Lecture by Thabo Mbeki, former President of South Africa, on Africa Day, Tshwane.

Ten years ago, in the year 2000 marking the close of the 20th century, the World Bank published a Report provocatively entitled - Can Africa Claim the 21st Century? ...[more]

From Policy.org.za

Thabo Mbeki Leadership Institute, UNISA  

Presentations:

• Risks and Opportunities Workshop Presentation
  Climate Change Risks & Opps Workshop - 14th August 2009

• Research Launch Seminar
  Low Carbon Growth Seminar - 6 May 2010

Reports:

Final Research Report

Full Report

Executive Summary

1. Introduction
2. National Context: Outline of the South African Economy
3. Climate Change: Overview of Risk and Opportunities
4. Risks and Opportunities for the South African Economy
   
   
   • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
   • Mining & Quarrying
   • Manufacturing
   • Utilities (Electricity, Gas and Water)
   • Construction
   • Trade, Catering & Accommodation Services
   • Transport, Storage & Communication
   • Financial, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services
   
   
5. Key Areas for Consideration
6. Envisaging a Way Forward for South Africa
7. Conclusion

References
List of Acronyms
Glossary of Terms

Economic Sector Reviews

Provided below are reviews of each of the major economic sectors in South Africa. The reviews provide an overview of economic trends in each sector, and form important contextual background for the additional research under the project.

• Agriculture Forestry & Fisheries
• Mining
• Manufacturing
• Food Beverages & Tobacco
• Textiles, Clothing & Footwear
• Wood & Paper
• Petroleum, Chemicals, Rubber & Plastics
• Metal & Machinery Equipment
• Other non-metallic products
• Transport Equipment
• Electrical Machinery & Apparatus
• Radio, TV etc.
• Utilities
• Construction
• Retail & Tourism
• Communications
• Financial Services, Insurance & Business Services
• Transport & Storage

Concretely, reducing funding for HIV treatment and ARV means:

• A reduction in treatment slots. Patients will have to wait longer to start ARV and are at risk of dying before they can have access to life-saving medication. Patients left untreated risk deteriorating and succumbing to opportunistic infections such as TB. More patients will be lost to follow up, even before they can start ART.
• Blockage in the implementation of WHO guidelines allowing for a move away from substandard care and giving patients the benefits of earlier treatment.
• A further squeeze on the available initiation capacity of the Global Fund.
• Knock on effects on already fragile ARV supplies. This means more stock-outs and disruptions, resulting in additional strains on patients’ adherence and health facilities’ workload.
• Further reductions in affected countries’ ambitions for tangible results and inclusion of specific vulnerable groups.

From the field perspective, a donor retreat will change the character of the epidemic, with increasing numbers of patients seeking care, more ill patients and rising mortality in the community — echoing the early 2000s when ART was rationed to the happy few.

• Patients starting with lower CD4-counts (a measure of the number of T cells per cubic millimetre of blood, used to evaluate the immune system of patients infected with HIV) require more frequent, more intensive and more costly care. At the same time, they have lower chances of survival and take longer to recuperate.
• Health facilities’ patient load will increase and health workers will be discouraged by the worsening results among the patients to whom they provide care.
• Patients might start sharing their pills, effectively lowering their dosage and increasing risks of virus transmission and resistance.
• Tensions will rise between those patients on treatment and those not yet on treatment.
• Tuberculosis rates will increase and represent an additional burden on already busy clinics.
• Mortality among adults in the prime of their lives and the number of orphans will rise again in the community.
• Insufficient ARV availability will require a proportional slowing down of testing and counselling activities.

21st Century Aid: Recognising success and tackling failure

Source: Oxfam GB
From Summary:

Aid plays a role in saving millions of lives, and yet despite its achievements poverty continues to cast a shadow over the lives of some 1.4 billion people worldwide. This has opened up questions over the effectiveness of aid and lately, unleashed a barrage of criticism, with critics using individual examples of failed aid to argue that all aid is bad and should be reduced or phased out altogether. This is both incorrect and irresponsible….

Key Recommendations:

• Ensure aid is channelled to help support active citizens, build effective states as a pathway to reducing poverty and inequality, and support diverse forms of financing to contribute to development.
• Deliver aid through a mix of models, including increasing budget support wherever possible, and ensure that a percentage of aid flows are channelled to civil society organisations, to enable people to better hold their governments to account.
• Dramatically improve the predictability of aid, by increasing the proportion of aid that is general budget support where possible and by sector support where general budget support is not an option, and limit conditions attached to aid to mutually agreed poverty indicators.
• Give at least 0.7 per cent of their national income in aid, and set out how this target will be reached, with legally binding timetables.
• Reject a culture of corruption, uphold human rights standards, and act in ways which are transparent and open to scrutiny.
• Provide legal environments in which civil society organisations monitoring government activities can flourish and respect the independence of non-government bodies like audit offices and the judiciary.

