USAID to shift up to $6B from annual budget to local institutions – Rajiv Shah says that “one of the big failings in food security has been a lack of effective partnerships with the private sector,” and he aims to expand “public-private partnerships to lift people out of poverty and ensure food security.” Such partnerships can transform infrastructure, and USAID plans to shift between $4 billion and $6 billion from its annual budget to local institutions to strengthen partnerships with the private sector and governments. (Devex, Jenny Lei Ravelo)
Four African leaders to join food security talks at G8 summit – President Obama has invited four African leaders to join discussions about food security in Africa at the G8 summit at Camp David. Presidents Yayi Boni of Benin, John Mills of Ghana, Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia will all attend the summit. Valerie Amos, the U.N. aid chief, explained that “the food and nutrition insecurity threatens the fragile development the region has made.” (CNN, Faith Karimi)
Africa – a Forgotten Issue in French Election – Foreign affairs have taken a backseat during the French presidential campaign between Nicolas Sarkozy and Francois Hollande. When Sarkozy was elected in 2007, he “vowed to break from traditional French-African relations, which critics say was marked by lack of transparency and cronyism.” Sarkozy has retained ties to some longtime African leaders while also forging new ones, and critics believe that “Hollande lacks African experience – and that if African leaders could vote next Sunday, they would probably pick Sarkozy.” (VOA, Lisa Bryant)
CIDA cuts hit poor countries – The Canadian International Development Agency will officially “end its bilateral aid program in eight countries and reduce funding in five others.” CIDA said that “Canada will continue to respond to humanitarian crises and sufficiently fund programs that will help meet development objectives,” but some see these cuts as a sign that “Canada is turning its back on those who need Canadian assistance most.” (Devex, Jenny Lei Ravelo)
Malaria Is Making a Comeback – New research for the Copenhagen Consensus 2012 shows that “improved immunization saves more lives per year than would be saved by global peace.” Despite the progress, however, the report highlights 5 priorities in the battle against infectious disease: malaria treatment, control of tuberculosis, adding several new antigens to routine vaccinations, deworming, and an HIV vaccine. These top five investments would primarily save the lives of children, which would provide a much needed boost towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal to reduce child mortality by two-thirds. (Slate, Bjorn Lomborg)
President Kikwete, mining and rise of population – At the launch of the Presidential Award on the Extractive Industry Corporate Social Responsibility and Empowerment (CSRE) program, President Kikwete said that “it’s disappointing to see some mining investors want to benefit alone … leaving the government and surrounding communities with nothing.” Transparency could “go a long way towards ameliorating the negative perceptions the public holds over the industry.” (The Citizen, Omar Mohammed)
UN: World failing to meet HIV/AIDS targets – A U.N. report released Monday indicates that “the world is falling behind in its pledge to reduce HIV/AIDS infections and improve treatment, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.” The report says that “funding for anti-HIV/AIDS projects has been inadequate . . . and a U.N. goal to halt and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015 may not be met.” Over 7 million people in “low- and middle-income countries were receiving antiretroviral treatment in 2011, and the goal is to more than double that total to 15 million people in 2015.” (CBS News)
African farmers grow trees as a natural crop fertilizer – One of the most “challenging long-term barriers to agricultural production and sustainability in Africa is poor and degrading soil quality.” A new report from the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability suggests that Fertilizer Tree Systems (FTS) has the potential to double corn production in soil with low amounts of nitrogen, an essential plant nutrient. FTS are cheaper to implement than purchasing fertilizers and “represent a more holistic approach to soil management.” (CSM, Isaac Hopkins)
US Investment Saving Lives Around the World –A new report from The Global Health Technologies Coalition says that the “U.S. government is the world leader when it comes to investing in global health research and development.” The report is being released at a time when President Obama and congress are debating which programs to cut, and highlights that “investing in global health also has domestic benefits . . . [as] for every dollar the government spends on global health research and development, 64 cents goes directly to U.S.-based researchers.” (VOA, Joe DeCapua)
FAO reports huge funding gap for Sahel, Horn of Africa – A $239 million gap in funding is threatening to derail the Food and Agriculture Organization’s emergency plans in the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa. The Director-General of the FAO, Jose Graziano de Silva, explained that “we are losing the opportunity to build on our recent gains and assure resilient rural communities” by “not putting in place measures that could prevent the food security situation from worsening.” (Devex, Ivy Mungcal)
State-foreign operations suffer $5B cuts under House appropriators - The House Appropriations Committee approved $48.38 billion in funding for State and foreign operations this week. This falls $6 billion short of President Obama’s request and $5 billion short of the one approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Tom Hart, U.S. Executive Director of ONE, said that “while they understand the currently tough fiscal environment, they are disappointed with the House’s allocations,” and that “possible cuts on lifesaving development programs would only achieve ‘symbolic savings’ in balancing the budget, but would have a ‘profound impact’ on human lives and dignity.” (Devex, Jenny Lei Ravelo)
Obama’s public health chief: ‘We can’t build a moat around the US’ – President Obama’s public health chief and the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas Frieden, says that the “main argument for spending on global health work . . . is protecting Americans.” Frieden explains that “there’s a bipartisan sense of support for global health,” citing the recent “surge in funding to fight AIDS and malaria under President George W. Bush.” (The Hill, Julian Pecquet)
Europe must enforce oil sector transparency – While the oil and gas industry can bring great wealth to the countries in which it operates, “the revenues it brings are vulnerable to corruption,” as the “benefits can remain with the ruling elite rather than the majority of the population.” John Browne, the former chief executive of BP helped establish the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative and believes that “transparency is the best way to overcome the ‘resource curse’ faced by too many of the world’s people,” urges Europe to “mandate that energy companies disclose the details of payments they make to foreign governments.” (FT, John Browne)
The Rubio Doctrine – Sen. Marco Rubio’s foreign-policy speech on Wednesday was a “robust and full-throated defense of an activist U.S. foreign policy and the oft-evoked but somewhat nebulous concept of American ‘leadership’ in the world.” Rubio said that “in every region of the world, we should always search for ways to use U.S. aid and humanitarian assistance to strengthen our influence,” citing the Bush administrations work on AIDS in Africa as a prime example. (Foreign Policy, Joshua Keating)
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
