22 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: A new kind of hybrid, drought-resistant rice grain being introduced across Africa stands to drastically boost food production across the continent, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The African Rice Center, or WARDA, first developed Nerica, an Asian and African cross of rice in the 1990s, but the FAO is now intensifying efforts to distribute the seeds throughout all parts of the continent. It is part of a plan to double Africa’s rice production from about 14 million tons in 2008 to 28 million tons in 2018. The continent presently imports 40 to 50 percent of its rice annually, according to Shivaji Pandey, the director of FAO’s plant production and protection division. “The idea was that this Asian rice variety has very high yield potentials and African rice varieties are more hefty, in terms of having more resistance to diseases, and require less water, so if we could combine all these characteristics, we might come up with a better variety,” Pandey explained to MediaGlobal. Nerica has reached farmers in various nations, including Eastern countries like Madagascar, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda. Madagascar is responsible for nearly 25 percent of Africa’s total rice production. “We’re working on improving farmers’ capacity to grow rice and other crops better, and improve the availability of good quality of seed…only about 30 percent of rice grown in Africa results from good quality seed,” Pandey said. “We know that if you can introduce this good quality of seed you can have a 25 to 30 percent production jump in some situations.” Nerica is presently grown on 150,000 hectares of land, a number that is likely to grow as the FAO works to distribute the seed more widely. “In those regions, we are seeing farmers [who use Nerica] produce more, with greater rates of success, than farmers who are using other types of seed, “ Pandey said. “This variety is really much better than any other kind of rice, and is able to thrive under serious drought conditions in a way most are not.” Amy Lieberman

Informal employment expected to hinder developing economies

22 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The informal sector of the global South continues to be a major source of employment and economic activity, but questions remain about its sustainability and value to long-term growth. According to an OECD Development Centre report, informal employment poses problems for development, especially during difficult economic times in which it tends to grow dramatically as international trade declines. The International Labour Organization stated in a study released last week with the World Trade Organization that in developing countries, the sector can cancel the possible growth and development benefits of open global trading. The study further explains that the sector’s unregulated nature also prevents workers’ wages and benefits from being duly protected and industries from reaching their full potential. Caroline Scullin of the Center for International Private Enterprise told MediaGlobal, “Informality is one of the world’s top development challenges [but] informal businesses do make vital contributions to developing economies—typically accounting for 35 to 50 percent of GDP and much higher in some cases. Yet their potential is severely curtailed by their extra-legal status and high barriers to conducting business.” This has been shown drastically in Haiti, where most of the economy is informal but its formalization is predicted to result in a major initial loss of employment. Bryan Schaaf of the non-profit consultancy Haiti Innovation explained to MediaGlobal that in Haiti, even if more open, “trade alone is not the answer,” and for Haiti’s development, agriculture should instead be targeted through sound domestic policies. For other developing countries, Jim Paul, executive director of the Global Policy Forum agrees. “One need not favor closed national markets, but trade openings, as the report itself admits, must be part of a much broader strategy of development,” he told MediaGlobal. This leaves a hard choice for these countries between further integration into the global economy—likely a long and difficult process, but one that may yield tremendous long-term advantages—and the status quo. Henoch Derbew

Human trafficking: UN takes critical steps to incorporate voices of survivors into policy

21 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: After taking aggressive steps in recent years to bring the issue of human trafficking to the forefront, the United Nations will begin to pay particular attention to the voices of victims and survivors, said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The world body will listen to the victims’ experiences and “mainly, what recommendations they have, and the kind of action they would like to see taken to combat human trafficking,” added the top official. After the adoption in 2000 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which was later strengthened in 2008, many countries have begun to adjust national laws in an attempt to combat trafficking. While they consider these moves well intentioned, many in the anti-trafficking community have noticed nonetheless a disconnect between “what the survivors wanted and policies which were being made on their behalf,” said Ruchira Gupta, an award-winning journalist and renowned activist in the field. Gupta described one such disconnect, saying that at times “trafficked people are just treated as vectors of disease and it becomes more important to protect buyers of prostituted sex from disease, rather than protecting the women and children from the buyers.” And in some cases, victims are simply treated as criminals and are arrested and deported with no opportunity to be identified and provided with the necessary assistance as trafficked victims. UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, will deliver the opening speech for a special presentation on the subject at UN Headquarters on Thursday, where four people who were victims and are survivors of human trafficking will share their stories. Gupta told MediaGlobal that she hopes the UN will “create a mechanism to be able to get survivors voices to be a check and balance to how governments are implementing the UN protocol.” Raquel Thompson

