Policy News

The Guardian: Time to talk dirty
Guardian blogger, Sarah Boseley, highlights a new report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF, which says that “the world is on track to meet or even exceed the drinking-water target,” as part of the Millennium Development Goals. According to the 2010 Update Report, 87 percent of the world’s population – around 5.9 billion people – have safe drinking water. However, while access to drinking water has improved, the report found that sanitation is “a long way off target still.” Boseley emphasizes the shocking statistic that “unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene claim the lives of an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five each year,” maintaining that “It may not be as big a conversational issue as AIDS or malaria, but it sure matters, and this one is not just amenable to healthcare improvements. It needs poverty reduction and education – the basic stuff of development – just as much.”

The Huffington Post: How Long Does It Take To Buy a Life-Saving Vaccine? (Op-Ed)
Dr. Orin Levine of Johns Hopkins University emphasizes a pledge made by former Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr, JW Lee, in which he challenged the international community to work together to make the vaccine for pneumococcal disease – one of the largest killers of children in Africa – available to a wider population. Five years after this challenge was posed, Levine analyzes how far the global health community has come, maintaining that while progress has certainly been made, “procurement challenges and differences on pricing policies continue to vex our efforts to get vaccines to the world’s neediest children.” Said Levine, “Living up to the challenge set out five years ago by Dr. Lee requires that the leadership in global health and vaccines make it a 2010 priority to resolve these issues. The children of these countries and the many stakeholders doing their part deserve nothing less.”

Miami Herald: Head goes here (Op-Ed)
Will Bennett, a former Air Force technical sergeant and active ONE member, argues that it is imperative that Congress support smart U.S. development and global poverty-fighting efforts as a key part of a sound national security strategy. Having served in active combat zones, Bennett recalls experiencing firsthand the “importance of foreign aid to our national security,” arguing that maintaining U.S. investments helps to “make the American public safer, make our world more stable and help prevent vulnerable regions around the world from descending into strife or violence.” Said Bennett, “Effective development, working hand-in-hand with accountable leadership and local communities in places like sub-Saharan Africa works to stabilize volatile areas and reduce the risk of regions becoming a security liability for the United States. Foreign development aid is critical to our national security strategy and must continue to be funded.”

The New York Times: A Different Kind of Aid: Hand Out Money (Op-Ed)
Journalist Floyd Whaley highlights an experimental aid study that Oxfam conducted in 2006 in which they gave one-time cash grants to 550 poor households on the coast of Vietnam. Oxfam’s reviews of the program found that families had used the money to improve their household food security and overall income, with many investing in cows that generate long-term revenue for the family. According to the study, school dropout rates decreased, and gender equity in the village improved, with women sharing control of the money. Critics of such direct cash payments, however, say they don’t affect the structural causes of poverty, such as deficiencies in education and infrastructure necessary to generate job-creating investments. Said Whaley, “It’s unlikely that the billions of dollars in development aid that is spent annually will ever be turned over to the poor without conditions, but the Oxfam program deserves a closer look by traditional development organizations.”

Reuters: U.S. presses India on Doha trade talks
A top U.S. official on Monday urged India and other large emerging economies to rescue the eight-year-old Doha round of world trade talks by making better offers to open their markets to American goods. The talks aim to help poor countries prosper through trade, but, according to Reuters, the United States complains current proposals require it to make politically painful cuts in agricultural subsidies and manufacturing tariffs without getting substantial new export opportunities in return. Last year, Obama, India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders of the Group of 20 countries set a goal of finishing the Doha round by the end of 2010, which Reuters maintains requires a major breakthrough if the deadline is going to be made. Said Michael Froman, deputy White House national security adviser, “The question on the table is whether India, as well as the other major emerging markets, will do what it takes to achieve the greater level of ambition that is necessary to make the Doha agreement feasible.”

Reuters: Donors asked for $4.3 billion for vaccines for poor
The GAVI Alliance (Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization) said Monday that a further $4.3 billion is needed if it is to meet its goal of supplying life-saving immunizations to millions of children in poor countries by 2015. According to Reuters, GAVI has almost completed a large-scale campaign to supply so-called pentavalent, or five-in-one, vaccines to fight a range of preventable diseases including hepatitis B, tetanus and whooping cough in developing countries. The scale of GAVI’s buying and distribution power allows it to secure much lower prices for vaccines, which are then supplied to poor nations at a fraction of their cost. In a statement to potential donors, the vaccine organization emphasized that “With $7 billion, (GAVI) will be able to fully roll out pentavalent vaccine and introduce new vaccines against pneumococcal disease and rotavirus diarrhea in over 40 countries. These last two vaccines alone can save one million children by 2015.”

