Information and stories about aid effectiveness and reform

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DRC Ranks Last in Maternal Health

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Happy Mother’s Day?  Well, maybe not in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which was recently named the worst place to be a mom according to a report done by Save the Children. The DRC took the unwanted ranking from Niger and for the first time in the 14 years since the report has been published, sub-Saharan Africa took up the bottom ten places.

The London-based charity’s “State of the World’s Mothers” report compared 176 countries in terms of maternal health, child mortality, education and levels of women’s income and political status.  The results were staggering and showed massive gaps in maternal health. A woman or girl in the DRC has a 1 in 3o chance of dying from maternal causes, including childbirth, whereas a women in Finland faces a 1 in 12,200 risk. The report cited the poor health of mothers as well as low access to health care  as possible causes for the high rates of infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.

Save the Children is calling for an investment to close the gap. They cite the need for nations to invest in mothers and children and to provide better and more accessible maternal care.  Women must have access to education and political standing as well as high quality health and child care.

Much progress is being made in developing countries and sub-Saharan Africa; the study pointed to four life-saving products that could drastically change the current state of affairs. Those four products are:

1. Corticosteroid injections to women in preterm labor.

2. Resuscitation devices to save babies who do not breathe at birth.

3. Chlorhexidine cord cleansing to prevent umbilical cord infections.

4. Injectable antibiotics to treat newborn sepsis and pneumonia.

Simple devices and measures like these have the potential to give mothers and infants in countries like the DRC a better chance at a full, healthy life.  It is time to continue the progress being made and even the odds for mothers in the DRC and all across sub-Saharan Africa.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: Global Post

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A Step Beyond Microfinance

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The values and benefits of microfinance lending to the world’s poor are mixed; but they have overall proven to be a mechanism for lifting individuals out of poverty.  The system of proving microloans is a well-oiled machine providing finance to individuals in low resource areas. One micro lender wants to go a step beyond microfinance and provide the poor with much needed savings and insurance products.To continue to help the poor life themselves up, Microlending pioneer Accion has called for more financial products typically common in the developed world.

These financial products such as insurance, saving accounts, and ways to move money are sophisticated tools many in the developed world don’t think twice about, but for the world’s poor these products are rarely available.  Accion, based in Boston, announced they would begin investing in start-ups that are working to provide more variety of financial tools to people around the world.  Unfortunately, business models and technology to deliver financial tools like savings accounts is much less tested in rural and poor areas. The lack of longevity in testing and practice causes many venture firms to be wary of investing in start-ups.

Accion’s Venture Lab will invest $10 million in ventures seeking to expand financial tools beyond microfinance.  This is not to diminish the effects and needs of microfinance, but to continue to take the poor a step beyond microfinance.   Accion’s first investments include Salud Facil, which helps low-income individuals in Mexico pay for health care, and Varthana, an Indian company financing low-cost private schools.  In addition, the fund is investing in payment companies in Asia and Mexico as well as a start-up in Hong Kong attempting to use data to improve credit scores.

Other investors are also offering money for financial products in the developing world. LeapFrog Investments has dedicated $135 million to bring insurance to underserved markets. Those in poorer income brackets need financial services beyond credit. Constant innovation and testing must be continued to find self-sustaining and profitable financial products to developing markets. Accion Venture Lab will continue to invest in start-ups to help them do the testing they need and continue to innovate in providing insurance and savings products to low-income individuals. Accion’s model is to help the start-ups and if they fail, to take the lessons learned and start over. Ultimately, the goal is improving the credit and lives of the world’s poor.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

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BRICS Plans For Development Bank

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Leaders of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) announced at the end of their summit in March in Durban their intention to start a new Development Bank.  This Development Bank will be used to mobilize resources within developing countries to build infrastructure and promote sustainable development projects.

Over the last four decades, the nations of BRICS have seen enormous success in economic development and are coming together to see that their futures are bright and full of opportunities.  As developed nations struggle through their own economic difficulties, the Development Bank will serve to bridge a gap in funding.  Infrastructure requirements in emerging-market economies point to the need for the availability of credit and sources of financing. With 1.4 billion people lacking reliable electricity, 900 million lacking access to clean water, and 2.6 billion without adequate sanitation, the Development Bank will be a key player in addressing the long-term sustainable solutions to those problems.  In addition, the forecasted large migration to cities calls for policymakers to fund environmentally sustainable investments.

