http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/news/ en rhumphries@hsrc.ac.za Copyright 2011 2011-05-19T13:08:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/afdb_supports_accountability_in_tunisia/ Thu, 19 May 2011 13:08:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/afdb_supports_accountability_in_tunisia/#When:13:08:00Z Tunis:The governance technical committee of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved USD 310,000 to finance an Economic and Sector Work (ESW) Study on voice and accountability. The study is designed to improve social service delivery programs in Tunisia and the Maghreb. A vacuum in voice & accountability mechanisms has been one of the major triggers of the revolution. The study complements the USD 1.4 billion pledge by the AfDB, World Bank, Agence francaise de dİveloppement (AFD), and the European Union (EU) to support Tunisia's transition towards democracy. Service delivery 2011-05-19T13:08:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/tanzania_doing_poorly_in_civic_education_aprm/ Thu, 19 May 2011 13:00:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/tanzania_doing_poorly_in_civic_education_aprm/#When:13:00:00Z Dar es Salaam:Despite the country's progress in democracy and good governance most people still lack civic education; as a result they fail to exercise their democratic right to participate in different elections, a local lawyer has observed. Francis Stolla, President of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), told the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday that inadequate civic education was reason for low turnout of voters during last year's general elections General 2011-05-19T13:00:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/bill_gates_speech_to_the_world_health_assembly/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:48:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/bill_gates_speech_to_the_world_health_assembly/#When:12:48:00Z The World Health Organization and this assembly have set the standard for global cooperation in pursuit of better health. For decades, you have established ambitious goals, such as eradicating smallpox. And you have rallied the world to accomplish those goals. It is an honor to join you today. I had the privilege of addressing this assembly in 2005, when my wife Melinda and I were new to global health. At that time, we were so optimistic about the future. The world was finally starting to use its greatest resource, innovation, to solve this difficult problem - the fact that billions of people don't have the chance to lead a healthy, productive life. In the past six years, my optimism has continued to grow. Health 2011-05-19T12:48:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/pm_set_to_woo_africa_with_new_trade_deals_to_counter_chinas_growing_clout/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:43:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/pm_set_to_woo_africa_with_new_trade_deals_to_counter_chinas_growing_clout/#When:12:43:00Z New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will next week lay out a new multi-pronged strategy to engage Africa, a move that aims to counter China's rising clout in the continent. The new deal for Africa will be unveiled during Singh's six-day visit starting Monday. It will include a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the 19-nation Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa); a fresh line of credit with no link to India's own commercial interests; and capacity-building support across sectors ranging from cotton production to diamond processing and foreign trade. Service delivery 2011-05-19T12:43:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/the_trouble_with_gender_economics/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:38:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/the_trouble_with_gender_economics/#When:12:38:00Z London: Family planning is notoriously one of the most politicised and divisive issues in development debates, and gender equality one of the most neglected. But over the past few years, advocates for both have emerged from across the political spectrum and from some of the most unlikely sources - including the World Bank. This week, a diverse group of parliamentarians from around the world gathered at the French Assemblİe Nationale before next week's G8 summit, calling for a special focus on the 600 million girls and young women in developing countries around the world. Gender 2011-05-19T12:38:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/denmark_shines_with_financial_aid_policy/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:32:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/denmark_shines_with_financial_aid_policy/#When:12:32:00Z Paris: A new report pours lavish praise on Denmark's "robust foundations and political backing for fighting global poverty" but draws attention to the fact that the new strategy for development cooperation - describing aid policy also as 'realpolitik' -- was adopted by only a small parliamentary majority in 2010. Denmark's official development assistance (ODA) stands at USD 2.87 billion, or 0.90 percent of its gross national product. One of the five most generous donors as a percentage of its total economy, Denmark has surpassed the UN aid target of 0.7 percent of GNI (Gross National Income) every year since 1978. It is also a leader in its approach to development -- working with fragile states, delivering effective humanitarian and development aid, and focusing on gender equity and climate change, says the report. Service delivery 2011-05-19T12:32:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/inside_the_alms_trade/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:26:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/inside_the_alms_trade/#When:12:26:00Z Melbourne: For the first time in 15 years, Australia is rethinking its foreign aid program to make it more effective. How can we make our aid dollars work better? THE word ''effectiveness'' appears four times in the five-paragraph press release Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd issued late last year trumpeting the first independent review of Australia's foreign aid program since 1996. When the 2011 Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness is released some time in the next month, the word will again get a hammering. Closer scrutiny of Australian spending on foreign aid is unsurprising given the budget has doubled in the past five years, and will double again in the next five to reach about $9 billion a year - assuming Labor and the Coalition stick to a bipartisan pledge to increase donations to 0.5 per cent of gross national income. Service delivery 2011-05-19T12:26:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/data_report_2011_key_findings/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:22:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/data_report_2011_key_findings/#When:12:22:00Z For the past five years, the DATA Report has monitored the historic commitments to sub-Saharan Africa that the G8 and European Union made in 2005. These promises were due to be delivered in 2010, a year that also marked the crucial two-thirds point for the world to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In 2010, development assistance to sub-Saharan Africa was the highest on record. However, the increases over the past five years still fell short of the commitments made in 2005, and the prospect of scaling up efforts to meet commitments beyond 2010 could be in jeopardy. Flatlining or even cuts from some donors threatens to undermine recent progress made in fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria, boosting agricultural productivity and sending children to school. Service delivery 2011-05-19T12:22:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/acp_eu_mps_back_ongoing_democratic_power_shifts_in_africa_and_the_middle_ea/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:15:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/acp_eu_mps_back_ongoing_democratic_power_shifts_in_africa_and_the_middle_ea/#When:12:15:00Z Brussels: MEPs and their counterparts from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific called for impartial justice to underpin reconciliation in the Cäte d'Ivoire, and backed the right of citizens to demand political change wherever power is withheld from the people, at the 21st ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, in Budapest on 16-18 May. They also debated democracy-building, human rights, including homosexuals' rights, and how best to ensure the accountability of political leaders. Service delivery 2011-05-19T12:15:00+02:00 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/caadp_mutual_accountability_framework/ Thu, 19 May 2011 12:09:00 +0200 http://www.ansa-africa.net/index.php/views/news_view/caadp_mutual_accountability_framework/#When:12:09:00Z CAADP is the Africa-owned plan for agriculture-led development in Africa to eliminate hunger and reduce food insecurity. Following a slow start after the signing of the first CAADP country compact in Rwanda, significant momentum has been achieved. By 2009, the CAADP agenda was generating increasing commitments from African governments and Development Partners. The challenge of translating pledges and commitments into tangible actions was the main trigger for the CAADP Mutual Accountability Framework.The primary objective of the CAADP mutual accountability process is therefore to provide ongoing incentives to CAADP Partners to effectively deliver on their commitments and thereby achieve substantive impact on poverty and hunger. Service delivery 2011-05-19T12:09:00+02:00