The Vancouver Sun: Tiny sprinkles could have big impact fighting malnutrition
The Vancouver Sun explores the growing area of micronutrient powders, or “sprinkles” that, when shaken over food, add a potent boost of iron and essential vitamins that are helping to fight childhood malnutrition. Henk-Jan Brinkman, an economist and senior adviser with the UN’s World Food Program, said studies have tracked children into adulthood and found striking differences in income between those who received adequate nutrition in their earliest days, and those who did not. Brinkman was in Ottawa this week to talk about low-cost solutions to hunger and poor nutrition around the world, part of a wider effort to push governments to meet the Millennium Development Goals set in 2005. According to the Sun, the topic has gained momentum since Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in January that maternal and child health will top the agenda during this summer’s G8 meeting.

The Financial Times: Agriculture: a growing investment
The Financial Times reports that in spite of its central importance to society, agriculture is a sector that has long been misunderstood or ignored by investors, but this may be set to change. Factors such as climate change, rising food prices, a growing global population and the availability of fresh water are all contributing to a growing concern over the ability of the global agricultural sector to feed the world. According to the Times, many of these factors are linked by the need to do more with less and to eliminate waste in the supply chain, including the development of more robust, higher-yielding seeds that are more resistant to disease, pests or drought. Despite continued controversy over their use, there are likely to be more genetically modified (GM) crops. Said one source, “The need for the agricultural sector to address such serious issues creates opportunities, from the seed to the supermarket.”

The New York Times: Haiti’s Do-It-Yourself Recovery (Op-Ed)
Journalist Lawrence Downes argues that despite the Haitian government’s reputation as “hopeless,” the Haitian people are showing “powerful tendencies toward self-organizing, adaptability and cooperation.” During a recent visit to the earthquake-ravaged country, Downes found that Haitians are now “juggling new jobs” to rebuild their country, including becoming carpenters, earthmovers and deconstruction contractors, as well as “entrepreneurs, planners and organizers, working together when there is no one else to help.” Said Downes, “In the second world, where the Haitians are, people can’t afford to wait for helping hands. Life is improvised, fluid, dire, sometimes desperate but not panicked. The people seemed immune to whining. They were busy doing what needs doing.”

Reuters: Drugmakers agree on landmark vaccines deal for poor
Reuters reports that several drug firms have agreed on a landmark deal to supply up to 200 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations. The agreement is the first under a new scheme called an Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which provides a guaranteed market for vaccines supplied to poor nations but sets a maximum price that drug makers can expect to receive. According to Reuters, it is likely to pave the way for future deals on recently introduced vaccines against rotavirus and an experimental one against malaria, which combined kill millions in poor countries each year. Said the deputy chief executive officer for the GAVI Alliance (Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization) “It’s very exciting news because they are going to make long-term commitments.”

Huffington Post: The Other Health Care Debate
Director of Public Policy for the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), Chris Collins, argues that while the domestic healthcare debate continues to make headlines, there is a simultaneous struggle going on for increased funding for global health initiatives. In an effort to refute claims that the global AIDS epidemic has “received too large a share of attention in recent years,” the director emphasizes success stories, which point to the need for increased funding for effective international health programs. Said Collins, Congress “should make a down payment on the President’s plan by significantly increasing funding across global health accounts beyond the President’s budget request, and that includes increased investments in addressing the deadliest infectious diseases, like AIDS, where we have a track record of success and growing international need.”

The Washington Post: In Africa, a step backward on human rights (Op-Ed, Archbishop Desmond Tutu)
Archbishop Desmond Tutu argues that the recent violence and proposed legislative action against homosexual men and women in Africa are “terrible backward steps for human rights.” He emphasized that much like “his beloved continent” rose up against Apartheid, they must do the same to ensure that all people are given equal rights, no matter their sexual preferences. According to the Archbishop, many African gay men and women are being forced to live in hiding, which interferes with their access to essential HIV services. Said Tutu, “The wave of hate must stop. Politicians who profit from exploiting this hate, from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.”

