51吃瓜

Commission for Africa
Proposals for G-8 agenda

The Commission for Africa, set up by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair last year to galvanize common action by rich countries on Africa, released its final report in March. 鈥淚n terms of analysis and in terms of diagnosis, [the report] has done very, very well,鈥� Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said. 鈥淭he challenge is putting the recommendations into action.鈥�

The report contains about 100 frequently raised but yet-to-be implemented proposals. These include cancelling debt, doubling aid, removing rich country trade subsidies and promoting good governance in Africa. It also points out the role developed countries play in facilitating corruption in Africa. The commission comprised 17 members, nine of them from Africa. They included Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and the executive director of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Mr. K.Y. Amoako.

The release of the report comes at a time when the UK is chairing the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialized countries. The proposals are set to be put to the G-8 summit in July, to be held in Scotland. 鈥淲hen G-8 leaders meet in July,鈥� commented Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, 鈥渢hey must go beyond promises and expressions of goodwill. They must, quite simply, convert this report into action.鈥�

Polio
Vaccination drive targets 100 million

The first round of a massive polio immunization drive targeting 100 million children was carried out simultaneously in 22 African countries on 25 February. The ambitious effort, part of a global campaign to eradicate the crippling disease, includes the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and C么te d鈥檌voire, where conflict has severely disrupted public health services. A second coordinated national immunization day was scheduled for 9 April. The cost of the African immunization campaign, which will continue thorough 2006, is estimated at $275 mn.

The 17-year, $4 bn global campaign suffered a major setback last year, when government and religious officials in northern Nigeria halted polio immunizations amid allegations that the vaccine was tainted. Polio has spread from Nigeria to countries as distant as Saudi Arabia and Botswana, reinfecting many previously polio-free countries and requiring additional immunization programmes.

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Regional cooperation
Hydro-electric plans for Congo

In late February the South African power company Eskom Holdings announced plans to build a massive $50 bn hydro-electric power generating facility on the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When completed, noted Eskom Chairman Reuel Khoza, the Inga Rapids project would have a capacity of 40,000 megawatts a year and generate enough electricity to power Africa鈥檚 industrialization and generate hard currency through sales of power to southern Europe. 鈥淎frica urgently needs energy to lift its people out of poverty,鈥� Mr. Khoza told world environment ministers at UN Environment Programme headquarters in Nairobi. The proposal was an old one, he noted, but had gained political momentum as a key part of the energy programme of the New Partnership for Africa鈥檚 Development.

The dam, which is still in the planning stages, will not block the river鈥檚 natural flow, as conventional dams would. A more environment-friendly 鈥渞un of river鈥� design will be used instead, in which water is routed from the river to a series of power-generating turbines and then channelled back into the river. When completed, the project would increase Africa鈥檚 overall electric-generating capacity by 40 per cent. Environmental groups have nevertheless questioned the ecological impact of the project and note that private investors, who are expected to provide the bulk of the financing, may be unwilling to risk large investments in a country still ravaged by war.

APPOINTMENTS

Photograph: UN Photo

Ms. Ann Veneman will take office as the new executive director of the UN Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF) on 1 May. She was appointed in January by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to succeed the out-going Executive Director Carol Bellamy. Ms. Veneman has extensive experience in agricultural and food issues in the US, at various times managing agricultural programmes in California, serving as deputy under-secretary of agriculture for international affairs and commodity programmes and, in the four years up to her appointment, as secretary of the US Department of Agriculture.

Photograph: UN Photo

Ms. Amina Mohamed has been elected as the first woman to chair the General Council of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the organization鈥檚 highest decision-making body between biannual ministerial conferences. At the time of the election, she was Kenya鈥檚 permanent representative to the WTO, and was known as an active campaigner on trade-related development issues and on access to essential medicines. She has also chaired the WTO鈥檚 dispute settlement and trade policy review bodies, has coordinated the work of the African Group both at the WTO and the Human Rights Commission and has served as president of the UN Conference on Disarmament.

Photograph: WHO Photo

The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board has appointed Dr. Luis Gomes Sambo as its regional director for Africa, for a five-year term beginning 1 February 2005. He succeeds Dr. Ebrahim Malick Samba, who has retired. A national of Angola, Dr Sambo has been active in public health for more than 25 years, including as Angola鈥檚 vice-minister of health. He joined the WHO in 1989, serving variously as its representative in Guinea-Bissau and its Africa regional director of programme management.

The UN Secretary-General has appointed Mr. Pierre Schori of Sweden to succeed Mr. Albert T茅vo茅djr猫 as his special representative for C么te d鈥橧voire, effective 1 April 2005. Mr. Schori served as Sweden鈥檚 permanent representative to the UN in 2000-2004. Previously, he served as Sweden鈥檚 minister for international development cooperation and was a member of the European Parliament.