+ Direct link to Summary (PDF; 255 KB)
+ Direct link to Full Report (PDF; 1.7 MB)

Via Docuticker

The Elders are brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their collective influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.

Africa Progress Panel members Kofi Annan, Peter Eigen, Linah Mohohlo and Olusegun Obasanjo ...launch[ed] the Africa Progress Report 2010 on 25 May 2010 in Johannesburg. The landmark publication analyses the continent’s progress and issues key recommendations to African leaders and its international partners. Full report

About Africa Progress Panel

The Africa Progress Panel (APP) was formed as a vehicle to maintain a focus on the commitments to Africa made by the international community in the wake of the Gleneagles G8 Summit and of the Commission for Africa Report in 2007.

Under the chairmanship of Kofi Annan, it pays equal attention to the implementation of Africa's commitments as set out in the Constitutive Act of the African Union and landmark international agreements.

The Panel’s members continually assess new opportunities and threats to Africa’s development, including how far previous commitments of Africa are being met. They use their judgment and experience to highlight pressing concerns, inspire honest debate amongst leaders and civil society, help mobilise resources and prompt effective action.

The Panel is composed of the following members:

For complete biographies of the panel members, click on the names above or the on photos to the right.

Amnesty International's 2010 report documents abuses in 159 countries and shows how powerful governments are blocking advances in international justice by standing above the law on human rights, shielding allies from criticism and acting only when politically convenient. Report in full

A to Z country reports

Facts and Figures

Report at a Glance

Kenya: On 31 March, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision accepting the ICC Prosecutor's November 2009 application to officially open investigations into alleged crimes against humanity committed during the post elections violence and police and military operations in 2008.

Kenya: The work of the Kenya Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC), established after the post election violence, stalled in April after TJRC commissioners petitioned the Chief Justice to investigate allegations that the commission’s chair, Ambassador Bethwel Kiplagat has a conflict of interest in his role.

Sudan: Presidential and legislative elections took place in April with restrictions on essential freedoms in the run-up to the elections. President Al Bashir was elected as President with 68 per cent of the vote after many of the main opposition parties withdrew their candidates over fraud allegations. International election observers from the Carter Center and the European Union stated that the elections did not meet international standards. Observers still recognized the elections as an important step in the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

Sudan: Fighting continued in Jebel Marra, Darfur, between government forces and armed opposition groups. Accurate information remains unavailable as UN and humanitarian organizations were denied access to the area by the government.

Sudan: In February 57 people charged for their alleged participation in the attack on Khartoum in 2008, including 50 that had been sentenced to death, were released as a result of a Framework Agreement to resolve the conflict in Darfur that was signed by the government of Sudan and the armed opposition group Justice and Equality Movement.

Eastern Chad: The Chadian government requested that the military component of the UN mission (MINURCAT) leaves the country when its mandate expires on 26 May. Negotiations between the Chadian government and the United Nations led to a proposal whereby MINURCAT would be extended beyond May but the mission would no longer have the resources or mandate to protect civilians. There is a real risk that civilians will be exposed to increased attacks from various parties, including Chadian armed opposition groups, irregular militias, criminal elements and members of the Chadian security forces. Those responsible for carrying out these abuses enjoy almost total impunity. The Chadian security forces have been unable and unwilling to protect the population in eastern Chad in recent years which include 250,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur and 170,000 displaced Chadians.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The government requested a withdrawal of the UN mission (MONUC) by June 2011 and a withdrawal of UN troops not involved in eastern DRC by 2010. The UN Security Council will take a decision on MONUC after a visit of the UN SC to the DRC in May. A premature withdrawal of the military component of MONUC would compromise the security of civilians in the DRC and would lead to an upsurge of violence.

World Economic Situation and Prospects 2010: update as of mid-2010 has been published (full text, pdf, 406 KB).

The world economy continued to improve in the first half of 2010, leading to a slight upward revision in the United Nations outlook for global growth. The pace of the recovery is too weak, however, to close the global output gap left by the crisis. The recovery is also uneven across countries. While growth prospects for some developing countries are encouraging, economic activity is lacklustre in developed economies and below potential elsewhere in the developing world

The elections took place on 5 May 2010 and the voter turnout was 77%.

Results overview

More

Mauritius electoral system

Highlights

The 2010 Technology and Innovation Report - Enhancing Food Security in Africa Through Science, Technology and Innovation - focuses on the challenges of improving agricultural performance in Africa and the role of technology and innovation in raising agricultural production and incomes of all farmers, including smallholder farms. The report argues that the main challenge is to strengthen the innovation capabilities of African agricultural systems as a means of addressing poverty, improving food security and achieving broader economic growth and development.

