The time is now for a bottom-up poverty plan

Feb 8th, 2010 4:04 PM UTC
By Helen Palmer

The following op-ed from ONE’s Executive Director Jamie Drummond and Policy Board member John Githongo has just been published in Canada’s Globe and Mail and newspapers across Africa:

As host of this year’s G8 and G20 meetings, Canada is in a great position to lead the essential process of reinvigorating the global campaign against extreme poverty. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s call for greater accountability in G8 development promises and increased investments in child and maternal health are very welcome and we look forward to more details. European leaders and U.S. President Barack Obama, who has called for a new global plan to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, are already on board.

A new plan can avoid the pitfalls of past top-down approaches – if it supports a more bottom-up citizen-led strategy for sustainable development. Take Africa, where there have been real improvements over the past decade. Economic growth has been averaging about 5 per cent a year, 42 million more children are in school, malarial death rates have nearly been halved in a number of countries and more than three million people are on life-preserving AIDS medications. We suggest a new citizens compact to build on these results. It would ensure that development is devolved, that citizens are connected with new technologies, that executive powers are diffused, that political parties are strengthened and that the integrity of leaders and governance institutions firmly take centre stage.

There are three urgent considerations for such a strategy.

First, African accountability efforts by civil society and think tanks must be expanded dramatically. Efforts such as Twaweza, an East African citizen accountability movement, can be scaled up across the continent and deliver great returns on investment by empowering citizens to demand their rights. Canada’s International Development Research Centre has already partnered with the Gates Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation to invest more in African think tanks, and this can be expanded. These efforts are easier with today’s technology, especially mobile telephony. From the student who can text a hotline when her teacher does not turn up to the anti-corruption monitor who pores over statistics from national budgets online, new technology is the tool of the activist. Also, a new citizen strategy should not repeat past mistakes of lionizing specific political leaders – this makes it harder for Africans to hold them to account.

Second, experience shows that constant vigilance about transparency, especially with regard to national budgets, is critical. Thieves have more to hide. Regimes run by kleptocrats are more likely to fumble and fall, with wider security implications. But it is not just African budgets that must be more transparent. One of the great scandals in development is the lack of good statistics to measure progress – this area needs much more investment. Another scandal is the hypocrisy of most high-profile global promises, such as the vague billions alluded to at the Copenhagen climate-change summit. Donors must be clearer about what is really new money. Canada’s effort to chart all existing G8 development promises and improve accountability is especially important in this regard. Companies doing business in Africa must also be more transparent, as must the international banking system, so bribery can be exposed and stolen funds tracked down and recovered.

Third, private investment can also drive the citizens strategy. Proliferating mobile telephony is allowing Africans to leap digitally from the Third World into the First. Africa has tremendous renewable energy potential that is ripe for investment. African stocks have been doing well, although this has been barely noticed by investors abroad. This summer’s soccer World Cup in South Africa is an opportunity for a rising generation of African entrepreneurs to present this new image of their continent, a chance that must be seized. We propose a new “Africa Rising” fund to capture the moment – campaigners who once rightly called for disinvestment to help end the injustice of apartheid can now call for new investment to help fight the injustice of poverty.

These measures can increase the effects of much-needed new investments to boost education, agriculture and health and fight infectious diseases and climate change. Without them, reversals may occur. With China offering less democratic options for development, it is no longer politically incorrect to ask whether democracy really suits Africa. The situations in Kenya and Nigeria both show the challenges where growth takes place but most citizens are excluded.

This need not be Africa’s path, though. This year is the key moment to renew the right kind of Canadian, G8 and G20 support for citizen-led development.

In Davos

Jan 29th, 2010 11:42 AM UTC
By Jamie Drummond

Met James Harding, editor of the Times, in the security line on the way in to main congress centre in Davos and we caught up. His paper is worried that the UK political parties aren’t having a straight conversation about the use of development aid, but the Times coverage is coming out as rather negative campaign about the UK’s Department for International Development, DFID. This is a shame as DFID is probably the world’s best development agency and something British taxpayers should know more about and be proud of. But James and the Times are partly right. It is the political season in the UK with elections coming up so the debate on aid is getting more politicised. The important thing is to support effective aid, and be constantly trying to improve its effectiveness, while knowing that aid is only part of the answer. Other things like good governance, investment and trade are all crucially important components of development. An effective UK development agency should be doing more on all these things whoever forms the next British government. Whoever that is, they must ensure the UK stays a global leader in development and keeps the word but also the spirit of the promise to spend 0.7% of national income on effective development assistance.

