“This donation is to support the Forest Project for the positive impact on the lives of the children,” says Mrs. Helen Chatburn – Ojehomon, the Primary Years Program Coordinator at IIS.

The IITA Forest Project has over the years provided children and teachers with the opportunity to learn about forest conservation, biodiversity, and the negative effects of deforestation.

Located on about 350 hectares in Ibadan, the IITA Forest Reserve is one of the few surviving and best protected secondary forests in western Nigeria with more than 230 different types of butterflies. It also plays host to 250 different species of birds, and over 450 plant species, most of which have medicinal uses.

Mrs.  Chatburn – Ojehomon explained that funds for the donation were raised by the children through the MathBuster Challenge—a sponsored educational program that encourages learning and enjoyment of mathematics. Funds raised from the sponsorship go into charity, and sponsors could be friends, parents, and relatives.

This year is the ninth in the series of the MathBuster Challenge, and the program has supported different projects in the past. The Forest Project of IITA was chosen in 2012 because the students had learnt about environmental degradation and deforestation during their numerous visits to IITA forest; as such the issues brought inspiration and interest in the project to them.

“The children feel this project should continue. And basically, we want to link their learning with action so that they can use their learning to help the community,” Chatburn – Ojehomon said.

Mrs  Deni Bown, Coordinator of IITA Forest Project, commended the children and the school for the gesture, stressing that the conservation of Nigeria’s forest is  vital to the survival of the country’s people.

Underscoring the importance of forests to human existence, Mrs. Bown likened the forest to the human skin.

“The forest is like the protective ‘skin’ of the planet earth. If you remove it, the earth gets hotter. And if we lose our forest to a certain level, we will have irreversible global warming” the forest expert said.

Mrs. Bown noted that the Institute’s Forest Project was a clear demonstration of the link between forests and agriculture—that they could go hand-in-hand.

She also explained that the Forest Project has over the years organized educational and guided tours to the forest for children because of the belief that they are future leaders and would make good use of the knowledge.

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For information, please contact:

Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea, December 19, 2012/ – The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (http://www.acp.int) wrapped up a successful 2-day summit for Heads of States and Government on 13-14 December at the Grand Sipopo International Conference Centre in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, committing to intensified South-South cooperation, while calling for more development-friendly relations with European partners.

The 72-point Sipopo Declaration addressed broad areas of peace, security and good governance; development finance; international trade; energy, climate change and sustainable development; and the future outlook of the ACP Group as an international institution.

In particular, the outcome document highlighted members’ determination to “stay united as a Group” and retain relevance by “enhancing the ACP-EU relationship as a unique North-South development cooperation model, while developing South-South and other partnerships.”

The document lauded the EU’s efforts in helping ACP countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals, while urging that the European Development Fund (EDF) remain outside the regular EU budget framework as a mechanism of development financing for the ACP countries. Leaders also expressed concern over the notion of differentiation and graduation in allocating development funds, calling on the EU to keep to the legal framework of the Cotonou Agreement.

On trade, ACP leaders emphasized “development-friendly” Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between ACP countries and the EU, insisting on coherence between European development and trade policies. Taking a stand against proposed amendments to Market Access Regulation 1528/2007 as well as the Generalised System Preferences (GSP), leaders appealed for a “joint ACP-EU high level political engagement” to be convened to resolve pending issues.

Looking towards the future of the 79-member Group, ACPHeads of State noted the need to shape a more dynamic and innovative ACP Group to engage with the EU in the third five-year review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement in 2015. They welcomed plans to set up an Eminent Persons’ Group to revive the vision, mission and response of the ACP Group to global challenges.

High level delegates from at least 63 countries, including more than 15 national heads attended the conference. Representing the regions, this included Benin President and President-in-Office of the African Union, H.E. Mr Yayi Boni, St Lucia Prime Minister and Chair of the Caribbean Community Hon. Dr Kenny Anthony, and Cook Islands Prime Minister and Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum Hon. Mr Henry Puna, along with the Presidents of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Togo, Zimbabwe, the  Prime Minister of Namibia, and five Vice Presidents (Burundi, Seychelles, Sudan) and Deputy Prime Ministers (Papua New Guinea, Swaziland).

