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Issue No 66, December 2006

UK Politics

IFFIm Launched
The International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) is planning to deliver US$4 billion over the next ten years to be spent on the immunisation of up to 500 million children in the world's 70 poorest countries against preventable diseases like polio, measles and diphtheria. Commitments have so far been made by the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Brazil and South Africa, together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Charities and Terrorist Financing
In a recent speech entitled 'Meeting the Terrorist Challenge' the Chancellor Gordon Brown stated that one of the three most dangerous sources of terrorist finance is the abuse of charities.
"We know that many charities and donors have been and are being exploited by terrorists... But it is important to look at the whole sector so that dubious charities are rooted out and good charities protected from abuse. At the end of the year we will publish a report on our review."
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

2006 Edition of Statistics on International Development
DFID has released details of financial year 2005/06 development assistance expenditure in relation to the volume, type, destination and purpose of all UK development assistance.
In 2005 The UK reported £5,916m as Official Development Assistance (ODA), making the UK the third largest OECD-DAC donor on this internationally agreed classification of aid.
The UK's ODA/GNI ratio for 2005 was 0.47 per cent, giving a ranking of 8th out of the 22 donors. Excluding debt relief ODA was £3,978m which represented 0.32 per cent of GNI.
www.dfid.gov.uk

United Nations

New UN Secretary General
The UN General Assembly has appointed Mr Ban Ki-moon, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, as the next Secretary General, to succeed Kofi Annan on 1 January 2007.

Early Childhood Education Neglected
Despite global evidence that the returns on investing in early childhood programmes are extremely high, early childhood education remains the 'forgotten link' in education policy around the world, according to a UNESCO report. Early childhood programmes can also significantly reduce the toll among the 10 million children under five who die yearly of preventable diseases. While international aid for basic education in low income countries has roughly doubled in recent years - from US$1.8 billion to US$3.4 billion 2000-2004, this is short of the US$11 billion annually that experts believe is needed now to achieve the goal of education for all. The UNESCO report 'Strong foundations: early childhood care and education' is the first of six in a series devoted to meeting the Education for All goals the world is committed to achieving by 2015.
www.unesco.org

852 Million Suffer from Hunger
The number of people suffering from hunger continues to grow - now counting more than 852 million. According to the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, FAO calculates that the planet could feed twice the current population of 6 billion if there was better food distribution. He blamed degraded land, spreading desertification, the 'massive underfunding' of UN feeding programmes, especially in Africa, and continued 'dumping' of food produced in Europe and the US with US$349 billion in annual subsidies. "Hunger is primarily a rural problem and there needs to be massive investment in these areas. Without adequate investment in small-scale irrigation and small-scale agriculture, there is little hope of eradicating hunger", he told the General Assembly. He also called for 'international protection' of the growing number of people forced to flee their lands for environmental reasons.
www.fao.org

WHO to Fight Corruption in Medicines
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new initiative to help governments combat corruption. Of the US$50 billion spent every year on pharmaceutical products, upto 25 per cent of procured medicines can be lost to fraud, bribery and other corrupt practices, The WHO scheme will set up a group of anti-corruption and medicine experts to promote greater transparency in regulation and procurement, and strengthen regulatory authorities and procurement practices. The scheme aims to prevent abuse through legislative reform and appropriate enforcement and punitive measures, as well as promoting standardised systems of checks and balances.
www.who.org

Global Youth Unemployment Rising
The number of young unemployed people increased from 74 to 85 million, between 1995 and 2005, according to the report, 'Global Employment Trends for Youth'. It estimates that at least 400 million new and better jobs will be needed in order to reach the full productive potential of today's youth. The report states that the disadvantage is more pronounced in developing countries, where youth represent a significantly higher proportion of the labour force than in developed economies.
www.ilo.org

Women's Role in Promoting Peace
The UN Security Council has highlighted the important role played by women in promoting peace in countries emerging from conflict, stressing that it is essential to promote the full participation of women in helping rebuild UN peacekeeping operations. This follows Kofi Annan's report on 'Women, Peace and Security', the first annual report assessing progress on an Action Plan to mainstream gender perspectives into the UN's peace and security efforts.
www.un.org/womenwatch

Neglect of Reproductive Health
The global level of disability and premature death due to sexual and reproductive problems is rising. Yet financial support for family planning is falling, according to a new study.
www.unfpa.org

European Union

EU Statement on Eradication of Poverty and Other Development Issues
At a recent UN meeting, Ms. Tarja Fernández, a Counsellor from the Permanent Mission of Finland to the UN, made a statement on behalf of the European Union regarding the eradication of poverty and other development issues. Finland currently hold the Presidency of the EU.
www.eu2006.fi

European Development Days
Between the 13 - 17 November, the European Commission organised a series of events and meetings called the 'European Development Days'. A range of high level speakers attended, including 25 Heads of State from various African countries, Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, and Hilary Benn. The main theme of these events was good governance.
www.eudays.eu

World Bank and European Parliament Meeting
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz met Development Committee MEPs on Tuesday, 21 November to discuss the international development agenda, focusing on Africa. He outlined the Bank priorities, and advocated harmonising its procedures with those of other donors such as the EU, the world's leading provider of aid and assistance to developing countries.
www.europarl.europa.eu

General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) Meeting With the Participation of Development and Trade Ministers: Aid for Trade, Governance and Coherence
For the first time ever, the GAERC (part of the Council of Ministers) held a joint working session of Development Ministers and Trade Ministers. A number of important conclusions regarding Aid for Trade, Governance, Policy Coherence for Development and Aid effectiveness were adopted at this meeting.
www.consilium.europa.eu

Issue No 65, November 2006

UK Politics

Consultation for DFID's New Conflict Policy Paper Extended
In response to feedback from NCVO and BOND, the public consultation period has been extended by 4 weeks until 10 November 2006. DFID is inviting submissions to find out your views on how to address conflict more comprehensively in their work with partners and their work in the international system. The final paper is expected to be launched towards the end of the year.
www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations

Quick Impact Projects - a Handbook for Military
The introduction to this handbook sets out the context in which DFID and MOD work together as part of UK Government, as well as briefly describing DFID and its mandate. It also offers a definition of Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) and lays out some principles for the implementation of relief, recovery or reconstruction tasks, which can be done through QIPs in certain post-conflict environments.
www.dfid.gov.uk

Combating International Corruption: UK Action Plan for 2006/07
The UK Government's 12 objectives for 2006/07 to tackle international corruption.
www.dfid.gov.uk

UK Gives £30 Million to New UN Peace Building Fund
The new UN Peace Building Fund (PBF) launched on 11 October should help countries emerging from war and put them on the path to peace. The UK's contribution will be £30 million (US$55 m) over three years, making the UK the largest donor so far.
The new Peace Building Fund, along with the Peace Building Commission and Peace Building Support Office, forms part of the package of UN peacebuilding reforms recommended by the Secretary General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and agreed by the international community at the 2005 UN World Summit.
www.dfid.gov.uk

United Nations

UNCTAD Report on Aid
A report by UNCTAD, 'Doubling Aid: Making the Big Push Work', calls for a new 'aid architecture', saying aid to Africa should be doubled to give the continent a 'big push' to achieve the MDGs. Studying both successes and failures in aid-giving practices makes UNCTAD believe that a large flow of aid to Africa will lead to increased investment and economic growth, which will help reduce poverty.
www.unctad.org

UNICEF Report on Water and Sanitation
A UNICEF report, 'Progress for Children No. 5: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation', assesses progress on worldwide efforts to expand access to safe water and basic sanitation. The Report states that between 1990-2004, global coverage of safe drinking water rose from 78-83 per cent. The report says that 1.2 billion people have gained access to safe water, but much more still needs to be done with millions still lacking access, including 425 million children. Lack of access to safe water and sanitation is also a factor that keeps children out of schools.
www.unicef.org

Toolkit to Fight Human Trafficking
The UN has launched a toolkit to assist governments, law-enforcement agencies, policy-makers and civil society groups to tackle human trafficking. The toolkit has a mixture of practical tools as well as broader, more theoretical guidance, such as suggestions on increasing international co-operation and harmonising national laws in this area. There is information on medical, legal and psychological protection for victims, as well as on how to deal with the immigration status of victims and their possible repatriation and resettlement.
www.unodc.org

Peacebuilding Website
A new UN website gives advice and information on resolving violent conflicts worldwide. It contains a comprehensive database of modern peace agreements, guidance on managing a peace process and a 'peacemaker's toolbox'. There are also plans for a mediation support unit to provide assistance and advice to peace envoys operating in the field.
www.un.org/peacemaker

Action on Violence Against Women
WHO has warned that violence against women is common and widespread throughout the developing and developed world and that urgent action is needed. A WHO report states that women are generally more at risk from their partners than other people. Over 24,000 women from 15 sites in 10 countries were interviewed for WHO's 'Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence against Women', which showed that over 75 per cent of women physically or sexually abused since the age of 15 reported a partner as the culprit and that violence against women by an intimate partner is a major contributor to the ill-health of women. The study sheds new light on the prevalence of violence against women in countries where there was not a lot of data available. Presenting several recommendations, ranging from promoting gender equality to encouraging abused women to seek help, the report concludes that violence against women is "morally indefensible; [while] its cost to individuals, to health systems, and to society in general is enormous".
www.who.org

UN Peacekeeping
The UN has warned of an 'unprecedented' surge in the number and size of UN peacekeeping missions and a danger of political overstretch with so many operations competing for attention. There are more than 93,000 people currently working in the UN's 16 peacekeeping missions and two political-peacebuilding missions that are directed and supported by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). Once the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) are fully deployed, and if the UN Mission in Sudan expands its work in Darfur, there will be over 140,000 blue helmets, police officers and civilian staff in place. The cost of running all these operations is set to reach US$6 billion and to increase further.
www.un.org/depts/dpko/dpko

