Africa Watch
FOOD PRICES
Rising cereal costs hitting Africa鈥檚 poor
Prices of food, particularly cereals, rose sharply in 2006 and in some cases have been increasingly at an even faster pace in 2007, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) warned in November. The UN agency says several factors will keep prices rising in coming years, including higher oil costs, the effects of climate change on agriculture and the greater use of maize and other cereals for producing bio-fuels, which has increased cereal demand. The higher prices, says Henri Josserand, head of FAO鈥檚 early warning unit, are already causing 鈥渂ig problems of access for people in some West African countries this year.鈥�
The UN World Food Programme (WFP), which distributes food aid to vulnerable populations, has also drawn attention to the impact. 鈥淲FP鈥檚 food costs have gone up 50 per cent in the last five years alone,鈥� reports WFP Director Josette Sheeran. 鈥淲e鈥檙e expecting over the next two years for that to go up another 35 per cent, but in some markets over the past six months we have had increases of over 40 per cent.鈥�
Higher global prices hit countries that depend on imports especially hard. Prices of rice, a staple in Guinea-Bissau, went up 40 per cent in 2007, compared with the year before. The cost of wheat in Senegal and Mauritania has gone up by 75 per cent, says the US-funded Famine Early Warning System Network.
The Senegalese government has responded by cutting import tariffs on wheat, but there was still a 12 per cent increase in the cost of bread between October and November alone. In Morocco similar hikes led to food protests in which 50 people were injured. Millers in Botswana have cited higher production costs, due mainly to the prices of imported oil and wheat, for increases in the price they must charge for maize meal and bread.
In the short-term, some African farmers may benefit, notes Ms. Sheeran. Increased demand has pushed up prices for alternative food crops, such as cassava. But there is a danger, she adds, that increased competition may lead to higher exports of such foods and make them unaffordable to poor people locally.
鈥淲ith food prices at their highest level in decades, many people are simply being priced out of the food market,鈥� says Ms. Sheeran. 鈥淭hese problems are not given adequate attention in the West.鈥�
Appointments
Photograph: UN Photo / Paulo FilgueirasThe UN Secretary-General has appointed Ms. Ellen Margrethe L酶j, Denmark鈥檚 former UN ambassador, head of the UN Mission in Liberia. At the time of her appointment, she was serving as Denmark鈥檚 ambassador to the Czech Republic. At the UN, Ms. L酶j co-chaired the General Assembly鈥檚 Working Committee on the Peacebuilding Commission in 2005. She also formerly chaired the Security Council鈥檚 Sanctions Committee on Liberia.
Mr. Alan Doss of the UK has been named by the UN Secretary-General as his special representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Doss served as special representative in Liberia from 2005 to 2007. He previously served as deputy special representative in C么te d鈥橧voire and Sierra Leone, among other positions.
Photograph: UN Photo / Eskinder DebebeMr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah of Mauritania has been appointed by the UN Secretary-General as his special representative for Somalia. From 2002 to 2007, Mr. Ould-Abdallah headed the UN Office in West Africa (UNOWA) and was chairman of the commission established to implement the International Court of Justice鈥檚 ruling on the territorial dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria. Previously, he was the executive secretary of the Global Coalition for Africa, an advocacy group based in Washington, DC, and as Mauritania鈥檚 minister of foreign affairs. The UN Secretary-General has temporarily assigned General Lamine Ciss茅 of Senegal as officer-in-charge of UNOWA.
Photograph: UN Photo / Ky ChungMr. Choi Young-jin of the Republic of Korea has been appointed the UN Secretary-General鈥檚 special representative in C么te d鈥橧voire, replacing Mr. Pierre Schori of Sweden. Mr. Choi was previously his country鈥檚 permanent representative to the UN and vice-minister of foreign affairs and trade. He has also served as UN assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.
Photograph: UN Photo / Devra BerkowitzMr. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi of Pakistan has been appointed by the UN Secretary-General as his special representative for Sudan. Prior to this appointment, he served as UN special representative in Iraq. A former ambassador of Pakistan to the US, Mr. Qazi has also held various other diplomatic assignments, including in China, Japan, Egypt and Libya.
Photograph: UN Photo / Paulo FilgueirasThe UN Secretary-General has appointed Mr. Fran莽ois Lons茅ny Fall of Guinea as his special representative and head of the UN Peace Building Office in the Central African Republic. Since 2005, he had been the special representative in Somalia. Mr. Fall was prime minister of Guinea in 2004 and served as minister for foreign affairs and cooperation from 2002 to 2004. He has also been his country鈥檚 permanent representative to the UN in New York.
Photograph: World Bank / S. D. McCourtieFormer Nigerian finance and foreign minister Ms. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed as the new managing director of the World Bank. Effective 1 December 2007, she will be responsible for the Bank鈥檚 operations in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia, as well as for human resources. Prior to her ministerial career in Nigeria, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala was vice-president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group.