Financial Times: Japan groups creep into Africa
The Financial Times reports that Japan is the latest country to make an “entry into the scramble for resources and economic influence in Africa,” with Japanese trading companies and manufacturers making slow moves into Africa as “they cautiously pursue some of the same goals as China, India and Brazil: capturing oil, minerals and new markets.” According to the Times, aid for agriculture and infrastructure projects has long been Japan’s defining presence in Africa. However, the Times highlights that aid is getting less emphasis than before as attention turns to the private sector and Japan is rethinking its strategy to become more competitive, including encouraging investment through loans from its state-controlled banks.

Politico: McCain ‘ONE’ with Africa
Politico highlights longtime philanthropist Cindy McCain’s public appearance on Capitol Hill Wednesday to attend a photo exhibit, hosted by ONE, of her recent trip to Africa. McCain traveled with ONE in January to learn more about the current state of women in Africa along with a number of prominent women, including actress Connie Britton and former White House press secretary Dana Perino. McCain has made frequent trips to Africa, but said she is always shocked to discover more hardship with each visit. Said McCain, “I’ve spent a lot of time in Africa, but it sent back home with me how much more there is to do. That sounds like an understatement. Every time you think you have a grasp on Africa, you don’t.” McCain added that “Without organizations like ONE, we’re going to lose a generation.”

The Hill: Gates warns Obama at risk of falling short on global health pledge
The Hill reports that global philanthropist, Bill Gates, warned that President Barack Obama is in danger of falling short on his pledge to double U.S. foreign aid to alleviate suffering around the globe. The philanthropist emphasized that if Congress did not approve of the president’s $9.6 billion for global health in his fiscal 2011 budget request, it would essentially sink Obama’s pledge to double foreign aid to promote health and development around the world. Gates, however, said global health is an issue he believes can still win bipartisan backing, despite stark political divisions over healthcare reform, the economy and climate-change legislation. Gates maintained that a failure to obtain a modest increase would send a strong signal affecting future funding increases for global health, saying “It makes it almost impossible to get there — not impossible, but almost — if you’re not on a path of increase.”

The Huffington Post: Something New Out of Africa: A Global Player (Op-Ed, Dominique Strauss-Kahn)
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, recounts his recent trip to Africa, where he experienced a new sense of African energy and dynamism unlike ever before. And with World Cup fever just beginning to set in, Strauss-Kahn believes that the close to 10 million people expected to visit South Africa this summer will not only boost the country’s economy and image in the world, but allow South Africa to step out as a true “global player.” Despite continuing challenges, including tackling unemployment, reducing inequality and building a flexible, competitive economy, Strauss-Kahn believes that as a member of the G20, South Africa has come to be seen as much more of an emerging market, with the power to influence how global decisions are shaped. Said the Director, “This is a new role for Africa in the world — and a new way for Africa to be seen by the world.”

The Guardian: Half of all food sent to Somalia is stolen, says UN report
Up to half the food aid meant to feed hundreds of thousands of hungry people in Somalia is being stolen, according to a leaked UN Security Council report. The report, seen by the New York Times, says the food is being diverted to corrupt contractors, radical Islamic militants and local UN workers. It advises the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, to open an independent investigation into the organization’s World Food Program operations in Somalia. According to the Guardian, the losses are blamed on improper food distribution and the country’s war-ravaged infrastructure. A spokesman for the World Food Program, which is based in Rome, said it would not be commenting until it had studied the report.

Scientific American: TB or Not TB?: Novel Detector Could Shorten Testing Times, Aid Treatment Efforts
Scientific American reports that University of Colorado researchers have developed a device for use in the field that can identify both active tuberculosis infection and dormant microbes that could flare up into full-blown illness. This “field friendly” device relies on readily available and relatively low-cost components and can find the lethal pathogen in blood in just 20 minutes. A portable detector would greatly aid efforts to fight the infection in developing countries, particularly parts of Asia and Africa where as much as 40 percent of the population carries the microbe, says Robert Belknap, a physician and TB expert in Colorado. “If it works, it’s truly portable and doesn’t require special conditions, it would be a tremendous advance,” he added.