European Union

Joint Declaration Between the African Union Commission and European Commission
To read the declaration see:
www.europa.eu

Joint European Parliament and National Parliaments Development Committee Meeting to Discuss Co-ordinating Policy at the EU and National Level
On Wednesday, 4 October the Development Committee of the European Parliament (DEVE) met with representatives from the relevant national parliament committees, Development Commissioner Louis Michel and members of civil society. This meeting was held to discuss the co-ordination of EU and national development policies. It was the first time that members of national parliaments and the EP sat together to discuss development issues. The keynote speakers highlighted the need to emphasise the important role the EU and member states play in the field of global development.
Effectiveness of aid was highlighted as one of the major challenges for the future. However, the lack of co-ordination between the EU and the member states was identified as one of the major obstacles for increasing effectiveness. Development co-operation alone will not be enough; trade reform that takes into account the situation of developing countries is also needed to complement the efforts taken in the development area. There is no point in having a good development policy if other policies are working against it.
www.europarl.europa.eu

EC Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson Argues for Bilateral Agreements that Boost Global Free Trade
http://ec.europa.eu

Issue No 64, October 2006

Consultation on the Governance and Transparency Fund (GTF)
Last July DFID's White Paper announced the creation of a new £100 million Governance and Transparency Fund to enable media groups, civil society and others to play their part in improving governance, and helping poor people to hold their governments to account.
DFID have now produced draft criteria and guidelines for the Fund which are open for consultation until 8 November 2006.
www.dfid.gov.uk

DFID Ethiopia Country Assistance Plan Consultation
DFID Ethiopia is preparing its Country Assistance Plan (CAP) for the period 2006-10. This will set out how UK resources will help to reduce poverty in Ethiopia. The Government of Ethiopia has developed a new poverty reduction strategy, the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP). DFID Ethiopia CAP identified a number of objectives to help this plan into effect.
Send your views on this draft CAP not later than 8 December 2006.
Email: ethiopiacap@dfid.gov.uk
www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations

Canada, Sweden and the UK: A Joint Institutional Approach
These three donor partners of UNICEF have decided to harmonise and align efforts to help UNICEF implement the Medium Term Strategic Plan (2006 - 2009), improve its performance and deliver better results for girls and boys.
www.dfid.gov.uk

DFID's Conflict Policy Consultation
On 14 September, at an event hosted by BOND, Gareth Thomas launched a public consultation process on DFID's Confict Policy paper. The new policy paper is planned to be released in November.
www.dfid.gov.uk

United Nations

Annan Hails Civil Society Organisations
On 8 September, at the last UN Annual Meeting before Kofi Annan's term ends in December, he told over 2,500 NGO representatives in New York that the support of civil society groups has been critical to his accomplishments. He stressed the vital role these groups have played in achieving progress on a number of political and social issues and urged participants to wield their growing influence responsibly and to strengthen alliances with the UN, the private sector, the public sector and among each other. "I see a United Nations that celebrates the non-governmental revolution - the power of the global citizen - as the best thing that has happened to our organisation in a long, long time" he said.
www.un-ngls.org

Learning Is Key To Development
On 8 September the UN marked International Literacy Day by focusing on the link between learning and development, stressing that literacy is one of the most powerful tools of development. According to UNESCO, approximately 103 million children have no access to school. The 'Global Monitoring Report on Education for All' (2006) on literacy clearly shows the connection between illiteracy and severely impoverished countries. The report also shows that enrolments in primary education have risen in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, with almost 20 million new students in each region. According to the report, South and West Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate (58.6 per cent), followed by sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States. Countries with the lowest literacy rates in the world are Burkina Faso (12.8 per cent), Niger (14.4 per cent) and Mali (19 per cent).
UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) seeks to help reduce by half the rate of adult illiteracy in the world by 2015. Designed to further the goals of the UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012), LIFE is being implemented in 35 countries with a literacy rate of less than 50 per cent or a population of more than 10 million illiterates.
www.unesco.org

Anti-polio Vaccination in Horn of Africa
In the largest-ever synchronised vaccination campaign in the Horn of Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya will simultaneously vaccinate millions of children under five against polio. The vaccination drive will involve teams on the ground ensuring that every child is vaccinated by moving from house to house, in cities, towns, and villages, and in hard to reach areas, using all possible transportation means. The immunisation campaign also involves religious and community leaders, women's groups, youth associations, schools, government agencies and NGOs. Depending on the availability of funds, three synchronised campaigns are planned for 2006, in September, November and December. However, globally there is a funding gap of US$50 million for 2006, which WHO says must be urgently filled to ensure the implementation of planned activities.
www.who.org

UNFPA Report Tackles Trafficking
According to UNFPA, governments must do more to address the human rights violations and lack of opportunities that force women and girls, who make up half the world's 95 million migrants, to leave their homes and countries. They also need to work together to make migration safer and eradicate human trafficking. Its 2006 State of World Population report, 'A Passage to Hope: Women and International Migration' calls for greater co-operation between and within countries to bring traffickers to justice and to provide services and human rights protection for trafficking victims. According to UNFPA, human trafficking is the third largest illicit trade after drug and gun smuggling.
www.unfpa.org

OECD

Use of Governance Indicators
The OECD has issued a publication, 'Uses and Abuses of Governance Indicators' in response to the growing attention to the quality of governance in developing countries and the rising use of governance indicators. The study aims to help users and producers of governance indicators to understand their strengths and weaknesses.
www.oecd.org

European Union

Civil Society Symposium on Asia and Europe
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Asia-Europe Fund organise a civil society symposium of Asia and Europe.
www.eu2006.fi

European Commission Grants an Extra US$6 million for the Elections in Congo
http://europa.eu

EU Finnish Presidency Rescues Development Instrument
On 20 September, the Finnish Presidency of the EU secured an agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on the shape and form of the Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI). The instrument provides the legal framework for the EU's aid programme for the next seven years. As a result of the agreement, the legal framework for the EU's future aid focuses on tackling poverty in developing countries, with the implementation of the MDGs firmly at the centre of its actions. The agreement should be confirmed in the coming weeks with the Council amendment of the Common Position.
www.eu2006.fi

Strengthening African Capabilities
The EU Africa Working Group met on 13 September to discuss preparation of the Joint EU-Africa Strategy and in particular strengthening African capabilities for the prevention of conflict.
http://register.consilium.europa.eu

Policy Coherence for Development
The EU Working Group on Development Co-operation met on 14 September to discuss Policy Coherence for Development, in particular on integrating development concerns in Council decision-making based on a presentation made by the Finnish Presidency.
http://register.consilium.europa.eu

Issue No 63, September 2006

UK Politics

National Audit Office
The National Audit Office's report regarding DFID's work with civil society was published on July 6 and made available on the NAO website.
www.nao.org.uk

Sustainable Development Dialogues
The Government has launched a leaflet introducing the UK's Sustainable Development Dialogues (SDDs) with leading emerging markets. The SDDs are a new initiative designed to strengthen partnerships with leading emerging powers such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico on sustainable development. Further information can be found at:
www.sustainable-development.gov.uk

DFID Tanzania Country Assistance Plan
DFID Tanzania is preparing its Country Assistance Plan (CAP) for the period 2006-09. This will set out how UK resources will support poverty reduction in Tanzania and will be rooted in the Tanzania Joint Assistance Strategy. The Joint Donor Response will comprise of:
1. The Joint Assistance Strategy itself
2. A Joint Country Analysis
3. An outline of Development Partner Programmes
4. An Agency specific supplement (DFID's CAP)
Part 2, and an outline of Part 3 and Part 4 are available for consultation until 15 September 2006. All comments should be sent by email to: l-hall@dfid.gov.uk

East Asia
The Foreign Affairs Committee published its report on East Asia on 13 August.
www.parliament.uk

Lebanon
Hilary Benn visited Lebanon on August 15 and announced an additional £6 million for the relief effort - the UK's third contribution in recent weeks, bringing the UK's total contribution to the relief effort to £12.5 million.
www.dfid.gov.uk

European Union

The European Commission has launched a new website on the EU-Africa Partnership. The website contains a presentation of the EU Strategy for Africa, including new fact sheets in English and French, key documents from the African Union-EU dialogue and information on forthcoming initiatives such as the Business Forum. The Commission plans to gradually expand this site to make it a portal for accessing information on country and regional programmes.
www.europe-cares.org

World Bank and IMF

Annual Meetings
From 14-20 September, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund will hold their Annual Meetings in Singapore, to discuss issues related to poverty reduction, economic development and finance. Alongside meetings of the Bank's Board of Governors and its Development Committee, there will be a series of civil society dialogue meetings and a programme of seminars. Asian and international civil society groups are also convening an alternative International People's Forum from 15-17 September in Indonesia, to highlight critical aspects of the roles of the Bank and Fund.
http://app.singapore2006.org
www.brettonwoodsproject.org
www.worldbank.org

United Nations

World Breastfeeding Week
To mark World Breastfeeding Week in August, UNICEF stressed that, in developing countries, a child who is breastfed is almost three times more likely to survive infancy than one who is not. The Week aims to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, giving babies good nutrition, protection from deadly diseases and better growth and development. The 2006 Week marked the 25th anniversary of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. More than 60 governments have enacted all or many of the provisions of the Code, aimed at promoting breastfeeding and prohibiting the advertising and aggressive marketing of breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles and other artificial supplies. Yet challenges remain, with monitoring of Code violations still weak in some countries.
www.unicef.org

Migration
The Hague Process on Refugees and Migration and the International Organisation for Migration have published a booklet which examines the development effect of remittances. Migrants' Remittances and Development: Myths, Rhetoric and Realities finds that remittances mainly contribute to the development of local communities, while the effects at the national level have so far been less significant.
www.un-ngls.org