Participants at the Seventh Summit reaffirmed their solidarity as the collective voice of the 79-member intergovernmental body, representing a population of 930 million people. As the new republic of South Sudan joins the organisation, membership will expand to 80 nations.

Special guests such as African Union Commissioner H.E Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, European Commissioner for Development Mr Andris Piebalgs, and Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliament Assembly Hon. Louis Michel were also present.

Distributed by the African Press organization on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group).

For further enquiries:

Josephine Latu, Press Attachée +32-2-743 0617 or email: latu@acp.int

SOURCE 

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group)

By Masimba Tafirenyika

Amid raving economic forecasts thatAfricawill be the next big emerging market, chronic food shortages remain stubbornly immune to solutions. The African Union is aware of this weak link and is working to convince its members to boost investments in agriculture.

It’s a tall order. But there are signs of progress, thanks in part to an innovative plan by the AU’s development agency, NEPAD, called the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

CAADP’s message is simple but powerful: More investments in agriculture will end hunger and lift millions out of poverty. The programme has several elements, but the best-known requires signatories to spend at least 10 per cent of their budgets on agriculture. To date, 30 countries have signed up.

CAADP’s scorecard so far is mixed. Some countries are still grappling with the teething troubles of translating its plans into action. But those that have faithfully followed the programme are seeing positive changes.

CAADP is a noble idea. Yet it suffers from two major weaknesses: It doesn’t have enough money to back its plan and it has no power to compel members to adopt its recommendations.

Take the European Union’s farm subsidy programme, the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), for instance, which was created in response to severe food shortages inEuropeback in the 1950s. CAP has money — in 2010 it was gobbling up about 40 per cent of the EU’s budget — and the power to impose conditions on members that get subsidies. True, EU subsidies hurt farmers in poor nations, but they have raised the incomes of EU farmers and produced more quality food for consumers.

In contrast, CAADP uses moral suasion to induce members to stick to their commitments. Worse still, it relies heavily on donors for investments in countries that have signed on. Equally troubling is that a big chunk of the national budgets of most CAADP signatories comes from donors, subjecting Africa to aid cuts whenever donor economies slump or priorities shift, or when domestic African political fortunes change, as events in Malawi, Rwanda and elsewhere have clearly shown.

CAADP can be effective, but only to the extent that signatories are committed to doing the necessary heavy lifting. To demonstrate its commitment to food security, the AU should move beyond platitudes and follow the EU’s example — make it mandatory for members to contribute to a common fund for agriculture. Each member’s contribution could be based on its ability to pay, perhaps using GNP per capita as a guide. Such a fund could then be used to reduce CAADP’s dependence on donors.

True, setting aside a tenth of the budget for agriculture is a big deal for poor countries often faced with competing priorities. But success in agriculture reduces the pressure to finance solutions to social problems caused by hunger and poverty. Putting money into agriculture is a smart investment.

Africa Renewal

http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/january-2013/africa%E2%80%99s-food-policy-needs-sharper-teeth

By Dennis Zulu, Chief Program Officer, ILO Office for Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The room was filled with about 50 excited Liberian youth, all sporting white T-shirts with the inscription “Graduate” printed on the back.

The young women and men had completed three-month apprenticeships with enterprises in the Liberian capital, Monrovia. For many of them, this was the first time in their lives that they had received any form of training, let alone a certificate.

And many had hopes their new skills would open the door to a bright future.

Unfortunately, if past experience was anything to go by, it would not be long before they would face the reality of unemployment head on.

After the ceremony, at which I had presented the certificates, one of the new graduates asked whether I could help him get funds to start a business. He had never heard of microfinance institutions but said he had tried – without success – to borrow money from friends and relatives.

He was convinced his newly acquired skills would enable him to start and run a successful business, and could then help his unemployed father provide for their large family.

I asked what options he had if he could not start the business. He said he feared he might have to go the way of many of his friends who had turned to a life of crime.

Liberia has been at peace for over a decade. But the high youth unemployment rate threatens stability in a country where about 70 per cent of the population is under the age of 30.

Liberian youth have had high expectations since the end of the civil war and demand jobs and improved livelihoods. But these demands have largely remained unmet, despite impressive economic growth rates.

