TIGblogs - Henry Ekwuruke

This White House and the World Brief presents the key facts and recommendations drawn from chapters of The White House and the World: A Global Development Agenda for the Next U.S. President.

Why should the United States care about economic growth in Africa? Because it is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. Helping to spur economic growth in Africa promotes our values, enhances our security, and helps create economic and political opportunities for the people of the continent. Public interest in Africa is higher than ever-witness consumer movements such as Product Red-and bipartisan political support recently renewed funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Several new opportunities now exist for U.S. firms to compete and benefit from a win-win partnership with the region.

To view CDG's brief in its entirety, please visit the following link:

http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/16557/
Japan Builds 500 Classrooms for Country
Source: Allafrica.com
Lagos, Aug 25

Japanese Government over the weekend in Abuja, disclosed plans to build additional 500 classrooms in the second phase of its Grant Aid Project for the basic education level in Nigeria.
This is even as the federal government is prevailing on the Japanese government through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to increase the number of benefiting states so as to ensure that the efforts to get more children off the streets become a nationwide success.

Already, executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Ahmed Modibbo Muhammed, who received the Japanese team who came to ensure everything goes well in the second phase of the Grant Aid Project Japan had embarked upon in Nigeria, had proposed seven states, including Adamawa, Borno, Ebonyi, Gombe Kano, Katsina and Oyo to benefit from the project expected to be completed within three years.

Regional director of Urban and Regional Development Division One of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mr. Maekawa Kenji, said the assistance from the JICA was to help Nigeria in the provision of infrastructure needed to accelerate the development of education at the basic level.

Kenji who disclosed their intention, while on courtesy visit to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), noted that he and his team are on a feasibility study mission to Nigeria to determine where to site the classrooms, depending on the area of need engineers would be hired to do the construction. To ensure quality output of the project, he explained the Japanese government would be directly involved in the supervision of work, while local

It could be recalled that the JICA had earlier provided a total of 498 classrooms at the cost of N1.8 billion across 70 schools in Niger , Kaduna and Plateau states. Mohammed expressed gratitude for the gesture, saying it boost the Federal Government move to tackle the numerous challenges in the education sector. He explained that he had already submitted a list of states for consideration, adding that the project should be scaled up to at least six instead of three states.

On the proposal by the Japanese government that local firms may be contracted to execute the project under the supervision of foreign experts, the UBEC boss promised that Nigerians will not disappoint. He pointed out that the only problem that can arise from such arrangement will be if there is no proper supervision, adding that apart from encouraging Nigerian firms, such gesture will help build their expertise in such area as building classrooms with brick-blocks.

قوة وطرق لإفريقيا: ماذا الولايات المتّحدة الأمريكيّة يستطيع أتمّت
Automatically translated into Arabic thanks to WorldLingo
يقدّم هذا البيت الأبيض والعالم موجز الأساسيّة حقائق وتوصيات يسحب من فصول من البيت الأبيض والعالم: شاملة تطوير جدول لالولايات المتّحدة الأمريكيّة تالية رئيس.

لماذا سوفت الولايات المتّحدة الأمريكيّة اهتمّت حول حالة نموّ اقتصاديّة في إفريقيا? لأنّ هو يكون ال يصحّ شيء أن يتمّ والشيء ذكيّة أن يتمّ. يروّج يساعد أن يهمز حالة نموّ اقتصاديّة في إفريقيا قيمنا, يحسن أمننا, ومساعدات يخلقون اقتصاديّة وفرصة سياسيّة لالالناس من القارّ. فائدة عامّة في إفريقيا [هيغر] من [إفر-ويتنسّ] مستهلكة حركات مثل منتوج [رد-ند] متعلّق بحزبين سياسيّة دعم مؤخّرا يجدّد يموّل للرئيس طارئ خطة ل [أيدس] راحة ([ببفر]). يتواجد عدّة فرصة جديدة الآن لالولايات المتّحدة الأمريكيّة [وين-وين] شركات أن ينافس واستفدت من مشاركة مع المنطقة.