Among the speeches I’ve listened to were Canadian PM Stephen Harper (Head of G8-G20 first half this year), Korean leader Lee (head of G20 second half this year) and President Sarkozy (G8/G20 head next year). All underlined how important development and fighting poverty are. This is reassuring but it’s also clear, as discussed in a session with Mike Froman of the White House and Indra Nooyi of Pepsi on reinvigorating the state, that the Millennium Development Goals can’t be achieved by governments alone. They need the support and creativity of the private sector and civil society. But the state must provide the backbone of the plan. This is why President Obama’s speech at the UN last September pledging to do all he can to end extreme poverty, and calling for a new global plan for the Millennium Goals must soon start some real global planning. We need to see key stakeholders from all walks of life getting round the table - to help give a boost to the drive to fight poverty.

Finally I’ve been talking to anyone who will listen about ONE’s deep concern about the diversion or double counting of development funds as climate adaptation funds. We just commissioned a piece of research on this by the Overseas Development Institute. Bill Gates annual letter underlined the importance of this at the beginning of the week. It will be one of the very big issues to watch in 2010.

G20 Pittsburgh’s over - so, how did it go?

Sep 30th, 2009 8:46 AM UTC
By Mikiko Imai

The summit of G20 leaders in Pittsburgh last week, a year after the Lehman shock, was always going to be about economic recovery and on whether we need to regulate banker’s bonuses. So, did they talk development, at all? The short answer is yes. First, they reaffirmed previous commitments that they have made to the poor. Second, the leaders called on the World Bank to develop a new trust fund to support the new Food Security Initiative agreed at L’Aquila G8 Summit in July. Third, they agreed to review the capital needs of the multilateral development banks, especially the World Bank’s soft loan arm, the International Development Association (IDA), and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

But, there were some clear omissions too. On climate change, even though some G20 leaders committed to scaling up its assistance at the UN High Level Summit on Climate Change just a few days ago, the G20 as a group failed to call for resources to help the poorest countries adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change, and tackle its causes.

This Summit was another opportunity to recognise Africa as part of the solution to the global economic recovery. We thought that the best way to underscore the important role that the continent plays in today’s world is for the G20 to agree to hold an upcoming G20 Summit in Africa. With the G20 becoming the new G8 and the next several hosts already queued up (Canada in June 2010, South Korea in November 2010, and France in 2011), unfortunately, there will be no “G20 Africa Summit” any time soon. One thing is sure though – regardless, ONE will urge these leaders to keep the challenges of Africa and the world’s poor as an important issue on their table.

Read ONE’s analysis of the G20 here

ONE’s Reaction to the Pittsburgh G20 Communique

Sep 28th, 2009 8:19 AM UTC
By Virginia Simmons

Overall, the Pittsburgh G20 Summit appears to have made some progress towards reshaping global power structures to make them more representative, but it still has some way to go before it becomes a truly representative global decision making body.

I spent the summit with our US Government Relations Director Tom Hart, who said:

“Moving from the G8 to the G20 is a seismic shift: it brings many more of the world’s people to the table, but the new expanded world body must now start addressing the needs of the poorest countries, especially in Africa. For nearly a decade now, Africa has been squarely on the G8’s agenda, even if delivery on their commitments has been mixed. During this transition time, African development must not fall through the cracks. One way to show the world will not forget Africa would be to hold an upcoming G20 summit on the African continent.”

As I posted earlier here, we passed our petition, in which 75,000 ONE members worldwide call for a G20 Summit to be held in Africa, to the US delegation at the summit.

Below are some key points in the summit’s communique that are relevant to Africa:

• Agriculture - The G20 called on the World Bank to develop a new trust fund, as a way to implement the G8’s food security initiative announced at the L’Aquila Summit in Italy in July. This multilateral fund will support the set of principles championed by the White House to make aid for agriculture more effective, coordinated and geared towards the strategies developed by poor countries themselves.
• Climate change – The G20 failed to call for resources to help the poorest countries adapt to the harmful impacts of climate change, and tackle its causes. It was disappointing that there was no mention of the urgency of addressing these needs.
• African Development Bank – The G20 have reaffirmed the commitment to make sure the multilateral development banks have enough finance, especially the World soft loan arm, the International Development Association (IDA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The African bank has increased its lending to respond to the financial crisis by as much as US$4bn and now needs support to replenish its coffers. ONE welcomes Canada’s announcement of an extra US$2.8bn in loan guarantees for the Bank.
• World Bank and IMF- Both International Financial Institutions took steps towards increasing representation of developing countries.