The war deprived young Liberians of the opportunity to get an education: almost 40 per cent of Liberians over 15 years old have never attended school. Young people roam the streets, having none of the skills or experience needed for the few jobs that are available.

Liberia has a labour force of 1.13 million, but only 195,000 people are in paid employment.

Despite unemployment being so high, sometimes it is hard for employers to find candidates with the right set of skills. As many young people lack the numeracy and literacy skills required by technical and vocational training institutions, solving this situation in the short run is not easy.

On top of that, training schools use outdated curricula and have a lack of staff and physical infrastructure. They are therefore ill-equipped to produce graduates who are prepared for the labour market.

The informal economy is often the only available option for Liberian youth – from operating motorcycle taxis, to selling second-hand clothes.

Unfortunately, most of them work under precarious conditions and have little or no support in entrepreneurship training, business development services or access to finance. Consequently, they are unable to grow their businesses or work themselves out of poverty.

In my work I meet a lot of young Liberians who, despite these challenges, are still eager for opportunities to improve their education and ultimately secure good jobs or run successful business.

A lot is already being done by the government of Liberia and many other stakeholders with respect to policy reform and access to basic education, skills development, finance, jobs and income-generating opportunities.

The ILO has implemented successful programmes to generate employment, including the Poverty Reduction through Employment Creation, and three Employment Intensive Investment Programmes, focused on road infrastructure.

Given the magnitude of the problem, it is crucial that the issue be tackled urgently and that programmes have a wide enough scope to meet the hopes and expectations of my graduate friend and the many other Liberian youth looking for jobs.

03 December 2012, Ibadan – The African Development Bank (AfDB) and researchers today launched the US$63.24 million AfDB-funded initiative that aims to raise agricultural productivity and also lift millions of Africans out of poverty.

The 5-year, multi-CGIAR center initiative known as “Support to Agricultural Research for Development of Strategic Crops in Africa” (SARD-SC) is a research, science, and technology development initiative aimed at enhancing the productivity and income derived from cassava, maize, rice, and wheat – four of the six commodities that African Heads of States, through the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Program, have defined as strategic crops for Africa.

During the launch of the initiative in Ibadan, Nigeria, the Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dr Nteranya Sanginga called on researchers to deliver ‘quick impact’ to justify the investments in research.

“We should begin to demonstrate impact in the next two years using available technologies already developed. Everything in SARD-SC is about impact and not only writing scientific papers,” Dr Sanginga said.

The SARD-SC Project comes at an opportune time when food security and nutrition are high on the national agenda of the AfDB Regional Member Countries (RMCs), as rising food prices push millions of people into extreme hunger and poverty. The SARD-SC allows – for the first time ever in a single project – a continental coverage of the food security challenges in Africa.

“What we intend to achieve goes beyond food security. We are looking at boosting incomes and reducing poverty in Africa,“ said Mr Ousmane Dore, Resident Representative, Nigeria Field Office of the AfDB, who launched the event on behalf of AfDB’s President, Dr Donald Kaberuka.

“Apart from supporting research with broad sectoral and/or economic-wide objectives, the social impact of this intervention is significant. This is underscored by the all-inclusive nature of the project beneficiaries: farmers’ groups, youth, private sector, policy makers, rural entrepreneurs, national agricultural research and extension systems (NARES), community based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations,” he explained.

The project, which will run until 2016, will be co-implemented by three Africa-based CGIAR centers: IITA, Africa Rice Center, and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. IITA is also the Executing Agency of the project.

Another CGIAR center – the International Food Policy Research Institute – a specialized technical agency, will support the other three centers.

Dr Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General (Partnerships & Capacity Development), said the distinctive nature of the project offered an opportunity to improve food security in Africa.

He also called on partners and researchers to work towards building a new and better future for Africa using the project as a tool.

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For information, please contact:

Godwin Atser, g.atser@cgiar.org

By Jocelyne Sambira

When a Turkish Airlines flight touched down at Aden Adde International Airport near the Somali capital of Mogadishu on 16 March, it seemed like a sign of good things to come. It was the first time in more than 20 years that a passenger plane from Europe had flown into the volatile city.