Mmegi Online (Botswana): IMF working on $100bn ‘green fund’ – Strauss-Kahn
Mmegi reports that The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is “working on the idea of a green fund” to raise $100-billion a year by 2020 to mitigate the impacts of climate change on developing economies. IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn pointed out that developing countries would require large-scale, long-term investments for climate change adaptation and mitigation. And while the IMF was not planning to manage the proposed green fund, it intended for this to make a significant contribution in the global debate and for consideration by the international community. Said Strauss-Kahn, “Africa has contributed little to the carbon emissions that endanger our planet, but Africa is already paying the price. Without action, Africa will suffer more from drought, flooding, food shortages, and disease-possibly provoking further instability and conflict. We must take urgent action.”

NY Times—Somalia Food Aid Bypasses Needy, U.N. Study Says
As much as half the food aid sent to Somalia is diverted from needy people to a web of corrupt contractors, radical Islamist militants and local United Nations staff members, according to a new U.N. Security Council report. The report, which has not yet been made public but was shown to The New York Times, outlines a host of problems so grave that it recommends that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon open an independent investigation into the World Food Program’s Somalia operations. It suggests that the program rebuild the food distribution system — which serves at least 2.5 million people and whose aid was worth about $485 million in 2009 — from scratch to break what it describes as a corrupt cartel of Somali distributors.

Washington Post—Bill Clinton and George W. Bush put together team to oversee Haiti aid fund
Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush announced late Tuesday that they have appointed a six-member board of former Democratic and Republican senior government officials to oversee the humanitarian fund the presidents established in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti. Clinton and Bush have tapped Gary Edson, who served as Bush’s deputy national security adviser and helped establish the anti-poverty Millennium Challenge Corporation, as chief executive officer of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

Politico—Gateses to address House Democrats
Bill and Melinda Gates will speak to House Democrats on Wednesday about their Foundation’s work during the Democrats’ closed-door afternoon caucus meeting. Also today, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on global health with Bill Gates, former President Bill Clinton, Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Eric Goosby, who coordinates U.S. government activities to combat HIV/AIDS globally.

The Economist– Wominnovation
The Economist looks at a new study by the International Centre for Research on Women, which details several innovations in the developing world that can empower women. The study’s authors examine eight inventions that they say have already helped women dramatically, including village mobile phones, microcredit and even scooters.

NY Times—Climate Goal Is Supported by China and India
China and India formally agreed Tuesday to join the international climate change agreement reached in December in Copenhagen, the last two major economies to sign up. The two countries, among the largest and fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, submitted letters to the United Nations agreeing to be included on a list of countries covered by the Copenhagen Accord, a three-page nonbinding statement reached at the end of the contentious and chaotic 10-day conference.

On Friday the U.S. Senate passed, by unanimous consent, the Haiti Recovery Act (S.2961), introduced by Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). The bill addresses the long-term needs that are critical to Haiti’s recovery, particularly its governance and public infrastructure. The bill does 2 specific things:

1) It instructs the Treasury Secretary to direct America’s representatives at each of the multi-lateral financial institutions to advocate within institutions:

a. relieving Haiti of its outstanding international debt– currently totaling over $1 billion– as well as any additional debt incurred in the aftermath of the earthquake. It also encourages these institutions to make future financial assistance available to Haiti in the form of grants, rather than loans.

b. the provision of debt service relief for all payments remaining on the date of the enactment of the Act.

2) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to advocate the creation of an international infrastructure fund for Haiti to invest in electric grids, roads, water, sanitation facilities, and other critical infrastructure projects.

Debt relief and grants to rebuild Haiti’s lost infrastructure are critical to its recovery. We congratulate Senators Dodd and Lugar and the United States Senate for their bi-partisan cooperation to pass this important legislation. Stay tuned for news on the progress of similar legislation in the House.

The New York Times: Shower of Aid Brings Flood of Progress
The New York Times spotlights the rural village of Sauri, Kenya, the first of what are now more than 80 Millennium Villages across Africa, a showcase project that was the dream child of Columbia University economist Jeffrey D. Sachs. According to the Times, Sachs’ intent was to show that tightly focused, technology-based and relatively straightforward programs on a number of fronts simultaneously — health care, education, job training — could rapidly lift people out of poverty. The paper maintains that Sachs’ theory seems to be working in Sauri, where a mix of programs focused on agriculture and health, including employing cutting-edge mobile technology to aid in the battle against malaria, is proving successful.