زرت أن يشاهد [كدغ] موجز في كليته, رجاء الخطوة تالي:

يبني http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/16557/
اليابان 500 قاعة الدرس لبلد
مصدر: Allafrica.com
لاغوس, أغسطس - آب 25

يابانية حكومة على النهاية أسبوع في [أبوجا], يكشف خطط أن يبني إضافيّة 500 قاعة الدرس في الثاني طور من ه [غرنت] معونة مشروع للأساسيّة تربية مستوى في نيجيريا.
هذا [إفن س] الحكومة فيديراليّة يكون يسود على الحكومة يابانيّة من خلال اليابان دوليّة تعاون وكالة ([جيك]) أن يزيد الرقم من يستفيد دول [س س تو] ضمنت أنّ يصبح الجهود أن يحصل كثير أطفال من الشوارع نجاح قوميّة.

سابقا, [إإكسكتيف سكرتري] من العالميّة أساسيّة تربية عمولة ([أوبك]), [در.]. كان أحمد [موديبّو] [موهمّد], الذي استلم الفريق يابانيّة الذي أتى أن يضمن كلّ شيء يذهب جيّدا في الثاني طور من [غرنت] معونة مشروع اليابان كان قد ركب فوق في نيجيريا, قد اقترح سبعة دول, بما في ذلك [أدموا], [بورنو], [إبوني], [غمب] [كنو], [كتسنا] و [أو] إلى فائدة من المشروع يتوقّع أن يكون أتمّت ضمن ثلاثة سنون.

مديرة إقليميّة من مدنيّة و [رجونل دفلوبمنت] تقسيم واحدة من اليابان دوليّة تعاون وكالة ([جيك]), [مر.]. قال [مكوا] [كنجي], المساندة من ال [جيك] كان أن يساعد نيجيريا في الإحتياط البنية أساسيّة يحتاج أن يسرع التطوير التربية في المستوى أساسيّة.

[كنجي] الذي كشف نيتهم, بينما على ملاطفة زيارة إلى العالميّة أساسيّة تربية عمولة ([أوبك]), يلاحظ أنّ هو وفريقه على إمكانيّة تنفيذ دراسة مهمة إلى نيجيريا أن يحدّ أين أن يعيّن القاعة الدرس, [دبندينغ ون] المنطقة من حاجة مهندسات كنت وظّفت أن يتمّ البناء. أن يضمن نوعية إنتاج من المشروع, فسّر هو الحكومة يابانيّة كنت مباشرة تضمّنت في المراقبات العمل, بينما فرع محلّيّ

هو استطاع كنت تذكّرت أنّ ال [جيك] تلقّى [إرلير] زوّد مجموعة من 498 قاعة الدرس في التكلفة ال [ن1.8] بليون عبر 70 مدارس في نيجر, [كدونا] ونجد دول. محمّد عبّر عن عرفان جميل للإشارة, [سينغ] هو ضغط معزّز الحكومة فيديراليّة حركة أن يعالج ال يتعدّد تحديات في التربية قطاعة. هو فسّر أنّ قدّم هو تلقّى سابقا قائمة ميلان إلى جانب الدول لإعتبار, يضيف أنّ المشروع سوفت كنت درّجت حتّى على الأقلّ ستّة [إينستد وف] ثلاثة دول.

على الاقتراح بالحكومة يابانيّة أنّ شركات محلّية يمكن كنت تعاقدت أن ينفّذ المشروع تحت المراقبات من خبيرات أجنبيّة, ال [أوبك] وعد رئيس أنّ نيجيريّ لن يخيّبوا. هو أشار أنّ سيكون المشكلة وحيد أنّ يستطيع نشأت من هذا ترتيب إن هناك يكون ما من مراقبات مناسبة, يضيف أنّ [أبرت فروم] مشجّع شركات نيجيريّة, هذا إشارة سيساعد بنيت خبرتهم في هذا منطقة بما أنّ بناية قاعة الدرس مع [بريك-بلوكس].

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a $17.6 million package of grants to help people most affected by the global food crisis and support small-scale farmers in developing countries. The largest grant-$10 million to the World Food Programme (WFP)-will continue the organization's efforts to feed young children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in Niger, Cote D'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, where malnutrition rates are staggering. Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, and Oxfam America will also receive funds from the foundation's emergency relief initiative to respond to the food crisis.

Rising food and fuel prices have put 950 million people worldwide at risk of hunger and malnutrition, according to the United Nations. Young children, whose early nutritional needs are critical to ensure long-term health, and women are at the greatest risk. Increases in farming costs, such as transportation and fertilizer, are adding to small farmers' burdens.

