Clinton in Africa 2009
Later today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will land in South Africa (the second stop of her 11-day trip to Africa) and meet with leaders to discuss the issue of HIV/AIDS, an epidemic that has hit South African particularly hard.
Approximately 6 million people are currently living with HIV in South Africa—more than any other country in the world. Women make up the largest number of those infected, but rates are high for children, too (nearly 300,000 children are infected). Tuberculosis (TB)—the leading cause of death in South Africa—is responsible an estimated 13 deaths every hour.
South Africa’s response to HIV/AIDS began early in the pandemic: the first AIDS Advisory Group was formed in 1985. And while the government has occasionally been criticized for its response to the epidemic, the past five years have seen consistent increases in HIV/AIDS funding. By 2011, domestic financing is scheduled to reach nearly $1 billion a year, but concerns linger over what effects the current recession (the first in 17 years) will have on the upcoming health budget. Observers remain cautiously optimistic that the new health minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi, will follow in the strong footsteps of former health minister Barbara Hogan.
Donor financed health initiatives have played an important role in South Africa’s efforts to provide HIV prevention, care, and treatment services to its people. The country is one of the 15 focus countries for the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), receiving nearly $600 million in 2008. Looking ahead, Eric Goosby, the new head of PEPFAR, said that focus countries should expect to see a greater emphasis on prevention, country partnerships and strengthening health systems.
Since 2002, South Africa has also received $228.6 from the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS and TB—and this aid, combined with that from PEPFAR and other donors, appears to be working, as the number of people living with HIV under the age of 20 has dropped. But as the global financial crisis threatens to overturn this progress, continued U.S. support for these programs is critical.
Stay tuned to the ONE blog for further updates on Secretary Clinton’s travels through Africa.
-Lisa Fleisher
Another post from ONE’s Edith Jibunoh from the AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.
At the AGOA ministerial opening ceremony this morning, both Kenyan President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga gave speeches after Secretary Clinton’s welcoming remarks. Prime Minister Odinga reiterated much of what he spoke about on the first day, further emphasizing the need for inter-regional trade and the importance of developing an African trade agenda. He commended the leadership of Secretary Clinton, noting her ability to accept defeat in the U.S. elections and still go on to work with her former opponent. He noted that in Africa—where had said many elections are rigged—losers often do not accept defeat. This statement proceeded to cause quite a stir, as President Kibaki was scheduled to speak next. Many will recall that President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga were at odds over the disputed 2007 Kenyan elections in Kenya. Terrible post-election violence led to over 1,200 people being killed and 300,000 people being displaced from their homes. The crisis was abated when President Kibaki accepted a brokered arrangement to share power with Prime Minister Odinga in the Kenyan government.
During his remarks, President Kibaki emphasized the importance of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and said that he hoped the AGOA forum would lead to greater product diversity and a greater share of trade between Africa and the U.S. Obstacles in the way to achieving this, he said, included inadequate financing for capacity building, inefficient production techniques, stringent certification procedures and high transport costs. Kibaki then noted that Africa has undergone tremendous changes—and Kenya was certainly no exception. The country had introduced electoral reforms, strengthened media and human rights, and had begun taking steps towards a constitutional review (which could result in a new constitution within a year), bringing greater accountability to all government actions for the good of all Kenyans.
Despite these remarks by both leaders, there seemed to be a lot of skepticism in Kenya about the sincerity of the Kenyan government in ensuring that these reforms translated into real change, both locally and globally. In a private meeting between Secretary Clinton and President Kibaki following the opening ceremony, Secretary Clinton raised the issue of the local tribunal bill (which was recently squashed in parliament). This bill was meant to initiate local tribunals that would consider cases related to the post-election violence, bringing justice to the victims. Clinton insisted that these tribunals were in the best interest of Kenyans and called on the Kenyan government to follow through on their commitment. This statement then sparked off a local debate on whether or not western nations should lecture Africans (in this case Kenya) on good governance. A poll conducted by the Kenyan television network resulted in 59% of respondents calling in to say YES, and 41% calling in to say NO.
-Edith Jibunoh
Earlier today, ONE’s Nora Coghlan wrote in about an exciting visit that the folks on the OCC trip made to the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI).
Turns out, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is headed there, too! In a press briefing yesterday, Ambassador Johnnie Carson mentioned that while in Kenya, Secretary Clinton would be visiting KARI, one of the “premier agricultural research institutes in Africa” (and a grantee of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Carson said that the visit would allow Secretary Clinton to meet with many world-class African scientists and would allow her to talk about and promote the Administration’s emerging food security initiative announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy. We’ll keep you posted with more details.
You can read the Secretary’s remarks here.
-Pooja Gupta
ONE President & CEO David Lane was just on MSNBC speaking with reporter Andrea Mitchell about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Africa, which we’ve been reporting on on the ONE Blog. Andrea Mitchell is currently in Nairobi, Kenya covering Clinton’s trip. We’ll have more video as it becomes available to us.
-Chris Scott
UPDATE: Here’s video of Clinton’s speech via the State Department
Here’s a post from ONE’s Nora Coghlan, who is on the ground at the AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.