IPS: HAITI: U.S. Acts Quickly on Debt Relief Ahead of Preval Visit
IPS reports that with President Barack Obama preparing to host Haitian President Rene Preval Wednesday, Congress is moving quickly to show support for far-reaching debt relief and additional aid for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean nation. The Senate approved a resolution late last week urging the U.S. representative at major international lending institutions to push for the cancellation of all of Haiti’s outstanding multilateral debt – about 700 million dollars – or about two-thirds of the country’s total outstanding debt of some 1.2 billion dollars. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who sponsored the House resolution, argued that “Extending complete debt cancellation to Haiti – as well as assistance in the form of grants – will give Haiti a strong chance to put the country on a sustained path to success. I commend my colleagues in the Senate for passing a debt cancellation bill, and look forward to the House acting this week.”

Voice of America: New HIV/AIDS Research Agenda to Better Respond to Women and Children
Voice of America reports that approximately 30 years since the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, a new strategy is being launched to better respond to the needs of women and children. The research agenda – called “Asking the Right Questions” – includes 20 specific recommendations to expand and improve care and treatment, with this particular population at the focus. The announcement coincides with Monday’s International Women’s Day and is a joint effort by the International AIDS Society (IAS), U.N. agencies, researchers and civil society. Said the IAS Executive Director, “We’re nearly three decades into the epidemic and we have the depressing news that AIDS is now the leading cause of death of women of reproductive age across the globe.”

IPS: Africa: Five Years to Children Born Free of HIV
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria launched a new report Monday, where they maintain that a world where all children are born free of HIV infection is possible in only five years if donors continue to fund global efforts to combat the virus. They also argue that TB transmission will be halved by 2015 and malaria will be eliminated as a public health problem by 2020 if it increases funding for its programs. “The Global Fund is about getting results. This report clearly shows the world’s investments are making a difference,” said Michel Sidibe, the executive director of the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS. Sidebe also highlighted the importance of the fund’s replenishment, saying that “a withdrawal of funding on Global Fund-supported projects would be a universal nightmare, as it will mean removing the people who are already on HIV treatment due to lack of funding.”

The New York Times: Counting on Clicks to Finance the Battle Against AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis
The New York Times reports that several foundations and travel companies, in cooperation with the United Nations, are starting a campaign to allow travelers to donate $2 to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, every time they pay for a flight, a rental car or a hotel room. The campaign, called MassiveGood, is asking users of various travel Web sites to click a box to donate when they pay, an act which is estimated to raise $600 million to $1 billion a year within four years. Founded in 2006, Unitaid channels the funds it earns to other groups — including UNICEF, the William J. Clinton Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — to pay for drugs for children with AIDS, drugs for adults with drug-resistant AIDS or tuberculosis, and mosquito nets to prevent malaria. The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, and former President Bill Clinton last week announced the plan, which has been endorsed by several European governments.

The Guardian: Britain sends South Africa 42m condoms in HIV fight before World Cup
According to the Guardian, Britain is to give 42 million condoms to South Africa in response to a request for an extra billion as part of an HIV prevention drive before the World Cup. The request for British help in stockpiling sufficient condoms for the expected influx of thousands of soccer supporters in three months’ time was made during President Jacob Zuma’s recent visit to the UK to meet the Queen. The South African government estimates that up to half a million visitors could travel to the country, raising fears of a rise in prostitution and sex trafficking from neighboring countries and eastern Europe, and creating a potential HIV time bomb.

Today, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria released its annual results report, tracking progress in the fight against these three diseases and forecasting future global health progress.

According to the report, “The Global Fund 2010: Innovation and Impact,” programs supported by the Global Fund save at least 3,600 lives every day, and have saved an estimated total of 4.9 million lives since the Fund’s creation in 2002. In terms of funding, the Global Fund has approved $19.2 billion in proposals to 144 countries and disbursed $10 billion so far.

Here is a closer look at the Global Fund’s progress to date in fighting these three diseases:

HIV

• 2.5 million on antiretroviral therapy,
• 790,000 HIV-positive pregnant women provided with treatment to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV,
• 4.5 million basic care and support services provided to orphans and children made vulnerable by AIDS,
• 105 million HIV counseling and testing sessions conducted.

