Stephen works on ONE’s U.S. Communications Team as a media coordinator. Before joining ONE, Stephen served as Deputy Press Assistant for Congressman Tom Reynolds of New York. Stephen attended Syracuse University and is a proud native of Buffalo, NY. He now lives in Washington, DC.
Africa Has Less Say After Changes in World Bank Voting — The World Bank has described its recent increase in the voting power of emerging economies as a reform “to enhance voice and participation of developing and transition countries”. But the shift has actually decreased a third of African countries’ share of votes, AllAfrica.com reports. Eighteen sub-Saharan countries have lost a measure of their already modest influence in the institution’s decision-making process. Nigeria and South Africa are hardest hit, their voting powers having been decreased by about 10 percent. Only oil-rich Sudan – whose president has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on suspicion of war crimes – has seen its share of votes increase, the site reports. (AllAfrica.com reports)
In Africa, Google Sows Seeds for Future Growth — Despite some of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the world, Africa has enticed Google Inc. Lured by the continent’s growth potential, Google aims to convince entrepreneurs, students and aid workers to make use of its search, mapping and mobile-phone technologies. But Africa—with many regions that have limited access to electricity—presents huge obstacles. Google executives say that despite challenges, Africa represents one of the fastest growth rates for Internet use in the world. Nigeria already has about 24 million users and South Africa and Kenya aren’t far behind. Most Internet services in Africa are provided by cell phone companies; mobile-phone use in Africa has grown rapidly in the last decade and remains the most common way people communicate with each other, as opposed to email or social-networking sites. (Wall Street Journal by Will Connors)
Instead of new G8 promises, push for delivery on past promises — An op-ed in Canada’s National Post argues that instead of pressing the G8 to make a raft of new promises, it might be more useful to ask G8 countries to fulfill the pledges they already have made. “Time is running out to make good on the G8′s past promises to developing countries. (Canadian Prime Minister Stephen) Harper has promised a G8 summit whose hallmark is accountability. He can achieve this by insisting on the creation of a rigorous monitoring mechanism for the G8′s pledges on international development — and the institutionalization of this mechanism a few days later inside the G20. By working to deliver on past foreign-aid commitments, Mr. Harper could ensure that the last G8 summit is remembered as one of the most productive,” the authors write. (op-ed by Brett House and Desiree McGraw)
WHO chief calls for greater efforts to reach UN millennium goals — The chief of the World Health Organization yesterday called on governments to make greater efforts to reach the United Nations’ eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target year of 2015. “We have very little time left, and little space for unproductive debates. We need to move forward fast,” Margaret Chan told the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), which opened on Monday in Geneva. “”Recent progress tells us that when the international community is fully committed to a goal, creative solutions can be found and obstacles, including financial ones, can be overcome,” Chan said. (Xinhua reports)
U.S. Starts $55 Million Agriculture Program in Southern Sudan — The United States has started a $55 million program in southern Sudan to help improve the ability of small farmers to grow staple crops, the U.S. Agency for International Development said. The five-year initiative, called the Food, Agribusiness, and Rural Markets (FARM) program, will focus on the Equatoria region, where agricultural production is seen to have the greatest potential, USAID said today in a statement released in Juba, the capital of southern Sudan. “Agriculture is the backbone of the economic development in southern Sudan, employing the majority of the population of more than 8 million, 80 percent of whom live in rural areas,” according to a USAID statement. Southern Sudan’s government sees agriculture as a means to help ease the economy’s dependence on oil. (Bloomberg reports)
Over the weekend, the New York Times printed several letters in response to last week’s articles on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. The letters provide an interesting cross-section of perspectives and responses on where America’s fight against global AIDS stands.
Eric Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, wrote that the NY Times article “conveyed an unjustifiably negative picture of the global AIDS fight.” He wrote that, “While challenges remain, we are building on and expanding our successes, not walking away from them. This is a global responsibility, and we are using this success story to invite other governments and donors to join us in meeting it.”
A nurse who has helped treat AIDS patients in Ethiopia also wrote that she was disheartened by the article, but found encouragement “that maybe, just maybe, the urgency of the situation is now clear to the American people, and we will join forces and call on President Obama to build upon, not shift from, the success of Pepfar.”
Check out all the letters here and, if you haven’t yet, you can read a good analysis by ONE’s Josh Lozman and Erin Hohlfelder here.