Once labelled “the most dangerous city in the world,” Mogadishu is now bustling with activity. Augustine Mahiga, the UN special representative to Somalia, recalls his first visit in 2010. The city was a ghost town, he told reporters in Nairobi. “There wasn’t a single building that didn’t have bullet holes, and most had been destroyed.” While he was meeting with a Somali leader, for two or three hours “it was just the sounds of guns, guns of different calibres, small guns, big guns and big booms.…”

Mogadishu has been free from the iron grip of the Al-Shabaab rebel group since August 2011, when it was flushed out by forces of the Somalia Transitional Federal Government with the help of troops from the 9,000-strong African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). In early October, the already weakened Al-Shabaab forces lost another strategic city, Kismayo. Its capture has been a major blow to the group, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.

A vote for change

A UN-backed plan known as the “Roadmap for the End of the Transition” has been lauded for breaking an eight-year political deadlock in Somalia. The Roadmap spelled out priority measures to end the transition by 20 August 2012 and restore stability to the country. After the dissolution of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which was established in 2004, strenuous negotiations between political actors in Somalia took place to adopt a provisional constitution, elect a new parliament, and appoint a new president and prime minister.

So for the first time since the collapse of the government of Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, a new federal parliament was selected. Since security conditions still did not allow for general elections, 135 traditional elders from various clans and regions convened in Mogadishu to elect 275 members of parliament, including women, by secret ballot. Somali elders are influential leaders chosen by their communities to serve for life.

UN envoy Mahiga had earlier urged the elders to use the power of the secret ballot: “Between you and the box, it is only God watching you.” The new legislators seemed to take the advice to heart. They surprised most Somalis by voting in a new kind of leadership. They chose Professor Mohammed Oswan Jawari, an attorney with a strong track record in public service, as the new speaker. And they elected a political outsider, Hassan Sheikh Mahmud, to the highest office on 10 September, a clear break from former president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a familiar figure in the Somali political scene and former commander of the Islamic Courts Union (Al-Shabaab was formed in a split away from his group). In contrast, Mr. Mahmud, an academic and activist, had only launched his political career a year before with his Peace and Development Party. President Mahmud in turn appointed as his prime minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, an economist and businessman who has vowed to fight nepotism and corruption. More recently, Mr. Shirdon named Fauzia Yusuf Haji Adan as his deputy and the country’s new foreign minister — the first time a woman has held such high positions in Somalia.

Abdul Sharif, a Somali-American freelance journalist and Africa analyst based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. “The Somali people have taken a great step forward on the path to prosperity. Many people thought the transitional government would not end, that it was going to be a failure. But the Somali people proved many wrong.”

Good for business

Having survived an assassination attempt by suicide bombers just 48 hours after taking office, President Mahmud made clear his number-one priority: “Security.” Although Al-Shabaab is in retreat, the group still poses a threat around Mogadishu, the recently liberated Kismayo and other areas in south-central Somalia.

Abdirashid Duale, the chief executive of Dahabshiil, the largest money-transfer business in the Horn of Africa, knows only too well the cost of doing business in Somalia. After two decades of serving the residents of Mogadishu, his offices have not been spared from the violence. In 2009, an Al-Shabaab attack that took the lives of some of his staff forced him to close some outlets.

Such attacks have so far not stopped the commercial boom the capital is experiencing. Dahabshiil has seen a 20 per cent rise in its Mogadishu transactions in recent months, and the Somali shilling has been getting stronger against the dollar, Mr. Duale wrote to Africa Renewal. “We have noticed that some of our customers are rebuilding their properties. There is also a high demand for rental properties, especially for business premises.”

Mr. Sharif from Minnesota is looking forward to joining his grandmother, who has been living in Hamarweyme, a relatively safe area of Mogadishu. “Somalia is making one of the biggest transformations since the war in 1991. We need to give this government more of a chance to see what it is going to do, rather than criticize.”