The AGOA Forum officially began this morning in Nairobi, with welcoming remarks from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.
Taking the podium first, Clinton pointed to the U.S. government’s strong attendance at the forum (the Secretary is joined in Nairobi by Sec. of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and Rep. Nita Lowey, Rep. Donald Payne and Rep. Jim McDermott) as evidence of the importance that she and President Obama place on trade and commerce, both between the U.S. and Africa and among African countries. Clinton said that her trip would build on the President’s message during his recent visit to Ghana that progress in Africa requires not only partnerships based on shared responsibilities, but also shared opportunities. Clinton applauded the African-driven progress on the continent in recent years, citing Rwanda’s post-genocide recovery, Sudanese entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim’s efforts to measure and reward accountable governance, and most recently, the new underwater cable that was installed off the coast East Africa, bringing high speed internet to millions of Africans.
Sec. Clinton then listed out areas that demand greater attention moving forward: trade, development, governance and women. On trade, the Secretary said that the U.S. wants to be Africa’s partner, not its patron. She pointed out that if Africa (which currently accounts for 2% of global trade) could increase its trade share by just 1%, global trade would bring in more earnings than development assistance.
Clinton acknowledged that while market access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was necessary, it isn’t doing enough to transform African economies. She said the U.S. is ready to roll up its sleeves to lower remaining trade barriers and will work with African businesses and governments to build capacity and diversify product eligibility. She also encouraged African countries to open up trade with each other (African nations trade the least with each other when compared to any other region in the world), noting that there are 700 million consumers in Africa and only 300 million in the U.S.
On development, Clinton said that the administration is committed to ensuring that trade and development policies work together and that the U.S. would look to enhance efforts to provide trade capacity. She also reiterated President Obama’s intent to double foreign assistance by 2014. This money, she said, would be spent differently than in the past, with a strong focus on results and country-driven solutions. There would also be greater coordination within the U.S. government and among donors about development policy. Clinton also announced that she had been asked by President Obama to convene a food security meeting and she would lead on the new agricultural initiative recently announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy ($20 billion for agricultural development and food security over three years).
Sec. Clinton then echoed much of President Obama’s speech in Accra, noting that while democracy is important for strong development, democracy is about more than just the ballot box. It is about strong institutions, an independent judiciary, free press, and a vibrant civil society.
Turning to the future of Africa’s women, Clinton noted that despite the efforts of prominent African female leaders (Kenya’s Wangari Mathai and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf), the social, economic and political marginalization of Africa’s women continues to undermine progress and prosperity on the continent. Women, Clinton said, are doing the work of an entire continent: collecting water and firewood, harvesting farms and raising the next generation of leaders. With the right tools and opportunities, women will transform their communities—and the entire continent.
Clinton ended by saying that Africa has all the right ingredients for an extraordinary explosion of growth, prosperity and progress. There is no reason to wait.
Clinton’s remarks were then followed by a video address from President Obama. The President echoed much of what he said in Ghana, noting that in an increasingly interconnected era, the economic fortunes of the U.S. and Africa are intertwined and the seeds of the global economic recovery will need to be planted everywhere. He also said that trade between the U.S. and Africa has not reached its full potential. Open markets are a first step, but they have to be accompanied by enhanced trade capacity and a commitment by African governments to respect the rule of law, promote accountability and transparency, and improve investment climates.
More on Kibaki and Odinga’s remarks to follow.
-Nora Coghlan
As you know, today Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began her seven country trip to Africa with a visit to Kenya. While there, she intends to meet with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, touching on one of the main themes of her trip: partnering with regional leaders to foster good governance.
Want to learn a bit more about the two Kenyan leaders Clinton intends to meet with? Click here to read bios of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga.
Make sure to keep an eye on the ONE blog for continued posts about her trip!
-Pooja Gupta
Here’s a post from ONE’s Edith Jibunoh, who’s on the ground at the AGOA Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will address the forum tomorrow morning.
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum opened today in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme “Realizing the Full Potential of AGOA through Expansion of Trade and Investment.” AGOA allows eligible African countries to trade with the United States under favorable terms, in an effort to help increase exports from Africa to the U.S.
The first day of the three day forum featured discussions between the private sector, civil society, and African ministers. Issues addressed included AGOA’s performance, capacity development, and how to maximize AGOA’s opportunities. In the opening session, Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga emphasized the importance of aid, but said that is must be effectively applied. He stressed the importance of focusing locally to help build investment capacity, as rapid economic growth would be best achieved through trade. Odinga also noted that African countries had been through strict reforms, and that the continent remained weak in their export capacities due to national strategies that focused on small and medium enterprise (SME) development. While he said that SME’s could not meet the number of bulk orders from the U.S., they could certainly meet regional demands. But in order to do this, African countries had to focus more on inter-regional trade and open up their borders to encourage the free flow of goods between African countries.
Odinga closed his remarks by stating that the terms ‘governance, transparency and accountability’ were created only after the fall of the Berlin Wall and after the end of the old style of development assistance based on Cold War alliances. To this end, he called on African governments to do what they know to be right, rather than focusing on placating donors, and encouraging them to focus on trading their way out of the economic crisis.
More updates to follow.
-Edith Jibunoh