Urban Pollution in Africa
Urban pollution is emerging as a key threat to the health, environment, economy and quality of life of millions of people in cities in sub-Saharan Africa. At a conference on Better Air Quality for African Cities, jointly organised with the World Bank's Clean Air Initiative for Africa, the Air Pollution Information Network for Africa, the Stockholm Environment Institute and the US Environmental Protection Agency, UNEP called for the development of new and wider partnerships, bringing together fuel and car companies with town planners, urban managers and civil society organisations, along with environment, health, energy, transport and finance ministers.
www.unep.org

Global Fund Gets $500 Million from Gates Foundation
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has received $500 million over five years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will provide $100 million each year from 2006 to 2010. Contributions for 2006 and 2007 will be available to support the Fund's sixth round of financing, set to be approved by its board in November. This brings the Foundation's total support for the Fund to $650 million.
www.theglobalfund.org

OECD

Gender Equality
The DAC Network on Gender Equality has produced a briefing paper: Negotiating the Economics of Poverty Reduction Strategies: A Reference Guide for the Non-Economist is intended as a reference guide to help those with little knowledge of economics to engage more effectively in the macroeconomic framework of poverty reduction strategies.
www.oecd.org

Food Aid The OECD has issued a study on two food aid issues: a comparison of the relative costs of providing in-kind with cash contributions, and the inherent costs involved in tying food aid.
www.oecd.org

Issue No 62, August 2006

UK Politics

Government Responds to IDC Trade Report
The International Development Committee published its Third Report of Session 2005-06 on The WTO Hong Kong Ministerial and the Doha Development Agenda on 27 April 2006, as HC 730-I. The Government Response to the Report has now been received and published.
www.parliament.uk

White Paper on International Development
The 2006 White Paper on International Development was laid out before parliament on 13 July. The White Paper sets out DFID's priorities and explains how it will work with the rest of UK Government, partner governments, international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academics to fulfil the promises made in 2005 to significantly reduce world poverty.
www.dfid.gov.uk

G8 Gleneagles: One Year On
The Government published its own review of progress on the 2005 G8 commitments.
www.dfid.gov.uk

Technical Assistance
DFID has produced a 'How to Note' on how best to use technical cooperation personnel such as consultants, consultancy firms, and contractors. The note looks at the different stages of technical cooperation, from identification and design to procurement and monitoring, and provides a set of good practice principles that should be applied at each stage.
www.dfid.gov.uk

United Nations

Full Employment Key to Sustainable Development
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has adopted a Ministerial Declaration recognizing full and productive employment and decent work for all as key elements of sustainable development and a priority objective of international cooperation. According to the ILO the more than 20 per cent increase in official unemployment in the last 10 years and the growth of informal work have been accompanied by policies in recent decades which tended to consider job creation as an outcome of macro policies, rather than an aim in itself.
www.un.org/docs/ecosoc
www.ilo.org

Developing Countries and Agricultural Trade
While farm production is expanding faster in developing countries than in developed economies, the poorest countries will be increasingly dependent on world markets and so more vulnerable to price fluctuations, because their growth is not keeping pace with their population increase, according to the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2006-2015. The report calls for more investment in education, training and infrastructure in developing countries.
www.fao.org
www.oecd.org

MDGs 'Unlikely to be Met'
Developing countries have made progress in providing access to clean water and schooling, but progress in achieving other targets is behind schedule, says a new report. UN Millennium Development Report 2006, points out that some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as halving the percentage of the world's population with no access to decent sanitation facilities, are unlikely to be met 'without greatly accelerated efforts'. The world is on track to meet the target of halving the proportion of people living on $1 a day or less by 2015, mainly because of large gains in South and East Asia. This victory is offset by very slow progress in Latin America, while the rate of extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa remains at around 44 per cent.
http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/

Illicit Trade in Arms
The UN conference on addressing the illicit trade in small arms that fuel conflict and crime ended without the adoption of a common position to guide further action, due to unresolved differences between delegations on follow-up. The conference reviewed the implementation of the 2001 Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons. Since the Programme was adopted, nearly 140 countries have reported on illegal gun trafficking, while a third of all states have made efforts to collect weapons from those not legally entitled to hold them. Other progress has included increased co-operation among and within regions to stem the flow of illicit weapons across national borders.
www.un.org

OECD

New head of OECD
The OECD has a new Secretary-General: former Mexican Finance and Foreign Minister Mr Angel Gurría took over on 1 June 2006.
www.oecd.org

Aid to Fragile States
A report by the OECD/DAC shows that aid to fragile states is not in keeping with growth in aid to other low-income countries.
www.oecd.org

Integrating Human Rights into Development
A new OECD publication looks at why and how human rights and development need to be better integrated. It reviews the approaches of different donor agencies, illustrates how aid agencies are working on human rights issues at the programming level, and draws together lessons about the added value of human rights for development.
www.oecd.org

European Union

Migration and Development
EU Member States and countries from West, Central and North Africa met in Rabat in July to discuss concrete ways to ensure migration flows are effectively managed and that migration positively contributes to the development process of countries of origin, transit and destination.
www.europa.eu.int

Supporting Film and TV Industries
The European Commission is funding a new programme to support the cinema and audiovisual industries in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. With a fund of euro6.5 million, the programme will provide grants to directors and others working in the film and television industries.
www.europa.eu

Humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka
The European Commission has allocated euro 7 million to help around 300,000 people displaced by the ongoing conflict in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The funding aims to provide shelter and food security for people returning home or relocating to new land, improve conditions for displaced people living in 'welfare centres'; and to meet the emergency needs of those newly displaced by the escalating conflict.
www.europa.eu

Issue No 61, July 2006

UK Politics

DfID launches new humanitarian policy
Speaking at the British Red Cross on June 6, Hilary Benn emphasised that humanitarian action is a core part of DfID's work, that DfID will increase its financial support to humanitarian work, and increase its efforts further to reduce people's vulnerability to disasters and conflict.
www.dfid.gov.uk

DfID's Health Strategy 2006
DfID is carrying out a public consultation on a new health strategy. The consultation document outlines the main issues on which DfID would like to hear your views. Contributions by email to healthstrategy2006@dfid.gov.uk or by post to Health Strategy 2006, Global and Country Partnerships for Human Development Team, DfID, 1 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5HE, UK. The consultation period will end on 4 July 2006

United Nations

Support for HIV-Positive Children
According to a report launched by UNICEF and its partner children's advocacy organisations, only one child in twenty who needs HIV treatment receives it. The report, 'Saving Lives: Children's right to HIV and AIDS treatment', reveals that despite an urgent need for paediatric treatment, few drugs are available in formulations that are affordable and able to be administered to children, while the development of new drugs continues to focus mainly on adults. While the majority of those living with HIV are adults, HIV-positive children represent a disproportionate number of those needing immediate treatment. More than 90% of children with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa and these children also have the least access to treatment. The report states that in the profit-driven climate of drug development, they offer little financial incentive to the pharmaceutical industry. Despite urgently needed paediatric formulations of antiretroviral therapy in developing countries, treatment appropriate to children is almost non-existent. While ensuring that HIVpositive children have access to treatment is vital, so is prevention of infection. According to the report, 90% of HIV-positive children are infected by failure to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
www.unicef.org
www.gmfc.org

UNICEF Nutrition Report
UNICEF has released a study that reveals that some 5.6 million children die every year partly due to not getting enough of the right nutrients, and 146 million children risk dying early because they are underweight. The report, 'Progress for Children: A Report Card on Nutrition', warns that unless the international community takes swift action, the goal of halving the number of children who are underweight by 2015 will be missed.
www.unicef.org

New Alliance to Reverse Health Worker Shortage
A new UN-backed global partnership to tackle the worldwide shortage of health care workers has been launched, drawing together key partners to help countries improve the way they plan for, educate and employ health professionals. The Global Health Workforce Alliance, whose secretariat will be hosted by WHO, will seek to develop practical approaches such as improving working conditions and reaching more effective agreements to manage the migration of health workers. The Alliance will start the Fast Track Training Initiative, to increase rapidly the number of qualified workers by mobilising direct financial support for training institutions, setting up partnerships between schools in industrialised and developing countries for exchanges of faculty and students, and nurturing academic leaders in developing countries with the support of experts from around the world.
www.who.org

Latest Refugee Numbers
According to a new UNHCR report, '2005 Global Refugee Trends', the number of refugees worldwide has reached a 26-year low, dropping to 8.4 million in 2005. However, the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) has risen by 1.3 million, and is now estimated at between 20 and 25 million. Global refugee numbers excluding IDPs are the lowest since 1980, with last year seeing the smallest mass outflows into neighbouring states in 29 years. Moreover, more than 6 million refugees have been able to go home since 2002.
www.unhcr.org

OECD

DAC Peer Review of UK
The UK has undergone an OECD/DAC Peer Review of its development co-operation policies and programmes. The US and Italy were the 2 peer reviewers. The last Peer Review of the UK was in 2001.
www.oecd.org

OECD and G8
The OECD has been working with G8 partners to discuss key issues ahead of the next G8 summit in Russia in July. The OECD has developed its work on some of the main issues to be discussed at the St Petersburg summit, namely global energy security, education and fighting infectious diseases.
For full details go to:
www.oecd.org

Gender Database
The OECD now hosts the Gender, Institutions and Development Database, a new tool for researchers and policy makers to analyse barriers to women's economic development. The database covers 162 countries and includes 50 indicators on gender discrimination, including institutional variables ranging from intra-household behaviour to social norms.
www.oecd.org