Tuberculosis

• 6 million provided with treatment for active TB,
• 1.8 million TB/HIV services provided.

Malaria

• 104 million insecticide-treated nets distributed,
• Indoor residual spraying in dwellings more than 19 million times,
• Treatment for 108 million cases of malaria.

Importantly, more progress is on the way. Financing approved by the Global Fund in the last two rounds (rounds 8 and 9) will reach countries in 2010 and 2011 and deliver with it a significant boost to health outcomes.

The Global Fund projects that if the current scale-up of health investments for these diseases continues or is ideally accelerated, impressive achievements are possible. Executive Director of the Global Fund observed, “A world where no children are born with HIV is truly possible by 2015.” Additionally, the Global Fund predicts that with continued momentum, malaria can be eliminated as a public health problem in most endemic countries and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) can be contained.

ONE released a press statement earlier today, highlighting how the Global Fund’s report demonstrates that U.S. investments fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and child mortality are working.

Wall Street Journal–IMF Director Praises Africa’s Fiscal Policies
Africa’s economic engines are emerging quickly from a global recession, powering better-than-expected growth for the bulk of the continent, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director said. Dominique Strauss-Kahn predicted growth for sub-Saharan Africa will hit 4.5% this year. The IMF attributed the improved forecast to the positive performance of South Africa and Nigeria, two of the continent’s biggest economies. Still, the sub-Saharan region is growing at slower rates than before the global slump, and the IMF fears that efforts to reduce poverty will be undermined. For the first time in a decade, per-capita incomes declined on average across the region in 2009.

Politico—Shaping a better future for women (op-ed by Dana Perino)
Dana Perino writes today in Politico about International Women’s Day, focusing on her recent trip to Ghana and Sierra Leone with ONE. She writes, “The hardest part of returning from Africa is pinpointing what I can do to help improve the lives of the women I met. I believe that, as an American woman, I can help bring opportunity to women in the developing world by spreading their stories and urging our country’s lawmakers to make smart investments — like those undertaken by the women in Ghana. From what I have seen, our aid money is being well-spent. They stretch every dollar, spending in innovative ways. That’s why I repeatedly return to Africa, and why I am participating in Women ONE2ONE with the ONE Campaign.”

Roll Call—Advocates Want to Cancel Haiti’s Loans
The Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call writes that ONE and other groups are pleading with Members of Congress and the Obama administration to quickly forget about nearly $1 billion in debt owed by earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy last week cleared a proposal formally asking the Treasury Department to flex its substantial weight with the IMF and other lenders to cancel Haiti’s outstanding financial obligations and provide grants to help the nation rebuild. Tom Hart, ONE’s director of government relations, is quoted: “At this point, it is very difficult to tell when Haiti would be able economically to repay these old loans. But I do not believe it is difficult to tell whether Haiti should pay them back. Haiti plainly needs a fresh start, a chance to rebuild, and will need every dollar over many years to develop. Its current loans were made based on assumptions no longer relevant and intended for projects that are no longer viable.”

AFP—China defends growing links with Africa
China rejected foreign concerns over its growing energy links with Africa yesterday, saying it benefits African nations by bringing badly needed trade and infrastructure development. “I have noticed that in the international community there are some who do not want to see the development of Sino-African relations and always make an issue of China-Africa energy cooperation,” Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said. “The fact is that China’s oil imports from Africa account for only 13 percent of Africa’s total exports, while Europe and the United States account for more than 30 percent,” he told reporters.

Reuters—Global climate battle plays out in World Bank
The United States and Britain are threatening to withhold support for a $3.75 billion World Bank loan for a coal-fired plant in South Africa, expanding the battleground in the global debate over who should pay for clean energy. The opposition by the bank’s two largest members has raised eyebrows among those who note that the two advanced economies are allowing development of coal-powered plants in their own countries even as they raise concerns about those in poorer countries. While the loan is still likely to be approved on April 6 by the World Bank board, it has revealed the deep fissures between the world’s industrial powers and developing countries over tackling climate change.

