By MediaGlobal
30 June 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Ask the typical Afghan if aid given to Afghanistan has bettered the lives of the Afghan people, and you will more likely than not get a negative answer. According to Integrity Watch Afghanistan, the results of a recent survey of more than 1,000 Afghans from 18 provinces reveals that 64 percent of the respondents believe there is corruption in aid, and 81 percent of respondents believe that less than 40 percent of aid given to the country reaches the Afghan population. That typical Afghan will find that his or her opinion is shared by wary international donors, who are concerned that aid sits in the pockets of greedy government officials instead of going towards rebuilding the country. The importance of aid effectiveness was highlighted this week at the United Nations, where a forum on ‘A New Vision for Development Cooperation in the 21st Century,’ was held. Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at Oxford University and Director of the Center for the Study of African Economies, told his audience on Monday that “ordinary people get out of poverty through jobs and basic social services.” Yet corruption means that the creation of jobs and social services is more of a dream than reality. “It is vital that pledges of money are accompanied by demands of accountability. Accountability on both sides – the international community must commit to greater coordination and commitment to spending money in a way that provides the most benefits to the people i.e. aid effectiveness – while the Afghan government must commit to seriously and systematically combating corruption and a culture of impunity,” Joanna Nathan, Kabul based Senior Analyst at the International Crisis Group, told MediaGlobal.
SOLAR LAMPS ARE SMALL RAYS OF HOPE AMID CLIMATE CHANGE
30 June 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Nicholas Stern, a leading expert on climate change, paints a stark picture of the century to come. He estimates that, if the world continues on its current course, there will be a global change of five degrees centigrade by the end of the century. “The last time we were at such a change, we were in the time of the ice change,” he told the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. He also warned of the massive scale of human migration such a global shift would surely entail. “If we know anything from the past few hundred years, we know that movements of populations on that scale involve conflict and world war.” To alter such a course, Director of the Nobel peace prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra Pachauri says the world’s emissions will have to peak by no later than 2015 and reduce very rapidly thereafter, costing an estimated .1 percent of world’s growth annually: a number that translates into roughly $100 trillion by 2050. “We have a very short window of time in which we can mitigate these changes,” he told correspondents. But small-scale solutions must play a part in the solution too, he said. As an example, he sited the “Light a Billion Lives” initiative, which is distributing small solar lamps to villagers across India. Energy Economist Neha Misra at the Energy and Resources Institute, which is spearheading the program, told MediaGlobal that the lamps would be charged at a central charging station in each village. “The charging station is managed by an entrepreneur who charges the lanterns daily,” she said, adding that establishing such an initiative in each village would cost roughly $7,500. Or, by Pachauri’s estimates, the cost of providing solar-powered lights to a billion people would cost $15 billion. He compared this to the $12 billion monthly cost of the US operations in Iraq.
INITIATIVES TAKEN TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT DRUG-RESISTANT TB
30 June 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: MDR-TB is a form of TB that is resistant to the standard six-month treatment using first-line drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin. Currently, only 2 percent of MDR-TB cases worldwide are correctly diagnosed and treated because of inadequate laboratory services. In the developing world, most TB patients are not tested for MDR-TB until they fail to respond to standard treatments. Diagnosis of MDR-TB in the developing countries takes two months or more, and often patients die before the results are known. Patients cannot receive treatment until diagnosed, and thus are deprived of life-saving second-line drugs and during this period, spreading MDR-TB to others. The World Health Organization (WHO), Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) created two initiatives to improve the availability of drugs to treat MDR-TB and advance the technological methods to diagnose the multidrug-resistant disease more quickly. Senior Medical Officer at FIND, Dr. Evan Lee, described the objectives of the new initiatives to MediaGlobal, “The intents of these initiatives are to enable access to diagnosis for patients suspected of suffering from MDR-TB, and access to treatment for those who are confirmed as having TB. The expected outcome is an increase the number of MDR-TB cases detected and treated, thus addressing the tremendous public health challenge posed by the emergence and spread of MDR-TB.” The initiatives focus especially on the developing world. “These initiatives are especially important for the developing world, given the disproportionate burden of TB suffered by the populations living in developing countries, and the lack of resources to combat the problem. The developing countries have limited funding available for buying the required diagnostics and drugs,” said Lee. The initiatives will be implemented in Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Republic of Moldova, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam.