European Union

MPs from Europe and the Arab world call for urgent aid for Palestinian people
Parliamentarians from around the Mediterranean have called for the swift creation of the planned international fund to provide aid to the Palestinian people. The European Commission will present a blueprint for the fund this month to EU Foreign Ministers. Some members of the Political Committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Brussels, argued that the decision to suspend direct aid to the Palestinian Authority had been taken too hastily.
www.europarl.eu.int

European Union to commit €22 billion in aid to Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands
The ACP-EC Council of Ministers held its annual meeting on 1 and 2 June in Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea). The participants decided on a €22 billion aid package from the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) for the period 2008 to 2013. The EU's proposals represent a 35% increase from the 9th EDF, which must be ratified in the next 18 months by all EU Member-States in order to take effect.
www.euripa.eu.int

The Commission approves record allocation for ACP-EU Energy Facility
The European Commission has approved €220 million for the ACP-EU Energy Facility. This will allow the Commission to co-finance selected energy projects contributing to the provision of adequate, affordable and sustainable energy services in the ACP countries. The Energy Facility will provide a substantial contribution to basic services that are essential to a decent livelihood, such as cooking, lighting, cooling, heating, pumping and telecommunications. More information on the Energy Facility and the EUEI can be found on:
www.ec.europa.eu
www.euie.org

Africa-EU Meeting on Migration
An Africa-European Union ministerial conference on migration and development took place on 5 and 6 June 2006 in Tripoli. Following the ministerial conference the African Union (UA) defined a joint position. The common African position on migration and development challenges the international community 'to help put an end to the martyrdom of a million young Africans, fleeing misery and under-development'.
www.jeuneafrique.com

Issue No 60, June 2006

UK Politics

DFID's Departmental Report 2006
On May 9 Hilary Benn launched the DFID's Departmental Report that records progress towards DFID's Public Service Agreement and achievements during the financial year 2005/06. This year's Departmental Report focuses primarily on DFID's work and key developments from April 2005 to March 2006, including the 2005 G8 and EU Summits. The Report provides a comprehensive account of DFID's activities and spending in 2005/06 but does not contain information about policy that is already set out in other DFID publications.
www.dfid.gov.uk

IDC: New Inquiry
The International Development Committee is to conduct an inquiry into DFID's Departmental Report 2006. An evidence session has been scheduled for July 11. The Committee invites organisations and individuals with relevant experience and expertise to submit memoranda on issues relating to the 2006 Report by June 12.
www.parliament.uk

FAC: New Scrutiny
The Foreign Affairs Committee is to carry out ongoing scrutiny of the FCO's new foreign policy strategy, "Active diplomacy for a changing world - the UK's International Priorities". The strategy considers likely developments in international relations over the next ten years and the role of the UK on the world stage. It identifies the Government's strategic international priorities and describes the FCO's role in pursuing them.
The full text of the White Paper and an executive summary are available from the FCO website
www.fco.gov.uk
www.parliament.uk

United Nations

Global Teacher Shortage
A UN report highlights the projected global shortage of 18 million teachers over the next decade, most critically in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States, and, among other innovative solutions, calls for the training of parents and teaching assistants to fill the gap. The UNESCO report 'Teachers and Educational Quality: Monitoring Global Needs for 2015', analyses trends in teacher quantity and quality and explores the policy implications of bridging the gap between the two, with the greatest challenge in sub-Saharan Africa which will need to expand its teaching force by 68 per cent by 2015.
www.unesco.org

Fund for Africa Heritage
A UN-backed fund to help sub-Saharan African countries improve the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage has been launched. The African World Heritage Fund will also be used to help boost the number of African sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List, as sub-Saharan Africa is currently under-represented, despite great cultural and natural diversity in the region.
www.unesco.org

More Midwives Needed
According to UNFPA, recruiting midwives, especially in developing countries, would save the lives of 5 million women and prevent 80 million illnesses from pregnancy or childbirth by 2015. Evidence shows midwives are vital to preventing the estimated 529,000 maternal deaths and 8 million illnesses that occur each year during pregnancy and childbirth. UNFPA and the International Confederation of Midwives are working together to strengthen midwifery capacity worldwide in efforts to reduce the high levels of deaths and disability among mothers and babies. They are cooperating to promote the professionalisation of midwifery practice, to improve national midwifery standards and to help countries scale up community-based midwifery practice.
www.unfpa.org

Cleaner Cooking Fuels
A WHO report 'Fuel for Life: Household Energy and Health' shows how investment in cleaner fuels can save millions of lives and produce economic benefits.
www.who.org

UN Peacebuilding Commission
Seven countries have been elected to serve on the new UN Peacebuilding Commission's organisational committee. Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Poland, Brazil and Belgium will hold seats on the standing body responsible for developing the Commission's rules of procedure and working methods. The Commission's membership will include seven members of the Security Council (including the five permanent members), seven States from the Economic and Social Council, five top contributors to the UN budget and five top providers of military personnel and civilian police to UN missions. The General Assembly will elect seven more members from States that have experienced post-conflict recovery.
www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/

OECD

Combating Bribery in Export Credits
OECD countries have agreed to increase efforts to avoid giving official support to export contracts that are tainted by bribery. The new agreement calls for tougher action when an exporter is on the debarment list of the World Bank or other multilateral financial institutions, or if an exporter has been charged or convicted of bribing public officials of any country in the past five years.
www.oecd.org

African Economic Outlook
The OECD has published its African Economic Outlook 2005/06 report which claims that the African economy is expected to grow by 5.8 per cent this year, with oil-exporting countries outpacing other nations.
www.oecd.org

Climate Change
OECD policy briefing: Putting Climate Change Adaptation in the Development Mainstream:
www.oecd.org

European Union

MEPs Back Report on a Strong EU Development Co-operation Instrument
After more than a year and a half of discussion, at its plenary session on 18 May, the European Parliament adopted its report on 'The future Development Co-operation (and Economic Co-operation) Instrument'.
The report, drafted by Gay Mitchell MEP, has been discussed in various parliamentary committees in the last few months. The report calls for an instrument focused only on developing countries, based on the development legal basis of the treaty (179 EC) with a strong role for the European Parliament in the definition of the geographic and thematic priorities of EC aid. This is a huge step towards the adoption of a strong instrument for EC aid to developing countries. However the Council and the Commission are not supportive of the content of the report. Extensive negotiations between the three institutions and the Commission will ensue.
www.eurostep.org

'A Europe of Results'
On 10 May 2006, the European Commission adopted its contribution to the June European Council, based on feedback received in the context of its 'Plan for Democracy' or 'Plan D' and the national debates organised during the period of reflection.
The Commission believes that the key objectives on which the EU should focus are prosperity, solidarity and security. It also proposes that the June European Council endorses a step-by-step approach regarding institutional issues. As a first step, Europe's leaders should strive to adopt a new political declaration in 2007. This declaration should then serve as the basis for a decision by the European Council to launch a process designed to lead to a future institutional settlement.
http://europa.eu.int

Issue No 59, May 2006

UK Politics

International Development Committee
Humanitarian Response to Natural Disasters: Call for evidence The Committee invites organisations and individuals with relevant interests and expertise - especially those from developing countries - to submit evidence addressing the relationship between ongoing development work and humanitarian interventions. The Committee encourages submissions which draw on evidence and experience of specific natural disasters, including natural disasters which have not attracted a high international media profile.
The Committee will focus on the role of DFID and that of the UK Government more broadly, but the inquiry will also examine the roles played by NGOs, the Red Cross movement, the United Nations, the European Union, other multilateral donors and the governments of disaster affected countries. Evidence should reach the Clerk of the Committee by Wednesday, 10 May 2006.
www.parliament.uk

UK ODA Figures
The Department for International Development (DFID) has announced provisional figures for UK net Official Development Assistance (ODA): ODA spending in 2005 is estimated at £5916 million which represents 0.48 per cent of the £1236 billion Gross National Income (GNI) that year. There is an increase of 38 per cent in ODA in cash terms over the 2004 level. However, a large proportion of this increase was due to debt relief of £1153m for Nigeria and £673 million for Iraq.
www.dfid.gov.uk

Aid for Education
The UK Government has committed to spend at least £8.5 billion on aid for education over the next ten years. For the first time, the UK Government will enter into 10 year agreements with poor countries to finance 10 year education plans.
www.dfid.gov.uk

United Nations

Health Workforce Crisis
Marking World Health Day on 7 April, the UN called for more than 4 million extra doctors, nurses, midwives, managers and public health workers for developing countries, to curb the death toll of 10 million people dying each year from largely preventable infectious diseases and complications of pregnancy and delivery. WHO's 'World Health Report 2006 - Working Together for Health' highlights the shortage of much-needed healthcare workers in the developing world - at least 1.3 billion people worldwide lack access to the most basic healthcare, often due to lack of health workers. The problem is greatest in countries burdened by poverty and disease, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which has 11 per cent of the world's population and 24 per cent of the global burden of disease but only 3 per cent of the world's health workers. The report says that while the world community has sufficient financial resources and technology to tackle these challenges, many national health systems are weak, unresponsive, inequitable or even unsafe, and more political will and resources are needed to build treatment and preventative systems. The report sets out a 10-year plan to address the crisis.
www.who.org

Corporations and Chemical Poisoning
47,000 people are estimated to die each year and many millions more made ill from toxic chemicals, according to a UN expert who has urged countries to hold transnational corporations accountable for the human rights violations caused by toxic materials. The UN Commission on Human Rights' Special Rapporteur on Adverse Effects of the Illicit Movement and Dumping of Toxic and Dangerous Products and Waste issued a statement on World Health Day highlighting the proliferation of products and foods containing toxic chemicals which affect the health and rights of communities throughout the world. He urged countries to regulate corporate behaviour in relation to hazardous chemicals.
www.un.org

