The majority of international aid is not reaching the countries that need it the most
The majority of international water and sanitation aid is not reaching the countries that need it most, according to a new report, which also found that a third of the aid pledged over the last decade, or $27.6 billion [£16.7 billion], had not even been delivered.
Around 768 million people do not have access to safe water to drink and 2.5 billion are without basic sanitation. But just over a quarter of the aid is being targeted at the world's 48 poorest and least-developed countries, according to new report by charity WaterAid.
It found that richer countries, such as Jordan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which both have more than 90 per cent of their populations accessing water and sanitation, are receiving more aid per person then countries like Ethiopia, DRC and Madagascar, where more than half the populations do not.
Women show the way in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
In my country, Nigeria, rural women and their children, especially their daughters, have the burden of providing water to their homes. They are also expected to keep their houses and environs clean. So over the years, from experience, when the issue of a good water supply is mentioned the women are usually very interested.
Nigeria has one of the highest infant (under five) mortality rates as a result of inadequate and poor quality water supply, poor sanitation and hygiene practices. The under-five deaths are sadly caused by preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera etc. which are all waterborne.
Before the introduction of CLTS (Community Lead Total Sanitation) through the GSF (Global Sanitation Fund) Projects in Nigeria, Water Committees were usually set up when water was provided by any of the three tiers (Federal, State and Local Government Areas) of government. Women's inclusion on Water Committees was always insisted upon. Experience has shown that where the women are given leadership roles in the Committees they excel. If they are made the treasurers, the token payments made by villagers when they fetch water are properly kept and managed efficiently for the operation and maintenance of the water source and its environs.
The United Nations Children's' Fund on Friday said no fewer than 768 million Nigerians lacked access to safe drinking water
This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Geoffrey Njoku, Head, Media and External Relations, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja.
The statement reported Ms. Jean Gough, Country Representative, as saying that this was the leading cause of death in thousands of children.
It said 1,400 children under five died each day from causes linked to lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene globally.
"Most of these people without access are poor and live in remote rural areas or urban slums," Gough said.
According to UNICEF estimates, globally no fewer than 1,400 under-five children die every day from diarrhoea diseases linked to lack of safe water, adequate sanitation and hygiene.
Thousands of children die every year
Dr Alfred Tia Sugre, the Deputy Minister of Heath, has said some 82,000 children die every year out of 1,000,000 live births in the country before they attain the age of five. He said the nation was losing its women and children annually due to limited access and quality healthcare and appealed to health personnel to strive hard to address the situation.
Dr Tia Sugre said this during the launch of Integrated Sanitation Hygiene and Nutrition for Education (I-SHINE) and Rural Emergency Health Services and Transport (REST) Project at Walawale in the West Mamprusi District.
The two projects, which were launched by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), were to be implemented in six districts including, East and West Mamprusi, Mamprugu Moaduri in the Northern Region, Nabdam, Talensi and Kasena Nankana West in the upper East Region aimed at improving the overall health and well-being of some 1,000,000 people.
The I-SHINE project is to target some 120 community schools to reach 450,000 beneficiaries within three-year period.
On World Water Day, focus where it's needed most
Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
As we approach this year's World Water Day on 22 March, it's a moment of particular poignancy for WaterAid.
We know that 768 million people are still without safe drinking water and another 2.5 billion people are without decent toilets – shocking statistics for 2014.
The story gets worse. New research from WaterAid released this week, Bridging the Divide, shows that of all the donor aid directed at water and sanitation programmes, just one-quarter of it is going to the countries that need it most. Most of it goes to countries where most people already have water and sanitation.
It doesn't make sense. And we need to change this.
For instance, Jordan and Mauritius are both nations on their way to full economic development, with more than 90 per cent coverage on water and sanitation. Yet both receive hundreds of dollars in water and sanitation aid per person living without, each year. In Jordan, aid for water and sanitation per person without amounts to $855. In Mauritius, it's US $588.Yet in Ethiopia, where aid for water and sanitation amounts to just $1.56 per person without. In Madagascar, the number is just $0.42. More than half of the population in both of these countries live without safe drinking water and sanitation.
UN experts predict higher temperatures and hunger
Scientists have come together to look at the future effects of climate change - and many countries are at risk, says Joe Ware
NEXT week, the world's leading climate scientists publish their latest report, in which they predict the impact that the changing climate will have on the world in the coming years.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the first part (Working Group I) last year. It examined the atmospheric science, and raised their level of certainty that climate change was being driven by human activity to an "almost certain" 95 per cent.