Technological innovation is not all composed of radical discoveries, and much of what is relevant to African agriculture relates to the ways incremental improvements in processes, products, inputs, or equipments are needed to adapt existing technologies to the local environment in ways that enhance productivity and lower costs. Such knowledge may come through learning, research or experience, but requires certain technological capabilities in order to be applied in the production of products across sectors, including agriculture. From this perspective, the Report covers the following matters:

• Key issues in the development of African agriculture
• Building innovation capabilities in Africa agriculture
• Agriculture and national food security
• Challenges and opportunities to achieve food security
• Transfer and diffusion of agricultural technology
• Technology mixes for small scale farming

The report also puts forward twelve main recommendations , including

• Smallholder farmers need to be at the centre of policy so that agricultural research, development and extension services meet the real needs of small-scale farmers.
• Policy-making capacities should be strengthened to create an enabling environment for agricultural innovation, and to make possible some degree of policy experimentation.
• Agricultural innovation systems need to be reinforced by focusing on the enabling environment and linking national, regional and international research to innovation.
• It is important to target agricultural investment by putting resources into the physical and scientific infrastructure, linkages and stronger extension services.
• Local agro-ecological conditions should be taken into account so that technologies are tailored to different agro-ecological zones and include appropriate and effective mixes both of low-, medium- and high-tech solutions as well as traditional knowledge and modern science.
• Capacity building and international cooperation on technology transfer and technology sharing should be reinforced.

Note

Preface

Acknowledgements

Table of contents

Explanatory notes

Executive summary

Chapter 1 KEY ISSUES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA
1.1	Challenges in african agriculture
1.2	Role of technology and innovation
1.3	Key issues
1.4	Developing and disseminating relevant technology
1.5	The imperative of demand-led approaches to agricultural development
1.6	Rethinking african agriculture from an innovation perspective
1.7	Agriculture and economic transformation of Africa
1.8	Signs of success

Chapter 2 BUILDING INNOVATION CAPABILITIES IN AFRICAN AGRICULTURE
2.1	Introduction
2.2	Innovation systems as a policy tool
2.3	Innovation as an interactive process
2.4	Linkages between farmers, global networks and value chains
2.5	Creating an enabling environment for agricultural innovation
2.6	The role of intellectual property rights in small-scale farming
2.8	Summary

Chapter 3 AGRICULTURE AND NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY
3.1	The determinants of national food security
3.2	Sources of food supply
3.3	New determinants of food security
3.4	The role of agricultural trade in food security
3.5	Summary

Chapter 4 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO ACHIEVE FOOD SECURITY
4.1	Agriculture and development: regional comparisons
4.2	The green revolution: a brief regional comparison
4.3	Towards a rainbow revolution in Africa
4.4	Implementing a uniquely African green revolution
4.5	Summary

Chapter 5 TRANSFER AND DIFFUSION OF AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY
5.1	Introduction
5.2	Transfer of technology
5.3	Technology adoption
5.4	International cooperation: emerging modalities in agriculture technology transfer
5.5	Summary

Chapter 6 TECHNOLOGY MIXES FOR SMALL-SCALE FARMING
6.1	Introduction
6.2	Mechanical technology
6.3	Irrigation
6.4	Biological technology
6.5	Fertilizers, pesticides and tillage technologies
6.6	Biotechnology
6.7	Combating crop diseases
6.8	Post-harvest technologies
6.9	Summary

The Global Overview provides a comprehensive review of the 2009 situation of internal displacement, based on the information on over 50 countries brought together at www.internal-displacement.org. It aims to provide information on these different situations from regional and country-specific perspectives, while providing an analysis of the different situations of IDPs globally: those newly displaced, those living in continuing displacement, and those making progress towards durable solutions. The achievements and limitations of the responses to these situations are also examined.

http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/8980F134C9CF4373C1257725006167DA/$file/Global_Overview_2009.pdf

Internal displacement in Africa

These are some of the findings from a new study, The Health of our Children in South Africa: Results from a national HIV prevalence population survey , released in Cape Town today. The study is a further analysis of data gathered for the Third South African National HIV, Behaviour and Health Survey, 2008 which included adults and children. The survey sample for the children's report comprised 8,966 children aged 0-18 and is nationally representative. This survey was the first to also capture the health of children aged 0-2 years old.