Abolition of School Fees Gets Boost
A UN-backed initiative for universal basic education is looking at the effects that abolishing school fees has on enrolment. The School Fee Abolition Initiative, sponsored by UNICEF, the World Bank, USAID and others, aims to help countries develop education systems that are inclusive, equitable and sustainable. It has brought together education officials from Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Ghana to share experiences of abolishing fees with colleagues from Burundi and the DRC, which have also recently agreed to do so. Experience shows that abolishing fees and subsequent surges in school enrolment also brings huge challenges for the education infrastructure, from school buildings, to class size and materials, hygiene facilities and teachers.
www.unicef.org

First-Ever Mine Action Day
On 4 April the UN marked the first International Day dedicated to curbing the scourge of land mines, International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, with calls for a universal ban and for greater donor support in land mine clearing. 3,000 to 4,000 children alone are killed or wounded by mines every year.
www.un.org

OECD

Rise in ODA
The latest ODA figures from the OECD/DAC show that in 2005 aid rose to a record high of US$106 billion. This total represents 0.33 per cent of the DAC countries' combined GNI in 2005, up from 0.26 per cent in 2004. The OECD says that the 2005 figures are evidence of delivery on the promises made in 2005 to increase aid by some US$50 billion by 2010. However, it also cautions that a good deal of this rise is due to debt relief. In 2005, OECD DAC donors provided debt forgiveness of nearly US$14 billion to Iraq and just over US$5 billion to Nigeria. The OECD claims that despite this exceptional debt relief there was still a substantial increase in ODA of 8.7 per cent in real terms. It predicts that donors will need to keep increasing aid by 60 per cent between 2004 and 2010 in order to meet their aid pledges.
www.oecd.org

European Union

MEPs Back Report on Development Aid and the Fight Against Corruption
MEPs have called for tougher measures in the fight against corruption and more effective EU aid. Noting that 25 per cent of Africa's GDP is lost annually to corruption, the report calls on all EU members to implement the OECD and UN Conventions on corruption and for greater accountability and openness in EU aid programmes.
Press release:
www.europarl.eu.int
Report:
www.europarl.eu.int

African Peace Facility
The Council of Ministers have agreed that the European Development Fund (EDF) will continue funding the African Peace Facility for the period 2008 to 2011.
Further information:
www.ue.eu.int

European Parliament
The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly concludes that aid levels to developing countries is too low. Further information:
www.europarl.eu.int

Conclusions of the Council on Financing for Development and Aid Effectiveness
The European Commission recently released a package of 3 documents which proposed measures for the EU to improve the effectiveness of EU development aid and external assistance.
Further information:
www.europa.eu.int

The GAERC also reached an agreement on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), for further information see:
www.ue.eu.int

Issue No 58, April 2006

UK Politics

Africa and the G8
The Government has published a report on what the UK has been doing to take forward the Commission for Africa's recommendations and to make sure that the G8's commitments are implemented. The report, 'Implementation of the Commission for Africa recommendations and G8 Gleneagles commitments on poverty', highlights a number of achievements.
DFID have also published a 'Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa', setting out the milestones the Government need to meet this year. This is updated every month.
www.dfid.gov.uk

Conservative Party
The Conservative Party report, 'Globalisation and Global Poverty' is due in June or July 2007. Similar to the process of the Commission for Africa, there will be a committee of 10-12 people from a variety of different backgrounds who will call for evidence and hold meetings. The five areas they plan to look at are:
1. Aid including humanitarian, social sectors, debt relief
2. Trade and investment
3. International business - the legal framework required
4. Corruption
5. Conflict resolution
www.conservatives.com

Labour Party
'Britain in the World' is a recently launched document detailing what the Labour Party's international affairs policy group is looking at this year. If you wish to have a copy of this document, please email BOND.

Liberal Democrat Party
Susan Kramer has been appointed new Shadow International Development Secretary.

United Nations


Better HIV/AIDS Treatment for Children
UNICEF and the Baylor College of Medicine, Texas, have signed an agreement to ensure children living with HIV/AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa have more access to antiretrovirals and other treatments. This follows the launch, last year, of the Global Campaign on Children and HIV/AIDS to encourage such collaborations. Pediatric formulations of most antiretroviral therapies are not readily available and healthcare providers in the region lack training in treating children for HIV/AIDS. The collaboration is hailed as a significant step in improving pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment in the region, by expanding access to treatment for HIV-infected children and families across 20 countries.
www.unicef.org

World Water Report
Corruption, restricted political rights and limited civil liberties are all factors behind the planet's growing water crisis, according to a new UN report that focuses on the precious resource. The UN World Water Development Report, 'Water, a Shared Responsibility', shows that the global water crisis is largely due to governing systems that determine who has access to water, when and how. The report presents a comprehensive picture of freshwater resources across regions and countries, and tracks progress towards the water-related targets of the MDGs. It examines a variety of key issues, including population growth, increasing urbanisation, changing eco- systems, food protection, health, industry and energy and also looks at risk management and how water is valued and paid for. There is also a set of recommendations for future actions on sustainable use and management of increasingly scarce water resources.
www.unesco.org

New UNAIDS Website
UNAIDS has revamped its website with an easier navigation system and content specifically chosen for different audiences: business, civil society, donors, the media, people living with HIV/AIDS, policy-makers, researchers, the UN, and women.
www.unaids.org

Improving the UN
Kofi Annan has set up a high-level panel to explore how the UN can improve its work in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and environment. Called for at the 2005 World Summit, the panel will deliver a study to lay the groundwork for a fundamental restructuring of the UN's operational work. The 15-member panel will conclude its work by Summer 2006, and forward its recommendations to the next session of the General Assembly in September 2006. Implementation of the recommendations could take place in 2007. This restructuring would complement other reform initiatives such as the new Peacebuilding Commission, negotiations over the new Human Rights Council and proposals for comprehensive management reform. Among the members of the panel are Gordon Brown, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, the president of Chile and the former president of Tanzania. The Prime Ministers of Pakistan, Mozambique and Norway will serve as co-chairs.
www.un.org

Malloch Brown Becomes UN Deputy Secretary General
UK national Mark Malloch Brown, Kofi Annan's Chef de Cabinet, has been named Deputy Secretary General of the UN starting 1 April. Mr Malloch Brown was head of UNDP 1999-2005.
www.un.org

The Next UN Secretary General?
UNSG.org provides news and comment on the selection of Kofi Annan's successor. His term as head of the UN comes to an end on 31 December 2006.
www.unsg.org

World Bank

Report on Malnutrition
A World Bank report 'Repositioning Nutrition as Central to Development' warns that malnutrition costs poor countries up to 3 per cent of their GDP, may increase the risks of HIV infection and reduces the number of children and mothers who survive malaria. The report examines the reasons why malnutrition persists.
www.worldbank.org

European Union

EU and the Caribbean
On 2 March 2006, the European Commission (EC) adopted a proposal for a new EU Strategy for the Caribbean. The strategy promotes a strong partnership between the European Union and the Caribbean on development, the fight against poverty, democracy, human rights and global threats to peace, security and stability. The Commission wishes to shape a political partnership based on shared values to address the Caribbean region's economic and environmental opportunities and promote social cohesion.
www.europa.eu.int

EC Proposes Measures to Deliver EU Aid Better and Faster
In three communications approved on the 2 March 2006, the EC proposes concrete measures to improve the effectiveness of EU development aid and external assistance. These proposals follow-up on the EU's commitments in 2005 to scale-up aid substantially and to improve its impact and its speed of delivery, in order to meet the challenges of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Commission proposes an action plan that includes joint programming of assistance with Member States and sees the Union on track to deliver on its financial commitments.
www.europa.eu.int

European Commission and West Africa Launch the Programming of the 10th European Development Fund (EDF)
The European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, recently met with Development Ministers of the West African region in order to launch the programming of the next European Development Fund (10th EDF, 2008-2013). In December 2005, the European Council adopted a financial envelope for the 10th EDF of 22.7 billion euros for the period 2008-2013. The 9th EDF, which covers the period 2002-2007, is worth 13.5 billion euros.
www.europa.eu.int

Issue No 57, March 2006

New Draft UK Humanitarian Policy
DFID's policy on humanitarian and conflict issues was drawn up over 5 years ago. More recent developments such as the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative and the UN Humanitarian Reform Agenda have prompted DFID, as a significant humanitarian donor, to update its policy. This is intended to help guide DFID staff to implement its Good Humanitarian Donorship commitments on the ground. The final version will be published later in 2006.
www.dfid.gov.uk

The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)
AECF is a 7 Year DFID led initiative intended to stimulate pro-poor growth and create employment in Africa in the form of a US$100 million multi-donor fund. AECF will offer grants on a competitive basis to private companies to test innovative but unproven business models resulting in the greater participation of the poor in markets - both as consumers and as workers and producers. An overview of the AECF is available from the Project Concept Note:
www.dfid.gov.uk

UK Ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC)
On 14 February, during his trip to Nigeria, the Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced UK ratification of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC). UNCAC is the first global anti-corruption instrument focusing on prevention, criminal law enforcement, international legal co-operation, and asset recovery. The Convention came into force on 14 December 2005, 90 days after the 30th ratification. The UK is the 46th country to have ratified.
www.fco.gov.uk

HMT Response to NGO Campaign to Return Money to Nigeria Following the 20 October Paris Club Debt Deal
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

United Nations


Year of Deserts And Desertification
On 17 January, the UN launched the 2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification, to raise global awareness of the advancing deserts, and ways to safeguard the biological diversity of arid lands covering one-third of the planet.
www.iydd.org