President Jacob Zuma an “unlikely leader” on AIDS — In a nation ravaged by AIDS, a disease still hidden in shadows of stigma and shame, President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has begun to engage in an extraordinarily open conversation about sex, AIDS and H.I.V. prevention, one ignited in part by his own recent admission that he had unprotected sex during an extramarital affair. (NY Times report, Celia Dugger)
Tropical diseases: not just Africa’s and South Asia’s problem — Included in President Obama’s “Global Health Initiative” are efforts to devote resources to neglected tropical diseases, afflictions like hookworm infections, river blindness and elephantiasis that many think have gone the way of smallpox, but which still make up the most common ailments in Africa and among the world’s bottom billion. A New York Times op-ed argues that these diseases have not only been neglected in Africa, but in the Caribbean and even parts of the United States. (NY Times op-ed by Peter J. Hotez)
WTO says Doha conclusion key to global recovery — The conclusion of the stalled Doha Round of free trade talks—which would help poor countries access the global marketplace—is crucial to the recovery from the global financial crisis, World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy said on Sunday. “The Doha Round, at this moment of the crisis exiting, is a vitally needed and, to be frank, a very low cost global economic stimulus package,” Lamy said.(AFP report)
Genetically-engineered crops and the world’s poor — Lost in the din from both sides in the battle over the use of genetically-engineered crops is the potential role this technology could play in the poorest regions of the world — areas that will bear the brunt of climate change and the difficult growing conditions it will bring, argues an op-ed published in the NY Times. “The stakes are too high for us not to make the best use of genetic engineering. If we fail to invest responsibly in agricultural research, if we continue to allow propaganda to trump science, then the potential for global agriculture to be productive, diverse and sustainable will go unfulfilled. And it’s not those of us here in the developed world who will suffer the direct consequences, but rather the poorest and most vulnerable,” the authors write. (NY Times op-ed by Pamela C. Ronald and James E. McWilliams)
Head of USAID says he plans to increase funding and staff for Africa programs — Speaking from Nairobi, Kenya, USAID Administrator Raj Shah said he is working to make Africa a bigger priority and plans to increase funding and staff for programs in Africa to help the continent reduce poverty, disease and illiteracy, but he did not provide any figures. Shah is on his first visit to Africa since taking charge as the administrator in January; it is a six-day trip that includes a visit to Sudan. (AP report)
It is time to see Africa another way — In a special Africa edition edited by Bono and Bob Geldof, the Globe and Mail says Africa will be a central player in the 21st Century, economically and culturally. In an editorial, the paper writes, “This century is being invented before our eyes, and Africa is the site of the greatest transformation. Canada, and the other G8 and G20 countries that gather in June, had better recognize opportunity knocking – before it knocks them over.”
Development is a strategic and moral imperative for the United States, says President Obama — Bono interviews President Obama for today’s special edition of The Globe and Mail. The President says the United States and donor nations need to recommit to making serious and sustainable progress toward the Millennium Development Goals and reiterates that good governance and sustainable, African-led initiatives are key to successful development.
Fight against AIDS in Africa hangs in the balance — The New York Times reports from Uganda that new AIDS infections are outpacing the medicines and resources of donor nations, especially in light of the global recession. Uganda is the first country where major clinics routinely turn people away, but it will not be the last. The collapse was set off by the global recession’s effect on donors, and by a growing sense that more lives would be saved by fighting other, cheaper diseases. Even as the number of people infected by AIDS grows by a million a year, money for treatment has stopped growing.
Leaders of Ethiopia and Malawi invited to G20 summit –Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper invited the two African nations as special invitees to next month’s G20 Summit in Toronto. The two nations will join South Africa as the only African countries represented at the summit.
Fighting poverty and disease—or tackling any social problem—on a big scale often comes down to answering small questions. That’s the jumping off point for the pioneering, award-winning work of economist Esther Duflo. Duflo, a professor at MIT, is breaking ground in using the scientific method and research to determine what works and what doesn’t when it comes to development.
The small yet fascinating questions she explores— If school kids get uniforms for free, does attendance go up? Is it better to give away bed nets for free or for a small price to encourage use? What’s the most effective way to reward mothers for immunizing their babies?—can be keys to smarter policies and more effective, efficient investments.
Duflo spoke about her work at the TED2010 Conference in February, and TED just released the video of her presentation. It’s an entertaining, informative rundown of her important work and findings. Check it out below.
This Sunday, April 25 is World Malaria Day, a moment to continue to build momentum behind efforts that are beating back this entirely preventable and treatable disease.
On World Malaria Day and throughout 2010, ONE is part of a global partnership called United Against Malaria, which brings together other nonprofits, corporations, athletes, celebrities, government officials and grassroots activists to kick the world into high gear to end deaths from malaria. The project, which is playing off the popularity of soccer, especially the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, will have many activities going on around the world this week and more ways to get involved throughout the summer.
One of the coolest elements of United Against Malaria is a new film documentary called “When the Night Comes.” Directed by Bobby Bailey, founder of the organization Invisible Children, the film is an entertaining, emotional and insightful look at the devastating effect of malaria in Africa and how it can be beat. Among others, ONE’s President and CEO David Lane is featured in the film (check out the video clip below).
You can watch the film yourself or check the film’s facebook page for future screenings and more info. A clip from the film is also being featured in ONE Sabbath events on World Malaria Day this Sunday.
Sheila Nix, ONE’s U.S. Executive Director, writes an opinion piece in the influential Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call today, making the case for continued investment against global disease and poverty as a key piece of U.S. foreign policy. Sheila particularly highlights agriculture as an effective and self-sustaining pathway out of poverty for millions in the developing world. She writes,
So while foreign assistance is a very small proportion of the overall budget, its effectiveness is both measurable and priceless. These investments are helping shape a world where no one dies from malaria, no more children are born with HIV and families are able to feed themselves and others through the use of sustainable agriculture techniques. But this future reality is possible only with continued strong support from the United States.
I recently traveled in Ghana as part of ONE’s new campaign Women ONE2ONE and saw firsthand how America’s investment in agriculture has lifted up entire communities visited a rice farm, supported by a U.S.-based nonprofit that receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development, that gave farmers — most of whom were women — greater access to seeds, fertilizer and training, which led to improved crop yields. These entrepreneurs are then able to invest in their communities, send children to school and provide a pathway out of poverty. This can happen all over Africa if we continue to make sustained and smart investments there.
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.