LACK OF CLEAN WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE KILLER IN THE LDCS
30 June 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The World Health Organization (WHO) released Safer Water for Better Health, the first-ever country-by-country report providing data on the health impact from water, sanitation, hygiene, and a synthesis of economic benefits of related investments. The report especially focuses on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), who are most negatively affected by these issues and require the most attention. A lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene remains some of the world’s most urgent health problems. “Almost one tenth of the global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene, and management of water resources – a global total of 3.5 million deaths a year,” James K. Bartram, WHO Member of the Sanitation Task Force of UN Water, told MediaGlobal. Tackling these issues would decrease the large child mortality rates in LDCs, and in turn further achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The report found that one dollar invested in water supply, sanitation, and hygiene provides eight dollars of return in terms of saved health-care costs, value of averted deaths, economic productivity, education, and time saving. Bartram stated that the report not only highlights the need in countries affected by these issues, but points to the solutions. “The most important message is that achievable intervention can make an enormous impact to benefit the lives and health of the more disadvantaged population. To achieve them we need real prioritization, real engagement by the health sector to demand changes to benefit health and a real focus on sustaining long-term health gains. Solutions need to be appropriate for and wanted by the communities and populations themselves in order to be effective and sustained.” The report highlights both needs and points to solutions. The information on the benefits of intervention shows clearly that benefits outweigh costs for many interventions and often do so several times over. The work on financing issues the importance of efforts to sustain existing infrastructure as well as to extend access and the need to invest both in catching up on the ‘rural backlog’ and to keep up with urban population growth.
GLOBAL AID TO AFRICA PLUMMETS
1 July 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Global aid to Africa plummeted in 2007, with the share of national income reaching its lowest point since 1964. The World Bank estimates that rising food prices, record energy costs, and climate change could drive over 100 million people into extreme poverty, threatening to undo most of the gains made by the world’s poor over the past decade. At the landmark 2005 Gleneagles Summit, Group of Eight leaders pledged to increase aid to Africa by $25 billion annually by 2010. So far, aid has increased by only a quarter of the $25 billion promised. With only a week until the G8 leaders meet in Hokkaido, Japan, African leaders came together at the African Union Summit this week to urge the international community to meet its commitment to reducing poverty on the continent. The summit outlined what United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called a “roadmap for unprecedented and much-needed progress in the region” with recommendations for investment in agriculture, education, health, and infrastructure. Some leaders across the globe are calling for increased accountability among wealthy nations. Jean-Louis Schiltz, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs of Luxembourg told MediaGlobal, “We encourage countries to put into place multi-annual timetables to monitor the progress of reaching development assistance goals.” He also advocated that transnational bodies such as the European Union establish monitoring systems and look into whether countries’ commitments are being met. “We are ringing the bells loudly,” he said, “and we will not hesitate to ring them again. Hopefully, we will be heard.”
UNICEF FOOD SUPPLIES ARRIVE IN ETHIOPIA
1 July 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: While the twin human disasters of the earthquake in China and the cyclone in Burma erupted in May, another calamity was unfolding not too far away. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned in the same month that 6 million children in Ethiopia were ‘at risk’ of acute malnutrition due to drought. At the time, aid agencies warned that they were short of funds as the crisis in China and Burma captured the attention of donors. But today, UNICEF announced that they had received $5.6 million with pledges of an extra $23 million and that ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) Plumpy’Nut had arrived in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Plumpy’Nut is a peanut based paste filled with proteins, energy, fats, vitamins and minerals. “Support to the poor – whether cash, food or a combination – is an essential short to medium-term measure to avoid malnutrition spiraling,” Stuart Gillespie, Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, told MediaGlobal. Yet supplies will fall short and thousands of children suffering from malnutrition will not be reached. UNICEF had appealed for $49 million and while the Government of Ethiopia estimates that 75,000 children in over 100 drought affected districts are severely malnourished, the children’s charity can only reach 18,800 per month for the next 3 months. “We urgently need more resources to take us through to the next harvest when we expect things to get back in track,” Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF Representative to Ethiopia, said.
