Blog Contributor:
Edith Jibunoh
Based in Nigeria, Edith writes about African development and governance. Before joining ONE, Edith was on assignment with the Federal Government of Nigeria, which included the economic reform program and the landmark debt relief deal. She has also worked in the MDG Office of the Nigerian Presidency and the World Bank, where she worked on East Asian countries and External Affairs at the Bank’s UN office. Edith is an associate of the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellowship Programme.
Apr 5th, 2011 9:29 AM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
|
Read the original post on ONE’s Africa Blog.
The Nigerian elections were scheduled to commence on Saturday, April 2nd with the parliamentary elections preceding the April 9th presidential elections and the April 16th gubernatorial elections.
The elections started hours late and after millions of people successfully cast their votes, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued a directive to all wards to stop voting. The official reason stated for postponing the elections was said to be a delay in getting the ballot papers to all the wards, especially in remote areas of the country, because of their late arrival into the country.
(more…)
|
Mar 18th, 2011 1:33 PM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
|
This article was originally published in Devex’s Development Innovators Blog yesterday.
On February 15, ONE hosted the first ONE Africa Symposium in Johannesburg, South Africa. The symposium was designed to highlight novel technology and innovation unleashing Africa’s economic potential and promoting sustainable development. The three hundred attendees were a cross section of innovators, policy makers, students, academics and creatives. We were inspired by a dynamic range of speakers whose innovative projects challenged attendees to go back to their communities and do something for Africa!
I want to take this opportunity to highlight two speakers in particular — Dr. Ashifi Gogo of Sproxil and Lai Yahaya of Transparent Aid — and share the technologies they are using to drive change in Africa
Sproxil
Sproxil uses SMS technology to authenticate medicines in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria where people regularly die from fake medicine. Fake drugs are big business in developing countries, making up a significant part of the annual $200 billion counterfeit drug industry. As Dr. Gogo said at the symposium, “Seven hundred thousand people die each year from counterfeit TB and malaria drugs, it’s like playing Russian roulette with your health.”
Sproxil has introduced a system where buyers can check on the authenticity of a drug by scanning a code on the medication packaging, sending an SMS text and receiving an immediate reply attesting to the drugs authenticity before making a purchase. Pharmaceutical companies pay Sproxil for this service and it is proving to be both an effective business model and a life-saving innovation.
Transparent Aid
Having worked as a development consultant for many years, Lai Yahaya was frustrated with the lack of transparency surrounding aid flows and programs in developing countries. He decided to launch an online platform to publish aid information so that citizens of any community could exercise their “right to know” by finding out which development projects were being executed in their communities.
Transparent Aid democratizes aid by exposing for example, what percentage of a contract was going to buy cars or pay for expensive foreign consultants. By publishing information, it allows citizens to be active participants in their development through local and participatory assessments of aid expenditure. Transparent Aid is still being developed but will ultimately be a powerful resource for donors aiming to demonstrate program efficacy, as well as for beneficiaries seeking to play a larger role in the development of their communities.
While we heard about several exciting and innovative new technologies, one of the most important messages was to beware of overlooking the importance of people in favor of technology. The two can’t be mutually exclusive. Ory Okolloh, Google’s Policy Manager for Africa, said, “What makes change happen is the people using technology — they have to be engaged and still organize and take action in order for technology to have any relevance to us.”
The symposium was the first in what is expected to be an annual event for ONE Africa. As ONE cofounder Bono said in his closing statement, “The 21st century belongs to Africa. People say ‘Africa? I thought it was China’. And I say: ‘Ask the Chinese because they are all going to Africa.” Spread the word, Africa is leading change and innovation now.
For more information about ONE in Africa please visit www.one.org/africa.
|
Feb 15th, 2011 8:54 AM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
|
In recent years there has been real progress in efforts to improve livelihoods and fight poverty and disease. Although affected by the global recession, African economies bounced back quickly and are amongst the fastest growing in the world.
But despite this progress, too many still live in extreme poverty. And even those who don’t fall within the technical definition of poverty often suffer as a result of poor governance and a lack of opportunity.
Yet balanced against these challenges are real signs of hope.
Rapid advances in technology – together with our greater understanding of how to harness it – are accelerating the ability of citizens to demand improvements in the services their government provides, just as they are enabling governments to improve the supply of services to their citizens.
New technologies are also enabling other progress: entrepreneurs can expand their markets to reach the most marginalised people, and the most remote producers can sell their goods at fairer prices because their mobile phones allow them to find out the real market rate. And with these developments come the hope of a more equitable form of growth in years to come.
It is within this context that ONE will be hosting a dynamic discussion on the role of transparency and technology in promoting and driving economic development in Johannesburg on 15 February. The ONE Africa Symposium 2011 will feature several speakers in short inspirational 10-minute presentations about ideas that will help shape ONE’s work.
We will hear from students, policy makers, technology experts, academics and creatives, from all over Africa. Together we’ll highlight innovations that can drive increased transparency and accountability in governments and corporations. Throughout the symposium, we hope to amplify ideas that can inform policy makers and inspire entrepreneurs and activists. These ideas could ultimately transform Africa.
I’ll hope you join us and follow the conversation on Twitter via the #ONEsymposium hashtag.
|
Jan 28th, 2011 10:01 AM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
A S. Sudan referendum ballot. Photo courtesy of USAID.
With the conflict in Darfur continuing with relatively little coverage, despite further standoffs between the UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping mission and Sudan Armed Forces, most news reports continue to focus on Southern Sudan’s referendum. The latest news coming out of Sudan indicate that of the approximately 3 million votes cast, nearly 99 percent of Southern Sudanese voters have chosen to split from Northern Sudan to form their own country.