The G20: A Chance to Address Climate Change

Sep 25th, 2009 1:53 PM UTC
By Beth Adler

Climate change is more firmly on the global agenda now more than ever, not just because the final round of the UN Climate Change Conference is taking place this December in Copenhagen, but because we are increasingly seeing the effects of climate change. ONE is also calling for the G20 to address climate change this weekend at the Pittsburgh G20 summit, but we’re keeping with our theme looking at it from the perspective that ‘Africa can be a part of the solution.’

Despite contributing only 3.6% of total global carbon emissions, sub-Saharan Africa will feel these effects—through droughts, floods, erratic rains that disrupt growing seasons—both first and worst. Any deal brokered in Copenhagen later this year must include the impact that climate change will have on the world’s poorest—and take into account the potential that developing countries hold to address climate change. The G20 meeting in Pittsburgh is the perfect place to get ahead start by working to do the following:

•Ensure that any global climate deal mobilizes funding to support the response to climate change in developing countries. In the short-term, agree on a down-payment to help developing countries deal immediately with the impact of climate change and build trust in international negotiations;

•Agree on principles to ensure that climate financing is spent predictably, effectively and through transparent governance structures;

•Ensure that a global climate deal considers Africa’s potential contribution toward reducing global carbon emissions, particularly in regard to carbon markets.

Not only will Africa bear the brunt of the climate change impact, but sub-Saharan African countries have the potential to help reduce global carbon emissions. The development of robust carbon markets, the adoption of low-carbon and leap-frog technologies, and the institution of carbon-offsetting programs like re-forestation projects can all flourish in the developing world—without sacrificing development, and maybe even encourage it.

ONE’s message at Pittsburgh is that no global recovery can be constructed in a stable manner if it excludes Africa, and the same goes for any discussion on climate change. We’ll be bringing you the latest from Pittsburgh as the week progresses, so keep an eye out here on the blog.

-Beth Adler

Amazing Mural Unveiled

Sep 25th, 2009 9:20 AM UTC
By Virginia Simmons

Earlier this week, I attended the unveiling of a giant 200-foot mural created by the “Moving the Lives of Kids” (MLK) Community Project in downtown Pittsburgh.

ONE’s petition asking the G20 to hold a future meeting in Africa covers 100 feet of the wall. The MLK team, including nearly 20 local artists and 30 children from the community, painted the wall in less than five days. When we arrived for the unveiling and press conferences (and as it started to pour down rain) they were putting on the final finishing touches.

(If you’re in Pittsburgh, the mural is on Ross Street between 3rd and 4th.)

Why a G20 in Africa?

Sep 24th, 2009 11:48 AM UTC
By Nora Coghlan

All eyes are focused on New York right now, but tomorrow Pittsburgh will grab the global stage when heads of state from the world’s biggest economies show up for the G20 Summit. In addition to a variety of requests for follow-up from the G20 London Summit and the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, ONE is also calling for the G20 to agree to host an upcoming summit in Africa.

But why? The obvious answer is that the African continent is made up of 53 states and nearly 1 billion people, so of course any discussion of the global economic recovery should be hosted in Africa at some point. Less obvious to many is the fact that when it comes to the economic crisis and other pressing global problems (like climate change and food security), Africa is part of the solution.

Take the economy. Until the financial crisis, 18 non-oil exporting African economies were growing individually at annual rate of 5.5% or more, the most sustained economic growth in decades. Increasing investment, trade and economic diversification were all part of this trend. This growth not only presented African countries with new opportunities to create jobs, increase exports and boost revenues, it also offered the world a new destination for investment and business. The same is true with the global economic recovery. Helping Africa get back on its feet after the financial crisis will reap benefits for the rest of the world. Research commissioned by ONE earlier this year showed that a $50 billion stimulus for long-term growth in sub-Saharan Africa would generate $250 billion of increased output and generate a 40% return for the investors in ten years time.