GLOBAL HAPPENINGS
FOR JULY
Zaragoza International Water Exhibition
Zaragoza, Spain (14 June-14 September 2008): This study and discussion forum will look for solutions to the major problems derived from bad use and shortage of water. The main focuses of the exhibition will be water’s role in civilization, life, control, progress and sustainment.
Website:
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france-priorities_1/environment_1097/events_2130/water-and-sustainable-development-international-exhibition-in-zaragoza-spain-14.06-14.09.08_10025.html/
International Conference on Research for Development
Bern, Switzerland (2-4 July 2008): More than 200 participants from around the world will attend the conference hosted by the National Centre of Competence in Research for Development to address five principal research themes: Governance/Statehood and conflict transformation, Health, vulnerability, resilience, and environmental sanitation, livelihoods, globalization and urban planning, natural resources in sustainable development and research approaches and methodologies for sustainable development.
Website: http://icrd.unibe.ch/default.asp/
The Canadian International Development Agency: International Day of Cooperatives
Worldwide (5 July 2008): The International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated on the first Saturday of July every year. Its aim is increase awareness about cooperatives and to highlight the complementary goals and objectives of the UN and the international cooperative movement. This day reaffirms that cooperatives play an important role in economic, social, and cultural development, particularly by providing a framework for facilitating the mobilization of human, financial, and other resources.
Website: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/intldays/IntlCoops/index.html/
Early Career Polar and Cryophere Scientist Professional Development
St. Petersburg, Russia (7 July 2008): The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the UK Polar Network (the British branch of APECS) will host this one-day professional development workshop in conjunction with the SCAR/IASC IPY Open Science Conference. The free workshop is open to all early career polar researchers in any discipline. Topics to be covered include proposal development, improving teaching skills, how to find the perfect polar job, international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and others. Speakers include Robin Bell (Columbia University), Dave Carslon (IPY IPO), Colin Summerhayes (SCAR), Volker Rachold (IASC), Jose Xavier (BAS/Algarve), Nick Owens (BAS director), Terry Wilson (Ohio State), Victoria Lytle (CReSIS), and others.
Website: http://www.polarnetwork.org/
G8 Summit
Hokkaido, Japan (7-9 July 2008): The leaders of the eight countries will assemble to discuss a range of challenges facing the global community, including global warming.
Website: http://www.do-summit.jp/en/about/
28th Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
Bangkok, Thailand (7-11 July 2008)
Website: http://ozone.unep.org/Meeting_Documents/oewg/28oewg/index.shtml/
Eleventh International Coral Reef Symposium
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, United States of America (7-11 July 2008): This symposium will be organized under the theme “Reefs for the Future.” This meeting will focus on key concepts of coral reefs, including reef structure and function, pattern and process, ecosystem-based management, and human interactions. Plenary speakers will summarize current scientific knowledge about reefs. Mini-Symposia and field workshops will be thematic, question driven, and define specific science-based outcomes as well as management strategies. Field trips to diverse reef types will help illustrate specific reef types, environmental problems, and management successes.
Website: http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/
2nd General Assembly and Conference of the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE)
Lagos, Nigeria (8-11 July 2008) : The National Open Univerity of Nigeria (NOUN) will host the Conference themed « Open and Distance Learning for Sustainable Development ». Sustainable development involved proffering creative solutions to various kinds of problems taht have arisen as world economies become more integrated. Open and distance learning is a creative solution for resolving issues which border on sustainability. Six sub-themes stemming from this topic will be discussed at the planned roundtables and forums.
Website: http://www.nou.edu.ng/noun/acde2008/acde_en/index.htm/
Polar Research – Arctic and Antarctic Perspectives in the International Polar Year
St. Petersburg, Russia (8-11 July 2008): The Open Science Conference and the IPY Joint Committee endorse this event as the first of a series of international interdisciplinary IPY conferences. It is therefore cosponsored by the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Sessions will take place in the Pribaltiskaya Hotel and at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI).
Website: http://www.scar-iasc-ipy2008.org/
Health and Safe Water for the World Conference
Mubende, Uganda (8-11 July 2008): This conference aims to provide a global forum for practitioners, organizations, donors and agencies from a wide range of disciplines working in the water and environmental sanitation sectors. The meeting includes field trips to see examples of activities that need to be done in the community and the work done in the community in Mubende, Uganda.