Strengthening security

Many people with a vested interest in a peaceful future for Somalia agree that strengthening and reforming the national security forces is essential to keeping the momentum going. The African Union is pushing for the UN Security Council to lift its arms embargo on Somalia, while at the same time keeping it in force against non-state actors. The AU is also asking for an expansion of the UN support package to Somalia, as well as for help in financing the full deployment of military personnel for AMISOM, to reach its agreed level of 12,000 troops.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has agreed with President Mahmud to start peacebuilding activities. Mr. Ban wants the UN to establish a “heavy footprint” in the country, meaning he wants to have all relevant UN agencies, funds and programmes move to Somalia by January 2013 (most have been operating from neighbouring Kenya).

Restoring basic services such as water, education and health is also crucial to the new government’s success, Maxamed Ibrahim, a graduate student of international development at the University of Vermont in the US, told Africa Renewal. He is from Bardera, an agricultural city connected to the port of Kismayo. He left Somalia in 1995 and has not been back since. He remains a bit skeptical about the country’s future. Clan warfare, corruption, security challenges and the aftermath of the famine are problems carried over from the previous administration. “No one talks about reforming the army, paying taxes.… As for AMISOM, military victory is almost all they talk about. But once they capture a city, what’s next? The AU troops are already stretched too thin and the government does not talk about services. People will turn to Al-Shabaab for security and services if they don’t get them from the government.”

The government’s immediate challenge now is to establish local and district administrations, justice and the rule of law. Then it will be in a better position to provide for local populations.

For now, Mr. Ibrahim believes that the Somali people are “tired of groups like Al-Shabaab.” As long as the Somali people remain in control of any future stabilization effort, he concludes, they will be “tolerant” and will give the new government time to resolve longstanding problems.

By Jocelyne Sambira

Tonte Ikoluba was 13 years old when her grandmother came to her family home to circumcise her. It was important she go through the rite, her grandmother said, in order to become a respectable woman and increase her chances of getting married some day.

“I closed my eyes tight and tried to gather my courage,” she said. She wanted to wait a little bit, but her grandmother and another woman held her down.

Female circumcision — otherwise known as female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C) — is defined by the World Health Organization as “all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. It also involves any other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.”

FGM/C is a millennia-long custom that practicing communities believe is an essential part of raising a girl properly. About 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM/C, according to the World Health Organization. Some 92 million girls 10 years old and above who have undergone the practice are in Africa, the agency adds.

Health consequences

The practice has several immediate and long-term health consequences, says Marci Bowers, a gynaecologist in San Mateo, California. Many women like Tonte suffer for years after being circumcised because of scarring and frequent infections. The pain is constant, says Tonte. She is 35 years old and is still single, she says, because she cannot bear to have anyone touch her “down there.” Not even a doctor.

Dr. Bowers told Africa Renewal that pain is a major problem for her patients. The majority have undergone the most severe kind of cutting, called infibulation, in which the clitoris is removed and the labia are stitched together to form a cover over the vagina. Only a small hole is left for urine, menstrual blood, childbirth and intercourse.

Dr. Bowers is a surgeon who performs “reversal surgery” on her patients to repair the vagina and clitoris so that these women can have more normal lives. “The scar tissue that forms around the clitoris and encases it is uncomfortable. But in the cases where women have been infibulated, by dividing that infibulation, for the first time since the incision they are able to pass urine normally, they are able to pass menses normally. And they are able to have sex or childbirth without a constricting band that prevents those things.”

She says the surgery is 100 per cent effective in alleviating pain for patients. “The relief that overwhelms these women has been one of the reasons women are glad they went through this surgery.”

Advances in surgery

Reconstructive surgery for patients who have gone through FGM/C has been around for a long time. But the technique of clitoral repair surgery was only developed in 2004 by a French urologist, Dr. Pierre Foldès. It entails opening the scar tissue, exposing the nerves buried underneath and grafting on fresh tissue. The procedure reduces the chronic pain associated with FGM/C, allows women to regain clitoral sensitivity and even permits some to attain orgasm.

In Burkina Faso, where Dr. Foldès has trained several surgeons, the procedure has been offered since 2006. Previously, in 2001, the government sponsored and introduced a more general genital repair surgery, reports the National Commission Against Excision. Meanwhile, in an effort to make the clitoral repair surgery readily available in Africa, seven surgeons in Dakar, Senegal, recently received certification after training under Dr. Foldès and Senegalese oncologist Dr. Abdoul Aziz Kassé.