This second part (Working Group II) translates that science into the physical impact which is likely to follow from an increase in greenhouse-gas emissions such as carbon dioxide. The report comes only weeks after Britain experienced record rainfall, which flooded large parts of the south of England, and storm surges that washed away the coastal railway in Devon.
The Chief Scientist at the Met Office, Dame Julia Sligo, said at the time that the storms were a likely result of climate change. The Prime Minister said that he believed the extreme weather in the UK and the United States were linked to global climate-change.
Member-states of the UN have agreed to take action to ensure that global temperatures do not exceed two degrees above the pre-Industrial Revolution level - the level described as "dangerous climate-change" by scientists. Two degrees may not sound like much, but the changes in climate which are being experienced now are at a current rate of 0.8 degrees above pre-industrial levels; and, unless substantial action is taken to curb emissions in the next few years, the two-degree target will not be met.
Climate adaptation faces funding crisis warn UN officials
Last updated on 21 March 2014, 5:11 pm
Collapse of revenue from carbon markets has left Adaptation Fund critically short of money
- See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/2014/03/20/climate-adaptation-facing-funding-crisis-warn-un-officials/#sthash.nRfKG1Gt.dpuf
Flows of money towards climate adaptation projects are becoming increasingly unpredictable, making it difficult for vulnerable countries to prepare for the hardships caused by global warming.
Future fundraising tactics would have to be "extremely aggressive" in order to raise enough money to continue their work, according to board members of the UN-run Adaptation Fund, the primary finance provider for adaptation projects around the world.
"We are essentially going with our hands out to everyone," Philip Weech, the board member from the Bahamas representing the Latin American and Caribbean regions, told RTCC.
"We take funds from anyone, any inch, but the reality of it is the scale of resources we need is hundreds of millions of dollars."
The Adaptation Fund currently provides money to 34 projects around the world, including over US$ 4million to develop agro-pastoral shade gardens in Djibouti, and over US$ 5million on improving flood management practices in Georgia.
Efforts to tackle climate change have been mainly concentrated on how to prevent it from getting worse by cutting greenhouse gases. But experts now acknowledge that many of the impacts are unavoidable.
- See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/2014/03/20/climate-adaptation-facing-funding-crisis-warn-un-officials/#sthash.nRfKG1Gt.dpuf
Project gets US$63.3 million to address climate change
[NAIROBI] Four research consortia aimed at tackling impacts of climate change in major hotspots in Africa and Asia have received a fundingboost from Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UK's Department for International Development.
The consortia, funded under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), will receive 70 million Canadian dollars (around US$63.3 million), according to a statement from the IDRC released this month (7 March).
"This initiative will take a new approach to understanding climate change and adaptation in Asia and Africa," says Jean Lebel, the president of IDRC.
World BanWorld Bank boost for Congo hydro
k boost foThe World Bank has approved a $73.1m grant to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help the country develop a 4.8GW expansion of the Inga hydroelectric dam cluster.
The funding for the Inga 3 project at the site, which currently has a capacity of 1.8GW through Inga 1 (pictured) and 2 and is believed to have the potential for up to 40GW, follows $33.4m approved by the African Development Bank late last year.
"This is undoubtedly the most transformative project for Africa in the 21st century. It is one of the strategic pillars of development for the DRC, which needs energy to expand growth and reduce poverty in a sustainable way," said Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo HE Matata Ponyo Mapon.
"The World Bank's involvement in this project reinforces its mission to fight poverty and its ongoing commitment to help the Congolese government in its goal to move the country along the path to a strong development future."
Project aims to help vulnerable communities in Africa adapt to climate change
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) are embarking on a major new project to help communities in some of the most vulnerable areas of Africa adapt to the future impacts of climate change.
International Development UEA has been awarded a £1.1 million grant to undertake collaborative work on vulnerability and adaptation in some of the driest zones of East Africa, as part of a new Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions (ASSAR) research group.
Led by the University of Cape Town in South Africa, ASSAR's five-year project starts from the premise that, by the middle of this century, the impacts of climate change may require radical changes in how people utilize land and resources. It will look at how climatic, biophysical, social, political, and economic factors interact in semi-arid regions and produce scenarios and practical advice for communities and decision-makers, so that they can develop strategies to help them adapt to changes in the climate, such as more frequent and prolonged droughts which threaten livestock and agriculture.