Legislation for Access to Housing
The head of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) has urged governments to enact new legislation to guarantee that women have equal access to housing. Meeting the gender-related targets of the MDGs will depend to a large extent on changing laws and restrictive legislation that are now major obstacles to women's empowerment, according to UN-HABITAT Executive Director speaking at a joint meeting of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality and the OECD/DAC.
www.unhabitat.org

Polio in Decline
The number of countries with indigenous polio has dropped to an all-time low of four, according to international organisations. For the first time in three years, the number of polio-endemic countries has fallen, leaving Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan as the only countries that have not yet stopped indigenous polio transmission. A statement by WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, added that the next generation of vaccines would be the main means of trying to eradicate the two surviving strains of the virus, types 1 and 3, and called on governments to continue their eradication efforts.
www.who.org

UN and Other Actors
The UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) has issued a publication, aimed at explaining the broad system of UN Offices, Agencies, Programmes and Funds, and Specialised Agencies as well as UN Treaty Bodies. It gives information on the opportunities for the participation of non-governmental players in UN processes.
www.un-ngls.org

Funding to Fight TB Pandemic
On 27 January, WHO welcomed new financial commitments for fighting TB, which kills 2 million people every year. The UK announced it will give US$74 million to help fight TB in India, while the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it would triple funding for the disease to more than US$900 million by 2015. The announcement follows publication of the 'Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis' which sets out the steps needed to tackle a disease that infects 8 million people each year. The plan, prepared by the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership, calls for global spending on TB to triple over the next ten years to increase access to tuberculosis control programmes and for accelerating research on new tools for fighting the disease.
www.who.org

OECD

DAC Country Statistics on Aid
The OECD has published a report, 'Aid Extended by State and Local Government' which examines DAC statistics on aid that is provided by local government institutions.
www.oecd.org

OECD Annual Report
With aid to developing countries expected to reach about US$130 billion by 2010, following the G8 and EU aid pledges made in 2005, the OECD annual Development Co-operation Report analyses the implications of predicted aid increases, and examines how and where the additional aid is likely to be spent, and the challenges faced by donors in fulfilling their commitments. The report says that in 2005-06 aid increases will be primarily due to debt relief for Iraq and Nigeria and emergency aid to the Tsunami-affected countries. The report highlights that from 2007, when these large debt relief operations are complete, donors will have to increase other forms of aid by around 10 per cent each year, double the rate of recent annual increases.
www.oecd.org

European Union

Trust Fund For Support of Infrastructure in Africa
On 9 February, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Mr Louis Michel, and the President of the European Investment Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the creation of a Trust Fund in support of infrastructure in Africa.
http://europa.eu.int

White Paper on European Communication Policy
On 1 February, the European Commission adopted the White Paper on a European Communication Policy. This also marks the beginning of a six-month consultation procedure. To see the White Paper, and have your say go to:
http://europa.eu.int

EU and UN to launch a Humanitarian Action Plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Action Plan for the Democratic Republic of Congo is the result of intensive work by the humanitarian community in the DRC and encompasses more than 330 projects with an estimated value of around 561 million euros. The European Commission's 2006 humanitarian aid global plan for the DRC, worth 38 million euros, is part of this common humanitarian strategy.
http://europa.eu.int

Import Preferences for 15 Vulnerable Developing Countries ,br> The European Commission recently granted important preferences (duty and quota-free access) to an additional 15 vulnerable developing countries that have implemented sustainable development and good governance policies under the "GSP+" incentive. Commissioner Peter Mandelson said that, "this was further proof of the EU's efforts to help developing countries at the same time as promoting sustainable development and Human rights".
http://europa.eu.int

UK Politics

Issue No 56, February 2006

UK Politics

Treasury Committee
The Treasury Committee will be holding an inquiry into 'Globalisation: The role of the IMF'.
www.parliament.uk

DFID White Paper
DFID has announced its plans for a third White Paper on International Development. It will be structured around three central themes: how to deliver development and promote faster poverty reduction; what can be done 'beyond aid' at the UK and international levels to create an environment conducive to poverty reduction; and how the international development system needs to change so as to deliver better outcomes and be more responsive to the needs of poor people. (See P16 to feed-in your views)
www.dfid.gov.uk

UK Cuts Direct Budget Aid to Uganda
The UK is to reduce budget support to Uganda by £15 million and use the money to provide humanitarian relief in northern Uganda, Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, told the House of Commons on 20 December. The decision comes after an economic and governance assessment raised a number of concerns.
www.dfid.gov.uk

DFID and Sustainable Development
DFID has published an action plan showing how it will play its part in delivering the UK Government's vision of sustainable development launched in March 2005.
www.dfid.gov.uk

Conservative Party: Consultation on Globalisation and Global Poverty
David Cameron, the new leader of the Conservative Party, has initiated an online consultation process on 'six big challenges', including 'globalisation & global poverty'.
www.conservatives.com

United Nations

State of Food Insecurity Report
FAO's 'The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2005' report examines progress towards the World Food Summit goals and the MDGs, focusing on the critical importance of reducing hunger also as an essential condition for reaching the other MDGs. The report presents evidence that hunger and malnutrition are major causes of the deprivation targeted by the other MDGs and says the fight to eliminate hunger and reach the MDGs will be won or lost in the rural areas where the vast majority of the world's hungry people live.
www.fao.org

UN Convention Against Corruption
The UN Convention Against Corruption came into force on 14 December 2005, providing the first legally binding global instrument for the return of assets illicitly acquired by dishonest officials, as well as preventive steps to detect plundering of national wealth. The Convention was adopted by the UN in October 2003, signed by 140 countries and ratified by 38. It rests on four pillars: prevention and criminalisation of corruption, international co-operation and asset recovery. Under the treaty, States are required to return money and other assets obtained through corruption to the country from which they were stolen. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the custodian of the Convention, has been assisting countries in developing anti-corruption strategies, implementing prevention measures and establishing the institutions they need to fight corruption.
www.unodc.org

UNICEF Report
UNICEF's report, 'State of the World's Children 2006: Excluded and Invisible' was published in December 2005. The report focuses on the millions of children who suffer exploitation, discrimination and abuse and become virtually invisible to the world. The report calls on governments to increase efforts to protect the most vulnerable children in four key areas: research, monitoring and reporting; legislation; financing, and programmes. It also outlines concrete actions that can be taken by civil society, the private sector, donors and the media.
www.unicef.org

ILO Labour Market Report
A report by the ILO, 'Key Indicators of the Labour Market, 4th Edition' states that global economic growth is not translating into new and better jobs that lead to poverty reduction. The report claims that half the world's workers still do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families above the threshold of US$ 2 a day poverty line.
www.ilo.org

Trade in Cultural Goods and Services
A report by UNESCO, 'Flows of Selected Cultural Goods and Services - 1994-2003' states that three countries, the UK, US and China, produced 40 per cent of the world's cultural trade products in 2002, while Latin America and Africa together accounted for less than 4 per cent. Between 1994-2002 international trade in cultural goods increased from US$38 billion to US$60 billion, according to UNESCO, but not all nations are able to take advantage of it. The report analyses cross-border trade data from 120 countries and presents new methodology to better reflect cultural trade flows, contributing to UNESCO's effort to collect and analyse data that illustrates the central role of culture in economic, social and human development.
www.unesco.org

OECD

Policy Brief on OECD and Civil society:
www.oecd.org

Policy briefing on culture, gender and growth:
www.oecd.org

OECD Tracking of Tsunami Aid
The OECD has produced an information sheet on OECD donors' contributions, commitments and disbursements, to the countries hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami.
www.oecd.org

European Union

European Parliament (EP) takes Commission to Court
The EC has been formally notified that the Parliament has mounted legal action over a 5 million euro anti-terrorist scheme in the Philippines. The scheme has been supported by development aid earmarked for Asia and Latin America and, according to MEPs, the Commission has exceeded its power and its decision should be nullified. BOND signalled the case to the European Parliament last year.
http://europa.eu.int

The European Parliament Development Committee on Financial Perspectives
The Development Committee of the EP adopted a Report and a Working Document on the proposed instrument for Development Co-operation and Economic Co-operation in the new Financial Perspectives 2007-13. The Report, c0-ordinated by Gay Mitchell MEP, takes on board most of the concerns expressed by BOND and CONCORD in 2005 on the initial proposal.
www.europarl.eu.int

Commission Adopts Humanitarian Aid Decisions Worth 165.7 Million Euro for 10 African Countries
The European Commission has approved a series of humanitarian aid decisions for Africa worth 165.7 million euro. The bulk of the resources are allocated in 'Global Plans' for large-scale aid operations in 2006 in countries experiencing ongoing crises: Burundi (17 mil), Chad (13.5 mil), Comoros (600,000), the Democratic Republic of Congo (38 mil), Ivory Coast (5.2 mil), Liberia (16.4 mil), Madagascar (500,000), Sudan (48 mil), Tanzania (11.5 mil) and Uganda (15 mil). The funds are managed by the Humanitarian Aid department of the Commission (ECHO) and projects will be implemented by relief agencies operating in the target regions.
http://europa.eu.int

 

Issue No 55, December 2005

UK Politics

DFID Consultation on Advance Market Commitments for Vaccines
The UK Government, working with the G7 countries, is developing proposals to set up an innovative form of incentive for Research & Development (R&D) in vaccines for diseases such as malaria and AIDS. The mechanism, known as Advance Market Commitments (AMCs), would work by creating a competitive developing country market for future vaccines that is sufficiently large and credible to stimulate private investment in vaccine R&D and manufacturing capacity and to accelerate vaccine introduction by developing countries.
www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations/

Working in Partnership with UNIFEM - New Institutional Strategy
A new document sets out the terms of the second phase of the institutional partnership between DFID and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). It aims to build on the progress made and lessons learned from the first phase of institutional support (1999-2003). It also takes account of the changing context in which UNIFEM is working, and the new operational framework set out in its 2004-07 Multi-Year Funding Framework (MYFF).
www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs

Social Transfers
DFID has recently produced a note on whether low income countries in Africa can afford social transfers. The message in the note is that social transfer programmes which reach a significant proportion of the population have a lasting effect and cost less than 1 per cent of GDP and less than 3 per cent of government spending, and cost a fraction of current aid flow.
A copy of the note can be obtained on request from Dragan Nastic at BOND.
Email: dnastic@bond.org.uk

United Nations

Call to Action on Reproductive Health
A UNFPA sponsored workshop on ending obstetric fistula-ended with a call to African Governments to ensure women's access to reproductive and maternal health services, as well as free or subsidised delivery care and Caesarean sections. Officials from 34 African health ministries, as well as international agencies and NGOs also recommended that governments urgently address the loss of health care personnel in Africa due to 'brain drain' and deaths from HIV/AIDS.
www.unfpa.org

Good Governance Needs Good Public Service
The UN has issued a report that looks at ways to create a public service that provides responsive governance, greater openness and new partnerships with civil society. 'The World Public Sector Report 2005: Unlocking the Human Potential for Public Sector Performance' is based on the premise that good governance needs a good public sector.
www.unpan.org/dpepa_worldpareport.asp

Campaign to Fight HIV/AIDS in Children
With one child dying of AIDS and another becoming infected with HIV every minute, the UN and its partners have launched a global campaign to support children affected by HIV/AIDS. The campaign, 'Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS', is focused on four key areas: prevention of mother-to-child transmission, paediatric treatment, prevention and protection and support of children affected by AIDS.
www.unaids.org
www.unicef.org

World is Ignoring Hunger
WFP claims that despite the increasing number of people suffering from hunger, mainly in Africa, food aid is in sharp decline. WFP told a UN gathering that 'Globally, hunger claims more lives than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined'. According to FAO there are now 852 million hungry people worldwide with the number increasing by 6 million annually since 2000. Over five million children die of hunger and malnutrition every year.
www.fao.org
www.wfp.org

Dialogue on Challenges of Urbanisation
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) is organising an internet forum - Habitat Jam - in preparation for the 3rd World Urban Forum which will be held in June 2006. The online discussion will take place from 1-3 December and is intended to elicit input, discussion and debate on key urban issues and possible solutions to the challenges posed by the estimate that in the next fifty years two-thirds of humanity will be living in towns and cities.
www.habitatjam.com
www.unhabitat.org

Environment and Debt Relief
African Ministers met with banking officials and development partners to discuss how to use funds derived from debt cancellation, at a UNEP-backed meeting. The conference brought together African nations that will benefit from the Gleneagles G-8 debt deal Gleneagles, to cancel $40 billion of debt owed by poor countries to the IMF, the World Bank and the ADB. UNEP cited ways that such resources could be used for environmental programmes which can contribute to social and economic well-being.
www.unep.org

World Bank/IMF

WB/IMF Annual Meetings
Agencies have made available notes from various sessions of the WB and IMF Annual Meetings held last September.
www.ifiwatchnet.org/index.shtml

IFIs and Transparency
The Global Transparency Initiative is finalising an IFI Transparency Charter which will set out norms and standards that should govern IFI disclosure policy and practice. For more details go to:
www.ifitransparencyresource.org
www.ifiwatchnet.org

WTO

The 6th WTO Ministerial Conference will be held in Hong Kong from 13-18 December. The meeting is considered vital to move forward the Doha Development Agenda negotiations.
www.wto.org

European Union

European Parliament Votes Reports on Development Policy Statement (DPS) and EU Africa Strategy
The European Parliament plenary session voted two reports on the EU Development Policy Statement (Rapporteur Anders Wijkman) and the EU Africa Strategy (Rapporteur Maria Martens). To access the documents, click on 'Agenda' and then '17 November':
www.europarl.eu.int

General Affairs and External Relations Council (GEARC)
EU Foreign Affairs, Development, Trade and Defence Ministers met in Brussels on 21-22 November to take key decisions on the EU DPS, EU Africa Strategy and EU position in WTO negotiations. To read the full Council Conclusions, click on 'Meetings' and search by 'date' or 'type of meeting'.
www.eu2005.gov.uk

EU position at WTO Ministerial
Ahead of the December WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong, the EU tabled a new offer on agriculture market access, which is fully conditional to requests in other areas of trade negotiations. Developing countries are resisting EU requests for liberalisation of services and opening of non-agriculture markets.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade

EU-ACP Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) Joint Parliamentary Assembly met in Edinburgh from 19 to 24 November. It adopted, among others, a report on the role of Parliaments in the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement.
www.europarl.eu.int

EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories to start by 1 January 2006
On 7 November, the Council established an EU Police Mission in the Palestinian Territories under the European Security and Defence Policy. The mission, code-named EUPOL-COPPS, aims to provide support to the Palestinian Authority in establishing sustainable and effective policing arrangements.
http://ue.eu.int


Issue No 54, November 2005

UK Politics

Reform of DFID's Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department
DFID's Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department (CHAD) is taking over the implementation of DFID's security and development policy agenda from DFID's Policy Division. To reflect this additional area of business, CHAD's name has been changed to Conflict, Humanitarian and Security Department (CHASE). CHASE has three core areas of business: Humanitarian, Conflict, and Security and Justice. Organisationally this agenda is delivered through three teams. The new structure went live on 1 September.

HIV and AIDS evaluation (2006)
Taking Action the Government's strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world, was launched by the Prime Minister in July 2004. DFID is particularly concerned to ensure systems are in place to measure the impact of the additional resources allocated to tackling HIV and AIDS, and to 'monitor, evaluate and challenge interventions'. With this in mind, a lesson-learning evaluation is planned for 2006, mid way through the strategy period. The evaluation design paper is now available on the DFID website. It outlines the key questions and approaches for this evaluation.
www.dfid.gov.uk/consultations/

Chancellor Announces Gift Aid Boost for Charities
On 7 October the Chancellor announced that the Government would make it easier for charities to claim Gift Aid on donations for disaster relief work.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Innovative sources of financing for development
In a joint statement, the UK and France have announced that they will implement an air ticket solidarity levy. A working group will be set up to consider the detailed implementation issues of the IFF financed by an air ticket levy.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

United Nations

World's Poor Youth at Risk
More than 500 million youths worldwide live on less than US$2 a day, 113 million are not in school, 88 million are unemployed and 10 million have HIV/AIDS, according to the UN's World Youth Report 2005. However, positive signs show that since 1995 the number of children completing primary school has continued to increase, while the current generation is the best educated in history.
www.un.org

UNICEF Report on Immunisation
With vaccine-preventable diseases killing about 1.4 million children under five annually, UNICEF warns that an estimated 27 million children and 40 million pregnant women are not being immunized each year, and 41 countries are protecting fewer youngsters than a decade ago. UNICEF's new report 'Progress for Children' contains country-by-country data on immunisation rates and shows significant regional inequities.
www.unicef.org

Health Care Brain Drain
A UNFPA report states that the loss of workers to migration is overwhelming developing countries' health-care systems, as qualified personnel leave for richer countries. The report, 'International Migration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)', says migration is exacerbating an already acute shortage of health care workers in Africa which, despite bearing one quarter of the world's disease burden, has only 1.3 per cent of its health workers.
www. unfpa.org

UNESCO Illiteracy Initiative
UNESCO has launched a programme to halve illiteracy rates by 2015, where the problem is most severe. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) will focus on 34 countries where more than 50 per cent of the population and/or over 10 million people cannot read and write. Two-thirds of illiterate people are women, and the largest group without access to education are women and out-of-school girls, and LIFE will focus on them and those in rural areas.
www.unesco.org

Millions of Agricultural Workers Face Poverty and Hunger
A UN report compiled jointly by FAO. ILO and International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF), says many of the world's 450 million waged agricultural workers suffer from some of the highest incidences of poverty and hunger. The report calls for the promotion of decent work conditions for these workers, and cites the use of child labour in agriculture as a particular concern. Of the estimated 246 million children around the world who work, over 170 million, are employed in agriculture.
www.fao.org
www.ilo.org

Millions of Agricultural Workers Face Poverty and Hunger
According to UNFPA's 2005 State of World Population Report, 'The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the MDGs', global efforts to 'make poverty history' will fail if world leaders do not act now to end gender discrimination.
www.unfpa.org

World Bank

World Development Report 2006
The World Bank has issued its 'World Development Report 2006. Equity and Development' which analyses and documents the persistence of inequality traps by highlighting the interaction between different forms of inequality.
www.worldbank.org

OECD

OECD Urges Freer Trade
Most developing countries stand to gain more than lose from successful completion of the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks, according to an OECD publication 'Trade and Structural Adjustment: Embracing Globalisation', which argues that the gains from multilateral freeing of trade will more than offset the possible losses from erosion of the preferences granted to many developing countries.
www.oecd.oeg

European Union

European Union Strategy for Africa
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a new EU Strategy for Africa. The Strategy suggests a framework for action for all EU Member States and the European Commission to support Africa's efforts to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The document outlines a strategic partnership for security and development between the European Union and Africa for the coming decade. Later this month, a declaration by Member States at the next General Affairs and External Relations Council will integrate the document by the European Commission.
www.europa.eu.int

EU Development Policy Statement
The UK Presidency has presented a new draft of the EU Development Policy Statement. The document will set the objectives, principles and guiding lines of European Development Co-operation for the next five years. A first draft had been proposed by the European Commission last July. Consultation is ongoing between Member States, the European Commission and the European Parliament and a final document is expected by the end of November.
http://europa.eu.int