Climate and agriculture are other areas where Africa has a lot to offer. Preserving the continent’s vast natural resources, for example, could help offset global emissions. The forests of the Congo basin span 700,000 square miles, making it one of the world’s biggest carbon sinks. Africa’s potential for solar, geothermal and hydro-power provides new opportunities for private sector investments. And with greater investment in agriculture, Africa could one day serve as a global breadbasket and help to prevent the food shortages the world witnessed in 2008. Nearly two-thirds of Africa’s people are employed in agriculture, and some estimate that the continent is home to 800 million hectares of unused, cultivable land.

Much needs to be done to truly tap into Africa’s potential in a way that brings benefits to the rest of the global community- barriers to trade need to be removed, carbon markets need to be incentivized to invest in Africa and infrastructure needs to be strengthened so that the continent can attract more investment. But one easy way that the G20 can get the ball rolling is by announcing that it will host an upcoming summit on the continent. Doing so will signal that the G20 is sincere about bringing Africa to the table as these important global decisions are made and will force the rest of the world to take a closer look at what Africa has to offer.

-Nora Coghlan

ONE takes Pittsburgh!

Sep 22nd, 2009 10:21 PM UTC
By Jessica Gomez-Duran

In anticipation of this week’s G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, ONE has taken to the streets to make sure all visiting world leaders and visitors will take notice of our message that Africa is part of the global economic recovery.

been blanketing shopfronts, restaurants, bookstores and everywhere in between with posters that read “ONE World. ONE Recovery. Africa is Part of the Solution.” and feature our very own Morgana Wingard’s great design work. Thanks to Nakturnal for the photo!

-Chris Scott

Busy September

Sep 17th, 2009 11:04 AM UTC
By Jessica Gomez-Duran

It’s hard to keep track of our calendars here at ONE these days, as the next two weeks are jam-packed with important development events over in the US. Over the coming days, folks at ONE will be attending the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh (September 24-25), the UN General Assembly (the 64th session opened yesterday), a UN Summit on Climate Change (September 22), the Clinton Global Initiative (September 22-25) and a special seminar organised by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in New York.

It’s an important two weeks for the development community, as critical issues—innovative financing for global health, climate change funding, women’s empowerment, global economic recovery—will all be put on the table. Make sure to stay tuned to ONE’s blog, as we’ll provide updates on our travels throughout the coming weeks.

-Kara Arsenault

Can trade ministers gathered in India find the missing piece in the Doha puzzle?

Sep 4th, 2009 1:33 AM UTC
By Mikiko Imai

Trade ministers from rich and emerging nations are gathered in India for the second day of the two-day informal trade meeting, to make progress on the G20 commitment to conclude the Doha Development Agenda by the end of 2010. As the US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said before he left for India, this could be a “very important step” for their efforts to do so.

So are we finally close to a trade deal that would allow all countries, especially poor African countries, reap the benefits of trade, where they can work their way out of poverty as a result of new opportunities presented by the expansion of global trade? On the one hand, the economic crisis has renewed the political will for an early conclusion of the long-stalled Doha round and thus there is more scope today to achieve the “ambitious and balanced” WTO deal pledged in L’Aquila in July. On the other hand, we have heard these high-level Doha promises before-without any results.

If the Doha Development Round is to be completed by 2010, participants must ensure that the talks produce a deal that integrates poor African countries into the global trading system. Keeping Africa’s needs in the picture is the only way to achieve a truly global recovery — ONE recovery ONE world.

African countries continue to face multiple constraints to expanding trade. A Doha trade deal must effectively help African countries trade more among themselves and with the rest of the world. For a Doha deal to benefit Africa, it must include real reductions in agricultural subsidies in developed countries, improved market access for goods from African countries, a new financial commitment to aid-for-trade and allow countries to pursue trade policies that support development.

If this progress is not forthcoming through Doha, WTO members should develop a separate trade initiative for sub-Saharan Africa. This could be built on existing preference programmes such as the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the European Union’s Everything But Arms (EBA) programme. The package needs to be comprehensive, combining market access and effective trade capacity building. A sub-Saharan Africa wide programme would help prevent trade distortions between neighbouring African countries, and could promote regional trade.

The G-20leaders meeting in Pittsburgh later this month should consider how they could achieve harmonised and coordinated trade measures for Africa – this would go a long way towards achieving a Doha deal that really delivers for development.

-Mikiko Imai