ZAMBIA LANDS K39M FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
THE Nordic Development Fund has given Zambia a grant of K39 million for the climate change resilience project.
Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda signed the grant agreement with Nordic Development Fund (NDF) programme manager Johanna Palmberg in Lusaka yesterday.
Mr Chikwanda described the grant as a step in the right direction which would help the country and the region structure investments that would be able to counter the effects of climate change.
The grant agreement was a continuation of related activities signed on June 14 and December 18, 2013 in Mongu and Choma, respectively, for the strengthening of climate resilience in the Barotse and Kafue sub-basin.
The minister bemoaned the hampering of Zambia's development by inadequate and dysfunctional infrastructure, saying no country could develop without appropriate and adequate infrastructure.
"We have backlogs of infrastructure deficiencies and, consequently, tackling infrastructure deficits is very prominent on the Patriotic Front Government's ambitious development agenda," Mr Chikwanda said.
He said it was important to ensure that infrastructure was constructed to the highest specifications and standards to guarantee reasonable levels of structural integrity.
Global warming could melt Africa's famed mountain peaks
Some African mountain peaks are in danger due to climate change, according to a number of scientists.
(GIN)—Ice is vanishing from Africa's snow-topped peaks, raising fears of a meltdown from the continent's "Alps."
"We are the last few who will climb on the ice, it is going so fast," said John Medenge, who scaled the treacherous ridge up Mount Stanley, part of the Rwenzori mountain range straddling the border between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
At 16,763 feet, Mount Stanley's jagged peak is the third highest mountain in Africa, topped only by Mount Kenya and Tanzania's iconic Kilimanjaro.
African nations discuss impact of climate change on cotton
'African cotton faces the challenge of climate change' was the theme for 2-day discussion organized by the African Cotton Association (ACA), in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Ivory Coast, last week.
ACA acting president Salif Abdoulaye Cissoko said nearly 25 million Africans derive a significant portion of their revenues from the cotton industry, but the industry is experiencing enormous difficulties, with climate change being one of the reasons for the vulnerability of the cotton industry, Abidjan.net reported.
Climate change leads to increasing temperatures and lower and erratic rainfalls, which causes land degradation, the resurgence of pests and loss of quality cotton, ultimately leading to a decline in cotton production.
Burkina Faso, the largest producer of cotton in Africa with over 700,000 tons, is also affected by climate change. Yacouba Koura, representative of the National Union of Cotton Producers of Burkina Faso (UNPCB), said the problem of climate change is real in his country. He said the rains caused enormous problems for farmers during the last planting season, and the rains stopped earlier than usual negatively impacting the maturity of cotton.
Climate change will reduce crop yields sooner than we thought
A study led by the University of Leeds has shown that global warming of only 2°C will be detrimental to crops in temperate and tropical regions, with reduced yields from the 2030s onwards.
Professor Andy Challinor, from the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study, said: "Our research shows that crop yields will be negatively affected by climate change much earlier than expected.
"Furthermore, the impact of climate change on crops will vary both from year-to-year and from place-to-place – with the variability becoming greater as the weather becomes increasingly erratic."
The study, published today by the journal Nature Climate Change, feeds directly into the Working Group II report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, which is due to be published at the end of March 2014.
Concerns about vanishing forests
Pandurang Hegde, March 21, 2014, DHNS
Modern tools need to be aligned with that of indigenous knowledge to evolve a strategy for forest conservation...
On the occasion of World forestry Day today (March 21), it is important to know and analyse the reasons for disappearance of the greenery from our midst. The global forests are decreasing at an alarming rate. A study by University of Maryland and Google shows that the world lost 2.3 million sq km of forests between 2000 and 2012, the equivalent of losing 50 soccer fields worth forests every minute for the past 13 years.
The Washington based World Resources Institute (WRI) reports that 30 per cent of the global forest cover has been cleared, and another 20 per cent has been degraded, fragmented and only 15 per cent is in tact. With the aim to monitor the existing forests, WRI launched a dynamic online Global Forest Watch (GFW) in February 2014. It unites satellite technology and crowd sourcing to track the deforestation anywhere in the world. It enables the people all over the world to participate in assessing the forest wealth and set in a motion of two way process of establishing a dialogue to share people's experiences on illegal logging and fire.