Humanitarian support for earthquake victims
Two days after the South Asia earthquake, the European Commission formally adopted its fast track humanitarian decision for 3 million euros to provide urgent assistance to the victims. The funds are being channelled by the Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), through operational partners already working in the region.
http://europa.eu.int

Member States Meet in Extraordinary External Relation Council
This extraordinary Council, at France's request, discussed the WTO's Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiation ahead of the WTO General Council in Geneva on 19-20 October and Europe's response to the 60 per cent cut in export subsidies proposed by the US.
www.eu2005.gov.uk


Issue No 53, October 2005

UK Politics

DFID Conditionality
Shortly after the launch of the new conditionality policy Partnerships for Poverty Reduction: rethinking conditionality, DFID commissioned Mokoro (an international development consultancy company) to conduct an independent review of the conditions that DFID was applying to the provision of development assistance to partner country governments.
www.dfid.gov.uk

International Finance Facility for Immunisation
On 9 September, the launch of the pilot International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) took place. The UK, France and other partners have developed the IFFIm to use the front-loading principles of the International Finance Facility 'to provide urgently needed funding for vaccine and immunisation services in the poorest countries all over the world'.
www.iffim.com

Reducing Poverty by Tackling Social Exclusion - A DFID policy paper
On 6 September 2005, DFID launched its policy paper on social exclusion, 'Reducing Poverty by Tackling Social Exclusion'. The paper sets out the importance of tackling social exclusion for poverty reduction and conflict prevention and builds upon work carried out in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
www.dfid.gov.uk

United Nations

Natural Resources to Defeat Poverty
UNEP has endorsed a report by the environmental think tank World Resources Institute 'World Resources 2005: The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty', which challenges conventional approaches in fighting poverty, stressing the need to look beyond aid, debt relief and trade reform and focus on local natural resources.
www.unep.org

New UNDP Human Development Report
A week before the UN Summit to review progress towards the MDGs, world leaders received a copy of the latest UNDP 'Human Development Report 2005: International cooperation at a crossroads: Aid, trade and security in an unequal world', showing that despite overall global progress, many countries are actually falling further behind. It calls for urgent changes in global aid, trade and security policies to fulfil promises made in the Millennium Declaration, claiming that on current trends, these will not be kept.
www.undp.org

World Economic & Social Survery 2005
The UN's 'World Economic and Social Survey 2005. Financing for Development' focuses on the Monterrey Consensus as the current framework for international co-operation for development. It also looks at action needed in financing and trade in the years ahead to achieve the MDGs and the broader UN development agenda.
www.un.org

UNIFEM report on Informal Sector
UNIFEM has called on governments to improve the informal sector as a major employer for women worldwide. The fund's report: 'Progress of World's Women 2005: Women, Work and Poverty', provides the latest data on the size and composition of the informal economy and argues for women's economic security to be strengthened in order to achieve the MDGs.
www.unifem.org

New Head of UNCTAD
Supachai Panitchpakdi, former Director-General of WTO, has become the new head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN agency that aims to promote the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.
www.unctad.org

Improving Road Safety to Boost MDGs
With millions of people killed, injured or disabled in traffic accidents each year, mostly in urban areas of developing countries, a WHO report on confronting the global road safety crisis calls on UN Member States to include road safety issues in their efforts to achieve the MDGs.
www.who.org

OECD

DAC News
The September Development Assistance Committee (DAC) News issue provides an analysis of the aid pledges made at the G8 summit in July, and implications for aid volume and effectiveness. It also outlines progress made on the targets to measure aid effectiveness, as outlined in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
www.oecd.org

MDGs and Aid Effectiveness
The OECD Development Centre has produced a policy brief which considers how the MDGs and new aid effectiveness targets are useful for donors to gain taxpayers' support for aid.
www.oecd.org

Gender and Institutions
The OECD has issued a briefing paper, 'Changing social institutions to improve the status of women in developing countries'. It looks at the causes of gender discrimination, how the MDGs need change in gender-discriminating social institutions and how donors should focus on lowering men's resistance to reforms that improve gender equality.
www.oecd.org

World Bank

Annual Meeting
World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting took place 24-25 September. Further details:
www.worldbank.org
www.brettonwoodsproject.org

European Union

Community Budget 2006: Parliament Asks for More Money for Development Education
The Development Committee of the European Parliament adopted its amendments on the 2006 budget on 5 September. One of these amendments increases the NGO co-financing budget line by 10 per cent and suggests that the additional funding should be used to support development education and awareness raising in Europe with a priority for actions taking place in the new Member States.
www.europarl.eu.int

European Development Policy Statement
Anders Wijkman MEP has tabled a first draft of a report on the new European Development Policy Statement for the European Parliament Development Committee. Adoption of the report by the Committee is scheduled for 24 October. Development Ministers will discuss the draft in Leeds, 24-25 October (see P14). The document will be the framework for international co-operation for the EU and its Member States.
http://europa.eu.int

Financial Instrument for Development Co-operation
Under the latest proposal from the Commission, six instruments are suggested to fund Europe's external actions. Three are thematic and three geographic. Development Co-operation and Economic Co-operation (with rich countries like the US and Australia) are covered by the same instrument. This is one of the reasons why the instrument and the overall framework lack focus on poverty reduction and clarity over parliamentary control of the allocation of funds. The UK Presidency has recently submitted an amended proposal to the Development Co-operation Working Party.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/budget/index_en.htm

EU Strategy for Africa
The European Commission is consulting Africa's Regional Organisations and the African Union, as part of the preparation of the new EU strategy for Africa, which is scheduled to be adopted before the end of 2005.
http://europa.eu.int

European Union at the UN Summit
The EU confirmed its commitment to spend 0.51 per cent of GNI of Official Development Assistance by 2010 and 0.7% by 2015. In his speech on behalf of the EU, Hillary Benn also confirmed G8 and EU commitment on debt cancellation.
www.eu2005.gov.uk
(click on 'news' and then 'speeches'.)


Issue No 52, September 2005

UK Politics

IFFm Scheme Approved
A British-led scheme to borrow on capital markets to fund a multi-million dollar immunisation programme for poor countries has been given the go-ahead by the European Union's statistical authority.

Pledges to the International Finance Facility for Immunisation, which aims to raise an extra $4bn over 10 years for children's vaccines in the developing world, would not be classed as government debt, Eurostat has ruled. Britain has agreed to provide a third of the money, and France, Italy, Spain and Sweden have agreed to take part.

Launch of Consultation Process on DFID Draft Agriculture Strategy Paper 4 August 2005
Following a year-long process of discussion and debate, DFID has produced a draft agriculture policy paper and has invited feedback on the draft over the next eight weeks.
http://dfid-agriculture-consultation.nri.org/launchpapers/NewAgricPolicyPaper_draft08_05.doc

DFID Agrees Institutional Strategy With Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
DFID has agreed a second Institutional Strategy Paper with the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). DFID will give OHCHR £10.18m over the next four years in support of their work on human rights around the world.
www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/isp-ohchr.pdf

World Bank Conditionality ReviewWorld Bank Conditionality Review
The statement of the Secretary of State for International Development on the World Bank's conditionality review is now available on DFID's website:
www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/dfidwork/wbandimf.asp

AIDS
DFID has announced a doubling of funding to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
www.dfid.gov.uk/news/files/pressreleases/aids-globalfund.asp

UN

Funding Shortfalls For Women's Rights
UNIFEM's annual report says that while it is clear that improving the situation of women is key to achieving all the MDGs, funding shortfalls have meant inadequate responses for priorities such as ending violence against women and addressing the denial of their property rights.
www.unifem.org

MDGs and Youth
The UN Millennium Campaign has launched a website to encourage young people to learn about the MDGs and what they can do to help eliminate world poverty.
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/mdgs/index.asp

Access to Energy Essential for the MDGs
A report from UN-Energy, an interagency body established to co-ordinate a multi-disciplinary response to the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, 'The Energy Challenge for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals', claims that 1.6 million people die a year because more than 2 billion people in developing countries lack modern fuels and electricity that help prevent indoor air pollution and its negative health effects. The report cautions that in addressing national strategies to meet the MDGs, too many countries are not taking into account access to energy as an essential component of poverty reduction and development.
www.undp.org/energy/

Envoy Questions G8 Summit Success
The UN Envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa has questioned the results of the G8 Summit in addressing the AIDS pandemic, and has called for the creation of an international women's agency. Envoy Stephen Lewis has argued that the G8 summit was not a breakthrough, citing the still insurmountable debt burden of many countries, the agricultural subsidies which keep produce from developing countries out of rich country markets, and an 'unblemished record of failure' between principle and delivery when it comes to pledging more aid. He challenged HIV/AIDS scientists to engage in a campaign of advocacy and stressed the need to lobby 'ferociously to make gender inequality history' and to promote the creation of an international agency to represent the needs and rights of women.
www.unaids.org

World Bank/IMF

Youth Consultation
The World Bank is embarking on extensive consultations with young people around the world to explore their transition to adulthood and its impact on development. This was prompted by the decision to make people aged 12-24 the main theme of the Bank's 'World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation'. Consultations will be held globally, nationally and locally. Special emphasis will be given to including the views of disabled youth, young women, those living in rural areas, and those facing difficulties in participating in global discussions.
www.wordlbank.org

Bank Review of Conditionality Policy
The World Bank has been carrying out a review of its policy and practice in the use of conditionality in its lending. After a consultation process with borrowers, multilateral and bilateral donor partners, NGOs and the private sector, which started in December 2004 and concluded on 17 June 2005, the findings of the review went before the Bank's Executive Directors for discussion on 1 September. The Board's discussion will shape the outcome paper to be presented to the World Bank's Development Committee for consideration by the Board of Governors at the Bank's Annual Meetings 24-25 Septem