when a single East African currency would be introduced and circulated.

At the 11th meeting of the MAC at the Commonwealth Resort Munyonyo just outside Kampala, the governors observed that the partner states had managed to achieve a considerable level of macroeconomic stability.

Governor Mutebile who read a joint communiqué at the end of a two-day meet said developments in the global economy would pose a challenge to the management of the five economies.

The challenges are the turbulence in the international financial markets that arose out of the collapse of the US sub prime mortgage market and world oil and commodities prices that have sky rocketed.

Others are China and India along with other strong emerging markets that have gained prominence in the global economy and inflationary pressures that pose a major risk to macroeconomic stability.

Governors also noted with satisfaction the progress made in achieving targets outlined in the EAC macroeconomic convergence criteria, particularly those relating to price stability and the soundness of the financial sector.

The EAC countries registered strong foreign exchange inflows, which coupled with the weakening US dollar to lead to strong appreciation of local currencies thereby complicating monetary policy and export sector competitiveness.

The governors expressed their confidence that while they could not insulate the EAC economies from the global economic developments, they could weather the storms by effective implementation of financial sector risk management.

The governors said entrenching sound monetary and fiscal policies and seeking a functioning financial system, among other interventions, could help insulate the EAC economies from the vagaries of a slowing down global economy.

The governors also deliberated the efficiency of the financial sector in the region, the status of the national payments systems and legal and regulatory frameworks particularly with regard to the banking and micro-finance sub-sectors.

Others were information technology including emerging issues of electronic banking and its impact on monetary policy, and the building of requisite technical capacity to facilitate effective implementation.

Economic Growth Predicted

2008-05-14T06:24:00Z

(Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique) -- Strong growth in Africa's gross domestic product is expected to continue in 2008 and 2009, according to Louis Kasekende, the chief economist at the African Development Bank (ADB). He was speaking in Maputo at the launch on Sunday of the seventh edition of the "African Economic Outlook", a report on the health of the continent's economy compiled by the ADB, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The launch was one of the preparatory events prior to the ADB Group's annual meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in the Mozambican capital.

Kasekende put Africa's overall growth rate at 5.7 per cent in 2007, and predicted that it would rise to 5.9 per cent this year, a rate that would remain steady in 2009.

It was particularly encouraging that growth in 31 African countries is expected to be higher than five per cent this year, compared with 25 countries where GDP grew by more than five per cent in 2007. Last year, 13 countries had growth rates of between three and five per cent, and in 2008 that figure is predicted to reach 16.

In a masterpiece of understatement, the report remarks that some countries "continue to face serious problems, including the humanitarian catastrophe in the Darfur region of Sudan, economic collapse in Zimbabwe, conflicts and political unrest in Chad, Kenya and Somalia, which are likely to dampen their growth prospects".

Kasekende noted that rises in the price of oil and other commodities have brought "windfall gains" to those African countries who are net exporters of these goods, while net importers "have suffered".

Indeed the report originally took a complacent attitude to oil prices. The assumptions on which its forecasts are based included a prediction that oil prices would stabilize at around 90 US dollars a barrel. This assumption was so out of line with reality that an Addendum to the report had to be hastily published admitting that its assumptions were "plausible but optimistic" and "subject to significant downside risk".

The most ominous such risk is the soaring price of oil and grain, leading to "increased inflationary pressure, which is threatening fiscal stability and worsening the balance of payments in food importing countries". Bad news for consumers might be good news for African food producers - but the Addendum warns that "for persistently higher commodity prices to translate into increased output and contribute to GDP growth, agricultural reforms need to be accelerated".

Could Africa also suffer from the "sub-prime crisis" in the United States (the euphemism economists use for the deranged lending polices which have wrecked the US housing market, and whose effects are rippling through the international finance system)?

Here the report's authors claim that Africa "appears to have been largely cushioned from the first round effects of the financial market turbulence due to the limited integration of African economies in the global financial markets". Furthermore, Africa was now less vulnerable to a banking liquidity squeeze, because debt levels have fallen sharply, and most countries now have their exchange rates "set at more realistic levels".

