What We’re Reading 10/5/09

Oct 5th, 2009 1:03 PM UTC
By Robyn Mitchell

Reuters: African FinMins call for G20 voice, more support
African finance ministers, meeting in Istanbul this past week, called for their countries to have a voice in the Group of 20 nations to ensure the body considers their long-term development needs. Pledging to show fiscal prudence in the wake of the global financial crisis, they also said they needed more help from the IMF and World Bank to help “shore up battered budgets, make needed investments and replenish foreign currency reserves.”

The Guardian: G7 elite group makes way for G20 and emerging nations
Finance ministers from the G7 countries surrendered the dominance they have held for a quarter of a century over economic policy-making when the group decided to end regular set-piece gatherings this past weekend. With power shifting from the west to the bigger developing nations, the G7 agreed that from 2011 it would meet informally, and only when there was an issue of mutual interest. According to one G7 source, “the emergence of the G20 – which includes China, India, Brazil and other emerging nations – meant that the G7 had to change or face irrelevance.”

The Washington Post: Global Study Examines Toll Of Preterm Birth
In a new study by the World Health Organization and the March of Dimes, researchers found that about one in 10 babies are born prematurely around the world each year and more than one-quarter of the deaths that occur in the month after birth are the consequence of preterm birth. The numbers from the study, which will be followed by a country-by-country assessment next year, may actually be on the conservative side, according to a March of Dimes researcher, who said that the WHO did not look at women carrying multiples, who have a much greater risk of delivering early.

BBC News: Uganda’s misplaced health millions
The BBC explores the dire need for medical equipment in Uganda, highlighting the fact that many hospitals do not even have the most basic medical equipment. Although there are many factors that have contributed to this situation, aid organizations such as the Danish International Development Agency believe that African health ministries are often become over-burdened with the huge deliveries of medicine they receive, and therefore do not have the time, finances or manpower to distribute everything.

The Guardian: Britain asks World Bank to cut officialdom and speed up aid
According to British development secretary, Douglas Alexander, Britain will reject World Bank calls for extra cash to fight the global economic downturn unless it “cuts its bureaucracy and soft-pedals on the loan conditions imposed on poor countries.” Alexander said he was concerned by the drop in support to sub-Saharan Africa at a time when the world’s least developed region was being profoundly affected by the global recession. Britain is the biggest single donor to IDA and is concerned that money is not getting through to poorer countries quickly enough.

The New York Times: At Meeting, Pope Warns of Perils Facing Africa
Opening a month-long meeting in Rome that will be devoted to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI warned Sunday that the continent was at risk from materialism, nihilism and religious fundamentalism. With Catholicism growing rapidly in Africa, Benedict called Africa “a great spiritual lung” for the Catholic Church; however, he emphasized that development has also led to the “virus” of “religious fundamentalism, mixed with political and economic interests.”

Times Live: IMF hopeful on Africa
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that sharply increased trade with, and investment by, China and India raises hopes of a turnaround in the economic fortunes of Africa. According to IMF director for Africa Antoinette Sayeh, the global economic crisis has increased Africa’s debts but the deterioration has not yet reached levels that are of concern. “Trade numbers are not showing a significant recovery yet, but by next year we expect that they will be coming back,” Sayeh said.

-Robyn Mitchell

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