The survey was funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) using funds from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The research consortium consisted of the HSRC, the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Centre for AIDS Development, Research and Evaluation (CADRE), the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Key findings of the study

Maternal health

The Department of Health's Ten Point Plan includes reduction of maternal and child mortality by improving the health status of this population. Therefore, access to good quality antenatal care and primary h

Climate change and the urban poor. Risk and resilience in 15 of the world's most vulnerable cities

This report outlines lessons learnt regarding the rincipal effects of climate change on 15 cities in low-income countries, and what makes them vulnerable to these effects. Coastal cities are susceptible to a rise in sea level and are made vulnerable by the low-lying land they are often built on, while dryland cities suffer from scarce water resources due to extended periods of climate change-induced drought. In these and other inland cities, the level of poverty, the rapid pace of urbanization and a lack of education about climate change increase vulnerability and aggravate the effects of climate change. Innovative urban policies and practices have shown that adaptation to some of these effects is possible and can be built into development plans. These include community-based initiatives led by organizations formed by the urban poor, and local governments working in partnership with their low-income populations.

Areas: Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Bangladesh, Benin, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Sudan, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi

Published by IIED, 2009

 

Africa is in the midst of an urban transition, and getting this transition right is critical. Over the next ten years, Africa’s urban population is projected to increase by over 150 million. Economic difficulties may reduce rural–urban migration, but Africa’s towns and cities are not ready to accommodate anything like this many new residents.

It is tempting for governments to respond to this challenge by trying to discourage rural–urban migration. This report argues that the challenge is not to curb urbanization, but to seize the opportunities it provides, while curbing the inequalities and environmental burdens that market-driven or poorly planned urbanization can bring. Successful urban development is locally driven, but a successful urban transition requires national support and regional collaboration. It is regional collaboration, involving urban centres in at least two different countries, that is the particular concern of this report.

Due South : exploring the impact of the recession on sustainable development in the South blog

Maintained by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). This blog aims to focus on the impact of the global economic recession upon poorer nations of Africa. Asia and Latin America. It also has a focus on examining how nature, economic growth and social justice are intermeshed. Links are provided to news stories, comment and IIED reports and those from aid agencies. If you are interested in following these issues another good starting point is the Choike website which spotlights the work and research of southern NGOs and civil society organisations.

http://www.iied.org/sustainable-markets/blog/due-south

From Intute.ac.uk

Palestinian human development report 2009/10 Investing in Human Security for a Future State was issued (full text, pdf, 3.4 KB). The report looks into different aspects of human security: economy, food, health, environment, political, personal, community. According to the report:

It is imperative, if development and lasting peace are to be secured, that security be re-envisioned as something that guarantees the collective safety of Palestinians and Israelis rather than just the military security of the State of Israel.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released World Health Statistics 2010.

It is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

UN Pulse Permanent Link: World Health Statistics 2010

This guide is designed for researchers and information professionals with an interest in United Nations documentation. It presents an overview of the various types of documents and publications issued by the Organization (e.g, reports, resolutions, meeting records, sales publications, press releases) and gives guidance on how to work with them.

The Research Guide also provides information on actions taken by the General Assembly as well as the Security Council and introduces researchers to major fields of UN activities: environment, human rights, international law and peacekeeping.

http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/resguide/

The Africa Renewal information programme, produced by the Africa Section of the United Nations Department of Public Information, provides up-to-date information and analysis of the major economic and development challenges facing Africa today. Among the major items it produces is the renowned magazine, Africa Renewal (formerly Africa Recovery), which first appeared in 1987. It also produces a range of public information materials, including backgrounders, press releases and feature articles. It works with the media in Africa and beyond to promote the work of the United Nations, Africa and the international community to bring peace and development to Africa.

The Africa Renewal programme examines the many issues that confront the people of Africa, its leaders and its international partners: economic reform, debt, education, health, women's advancement, conflict and civil strife, democratization, aid, investment, trade, regional integration, rural development and many other topics. It tracks policy debates. It provides expert analysis and on-the-spot reporting to show how those policies affect people on the ground. And, it highlights the views of policy-makers, non-governmental leaders and others actively involved in efforts to transform Africa and improve its prospects in the world today.

Africa Renewal reports on and examines the many different aspects of the UN's involvement in Africa, especially within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). It works closely with the many UN agencies and offices dealing with African issues, including the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa.

Ideas for development blog
Ideas for Development is an international Blog meant to stimulate debate on development issues. It brings together a set of senior professionals engaged in this sphere through their careers and personal convictions. The blog does not belong to any organization or personality, and will remain independent. Several personalities contribute to this blog: Kemal Dervis (UNDP), Abdou Diouf (Organisation de la Francophonie), Donald Kaberuka (African Development Bank), Pascal Lamy (WTO), Supachai Panitchpakdi (UNCTAD), Jean-Michel Severino (Agence française de développement) and Josette Sheeran (World Food Programme).

Millennium Development Goals blog
This Blog has been set up to reach out a broader audience to participate in discussions on major thematic areas related to the Millennium Development Goals prior to the High-Level Event on MDGs. The themes covered by this Blog are; (1) poverty and hunger; (2) health and education; (3) environmental sustainability; (4) gender equality and empowerment of women; and (5) global partnership for development.