Barfour Osei, the ADB's Chief Research Economist, pointed out that when the continent's forecast growth is broken down by region, the southern African growth rate is likely to decline in 2008, when compared with 2007. This is largely because of an expected slowdown in the South African and Angolan growth rates. (Angola has been growing at an average of 11.8 per cent a year between 2000 and 2007, and so a slowdown is hardly surprising). The Mozambican growth rate (7.2 per cent in 2007) is expected to hold steady.

An obvious cleavage is between net oil exporters and net oil importers. The oil exporters had an average growth rate of 6.4 per cent in 2007, expected to rise to 6.8 per cent in 2008. The average growth rate for the net importers, however, is predicted at five per cent. The problem with the oil exporters is that their economies tend to be excessively dependent on oil - the ten least diversified economies in Africa in 2007 were all oil exporters.

Osei noted that Africa had seen record foreign direct investment of 836 billion US dollars in 2007. But while investment has risen sharply, foreign aid has not, despite all the promises made at successive summits of the G8 group of most industrialised nations.

Osei pointed out that since 2004 some 70 per cent of the rise in aid to Africa has been either humanitarian aid or debt relief. Development aid has not risen in line with the speeches made by western leaders.

Réunion des Ministres de l’Intrégation

2008-05-13T12:39:00Z

(PANA) - Les ministres africains en charge de l’intégration économique vont se réunir du 22 au 23 mai à Abidjan, en Côte d’Ivoire, en vue d’harmoniser les programmes des Communautés économiques régionales, indique un communiqué de la Commission de l’Union africaine (UA).

Organisée par le Département des affaires économiques de la Commission de l’UA, en collaboration avec le gouvernement du pays hôte, la 3ème Conférence des ministres africains de l’Intégration (COMAI) entend reconnaître le rôle majeur de pilier central que jouent les Communautés économiques régionales (CER) en vue de l’intégration africaine, a annoncé ce jeudi la Commission. Une réunion de trois jours des experts devra se tenir du 19 au 21 mai dans la capitale économique ivoirienne pour préparer la réunion ministérielle qui se déroulera sous le thème: "Comment assurer le succès de l’intégration en Afrique". D’après la Commission de l’UA, des représentants des huit CER, à savoir: la Communauté des Etats d’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO), la Communauté est-africaine (EAC), la Communauté de développement d’Afrique australe (SADC), le Marché commun pour l’Afrique orientale et australe (COMESA), la Communauté économique des Etats d’Afrique centrale (CEEAC), la Communauté des Etats sahélo-sahéliens (CEN- SAD), l’Autorité intergouvernementale pour le développement (IGAD) et l’Union du Maghreb arabe (UMA), participeront à cette conférence. Trois organisations économiques sous-régionales: la Communauté économique des pays des Grands Lacs (CEPGL), l’Union économique et monétaire ouest-africaine (UEMOA) et la Communauté économique et monétaire d’Afrique centrale (CEMAC), prendront également part à cette rencontre. Lors de sa septième session ordinaire à Banjul, en Gambie, en juillet 2006, la Conférence de l’Union africaine avait recommandé un moratoire sur les CER tandis que COMAI I et II avaient souligné la nécessité de réviser le Traité d’Abuja, d’élaborer un Programme minimum d’intégration à l’intention des CER et demandé à la Commission de l’UA de coordonner les activités des CER. Les ministres devraient réfléchir sur la nécessité d’harmoniser les politiques et programmes entre les CER comme stratégie de renforcement du processus d’intégration, la promotion de la libre circulation des personnes, des biens, des capitaux et des services, entre les CER afin d’accélérer l’intégration du continent. Dans le cadre de la préparation de cette réunion ministérielle, les experts examineront les points suivants: les communications faites sur le financement des infrastructures communautaires et l’intégration régionale; rôle du secteur privé dans le processus d’intégration; politiques industrielles et intégration régionale; investissement, commerce et intégration; Accords de partenariat économique; rationalisation des CER et intégration africaine.

Crise Alimentaire

2008-05-13T11:36:00Z

(AFP)--Le secrétaire général de l’ONU, Ban Ki-moon, a encouragé lundi les dirigeants mondiaux à s’investir pleinement dans la lutte contre la crise alimentaire mondiale.