The 'absurdity' of manufacturing in Africa
BY KATE DOUGLAS | 20 MARCH 2014 AT 15:30
Africa's wealth of natural resource reserves make it one of the largest producers and exporters of a number of commodities in the world. For example, the continent produces roughly three-quarters of the world's platinum and over half of the world's diamonds.
Despite this wealth of resources, very little value is added to these commodities on the continent, with the large majority of its raw materials being exported to the international market.
Edward George, head of soft commodities research at Ecobank, told an audience at the Africa Trade Finance Week in Cape Town this week that despite producing 70% of the world's cocoa, three-quarters of West Africa's cocoa crop is exported raw to Europe and Asia where it is processed into cocoa products and chocolate.
"Even more striking, less than 10% of Africa's oil is refined – around 400,000 barrels a day versus production of around 5.5m barrels. So something like 93% of Africa's oil production is exported raw as crude oil," highlighted George.
Ending Hunger and Undernutrition by 2025
African Renewable Energy Fund Launches With $100 Million
The first renewable energy fund has launched to develop projects across sub-Saharan Africa.
Not only that, most of the money is being sourced from within Africa. $100 million has been raised so far for the AfricanRenewable Energy Fund, with a goal of doubling that this year.
"$200 million isn't the end of it. The whole idea is that this is supposed to catalyze and crowd in other investors, so I can assure you that in a few years' time we may be looking at $500 million to $1 billion," says Gabriel Negatu, regional director of African Development Bank
Philips to establish Research & Innovation Hub in Africa
The Philips Africa Innovation Hub in Kenya will be the center for developing innovations "in Africa-for Africa" in the areas of healthcare, lighting and healthy living • Hub underlines Philips' commitment to invest in Africa and provide Africa-relevant innovations to address key challenges facing the continent
The Philips Africa Innovation Hub will do application-focused scientific and user studies to address key challenges like improving access to lighting and affordable healthcare as well as developing innovations to meet the aspirational needs of the rising middle class in Africa.
The Philips Africa Innovation Hub will be located at the Philips East African Headquarters in Nairobi, where African talents and international researchers will operate on the concept of "open innovation" and will work in close collaboration with the R&D ecosystem of Kenya and Africa. Philips is in discussions with local organizations and Universities on R&D collaborations to co-create meaningful solutions for Africa.
"We welcome the establishment of Philips' Innovation Hub in Kenya; Philips is a globally recognized innovation powerhouse and their selection of Nairobi as the site to establish their African Innovation hub is a testament to the Kenyan government's commitment to nurture the drive for research and innovation in the region", says, Hon'ble Adan Mohammed, Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization and Enterprise Development. "We lend our full support to the investment being made by Philips and look forward to the outcomes of their Africa-specific research and projects that can contribute to transforming society, business and government across the continent".
EAC home to 20 million chronic poor
The East African Community has over 20 million chronically poor residents, according to researchers.
Development Initiatives Africa Regional Director Charles Ntale told journalists in Nairobi over the weekend that unless deliberate policies are implemented, the figure will increase in the next decade.
"EAC should leverage on the integration process to ensure that development reaches even the most marginalized communities," Ntale said during launch of the Chronic Poverty Report 2014-2015.
The report was authored by Chronic Poverty Advisory Network that works across 15 developing countries.
The United Nations has set a goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030.
He said that most of the EAC states have adopted policies that assume development to trickle down to all citizens.
"However, this does not occur due to the economic and political structures in place," he said.
He added that the work of Non-Governmental Organizations is too narrow to reduce the levels of poverty in the economic bloc.
WB calls for policies to eliminate Gender Inequality
The World Bank Group says tackling the pervasive inequality faced by female farmers across Africa is critical if the continent is to reduce poverty, boost economic growth and feed its growing population.
In a report released to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra on Friday said Policy interventions like securing women's land rights and improving their access to hired labour are critical for reducing the gender gap and expanding economic growth which is needed to end poverty.
The World Bank (WB) said closing this gap can help boost household incomes and livelihoods, as well as provide cheap and nutritious food to Africa's growing population.
The report entitled WB and "The One Campaign," - improving opportunities for women farmers in Africa which examined the scale and causes of the dramatic differences between how much men and women farmers produce in six African countries.
The beneficiary countries are: Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda - which together make up more than 40 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population.