Predictions for infrastructure spending within the developing world top $2 trillion annually in the coming decades.  This spending will allow nations to achieve long-term poverty reduction and economic growth. The private market will still be relied upon, but their dollars can only go so far. The Development Bank will fill the gap and become a catalyst for change in developing countries.

As the world economy is changing, the Development Bank provides BRICS a chance to reflect on those changes within an institution that utilizes modern financial instruments, strong governance, and broad-based mandates.  The bank can capitalize on new development partnerships and collective action as well as innovative and cost-effective approaches.  While developed countries still have a strong role to play in global development, the shortfall in assistance and need for quick decisions make the Development Bank a welcome institution in the marketplace of emerging countries.

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: The Korea Herald
Photo: BRICS

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Countries Starting to Reach Development Goals

Data from the World Bank released last week reports twenty fragile countries who are starting to reach development goals.  As the Millennium Development Goals near the end, news of progress is exciting and hopeful. Progress in fragile countries ranges from efforts in reducing poverty, improving the education of girls, and cutting down on deaths during child birth.

The Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015 and these 20 countries were not on track just a few years ago. The progress that has been made since 2010 is remarkable. In addition, six more fragile countries are on target to hit the goals by 2015. Countries like Afghanistan, Nepal, and Timor-Leste have seen a 50% reduction in people in extreme poverty and increased the number of girls in school.  These are strong accomplishments for any nation, but for these nations who are coming out of war and devastation, the results are even more extraordinary.

The data serves as a call for the global community to not strike countries off as hopeless or lost causes, but to seek the development of all nations.  While these twenty have seen remarkable progress, many war-torn nations are still lagging far behind the benchmarks set up by the Millennium Development Goals. These nations are also very prone to relapse as is the case of Yemen who was on target to meet the goal of reducing death during childbirth until the violence during the Arab Spring in 2011.

World Bank leaders are calling for a bridge between long-term development and humanitarian assistance to help countries in the middle of crisis.  When the international spotlight leaves a country in distress, often so does the humanitarian aid, leaving the country devastated and struggling to rebuild itself. To rebuild requires support that focuses on clear actions, steps, and transparent and accountable goals. As nations tighten their spending in the midst of the economic downturn, effective aid is even more important. The World Bank is committed to working more closely with the United Nations to see that long-term development happens in fragile countries.

Community involvement is also key in addressing and meeting needs and designing appropriate projects.  As aid organizations work together with communities, they can address the causes of conflict and also create programs and plans that emerge as long-term solutions.  In the final push to accomplish the Millennium Development goals, this type of aid is going to be increasingly important.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Source: Reuters
Photo: World Hunger

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Business and Africa: A Continent on the Move

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May 1, 2013 was the kick-off of the two-day Africa Global Business Forum in Dubai.  Africa, a continent on the move, has been showing promising signs of economic growth and development.  The Africa Global Business Forum is just one more step in the right direction for a continent on the move.

The Africa Global Business Forum, as announced by the UAE Prime Minister, is set to become an annual event.  The forum brings together leaders from Africa and the UAE to promote business investment, development, and collaboration between the nations of Africa and Dubai.  More than 3,500 delegates are in attendance.  The Prime Minister of Uganda gave the keynote address and stressed the importance of the forum as a signal of the interest in African business and investment opportunities.  He also discussed the importance of the private and public sectors working together as has been done in Dubai.

Dubai serves as a center of 150 different shipping lines and could be a very key logistics hub for Africa to export goods.  The young population and growing middle class in Africa are indicators of the potential for increased growth within Africa. Consumer spending is set to hit US $1.4 trillion by 2020. The forum will seek to strengthen alliances between Africa and outside investors with the goal of reducing poverty in Africa and increasing economic growth and self-sufficiency.

Other topics of note at the forum are looking at boosting Africa’s trade through the role of free trade areas and private equity.  Already major telecom companies are looking to invest in Africa and the prospects for future growth and development are exciting.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Source: CPI Financial

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C. Rice to Speak at Global Development Forum

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Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will speak at the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s second annual Forum on Global Development on April 29th, 2013.  Rice is expected to discuss the importance of foreign aid and its role in U.S. national security and diplomacy.  The Forum on Global Development comes at a key time as budget talks are going on and the world is facing 1000 days until the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals.

The Millennium Challenge Corportation was founded by the U.S. Government with the goal to work with some of the poorest countries in the world. MCC believes that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty. 