"The Gates donation will help us feed the hungry-especially young children, pregnant and lactating women-in this critical moment," said Thomas Yanga, WFP's regional director for West Africa.

Grants to Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, and Oxfam America total $7.6 million. These grants will support efforts that include providing food for those most in need; helping families earn money for food through employment opportunities or cash-for-work programs; and helping farmers continue and improve their production in times of crisis.

While these grants address some of the most urgent consequences of the global food crisis, the foundation is also deeply committed to funding nutritional programs that promote lasting health and supporting long-term, sustainable efforts to help hundreds of millions of small farmers boost their productivity so they can feed their families and overcome poverty.

"The current global food crisis requires immediate action to feed people most at risk," said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the foundation's Global Development Program. "In the longer term, since agriculture and the needs of small-scale farmers in the developing world have been increasingly neglected in recent decades, we need a significant reinvestment in agricultural development-from donors and developing countries-that focuses on helping small farmers boost their yields and increase their incomes."

Agricultural development is the largest initiative in the foundation's Global Development Program, which was launched in 2006. To date, the foundation has made more than $800 million in commitments in the sector with a focus on helping small-scale farmers in Africa and South Asia. The grants span the agricultural value chain-from seeds and soil to farm management and market access-so that millions of small farmers have the tools and opportunities to live healthy, productive lives.

According to the World Bank, three-quarters of the 1.1 billion people who live on less than $1 a day live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for a living, yet the percentage of development assistance that went to agriculture fell from more than 16 percent in 1980, to less than 4 percent in 2004. In addition, agriculture accounts for only 4 percent of public spending in agriculture-based developing countries. The foundation believes with strong partnerships and a renewed commitment to agricultural development from all sectors, hundreds of millions of small farmers will be able to increase their productivity and incomes and lead healthy, productive lives.

Today's announcement includes the following grants:

Catholic Relief Services: $2.9 million

- In Afghanistan, provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; provide direct emergency assistance to households unable to participate in cash-for-work programs; and help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities.

- In Burkina Faso, provide food vouchers for urban families and help poor farm families increase production and sale of rice.

- In Haiti, help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities.

Mercy Corps: $2.7 million

- In the Central African Republic, provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities; train farmers to improve their production techniques and marketing of agricultural products; and provide access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises.

- In Nepal, provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; provide access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises; and strengthen agriculture market chains for food and non-food crops.

- In Niger, provide vouchers and training for farmers to improve production techniques and marketing of agricultural products; and support the health and supply of small livestock and poultry.

- In Somalia, distribute seeds and farm tools; provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; provide access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises; and support the health and supply of small livestock and poultry.

- In Sri Lanka, help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities; train farmers to improve their production techniques and marketing of agricultural products; and facilitate access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises.

Oxfam America: $2 million

- In Ethiopia, provide local jobs on community infrastructure projects including building irrigation systems; support programs that provide food to schoolchildren; take steps to improve agricultural production, including distributing seeds and supporting irrigation projects; develop a grain bank system; implement a drought early warning system that helps prepare farmers for potential drought or other disaster; and provide livestock to women and help all farmers care for their livestock.

World Food Programme: $10 million

- Help continue the maternal-child health program in Niger, Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. For more information, visit www.gatesfoundation.org.

Govt Must Lift Aid Agency Restrictions to Avoid Humanitarian Crisis - Ban
Source: UN News Service
New York, Aug 14

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Zimbabwe to immediately lift the restrictions it has imposed on aid agencies since June, warning that not doing so could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the southern African nation.
"I call on the Government of Zimbabwe to fully respect humanitarian principles and the impartiality and neutrality of voluntary and non-governmental organizations, allowing them to operate freely and with unrestricted access to those in need," Mr. Ban said in a statement issued today.

The Secretary-General said he remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe where, despite requests made by the UN Country Team and other humanitarian partners, operations of voluntary and non-governmental organizations remain restricted.

He stressed that these groups have a vital role in the delivery of humanitarian aid, including much needed food assistance.
Due to the inability of these agencies to operate, only 280,000 people of the 1.5 million in need of food assistance are being reached with distributions.