The report reveals deep rooted gender gaps in African agriculture and identifies factors holding back women farmers, and sets out concrete actions that policy makers can take to reduce inequality.
"This report presents the clearest evidence to date about the breadth and depth of the gender gap in African agriculture.
"It argues that by spear-heading proven, effective policies that target the needs of female farmers, such as strengthening land rights, governments can help farming families tackle the low-productivity traps that entrench poverty and prevent millions of farmers from leading decent lives," Makhtar Diop, Vice President for the World Banks Africa Region is quoted.
The report found that although almost half the agricultural workers across the continent are women, productivity on their farms is significantly lower per hectare compared to men.
According to the report, in the six countries profiled, women produce less than men, ranging from 13 per cent in Uganda to 25 per cent in Malawi.
Friday Roundup: Chronic poverty, remittances, debating inequality, water worries and agriculture and gender in Africa
A report by ODI, "The Chronic Poverty Report 2014-2015:The Road to Zero Extreme Poverty," provides an impoverishment index to help countries determine which priorities will pull their citizens out of poverty.
'Remittances and Vulnerability in Developing Countries,' a new World Bank Policy Research Working Paper by Giulia Bettin, Andrea F. Presbitero, and Nikola Spatafora, examines how international remittances are affected by structural characteristics, macroeconomic conditions, and adverse shocks in both source and recipient economies.
A CATO Institute blog critiques a recent IMF staff note on inequality by Andrew Berg and Jonathan Ostry.
The advocacy group ONE has a joyful video of Ugandan women lip syncing a popular song on world happiness day (Mar 20).
The United Nations has launched the World Water Development Report 2014, which focuses on energy and water crisis.
Analysis: Decade after debt relief, Africa's rush to borrow stirs concern
(Reuters) - Nearly a decade after Nelson Mandela and anti-poverty activists Bono and Bob Geldof persuaded the rich world to forgive Africa's crushing debts, many countries' debt levels are creeping up again, which could undermine the region's growth boom.
As African states line up to join the growing club of dollar bond issuers, economists and analysts warn of a slide back into indebtedness that could undo recent economic gains and create a "Eurobond curse" to match the distorting "resource curse".
"Eurobonds have become like stock exchanges, private jets and presidential palaces. Every African leader wants to have one," said one investor, asking not to be named.
In 2007, Ghana became the first African beneficiary of debt relief to tap international capital markets, issuing a $750 million 10-year Eurobond. Since then, previously debt-burdened countries, such as Senegal, Nigeria, Zambia and Rwanda, have also put their names on the list of bond issuers.
Governments seeking to replace declining foreign aid and pay for infrastructure are also taking concessional funds from multilateral institutions, more expensive commercial bank loans and bilateral financing from lenders like China and Brazil.
Big Men' Documentary Profiles High-Stakes Oil Industry in Africa
Rachel Boynton's documentary, "Big Men," is all about the high drama of big oil. Executive produced by Brad Pitt, the documentary moves from the offices of New York to Ghana and Nigeria in a story that is so complex, it's hard to tell if there are any good guys to be found.
The truth is that with billions of dollars at stake, there may very well be no good guys. At the same time, no one comes across as evil in this saga. They all have justifications for their decisions. I said it was complex.
The documentary's action begins in 2007 when Kosmos Energy is working to secure a deal to extract oil in Ghana for the first time. A lot of excitement is generated about this find. Then, in the middle of it, Ghana's leadership changes, and the stock market crashes in 2008, putting the deal in jeopardy.
Kenyan MPs pass Bill to protect polygamy
Kenyan women have been dealt a blow with the passing of a Bill that allows men to marry as many women as they wish without consulting their wives before bringing them home.
However, this will only be applicable for marriages contracted under customary law. Customary and Muslim marriages are deemed potentially polygamous while Christian, Civil and Hindu marriages remain monogamous.
The Bill had initially required that men consult their wives before marrying another wife, but male MPs struck out that clause during an animated debate in Parliament last week that prompted women MPs to storm out of the house in protest.
However, the Bill still has a number of positive provisions, requiring that all marriages are registrable — previously, customary marriages had no legal provision for registration. It also prohibits child marriages, pegging the minimum age of marriage at 18.
Once enacted, the law will collapse eight separate pieces of legislation covering five different marriage regimes—Muslim, Christian, African customary, Hindu and civil—under a single document.
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