Soap recycling project to curb disease in Uganda

20 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Derreck Kayongo, a former Ugandan refugee now living in the United States, has founded the Global Soap Project (GSP) in an effort to recycle used hotel soap to send back to Africa. Kayongo told MediaGlobal that the idea for GSP came to him after coming to the U.S. 15 years ago and checking into a Philadelphia hotel where he found several bars of soap laid out for use in his room. Returning to the hotel at the end of the day, he found all of the soap replaced with new bars. When he questioned the hotel staff, they told him it was “standard practice to throw away all partially-used soap in anticipation of the next guests.” Kayongo then did the math: “This means all 4.5 million hotel rooms in the USA account for 2.6 million partially-used bars of soap thrown away each day.” In a year, that number rises to 874 million bars. He began to think about amassing this wasted disinfectant, melting and reshaping it for the 400,000 some-odd refugees still living in Uganda. It was not until 2009 that Kayongo’s initiative got off the ground. Now, six tons of used hotel soap has been collected from approximately 60 hotels all over Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. This month, Kayongo intends to send the first shipment to his native country. GSP’s goal is two-fold, according to Kayongo, the first part being health-related: “Take the partially-used soap and…recycle it to help the poorest communities with sanitation.” The second part is environmental. “GSP is taking soap out of the landfills and, hopefully, this will help clean up the environment,” he said. Kayongo reported that the soap is “all going to go to NGOs that work with refugee populations and the indigent who can’t afford soap. They will apply to GSP with the population they serve and, upon approval, will receive soap to give to that population.” In the future, Kayongo intends to expand GSP beyond Uganda and East Africa into a “global effort,” targeting the most impoverished countries in the world. Kayongo is accepting contributions for shipping costs. Donations can be sent to Global Soap Project, P.O. Box 94021, Atlanta, GA 30318. Alison Walkley

South African men’s poor health habits placing them at risk

20 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: South African men’s socialization and resultant attitudes are causing them not to seek treatment for HIV/AIDS, a problem that was addressed by delegates at the MenEngage Symposium held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 4-9 October. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 68 percent of individuals that are currently on anti-retroviral treatment (ARV) are women, despite roughly equal numbers of men and women needing ARV. Men are who do seek medical attention are likely to do so further on in the progression of the disease. Speakers at the symposium attributed these patterns to the socialization that boys are exposed to growing up. Illness is seen as weak and un-masculine, thus men are less likely to seek attention when they are sick. “Men can play a very useful role in challenging the gender roles that put both men and women at risk of HIV infection,” co-director of South Africa’s Sisonke Gender Justice, Dean Peacock, told MediaGlobal. Furthermore, governments need to make HIV/AIDS treatment and counseling sites more accessible as they are often located in antenatal clinics and women’s centers. There is a need for services in environments that are accessible and inviting to men, as well as specially designed for their needs. Nonetheless, experts emphasized that the vast majority of men did make healthy lifestyle choices by rejecting and challenging the old idea that to be a man requires having multiple sexual partners, drinking lots of alcohol, dominating women, and taking risks. “We hope we’re able to encourage more men to affirm their commitment to living their lives that way and to put pressure on those who don’t to change their behaviors… Evidence shows that you can do that through good interventions,” said Peacock. Zanele Mji

Developing countries to be insured against disaster

19 October 2009 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: On Monday, the World Bank announced a new disaster program entitled MultiCat, which will help governments in developing countries insure themselves against natural disasters. Specifically, MultiCat will give governments greater access to international capital markets, critical to ensuring that developing countries have more consistent and effective protective financial protection against natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, flooding, strong winds, and hurricanes. The World Bank intends to grow the pool of investors in insurance markets by offering them the opportunity to invest in differentiated types of assets and offer a common legal framework. The legal framework will also allow governments to issue bonds to raise additional funds for insurance, which will be under the supervision of MultiCat. By making investment opportunities more diverse, the World Bank will improve the confidence of investors and encourage them to enter capital markets in greater numbers. As more investors enter the market, the risk of insurance investment will decrease. Ivan Zelenko, head of structured finance and derivatives at the World Bank Treasury, explained the impetus of the project to MediaGlobal: “There was a clear lack of insurance in developing countries.” The MultiCat program will seek to eliminate that deficiency by giving governments more tools to prepare for any adverse effects of natural disasters. Previously, the best way to address disasters would be emergency lines of credit. Such credit lines give governments access to emergency funding to respond to a crisis, but do little to financially prepare ahead of time for a disaster. “There were demands coming from several countries for assistance in buying natural disaster insurance, the reason being that natural disasters can have a range of impacts on the economy, on the poor, and on social services,” Zelenko told MediaGlobal. The program has already been implemented on a trial basis with Mexico, where US$290 million was raised using MultiCat bonds. The announcement Monday expanded that trial to a permanent program of the World Bank. Ryan Dicovitsky

Editor: Nosh Nalavala

Assistant Editor: Christina L. Madden

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