Reuters—Africa must focus on infrastructure despite crisis
Africa risks a “lost decade” of under-development if it neglects projects to boost energy and transport infrastructure because of the global financial crisis, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Inger Andersen, a senior World Bank infrastructure official, said initial hopes that Africa might be spared the worst of the global credit crunch were premature. Governments will be hit by falling demand for commodities, reduced revenues from remittances, tourism and domestic taxes, he said.

AP—EU proposes tens of billions in aid to help poor nations meet climate change targets
The European Union promised billions of dollars in aid to the world’s poorest nations on Wednesday to entice them to sign a new global climate change pact. The plan is part of the EU’s negotiating position for the U.N.-sponsored climate change talks in Copenhagen later this year. Dimas said financing would be vital for getting global agreement in Copenhagen, adding that developing countries can ill afford to pay an estimated $71.1 billion per year by 2030 to meet climate change commitments.

Christian Science Monitor—How to feed the hungry billion
The Christian Science Monitor argues that relatively quick and substantial progress can be made in the fight against hunger and malnutrition if nations rededicate themselves to international aid for agriculture, which has dropped from 13 percent of all development aid in the early 1980s to only 3 percent now. For example, simply improving food storage could increase production by 30 to 40 percent in many poor countries, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization. In addition, building roads could get more goods to market. In sub-Saharan Africa, just 4 percent of arable land is irrigated, compared with 38 percent in Asia.

-Steve Wilson