Website: http://www.stopwdi.net/CleanWaterConference.htm/
Environmental Life Cycle Assessment as a Tool for Evaluating the Sustainability of Ecosystem Services (Seminar II)
University of Bath, UK (9 July 2008): The Economic and Social Research Council (ESFC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) will host this conference considering the application of Environmental LCA for evaluating the environmental consequences of products and services and their utilization in supporting and developing national and international legislation to ensure sustainability for future generations.
Website: http://www.bath.ac.uk/research/seminars/esrc/
Gender Equality and Audit
Sydney (9-10 July 2008), Melbourne (15-16 July 2008): The Australian Council for International Development is providing this forum for NGO’s in the aid and development sector to take stock of progress and successes on gender equality and take steps to do more.
Website: http://www.acfid.asn.au/training/acfid-training/gender-equality-July08/
World Population Day
Worldwide (11 July 2008): Countries around the world have observed World Population day for 19 years to raise public awareness and draw the attention of policy makers to population issues such as poverty, reproductive health, education, and HIV/AIDS.
Website: http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/population/index.html/
WIDER Conference on Southern Engines of Global Growth: China, India, Brazil, and South Africa (CIBS): Financial Flows and Capital Markets
Rio de Janiero, Brazil (11-12 July 2008): The third conference of the UNU-WIDER project on ‘Southern Engines of Global Growth’ will focus upon empirical and conceptual studies exploring the roles of capital flows in its various forms—portfolio investment, foreign direct investment, and banking activities—in these four countries. The conference will also explore the contributions of capital flows to the growth of the CIBS and other nations. Intra- and inter-regional issues relating to capital flows are also welcome.
Website: http://www.wider.unu.edu/events/2008-conferences/southern-engines-II/en_GB/southern-engines-of-growth/
Fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning
London, UK (13-17 July 2008): Applications are invited for participation in the Forum. It has grown to become one of the world’s leading conferences on learning and global development. This year, it will explore how open and distance learning can help achieve international development goals and education for all.
Website: http://www.pcf5.london.ac.uk/
Making Markets Work – a Two-Week Training Programme
Glasgow, UK (13-26 July 2008): This unique programme focuses directly on a key challenge facing governments and development agencies: how to make markets function more effectively for business and for poor people? The programme builds on the Springfield Centre’s successful record in offering training on the market development approach to more than 700 people over the last nine years.
Website: www.springfieldcentre.com/
Second African Regional Meeting on SAICM and associated UNEP Workshops
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (14-19 July 2008): The Second African regional meeting on the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) will be hosted by the Government of Tanzania. The meeting will be immediately preceded by the UNEP Workshop on Strengthening Chemicals Management Infrastructures and by the UNEP African Regional Consultation on Mercury.
Website: http://www.chem.unep.ch/saicm/meeting/afreg/Dar%20es%20Salaam/Default.htm/
First International Conference on Environmental and Climate Change: Climate Financing-Challenges and Way Forward
Dhaka, Bangladesh (15-16 July 2008): The Centre for research and Action on Development has organized a two day long First International Conference on Environment and Climate Change focusing “Climate Financing- Challenges and Way Forward”. The major discussing issues will be the Climate Change and Impacts, Assessment and Management of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Climate Action Financing.
Website: www.unnyan.org/
Building Sustainable Futures- Enacting Peace and Development
University of Leuven, Belgium (15-19 July 2008): The International Peace Research Association (IPRA) will host this conference made up of plenary sessions, focusing on the peace and conflict process as well as development. Tentative plenary sessions include Human Security and Development, African Peace Building, Peace Research in Latin America, Listening to the Middle East, Peace and Intellectual Solidarity, Effective Non-Violent Policy-Making, Youth and Conflict/Peace, and Faith in Peace.
Website: http://soc.kuleuven.be/iieb/ipra2008/conference/index.php/
Global Development July Meetup
(17 July 2008): The Center for Global Development will host the filmmaker Kobina Aidoo who will screen his new film, The Africa Americans, a one hour documentary that explores how the rapid immigration from Africa and the Caribbean is transforming the African American narrative.