In addition to Condoleezza Rice, the Forum on Global Development will also honor four award recipients at the event.  The Millennium Challenge Corporation will recognize Green Mountain Coffee Roasters of Vermont with its Corporate Award. Green Mountain has worked hard to partner with local NGOs to promote sustainable community development, to diversify incomes of coffee roasters, and to advance food security.

The MCC will recognize Sophia Mohapi, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account in Lesotho, with their Country Commitment Award. Mohapi facilitated a commitment by Lesotho’s government of $150 million to poverty-reduction programs.

The last award, the MCC’s Next Generation Award, will go to Jessica O. Matthews and Julia Silverman, founders of Uncharted Play. Matthews and Silverman are working hard to advance youth innovation and leadership through international development. Their flagship product is SOCCKET, a soccer ball that stores kinetic energy to provide light for those living without electricity.

– Amanda Kloeppel
Source: The Sacramento Bee
Photo: Veteran’s Today

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Misleading Economic Indicators and Development in Africa

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The GDP, growth, and income derivatives of sub-Saharan African nations help to inform NGO’s in both the structure and deployment of a well targeted policy of development. However, what if the data linking economic indicators and development in Africa were both statistically flawed and misleading? Surprisingly, there is an increasing body of evidence showing that much of the economic numbers currently being reported to aid and development organizations are in fact fictional, and that little is actually known about the income generation of many African nations.

Sub-Saharan African nations such as Ghana and Nigeria have raised the eyebrows of World Bank leaders and policy makers with their upward revisions of their economic outputs over the last several years. Both countries initially reported their GDPs as much lower than they actually were, with the former upwardly revising their numbers by 60% and the latter increasing theirs by 15%. These numbers – although seemingly unimportant from the outset – have huge implications in regards to economic status and aid apportionment. The net result of misleading economic indicators and development in Africa means that resources allocated to specific countries by donors may in fact be better utilized by nations with lower GDP’s, and that targeted development plans may or may not be yielding the results originally reported.

Regarding the misleading economic indicators and development in Africa, New York Times author Jeffrey Sachs noted that current Malawi leadership “broke old donor-led shibboleths by establishing new government programs to get fertilizer and high-yield seeds to impoverished peasant farmers who could not afford these inputs. Farm yields soared once nitrogen got back into the depleted soils.”

The generous aid packages deployed by well meaning NGO’s have been instrumentally important in the international development of many low-income countries. However, flawed economic indicators and development in Africa leads to a misappropriation of aid that could be better used by other “high-priority” targets requiring greater attention and economic assistance. International aid is a finite resource that carries with it equal amounts of opportunity and responsibility, and should be allocated primarily to those nations that are plagued by the loop of global poverty.

– Brian Turner

Source CNN
Photo The Guardian

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$500 Million ‘Rescue Mission’ Initiative Launched

$500 Million 'Rescue Mission' Initiative LaunchedWith cuts to foreign aid looming and some already in place, humanitarian organizations are going to become even more important in the fight against global poverty. Evangelical organization World Vision launched a $500 million ‘Rescue Mission’ initiative to help 10 million children living in poverty.  The ‘Rescue Mission’ initiative will focus on clean water, access to health care, and child protection.

Under the budget cuts that went into effect as of January 1, 2013, non-profits are predicting that there will be 1.1 million fewer mosquito nets distributed, 300,000 fewer people with access to clean water, and 2 million people with reduced or zero access to food aid.  This is cause for serious concern as we look at being less than 1,000 from the end date for the Millenium Development Goals (MDG).

World Vision launched the $500 million ‘rescue mission’ dubbed “For Every Child” which seeks to raise $500 million by 2015.  It is the farthest-reaching endeavor World Vision has ever taken on.  The initiative will focus on clean water, fighting communicable diseases, providing small loans to families, and protecting children from human trafficking.

When the government cuts budgets, it can be difficult for non-profit organizations to get the start-up capital they need to start new ventures. This campaign is important to continue the life-saving work World Vision is already doing around the world.  It will hopefully fill the gap from government funds and continue to promote the MDGs as we near the final stretch.  We have halved poverty in the last decade and it is very possible to continue the downward trend, but it is going to take a lot of hard work.

While the needs are great and the costs seem high, the alternative to pushing forward is not an option. As Richard Sterns, Executive Director of World Vision put it, “We’ve taken a hard look at the needs that exist today. They are great, but we refuse to believe that poverty is too big, too expensive, or too difficult to overcome-because for the millions of children living in poverty, the stakes couldn’t be higher.”

– Amanda Kloeppel

Source: Christian Post

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Why the US Should Invest in Africa?