These results are not yet official as counting remains ongoing, but all indications continue to suggest that there will soon be a new country in Africa. While preliminary results should be released on January 30th, the official results are expected on February 14th at the latest. Then if all goes to plan, formal independence for South Sudan will be achieved on July 9th, when the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) treaty is set to expire.
(more…)
|
Jan 14th, 2011 5:27 PM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
|
This week in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the critically important party conventions to decide the candidates for the April 2011 elections have been underway.
The incumbent party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), proceeded first on January 13th. The convention took place in the middle of Abuja, the capital city, amidst tight security aimed at preventing a repeat of the Christmas day bombings that resulted in the deaths of several Nigerians out celebrating the holidays. The Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (MEND) rebel group claimed responsibility for those attacks and had warned that they would continue to disrupt any attempts to convene political events.
The PDP conventions did go on peacefully, with voting by more than 3,000 delegates representing the 36 states of the country. The last tallies were not called until early on January 14th with the results favoring incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. His main opponent, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, secured only 700 of the more than 3,000 votes cast.
The main opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), followed the PDP’s convention with their Lagos-held event, which drew many of the leaders from the Southern States, where the ACN has developed their
stronghold, as well as a few northern leaders. The front contender in their convention was Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, popularly known for his role as Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) until he was forced to leave following his very successful but controversial efforts to tackle corruption in the government. Shortly after the convention started, the two other candidates withdrew their candidacy, leaving Ribadu to stand as the sole contender and eventually supporting his nomination as the 2011 ACN nominee for the presidential elections.
Last week, the former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was elected as the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) at its national convention. There was no opposition against him. This is the third time in a row that the former military Head of State is contesting for the presidency of the country. In the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections, he contested on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP. It is being speculated that the ACN and CPC will eventually strike a deal and form a coalition against the PDP. This could ultimately prove to be a very real threat to the PDP.
The last major convention scheduled, for the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), will take place tomorrow, Saturday, January 15th, and contenders will include a former presidential candidate, Othman Tofa, the northern Kano State Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau and the wealthy politician, Harry Akande.
The response to the results of the conventions held so far have been mixed. Many feel that delegate votes are being bought while others have applauded the transparent manner in which the conventions are being conducted, televised from start to finish. If one were to take a pessimistic view you could say that when you buy votes, you save the trouble of stuffing the ballot box and can conduct “transparent elections”. Without any evidence to substantiate these claims, I’ll take the optimistic view and congratulate the parties for successfully conducted party conventions.
|
Jul 26th, 2010 1:46 PM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
|
It is that time of year where I get to announce that the ONE Africa Award is once again open to receive applications from African individuals and organizations, based in Africa, who are leading the fight against extreme poverty. The award of up to $100,000 aims to showcase civil society working on the ground to bring about change amongst the poorest people in Africa. This year, we are looking for organizations involved in new and exciting advocacy strategies that are transforming lives by demanding action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Since becoming the first ONE Africa award recipient in 2008, Development Communications has continued their boot-camp style training for journalists on maternal and child health issues. They have forged partnerships with other organizations working to ensure that maternal and child health issues remain at the top of the Nigerian development agenda.
Our 2009 ONE award recipient, SIDAREC, was founded by a group of young people from the slums who have worked hard to uplift the standard of living of the youth living in Kenya’s slum communities by tapping into their skills and talents. The ONE Award has allowed SIDAREC to support some of their most underfunded programs including their radio station, Ghetto FM, and their Early Childhood Development (ECD) and HIV/AIDS support programs. ONE Award funds have helped SIDAREC enroll more children at the ECD centers and has been instrumental in helping SIDAREC equip their Kibera Resource Centers.
Since the Award, SIDAREC has received numerous visitors all interested to know about their programs. Many colleges and universities are sending students to SIDAREC for internships. The award has enhanced SIDAREC’s credibility as an important resource in local and international youth projects and SIDAREC is considered an organization worth partnering with to support youth projects and reach the community members with messages of hope.
So spread the word! The ONE Africa award is a great opportunity to spotlight some of the exceptional work happening on the African continent. If you are eligible, or you know an organization that is, I encourage you to apply before the September 24th deadline.
Find out more on the ONE Africa Award web site.
|
Jul 15th, 2010 12:00 PM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh
|
A couple weeks ago we announced the great news that Liberia had reached HIPC completion point. For countries with a lot of international debt, the HIPC process offers a means to debt cancellation from multilateral organizations by undertaking major and difficult reforms to improve country economic and financial systems.
Liberia started the HIPC process two years ago with US$4.9 billion in debt, and potential annual repayments that overshadowed their entire annual budgets! Throughout the period of Liberia’s civil war and the resulting crisis, loans were not serviced and interest and penalties accumulated. By reaching completion point, Liberia has passed the 12 triggers stipulated by the World Bank and the IMF and today, Liberia has had $4.6 billion of their multilateral debt has been cancelled.
This action is a recognition of the tremendous efforts taken to transform Liberia, under the leadership of President Johnson-Sirleaf, and is an endorsement of the progress made in public financial management, debt management, governance, social service provision and the implementation of a poverty reduction strategy.
This decision now opens up more fiscal space for Liberia, allowing them the opportunity to embark on more development programs that will help expand the economy whilst continuing to tackle poverty. It also paves the way for additional debt relief. Liberia still has a way to go before we can declare victory. The Paris club, which holds Liberia’s bilateral debt, includes wealthy countries that meet under the Chairmanship of the French Ministry of Finance. Their next meeting is in September and the HIPC completion news certainly positions Liberia to make the best case possible.
|
|
