This year’s APP report has three main parts: an account of Africa’s continued but inconsistent progress in the past year; the potential for the current global economic crisis to reverse many of Africa’s positive developments; and how shared responsibility between African leaders and international partners can mitigate the effects of the global financial crisis, helping Africa to meet its potential.

The overall trend in Africa has been positive—Africa is increasing development and decreasing conflict. Specific sectors have also seen success. Health sector improvements, for example, have been significant: Several countries have seen decreases of AIDS prevalence and increases in antiretroviral treatment. In Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia, malaria-related mortalities have reduced significantly. However, some areas need improvement: Nutritional needs remain un-met and food shortages persist.

In the past year, growth in education and governance sectors has been mixed: 29 African countries have developed national educational plans endorsed by the World Bank’s Fast-Track Initiative (FTI) and 15 nations had achieved gender parity by 2008, but the enrollment rate is still the lowest in the world, with 49 million children out of school. The governments of 29 countries have agreed to the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD)’s African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). However, the African Union estimates that the continent still loses nearly $150 billion a year to corruption.

Despite these advances, the current global economic crisis-turned development crisis will likely hit Africa harder than most regions, threatening to undo the gains Africa has made. The APP charges Africa’s leaders with primary responsibility, but recognizes that they will need help. Therefore, the APP urges international partners and donors to aid Africa in its efforts, calling for immediate assistance to maintain stability and financial flows.

To help maintain Africa’s stability and avoid reverses in development, the APP advocates for job creation, the integration of climate change adaptation/mitigation into development agendas, increased infrastructure development, and greater emphasis on agricultural development. The report calls for G8 and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to extend the cut-off date for the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program until the end of 2008 and for international donors to deliver on their Gleneagles commitments. The report also encourages African leaders to strengthen relationships with emerging partners, such as India, Brazil, and China, who could lend unique development experience. Finally, it recommends a stronger African voice in international discourse and urges African leaders to focus on governance, accountability, and transparency. With this emphasis on shared responsibility, the APP sees Africa as an emerging international business partner.

ONE is very excited to get this valuable complement to our own analysis. Partnering with APP gives ONE and other members of the international community important insight into the situation on the ground. Read the full report and press release here. Be sure to check out ONE’s 2009 DATA Report as well.

-Pooja Gupta

Greetings from snowy Oslo, Norway, where government ministers, campaigners and education experts are currently gathered for the High Level Group meeting on Education for All. The conference is the eighth annual since the historic World Education Forum in 2000, which set forth the Dakar Framework for Action, a roadmap to achieve quality education for all by 2015.
 
Participants here in Oslo are acutely aware that halfway towards the target date set for achieving the goals set out in Dakar and the MDG targets on education, the world remains seriously off track: according to new statistics published a couple weeks ago in UNESCO’s annual Global Monitoring Report (GMR), there are still 75 million primary-school aged children out-of-school around the world, 35 million of whom are living in sub-Saharan Africa. 55% of these children are girls, and over one-third live in fragile states. If current trends continue, 29 million children will still be out of primary school in 2015.
 
Another common thread in many of the discussions here is that amidst the current global economic crisis, the case for expanding access to quality education is stronger than ever. Evidence shows that investments in education yield some of the highest returns in development. With its strong linkages to health, economic growth and gender equality, progress in education is central to progress on all the Millennium Development Goals. Take child mortality, the third MDG- the new GMR found that when mothers receive a primary education, the likelihood that their children will survive past age five increases by 25 percent. With a secondary education, this likelihood increases to 50 percent.
 
Also on high on the agenda here in Oslo is how to strike the balance between access and quality.  Many countries, especially in Africa, have made great strides in the past few years in expanding access to education- debt relief, for example, helped many countries  abolish school fees, opening school doors for millions of children in the world’s poorest countries. In both Ethiopia and Tanzania, for example, 3 million more children were enrolled in primary school between 1999 and 2006. However once these children are in school, the challenge is to make sure they are learning something.  A central component of this is ensuring that schools are equipped with trained teachers who have manageable class sizes. One startling finding of this year’s report is that 18 million more teachers will be needed by 2015 to achieve universal primary education (which calls for one teacher for every 40 students). This is a tall order for most developing governments, especially because donors are not doing their part to provide the long-term, predictable funding education ministers need in order to recruit and retain quality teachers. Currently only 17% of aid to basic education is available for teachers’ salaries, despite the fact that they account for 70-90% of education budgets.

Many are hopeful that strong language on what’s needed in teacher financing will be included in the Oslo Declaration, which will be finalized here later today. Check back here later for an update.

-Nora Coghlan, ONE Policy Analyst