Why the US Should Invest in Africa?
USAID in Africa creates many new advantages for the US beyond humanitarian aid, such as fostering strategic national security partners and increasing US economic prospects. George Ingram and Steven Rocker recommend four strategies to better utilize and direct foreign assistance to the region.

In June 2012, President Obama established his development priorities in the region with the White House’s U.S. Strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on economic growth, food security, public health, women and children, humanitarian response, and climate change.

From 2002 to 2012, the total USAID money in sub-Saharan Africa nearly quadrupled, from roughly $1.94 billion to $7.08 billion. The assistance money was largely focused on global health spending, specifically the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). But even beyond global health, the U.S. is the leading donor of humanitarian aid to sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the area of emergency food aid. The Obama administration also provides assistance in agriculture development through its Feed the Future program, a global hunger and food security initiative. Overall, USAID operates 27 different regional missions in 47 African countries – the top five being Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and South Africa.

U.S. development assistance brings government agencies, American organizations and businesses into collaboration with Africans who are trying to put their own communities and countries onto a more prosperous social, political, and economic plane. There are three critical reasons why the US should invest in Africa:

1. Humanitarian interests – Through moral obligation the U.S. has historically been the leading donor of humanitarian assistance in the region. It is part of the American ethos to continue to respond compassionately to people in their most desperate times of need.

2. National security interests – There are continued terrorist concerns in Somalia and Mali, with the potential new threats in Nigeria (the U.S.’s largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa). USAID must continue to be very active in these regions particularly to prevent any terrorist strongholds from cementing and to maintain stability.

3. Economic interests – From 2001 to 2010, six of the fastest-growing economies in the world were in Africa. In 2011, foreign investment to sub-Saharan Africa amounted to more than all the development assistance funding for the whole world. Many countries are recognizing and acting on increasing commercial opportunities in Africa.

Four ways to make U.S. aid to Africa more effective:

1. Sustainable health systems – The majority of health assistance to Africa is used to finance the delivery of health services, which is not sustainable. Greater focus needs to be directed to building health practices that Africans can carry out on their own.

2. Disaster preparedness – For all the humanitarian aid delivered, very little is allocated toward disaster prevention and preparedness. By focusing more resources and expertise toward these areas, the U.S. could reduce the need for large international disaster relief, and save lives.

3. Economic growth – The U.S. should leverage its assistance to stimulate economic growth. Congress and U.S. officials should engage the Export-Import Bank, Department of Commerce, Overseas Private Investment Corporation, U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the U.S. Trade Representative to ensure that a range of government policies and programs are encouraging equitable economic growth for all, and commercial opportunities for U.S. businesses.

4. Democratization and good governance – The U.S. needs to give greater attention and support toward governance policies and oversight; including improving the governmental collection of revenues, transparent budgeting, and building the capacity of civil society and legislative systems.

– Mary Purcell

Source: Brookings
Photo: ruaf.iwmi.org

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Innovative Means of Development

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As the world continues to deal with economic financial crises, there is still a need for global contribution and aid to countries of extreme poverty. With the amounts of Western foreign aid decreasing, there is a need for new and innovative means of development to lift people out of poverty. The main themes that are the current focus include taxing, gender equality laws, inclusive growth and regional integration.

The Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank, Mthuli Ncube, urged the need for transparency between investors and the African people. He points out that it is problematic how even when commodity prices increase, African governments’ revenues do not follow the pattern. He suggests that international investments in African natural resources should be monitored so that they “benefit the African people through job creation, protecting the environment, developing African entrepreneurs,” and then using all the resulted revenues to create a diverse African economy.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has stated that there has been a shift in aid from extremely poor countries to those of middle-income, and it emphasizes the point that in order to meet the U.N. Millennium Goals by 2015, this shift must be reversed to prioritize and address the extremely poor countries. A professor of Development Policy and Practice at the University of Warwick in the U.K., Franklyn Lisk, discussed how African countries suffer from an irony where their natural resources have not been giving them any returns on improving human development. He argues for tax justice, citing that there are many extranational companies who enter developing nations “paying little or no taxes, through manipulation and connivance with corrupt regimes.” With taxation, Lisk says, revenue would increase to 6 times the amount of total aid.

In 2012, 9 members of the Development Assistance Committee increased their aid, and those members are: Australia, Iceland, Austria, Korea, Luxembourg, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, with other donors including Poland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.

– Leen Abdallah

Source: All Africa
Photo: National Geographic