Dr. Bowers was also Dr. Foldès’ pupil and has now volunteered to do similar work. Together with the Campaign Against Female Genital Mutilation (CAGeM), an international network devoted to countering FGM, she will help make the surgery available in Africa too. The organization was established in 1998 by a group of women doctors in Africa, in response to the high rate of infant and maternal deaths in communities that practice FGM/C.

CAGeM is building a hospital in Port Harcourt, in southern Nigeria. To be called Restoration Hospital, it will provide the surgery for free and be open to any patient from West Africa. Dr. Aberie Ikinko, director of the organization’s US branch, explains: “We have already 400 women on the waiting list. We are also training the local doctors so that when we leave, they can continue to perform the surgeries for free.”

Campaign for change

A high-level event at the UN General Assembly in September 2012 called for increased commitment and concerted action from governments to ban the practice of FGM/C. A UN resolution, championed by Chantal Compaoré, the first lady of Burkina Faso, is in the works.

After two decades of global efforts to end this practice, many communities are also now embracing change. Close to two thousand communities across Africa abandoned the practice in 2011 alone, according to a report by the Joint Programme for the Acceleration of the Abandonment of FGM/C. Set up in 2008 by the UN Children’s Fund and the UN Population Fund, the programme seeks to spur change and stop the practice through a culturally sensitive, human rights–based approach.

Some previous strategies that regarded the rite as “barbaric” and “backward” met with resentment and backlash from local communities. Rather than ending FGM/C, such campaigns pushed supporters to simply hide the practice and scared them from seeking medical care, thereby placing young girls’ lives at continued risk. Recently, educational efforts have been playing a more central role in ending the practice, with many activists choosing to present FGM/C as a public health issue.

Although there is renewed hope for a global ban on the practice, so far there has been little focus on solutions for the many girls and women who have already undergone cutting. The possibility of reconstructive surgery is therefore a godsend to young women like Tonte. “They took away part of my womanhood,” she says. “I just feel very deprived. I want to be whole again.”

The Climate Adaptation Fund will disburse £500,000 (68.5 million shillings) over the next year in Isiolo County. If successful, the approach could be replicated in other counties of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands.

The fund will support ‘public good type’ activities that build community resilience to climate change. Communities in the five pilot wards can suggest proposals to the fund through their ward-level committee. A cross community/government committee at the county level will then assess these proposals.

Initial community suggestions have focused on improving natural resource management through building the capacity of customary institutions. As part of the fund, the launch of a county-wide community radio station also seeks to build resilience by delivering appropriate and accessible climate information to better inform local planning processes.

“For too long emergency responses to extreme weather events in the arid and semi-arid lands have deflected development resources from their proper purpose,” says Victor Orindi, climate change advisor to the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Secretariat under the Ministry of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands. “To be effective, local planning now needs to integrate actions for climate resilience. Decentralisation under the new constitution allows this to happen based upon the knowledge of local people and planners.”

The Kenyan office of the UK Department for International Development has provided the finance via the UK International Climate Fund, and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has acted as a coordinator and advisor to the Kenyan government.

“This exciting pilot climate adaptation fund will address local development needs and climate vulnerabilities,” says Simon Anderson, head of the climate change group at IIED.

“It seeks to empower local people and their institutions to build partnerships with local government, and capitalises on the strong constitutional mandate for community participation in management of natural resources for climate resilience,” he adds.

Full details of the fund’s launch follow…

When: 08:30-12:30 Monday 29 October

Where: Tented Conference Facility in Garbatula, Isiolo County

Speakers:

• Minister Mohamed Elmi (Ministry of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands)
• Daoud Tari (Coordinator- Resource Advocacy Programme)
• Simon Anderson (IIED- Head of Climate Change Group)
• Victor Orindi (Climate Change Advisor- Arid and Semi-Arid Lands Secretariat)
• Benson Ochieng (Director- Institute for Law and Environmental Governance)

Contact details for interviews

Victor Orindi vorindi@gmail.com

Simon Anderson simon.anderson@iied.org

Notes to editors

The project is part funded by UK aid from the UK Government, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the UK Government.