"Combattre la crise alimentaire mondiale nécessite un leadership international et une coordination au plus haut niveau", a-t-il estimé lors de la première réunion de la cellule de crise qu’il a créée à cet effet, selon un communiqué de son service de presse. Cette réunion à huis clos, sous l’autorité de M. Ban qui a fait de la lutte contre la faim l’une de ses priorités, visait à "promouvoir une réponse mondiale cohérente et coordonnée à l’actuelle crise alimentaire", selon le communiqué. Elle a jeté les bases d’un "Cadre global d’action" comprenant une série de plans à court et long terme pour faire face à la flambée des prix alimentaires dans le monde. L’accent sera mis sur l’aide alimentaire, les initiatives de protection sociale et les mesures favorisant l’agriculture. Les participants sont convenus de présenter ces axes d’action à la conférence de haut niveau de la FAO (Organisation de l’ONU pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture) sur la sécurité alimentaire, à Rome du 3 au 5 juin, à laquelle M. Ban souhaite que les dirigeants mondiaux participent. Le suivi et la mise en oeuvre de la stratégie d’action seront assurés par la cellule de crise, dont la création a été annoncée par M. Ban à Berne le 29 avril et qui rassemble les chefs de quinze départements et agences de l’ONU, du Fonds monétaire international (FMI) et de la Banque mondiale (BM). Elle est placée sous l’autorité de M. Ban, qui a chargé de sa coordination son secrétaire général adjoint pour les affaires humanitaires, John Holmes, à New York, et David Nabarro, coordinateur de l’ONU contre la grippe aviaire, à Genève. La cellule de crise a renouvelé l’appel lancé à Berne par les institutions pour une action urgente face à la crise alimentaire. Elle a demandé aux Etats d’"assurer que leurs politiques, notamment en matière d’exportation de nourriture, n’exacerbent pas l’actuelle hausse structurelle des prix et ses conséquences". Plusieurs pays s’étaient vu rappeler à l’ordre à Berne pour avoir décidé de suspendre leurs exportations de nourriture, pour défendre leur propre sécurité alimentaire, car ces mesures poussent les prix à la hausse et pénalisent les plus pauvres. La cellule de crise a appelé les Etats à "ne pas entraver les fournitures de nourriture destinées aux besoins humanitaires, par exemple par l’intermédiare du PAM" (Programme alimentaire mondial). La Birmanie, durement frappée le 2 mai par un cyclone meurtrier, a particulièrement besoin actuellement d’aide alimentaire pour quelque deux millions de sinistrés. Les prix des denrées alimentaires ont pratiquement doublé dans le monde en trois ans, selon la Banque mondiale, provoquant des émeutes en avril en Egypte et à Haïti, des manifestations dans de nombreux autres pays et des restrictions aux exportations de plusieurs producteurs dont le Brésil, le Vietnam, l’Inde et l’Egypte. Parmi les explications, figurent le développement des bio-carburants, les barrières commerciales, une demande croissante venue d’Asie sur fond de modifications des habitudes alimentaires, la faiblesse des récoltes ainsi que les cours du pétrole, qui pèsent sur le prix des transports. La FAO a estimé lundi que la production mondiale de riz atteindrait un niveau record en 2008 mais que les prix resteraient élevés à court terme.

Benefiting from Rising World Prices

2008-05-13T08:34:01Z

Jose Graziano Da Silva (The EastAfrican) -- The deterioration of terms of trade is one of the historic factors behind underdevelopment, which should be understood not as a stage of development but rather a specific and distorted form in which peripheral economies are inserted into the world capitalist system. For the majority of these economies, colonial relations built around the export of raw materials were the primary cause of this underdevelopment.

Now, in the 21st century, some of these countries have slightly greater control over their economies thanks to the expansion of the evolving industrial base. But these few exceptions only prove the rule - internal patterns of wealth distribution dominate and this expansion is limited for the most part to nuclei of mineral or agricultural exports.

Thus income is concentrated in productive systems that remain subject to the ups and downs of global trade in raw materials.

For instance, the economic trajectory of Latin America and the Caribbean is marked by cycles that are both ephemeral and intense - silver, gold, sugar, and coffee, to cite a few examples from the past, and today soy, iron ore, and copper. Neither peripheral area has been able to escape this cyclical trap, which demonstrates the persistence of patterns of trade that transfer control over a country's development abroad.