Preview the Film: Preview – The Neo African Americans
Website: http://www.cgdev.org/content/calendar/detail/16353/
International Cooperation and Development Days
Paris, France (17-18 July 2008): The Palais des Congres will host the event themed “Culture, Knowledge, and Development”. It is usually attended by 2,000 participants: Ministry personnel, the Alliances Françaises, research institues, technical assistants, representatives of other ministries, and outside partners. About 30 workshops are planned, covering the areas where international cooperation and development overlap. Three priorities will be reflected in the workshops : increasing French development aid, enhanving the attractiveness of france for foreign students and research scholars, promoting cultural diversity and inter-cultural dialogue.
Website: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france-priorities_1/development_2108/events_2139/international-cooperation-and-development-days-july-17-and-18-2007_9528.html/
ECOSOC Development Cooperation Forum
(20 July 2008)
Achieving a Sustainable Future: Managing Aquaculture, Fishing, Trade, and Development
Nha Trang, Vietnam (22-25 July 2008): The International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET) and Nha Trang University (NTU) of Vietnam will host this Fourteenth Biennial Conference. Presentations will range from the theoretical to applied policy about the seafood industry, aquaculture, and development issues about this topic. Perspectives from all of the world’s major fishing regions will be represented.
Website: http://www.internationalpeaceandconflict.org/events/event/show?id=780588:Event:57499/
Umguhubo Festival
Durban, South Africa (1-6 July 2008): The Umgubho Festival is Africa’s annual international event. It is a unique celebration of competitive sports, indigenous games, modern and contemporary performing, visual and audio-visual arts, cultural arts, development, fashion, entertainment, business, and platform for awareness campaigns. The festival is an African Renaissance in action and New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) in motion event.
Website: http://www.foundation-development-africa.org/africa_upcoming_events/1_7july_2008.htm/
African Compensation Benefits and Total Reward Conference
Johannesburg, South Africa (2-3 July 2008): The Foundation for the Development of Africa will endorse this event themed “Attract, Motivate, and Retain”. Workshops and panel discussions will take place emphasizing that organizations must recognize the need to offer an extensive range of rewards, and benefits, not just financially oriented, to attract new recruits and retain a first class talent pool.
Website: www.equilibriumint.com/
International Youth for Global Development
Cairo, Egypt (2-8 July 2008): The International Youth Leadership Forum (IYLF) and Ket Foundation International with Regional Office in Cameroon (KFI) organized this conference for youth participation in Global Development.
Financial Statement Analysis
Johannesburg, Bedfordview, South Africa, (3-4 July 2008): Endorsed by the Foundation for the Development of Africa, this workshop will equip learners to detect financial inconsistencies, improve their financial planning, projection skills, as well as conduct thorough financial assessments.
Website: www.abelusi.co.za/index.php?ID=164/
SACATS
Johannesburg, South Africa (7-9 July 2008): The Foundation for the Development of Africa has themed this year as “Back to the Classroom”. South Africa’s leading experts in education will share new thinking about teacher development and success in the classroom. It will offer a variety of practical experiences to enhance the critical role of Curriculum Advisors and other involved in teacher support.
Website: www.spintelligent-events.com/sacats2008/en/index.php/
Leadership for Local Governance and Development in Africa
Accra, Ghana (7-11 July 2008): This event is endorsed by the Foundation for the Development of Africa. The UCLGA Congress will focus on the role of local leaders in promoting the well-being of populations in African villages, towns, and cities through sound management of local government. The question of Africa’s decision-making and its impact on the management of cities, towns and villages; the reasons for Africa’s glaring disparities in development in the five regions and how these can be addressed; the promotion of stakeholder participation and dialogue with civil society, consistent with the spirit of the Charter of the UCLGA; and Africa’s true and total liberation in addressing poverty and development challenges in the continent will be tackled at the UCLGA Congress.
Website: www.uclgafrica.org/
Development agencies and non-governmental organizations are welcome to send details of upcoming conferences for inclusion in our HAPPENINGS column.
Contributors: Nosh Nalavala, Sheana Laughlin, Adelia Saunders, Shipra Prakash, Emily Geminder, Alina Haddad, Nadia Khan and Gabrielle Wade
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