A Charm Offensive Against AIDS – Michael Sidibé, the executive director of the United Nations’ AIDS prevention agency, has utilized a “combination of bonhomie and persistence” to deliver “difficult messages to Africa presidents very persuasively in his three years in office.” Mr. Sidibé has effectively convinced African leaders to promote sexual health education in their countries, and has urged Africa and China to rapidly revise their approaches to the AIDS epidemic. (NYTimes, Donald McNeil Jr.)
South Africans Suffer as Graft Saps Provinces – As part of an “ambitious government program inaugurated at the end of apartheid,” the South African government built hundreds of thousands of homes for South Africans, many of which are still without running water and electricity. Many provincial governments and nationwide departments have been driven into bankruptcy by corruption and fraud, illustrating that “graft and wasteful spending have sapped the government’s ability to tackle inequality,” while many people are left in homes without water and electricity. (NYTimes, Lydia Polgreen)
Malawi Education Activists Push for End to Primary School Fees – Activists in Malawi are urging the “government to stop asking parents to help defray the cost of operating primary schools.” The fee, which currently costs parents $15 per year, goes towards a development fund, yet many students in primary schools are “denied their right to education that is supposed to be free because of these charges by the schools.” The UN reports that 90 percent of eligible students in Malawi are enrolled in primary education, but that these indirect fees are forcing the remaining students to not attend. (VOA, Lameck Masina)
World Bank Will Choose Successor to Zoellick by Meetings Starting April – The World Bank’s board of directors will pick a successor to President Robert Zoellick by the time of its April 20-22 meetings. Although the Bank has “promised a merit-based and transparent selection process,” the position has always been held by a U.S. citizen. President Obama is set to nominate its candidate in the next several weeks. (Bloomberg, Sandrine Rastello)
West Africa bloc deploys observers for Senegal vote – The West African regional blog ECOWAS announced Tuesday that it will deploy 150 observers for weekend voting in Senegal, where protests against President Abdoulaye Wade’s bid for a third term have already killed six people. (AFP)