The recurrent nature of the losses caused by this trade model was first analysed in the 1950s at the dawn of the Economic Commission for Latin America by Raul Prebisch of Argentina and later studied by the Brazilian Celso Furtado, who explained in detail the structural limitations generated by this model, limitations which have perpetuated economic and political subordination throughout the history of the region.

In the past five years, the explosion of raw material prices began to affect one of the factors that cause underdevelopment, but it was insufficient to break the logic of the pattern identified by Furtado.

Since 2003, according to the Commodity Research Bureau, the average price of 24 agricultural raw materials on world markets has increased by 50 per cent. However, widening the time frame to the period from 1974-2004, The Economist magazine found an overall decline of 75 per cent in the price of these products. In other words, only a part of this decline has been reversed since 2003.

It is also important to evaluate on a yearly basis the factors behind this recent price increase in order to differentiate structural elements from those related to speculation.

Between 2002 and 2004, there was a rise in the consumption of high-protein foods, primarily meat and milk products, by the poor in developing countries, including China, India, and Brazil. At almost exactly the same time, the United States dramatically increased its consumption of ethanol, which drove up the demand for wheat.

This period of growth in demand was followed by a phase in which there was a scarcity of supply.

Between 2004 and 2006, world cereal production dropped significantly as a result of climatic factors, whether droughts in China and Australia or hurricanes in Central America and the Caribbean. This decreased the world cereal reserves at a time when consumption was on the rise.

Then in 2007, speculation emerged as the factor responsible for the sustained increase in prices - in a climate of economic uncertainty, many investors sought shelter in commodity funds, agricultural and non-agricultural.

There are thus two distinct elements driving the current price increases: One is financial; the other is the hitherto unheard of shift in demand caused by the expansion of consumption in poor countries. The former is transitory, while the latter could result in a structural change of the flux and intensity of the trade in foods and raw materials.

Though these dynamics are still underway, certain lessons can already be drawn. The first regards the risks implicit in dependence on exports of raw materials, as Prebisch and Furtado have warned for decades.

The second is the necessity of having a counterweight to economic policy to broaden the range of producers that benefit from cyclical increases in the demand for food. The strengthening of small agricultural producers and farmer co-operatives, for example, would widen the distribution of wealth in a way that would increase the chances of sustainable growth.

A propos, it is worth remembering that hundreds of millions of poor in the countries of the South live in rural areas. For them, the rise in prices is an opportunity to escape poverty, as long as they are guaranteed a market for their goods, in addition to traditional credit and technical assistance policies.

This can be accomplised, for example, through government purchasing of their production to form reserves and provide meals in schools.

The current crisis is a clear refutation of the neo-Malthusian thesis that agro-energy is primarily responsible for increases in commodity prices, which minimised the considerable speculative component, recognised even by the US government, which has proposed joint action by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (which oversees the futures markets for these products) and the Security Exchange Commission (which regulates financial markets). In contrast, agro-energy emerges from the current financial crisis as a safe haven of real consistency and strategic continuity.

Even if global demand for commodities declines in the short term, the challenge of remaking the energy network for the 21st century has just begun.

Agro-energy can help sustain the expansion of poor countries and usher in a new dynamic of trade independence by industrialising biofuel crop farming and creating bridges between family agriculture and a peak sector of the global economy that is here to stay.

Jose Graziano da Silva is the regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean at the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation

AU boosts ICTs in Africa

2008-05-13T07:19:00Z

New Era (Catherine Sasman) -- The African Union Commission (AUC) has initiated a process to engage development partners to fund nine of 11 flagship projects under the Africa Regional Action Plan on the Knowledge Economy (ARAPKE) programme. The programme, said Director of Human Resources, Science and Technology Department of the AUC, Dr Abdul Hakim Elwaer, aims at building a continent fully benefiting from information, communications and technology (ICT) services by 2015.

He was speaking on the last day of the three-day IST-Africa conference last Friday, which brought 460 experts and policy makers from 37 countries to the capital to deliberate on how best to implement the Africa-EU joint strategy adopted at the Lisbon Summit last December.