ENDS

DURBAN, South Africa, October 22, 2012 – Ahead of the official draw for the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), African football stars and heads of state have joined United Against Malaria (UAM), pledging to distribute life-saving malaria prevention and treatment messages throughout the tournament. Football icons including Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Steven Pienaar, along with African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) heads of state including President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, will lend their voices to the cause, appearing in television spots, billboards and educational materials that will be distributed across Africa.

“Across the continent, football dominates the hearts and minds of children and parents alike. But, so does malaria – the cause of 174 million illnesses and nearly 600,000 deaths in Africa alone every year,” said Samuel Eto’o, Cameroonian national team player and UAM champion. “We have united to utilize the power of football to fight malaria and we hope our fans will join us.”

Although preventable and treatable, malaria kills a child in Africa every 60 seconds and costs the continent an estimated minimum of US $12 billion in lost productivity and healthcare costs each year.

“I have been a victim of malaria and have witnessed first-hand the devastating effects it can have on individuals and families,” said Didier Drogba, Côte d’Ivoire national team captain and UAM champion. “We need malaria out of the game. Using the popularity of football to increase awareness of prevention and treatment methods will go a long way in the fight to show malaria the red card.”

By leveraging the popularity and excitement surrounding Africa’s signature tournament, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and UAM are partnering to disseminate life-saving malaria messages through television and radio spots, in-stadium branding and local outreach to policy-makers and millions of fans across the continent.

“Malaria affects nearly everyone on the continent of Africa, including footballers and government leaders. With all eyes on the tournament and its participants, CAF and UAM are committed to utilizing this platform to communicate important messaging to end deaths from this devastating disease,” said Mr. Hicham El Amrani, secretary general of CAF.

Activities kicked off during tournament qualifying matches as President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf surprised football fans at the friendly game between Liberia and Ghana to cheer on her national team and congratulate them for their efforts to fight malaria. “When we all fight malaria together, we build a stronger nations and save lives,” said President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. “As a football fan myself, I understand the game’s power and popularity. We have the tools to win against malaria and I urge others to join us in the fight.”

In Nigeria, Malawi, Benin, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and other countries, malaria messages will be shared using football players, favorite teams and sports programs. Research has shown that audiences retain and act on these messages more often when delivered by their football heroes. In those countries, billboards, sports journals, tournament programs will complement the PSAs on air to ensure the UAM campaign messages reach every household. In Cote d’Ivoire, images of Drogba and his teammates Kolo Toure, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou attract readers to malaria educational materials, and create excitement about ridding this West African country of the burden of malaria. The UAM campaign has broken language barriers by having PSAs recorded by football stars in over 18 African languages since the campaign was launched in 2009.

“I am honored to be a champion for this cause,” said Steven Pienaar, UAM champion and former South African captain. “It is unacceptable that malaria kills one child in Africa every minute. We can take such simple steps to prevent and treat this disease. United we can beat malaria.”

About Malaria

Malaria is a disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. If left untreated, the infection in its most severe forms can lead to coma and death. Although malaria is preventable and treatable, it continues to kill a child every 60 seconds and 655,000 people globally each year. More than 90 percent of these deaths occur in Africa, and the majority of them are children under the age of five. Furthermore, malaria contributes to the cycle of poverty and limits economic development.

About United Against Malaria

United Against Malaria (UAM) is a partnership of football teams and heroes, celebrities, health and advocacy organizations, governments, corporations, and individuals who have united to win the fight against malaria. Our goal is to galvanize partners throughout the world to reach the international target of reducing deaths worldwide. To learn more about UAM, please visit www.UnitedAgainstMalaria.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About Orange Africa Cup of Nations

The Orange Africa Cup of Nations is the continent’s premiere football championship, organized biannually by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The 2013 tournament, hosted in conjunction with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the South African Football Association (SAFA) will take place from January 19 to February 10 and be followed by millions of fans in Africa and around the world. For more information, please visit www.Cafonline.com.

About ALMA

ALMA is a 46-member alliance of African heads of state and government working to end malaria. For more information, please visit www.alma2015.org.