"This ban must be lifted immediately so that aid organizations can carry out their relief work and avert a catastrophic humanitarian crisis," Mr. Ban stated.

Prior to the imposition of the ban, many Zimbabweans were already suffering from food shortages and rampant inflation, a situation made worse by the violence that plagued the country ahead of the June presidential run-off election.
UN Announces Program To Help Hunger Hot Spots
Source: World Bank Press Reviews
Washington, D.C., Aug 14

"A UN agency rolled out a $214 million program Tuesday to help 16 needy places hit hard by high prices for food and oil, amid a crisis already making it hard for aid groups to provide enough food for the world's hungry.

The World Food Program said almost 1 billion poor people around the world are struggling to survive amid the higher prices. The agency is trying to reach those in critical need of assistance in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. ... The plan will provide assistance to groups such as pregnant women, undernourished children and people living in urban areas affected most by the food crisis. The Rome-based agency also hopes to cut transportation costs and help support farmers in countries where emergency food can be bought locally. ..." [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]

AP adds however that "... 'the agency already faces 'obstacles' in procuring food, particularly when trying to buy supplies locally, spokeswoman Brenda Barton said. 'At the markets where we have been buying food, it has become just too expensive,' Barton told The Associated Press by telephone. And, she added, 'a lot of markets just don't have any food to buy.'

The price crisis is affecting many humanitarian groups. 'At a local level, food prices are increasing, and that, of course, impacts on our programs, making them more expensive,' said Chris Leather of the relief group Oxfam."

Concessões da emergência a ajudar povoar o mais afetado pela crise de alimento global
Automatically translated into Portuguese thanks to WorldLingo
A conta & a fundação das portas de Melinda anunciaram hoje um pacote $17.6 milhões das concessões para ajudar povoar o mais afetado pela crise de alimento global e suportar fazendeiros small-scale em países tornando-se. O grant-$10 o maior milhão ao programa de alimento de mundo (WFP) - continuará os esforços da organização alimentar crianças novas e mães grávidas e breastfeeding em Niger, em Cote D'Ivoire, e em Burkina Faso, onde as taxas do malnutrition estão desconcertando. Os serviços de relevo Catholic, o corpo da mercê, e Oxfam América receberão também fundos da iniciativa do relevo da emergência da fundação para responder à crise de alimento.

Os preços levantando-se do alimento e de combustível puseram 950 milhão povos worldwide em risco da fome e do malnutrition, de acordo com as nações unidas. As crianças novas, cujas as necessidades nutritivas adiantadas são críticas assegurar a saúde a longo prazo, e as mulheres estão no risco o mais grande. Os aumentos em cultivar custos, tais como o transporte e o fertilizante, estão adicionando aos burdens dos fazendeiros pequenos.

“O donation das portas ajudar-nos-á alimentar as crianças novas com fome-especialmente, grávido e lactating mulher-neste momento crítico,” disse Thomas Yanga, diretor regional do WFP para África ocidental.

Concessões ao total Catholic dos serviços de relevo, do corpo da mercê, e do Oxfam América $7.6 milhões. Estas concessões suportarão os esforços que incluem fornecer o alimento para aqueles mais na necessidade; as famílias de ajuda ganham o dinheiro para o alimento com as oportunidades de emprego ou dinheiro-para-trabalham programas; e os fazendeiros de ajuda continuam e melhoram sua produção nas épocas da crise.

Quando estas concessões se dirigirem a algumas das conseqüências as mais urgentes da crise de alimento global, a fundação está cometida também profundamente a financiar os programas nutritivos que promovem saúde durável e suportar a longo prazo, esforços sustainable ajudar a centenas dos milhões de fazendeiros pequenos impulsionar sua produtividade assim que podem alimentar suas famílias e superar a pobreza.

“A crise de alimento global atual requer a ação imediata alimentar o mais em risco povos,” disse Sylvia Mathews Burwell, presidente do programa de desenvolvimento global da fundação. “No mais longo - termo, desde que a agricultura e as necessidades de fazendeiros small-scale no mundo se tornando foram negligenciadas cada vez mais em décadas recentes, nós necessitamos um reinvestment significativo em agricultural desenvolvimento-dos doadores e de tornar-se país-que os focos em ajudar fazendeiros pequenos impulsionam seus rendimentos e aumentam suas rendas.”

O desenvolvimento agricultural é