This programme, he said, was adopted at several forums held under the aegis of the AUC and the technical coordination of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). The programme is based on the Geneva Plan of Action adopted by world leaders at the first phase of the World Summit on Information Society and the Accra Commitments for Tunis in 2005, and adopted by African ministers.

The projects include a NEPAD ICT broadband project - the Uhuru-Net and Umoja-Net - to provide high speed, high bandwidth connectivity to Africa and reduce unit costs for regional and international connectivity. The NEPAD e-schools project aims to achieve a rapid dissemination of ICT skills across the African population, enabling ICT literacy to be brought to bear on the workforce, as well as social, political and cultural activities, Elwaer said. Another project is the African leadership ICT programme, which leverages individual experiences and capacities of young promising mid-career potential leaders on the continent to become change agents in the ICT sector.

The African Internet Exchange system programme is to support the establishment of a robust and fully redundant continental Internet backbone infrastructure with exchange points at the core through the provision of policy and regulatory reform, capacity building, technical assistance to Internet providers and Internet exchange points on the continent.

It also includes a project aimed at harnessing the potential of knowledge and technology for African youth, as well as providing women access and capacity building centres in rural African locations.

An e-learning mode of distance education is currently in its pilot phase to implement an ICT based distance education learning model for selected undergraduate programmes of the Addis Ababa University.

African digital initiatives aim to facilitate institutional mechanisms to consolidate gains already made in ICT development by seeking financing from the donor community.

"The overall objective is to bridge the digital divide and to enhance the use of ICTs as key enablers for poverty reduction, growth and socio-economic development," said Elwaer.

Thierry Devars from the European Commission, said although Africa is experiencing a mobile boom - subscribers have increased to 300 million from 16 million in 2000 - there is a mere 4,8 percent Internet penetration.

Broadband penetration is below one percent, and there is weak rural connectivity.

Devars said there is a need for hybrid solutions such as fiber and broadband wireless solutions, and a comprehensive and dedicated approach in terms of infrastructure growth, regulation and capacity building.

The EU-Africa joint strategy aims at establishing eight partnerships to be implemented between 2008 and 2010, which includes the area of science, information space programmes. The space programme deals with specific projects based on space technologies to achieve regional and global development goals.

Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, said Africa has a lot of catching up to do in terms of ICT development.

"Globalisation impacts on all our lives. We do not only want to survive the impact of globalisation; we need to find ways of making it work to Africa's advantage in the medium to long term. It means that we must move quickly, we must move in 'real time'," said Mbumba.

He said it is necessary to direct substantial resources towards the development of science and technology on the continent.

AU Condemns JEM Attack

2008-05-13T07:14:00Z

(PANA) - The African Union Commission (AUC) warned Sunday that attack on the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, by armed elements of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) from the restive Darfur region in the west of the country would complicate the efforts of finding a political solution to the five-year crisis in the region.

Condemning the attack on Omdurman area of the city, the AUC said in a statement made available to PANA such action could also complicate efforts being made to promote regionalpeace, security and stability.

The commission has called on all parties in the Darfur conflict to desist from the use of force and recommit themselves to dialogue as the only means for ending the crisis.

While keeping an eye on the developments in Khartoum, the AUC affirmed it would "spare no efforts to contribute to the speedy resolution of the crisis in Darfur and to the promotion of relations of good neighbourliness and cooperation in the whole region.

"The Commission calls on all concerned to exercise utmost restraint and to refrain from any action likely to escalate the tension," said the statement, adding that AUC Chairperson Jean Ping, accompanied by Peace and Security Commission Ramtane Lamamra, would visit Sudan in the next few days.

Sommet de l’UA

2008-05-12T07:48:00Z

Le 11ème sommet de l’Union Africaine se tiendra entre le 24 juin - 1er juillet 2008 à Sharm El Sheikh, Egypte sous le thème d’eau et sanitation. La 16ème Session du Comité des Représentants(COREP) : 24 et 25 juin 2008, la 13ème Session Ordinaire du Conseil Exécutif : 27-28 juin 2008 et la 11ème Session Ordinaire de la Conférence des Chef d’Etat et de Gouvernement: 30 juin et 1er juillet 2008