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Media Contacts:

UAM – Anna McCartney-Melstad: amccartn@jhsph.edu +27 743 674636

CAF – Mahmoud Garga: garga@cafonline.com +20 238 371000 ext. 116

Author: Jocelyne Sambira

Offering free education, making it compulsory and supporting it politically has been the winning strategy behind Burundi’s successful bid to ensure that virtually all children get a primary school education. In this interview with Africa Renewal, UNICEF’s representative in Burundi, Johannes Wedenig, expatiates on government’s positive role in this development.

He explains that in Burundi there was clear political will, translated into action, with the backing of the country’s international partners. Among those partners, UNICEF has joined with the government in a Back to School campaign that offers teaching materials, desks, sanitation facilities and text books.

There have been some major drawbacks to such an avalanche of new students, Mr. Wedenig admits. Not enough of qualified teachers, classrooms, desks and books has created real bottlenecks. So one of the “side effects” to the surge in school attendance, notes Mr. Wedenig, has been overcrowding and an increase in the pupil-to-teacher ratio (see African schools keep an eye on the prize).

High dropout rates

Primary school enrolment has gone up in both urban and rural areas. However, the UNICEF representative points out, “with regards to infrastructure, access to school [in terms of distance], qualifications and even distribution of teachers, obviously the rural areas have a bigger challenge than the cities,” although the disparities are not that significant.

According to Mr. Wedenig, the real problem is retention — keeping students in school. “Overall, we lose 50 per cent of the children before they complete primary school. And we lose another 50 per cent of those who transition to secondary school before they finish.”

Among various reasons for the loss of students, he believes that girls face the greatest difficulties. “At intake, you have basically parity. You even have in some few provinces more girls than boys. But then at a certain age, girls drop out more than boys.” The problems multiply at puberty, he explains. The issues include the lack of separate sanitation facilities for boys and girls, early marriage and teenage pregnancies.

In some cases, more boys drop out than do girls, especially in villages close to Tanzania. They are drawn to possible jobs across the border, in booming economic activities like mining.

Grade repetition is another factor behind high dropout rates. Low achievers are often required to stay in the same class another year before promotion to a higher grade. Most repeaters are thus older than their fellow classmates. “It is not an easy situation to manage,” Mr. Wedenig notes.

Focus on the system

The problems compound across the entire education system, Mr. Wedenig explains. “If you have a low intake in early childhood development for instance, it is sure that you would have lower achievements and retention in primary school. If you have high dropouts in primary, low transition to secondary and high dropouts in secondary, obviously you will have a problem in terms of the quality not only for university and tertiary education, but also for teacher colleges and for the future of teaching.”

It is therefore important to look at the whole education system, he says. Focusing on just one dimension is not the best response. A comprehensive strategy is needed.

One solution is to invest more in education. Since financing “has not been increasing in the same amount as the number of children has increased,” he explains, “it will obviously have an impact on the services you can deliver.” The quality of education is also a priority, as well as the “child friendliness” of the system.

Burundi recently adopted a new system called “école fondamentale,” in which children are encouraged to be more creative and more competitive, so as to be on par with other students in the East African Community. The pedagogy is participatory, with students at the centre of learning and teachers acting as facilitators.

Mr. Wedenig sees it as a good political step, but it has to be well managed. “You really have to analyse the impact of your policy decisions on the financial resources, the human resources, the infrastructure resources,” as well as the system’s capacity to absorb and retain students and provide quality education. If that is achieved, he says, it will “warrant the investment.”

Child comes first

The real challenge, Mr. Wedenig stresses, is dispensing an education that contributes significantly to the development of a child’s capacities at an early stage. “If you have a child who is stimulated during the early years, you will have a child who will succeed in an optimal way during primary, secondary and tertiary education.”

Ensuring schools that are friendly to children, combating gender discrimination and violence against children, and addressing teenage pregnancies are all essential, he says.

Burundi is on its way to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of achieving education for all, Mr. Wedenig notes, and that end is certainly worth the effort. But the country also needs to understand how the increase in the enrolment rate will affect the entire system and make necessary adjustments, which may not be easy.

No matter the challenges, access to basic education is a right, he stresses. “You have no other alternative but to provide. It’s the obligation of the government, of the international community and of the family and parents.”

—Africa Renewal online