Reuters—Haiti rebuilding plan expected this week
The first draft of a Haiti rebuilding plan is expected this week. A team of 150 Haitian government officials and 90 international experts are racing to submit a blueprint of the plan to the government by Friday, the World Bank said. The document will then be assessed at a meeting of international technical experts in the Dominican Republic on March 16 before a donor conference in New York on March 31.

Politico—Women and girls are key to security (op-ed by Ann Lewis and Susan Molinari)
Political veterans from opposite sides of the aisle, Ann Lewis and Susan Molinari, write today that investing in women and girls in the developing world is important to U.S. national security. They write, “There’s a connection between America’s security and smart, effective development. Encouraging education, economic opportunity and good governance helps to build a more secure and safer world. Investment in women and girls’ education and empowerment is increasingly recognized as a linchpin to advancing social, economic and political progress in most poor countries.”

AFP—Burden of AIDS hits Zimbabwe’s women hardest
A recent study by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition looking at the living conditions for women with HIV in developing countries finds that women often suffer doubly, not only from the disease, but from abuse from their spouses and isolation by their communities. The study also finds that even efforts to prevent the spread of HIV can pose problems for women, who are often reluctant to tell anyone that they have the disease.

The New Statesman (UK): A weapon against half the world
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, co-founder of Justice for Women, Julie Bindel, calls for a global movement against sexual violence. According to Bindel, violence against women is an international epidemic and has been identified by the World Health Organization as a grave health issue, affecting more people than HIV and AIDS. Bindel highlights the connection between poverty and violence, including a new surge of sexual aggression in South Africa, arguing that the poorer the woman, the more vulnerable she is to exploitation and sexual violence. Said Bindel, “If a woman has to fight for clean water, she may be pressured to swap this for sexual favors. If there is no work in her town or village, she could be targeted by traffickers promising her a better life overseas.”

The New Times (Rwanda): Improving Sanitation Will Accelerate MDG Targets – Experts
The New Times reports that with only five years left to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target, experts have urged regional countries to prioritize programs that aim at increasing access to safe water and sanitation if the goals are to be achieved. This was suggested during the on-going second East African sanitation conference that is taking place in Kampala, Uganda. According to the Regional Director of UNICEF, major goals such as reducing child mortality rates and eradicating global poverty rely heavily on improving sanitation among the population in the region. Said the Director, “Access to sanitation facilities is a right as it safeguards human health and dignity. Every 10 seconds a child dies as a result of sanitation-related diseases, therefore there is need to urgently accelerate efforts to achieve development goals.”

The Telegraph: Sierra Leone: learning curve
Telegraph journalist Chris Harvey highlights the work of World Vision, a charity which is helping children overcome poverty and ignorance in Sierra Leone after decades of corruption, exploitation and civil war have left their mark on the rural country. According to Harvey, World Vision has been restoring school buildings in an effort to rehabilitate the education system, helping to pay teachers’ salaries and sponsor others to take the distance learning qualifications due to the fact that approximate 90 percent of teachers in the area are unqualified. Funds have also just been procured for health work, such as the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect against malaria and to help reduce the astounding maternal-mortality rate of 2.1 percent, the highest of any country in the world.

Reuters: African poverty falling “faster than we thought”
Africans are getting wealthier more quickly than previously believed, according to a new study that also suggests the poorest continent’s riches are spreading beyond the narrow confines of its elite. The research, which assesses poverty levels and income distribution from 1970 to 2006, lends weight to a belief among local and foreign investors that Africa is finally beginning to build a new foundation on its own. The study also challenges the suggestion that strong African growth over the last decade or more has done little to alleviate grassroots poverty due to the countervailing effect of equally strong population expansion. Said the study researchers, “Africa is reducing poverty, and doing it much faster than we thought. The growth from the period 1995-2006, far from benefiting only the elites, has been sufficiently widely spread that both total African inequality and African within-country inequality actually declined over this period.”

The Associated Press: WHO: 85 million African children to get polio shot
The World Health Organization says more than 85 million children under five in west and central Africa will be vaccinated against polio in a new vaccination campaign funded largely by Rotary International. The agency says the massive campaign in 19 countries by U.N. agencies and the Red Cross will involve more than 400,000 volunteers and health workers. WHO says a 2008 polio outbreak in Nigeria spread throughout western Africa up to Mauritania, with previous vaccination programs failing to stop the outbreak.