5 Nations Launch $1.5 Billion Vaccine Program To Save Millions Of Children In Poor Countries

“Five nations are funding a $1.5 billion program to encourage drug companies to come up with vaccines to help prevent pneumonia and meningitis, in hopes of saving the lives of at least 5.4 million children by 2030 in the world's poorest countries. 

Part of a wider plan to tackle other deadly diseases in these countries, the pilot project - funded by Italy, Canada, Norway, Russia and Britain - targets pneumococcal virus, a major cause of pneumonia and meningitis that kills 1.6 million people every year.  World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was among those scheduled to attend a ceremony in Rome Friday to launch the ‘Advance Market Commitment’ plan. ‘The key aim is to ensure there is secure funding for the vaccines urgently needed in the poorest countries, where thousands of children die everyday from diseases that can be prevented,’ Wolfowitz said in a statement. 

The pilot program will fund the development of vaccines against pneumococcal disease. Vaccines are bought only if they meet standards of efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness established by the GAVI Alliance, formerly known as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the World Bank and an assessment committee. Participating vaccine companies must agree to sell the new vaccine at price which cash-strapped governments in Africa, Asia and South America can afford. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]

The BBC reports that “… Chancellor Gordon Brown will [also] be at the launch of the fund in Rome on Friday… . The UK is set to contribute GBP 200 million ($400 million) towards the fund. …” [BBC News Online]

Dow Jones notes that “… Finding a way to bring medical cures to poor countries has near universal support, but governments have been reluctant to foot the bill to provide vaccines available to poor nations. Supporters of the plan, ranging from academics to experts in the global health community, note it is cost-free initially, with any eventual outlays conditional on practicable solutions being found. The plan was first proposed by Italy and the UK at a Group of Seven rich nations summit at the end of 2005. ‘It's an absolutely innovative approach, which combines market instruments with public financing ones and opens new frontiers in the fight against poverty,’ Italian Finance Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa told

Dow Jones Newswires. Finance ministers from Italy, the UK, and Canada - the three G7 countries that have signed up to the plan - will visit Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican Friday morning to present the plan, before attending a G7 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Germany. …” [Dow Jones/Factiva] 

French AIDS Envoy Named Global Disease Fund Chief

“France's ambassador for HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases, Michel Kazatchkine, was named on Thursday to lead a multi-billion-dollar fund fighting AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. 

Kazatchkine, 60, will succeed Briton Richard Feachem, its first executive director, who steps down at the end of his five-year term on March 31. He immediately called for greater resources for the Global Fund… . Funding for the 2008-2010 period will be decided later this year. … [The fund] is providing antiretroviral drugs to 770,000 AIDS sufferers and has distributed 18 million insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria. …” [Reuters/Factiva]

AFP reports that “… The decision by the fund's 20-member board, which comprises donor and recipient countries as well as non-governmental organizations and the private sector, follows an abortive attempt to choose a new executive director last autumn in Guatemala. The public-private partnership has spent some $7 billion in grants for 450 programs in 136 different countries. It funds some two thirds of all tuberculosis treatment worldwide, 45 percent of malaria treatment and nearly 30 percent for programs against AIDS.” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The Financial Times notes that “… His appointment may help ease integration of the fund, for which France is the second largest contributor after the US, with Unitaid, the French-led, airline-tax funded mechanism launched last year for the purchase of drugs for the developing world. He received substantial support in voting yesterday from developing country members on the board, repairing divisions that at the previous selection committee in Guatemala last October set donor nations, led by France which endorsed him, against countries receiving funding, which supported Michel Sidibe from UNAIDS.

Observers said Kazatchkine … was a highly respected candidate whose challenges would include expanding his expertise of malaria and how to manage a large financial institution. He said his top priorities were to strengthen global and local partnerships, including with civil society; mobilize additional resources in efforts to achieve universal access to treatment and prevention for HIV; and strengthen the confidence of staff. He also highlighted the need to improve procurement processes. Kazatchkine will also need to implement a decision of the fund’s board to separate entirely from the World Health Organization, to which it is linked, while developing contractual relationships with the agency and other international bodies to best decide how to operate.  …” [The Financial Times (UK)]

Mixed Reaction At Development Meet To China's Africa Aid Push

“China's big spending in Africa drew a mixed response at a global aid meeting in Vietnam, where many welcomed the giant's new role on the continent but some voiced disquiet about its intentions. …

In Hanoi - where the World Bank, other development agencies and over 30 countries discussed aid issues this week - a Chinese official said his country had many development lessons to share with other nations. ‘Some people are saying China has done something wrong in African countries,’ said Xu Li of the National Development and Reform Commission. ‘But I think what we are currently doing is collaborating with the local governments ... I think it's a good thing for China to build the infrastructure to improve the local conditions for development.’ Jim Adams, the World Bank's East Asia Pacific vice president, who has years of experience dealing with African development issues, called China's new aid drive ‘a welcome and very interesting development.’ ‘In a lot of the press the emphasis has been on a very small portion of Chinese interest,’ he said on the sidelines of the conference. ‘Clearly on the resource side, China is reaching out to ensure that they have the resources necessary to sustain their program.’ But he said China is also ‘reaching out very actively to work with African governments in providing investments and knowledge and research. And we very much welcome that.’ ‘Because China has gone through the process of going from a low-income country to now a medium-income country ... it does have some lessons.’ 

However Kumi Naidoo, the head of the Johannesburg-based non-profit group Civicus, said that in much of Africa ‘there are mixed feelings about the level of intervention.’ While many welcomed the investment, technical skills and infrastructure, they worried ‘whether there will be a genuine commitment to local capacity building because there are also a large number of Chinese workers that are being brought in for some projects.’ Naidoo said African governments are ‘under pressure to deliver visible, tangible development results’ but that ‘people are concerned about us not getting the balance right.’ …” [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

The Associated Press notes that “… Chinese President Hu Jintao's eight-nation, 12-day tour has taken him to Cameroon, Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa. On Thursday, he arrived in Mozambique and wraps up his tour Friday and Saturday in the Seychelles. …” [The Associated Press/Factiva]  

Meanwhile, Xinhua reports that “The delegates to the third international roundtable on managing for development results Thursday agreed that developing countries and donors should enhance their management of resources to gain better, verifiable development results, guided by a spirit of mutual accountability. The delegates, over 400 government officials and experts from 40 countries, 33 aid and donor agencies and 30 non-governmental organizations and private companies, agreed that both the countries and donors need to invest more in systems and capacity for managing for results, including in such areas as national statistical systems, and sector-wide monitoring and evaluation. … The roundtable was hosted by the Vietnamese government and sponsored by several foreign organizations including the ADB and the World Bank. …” [Xinhua (China)/Factiva]  

Ukraine's PM And The World Bank Vice President Discuss Cooperation Prospects

“[Ukrainian] Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych met with the World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Region Shigeo Katsu, Cabinet press office reported.

During their discussion the prime minister stressed that it is important to regularly carry on a dialogue between leadership of the government and the World Bank. Systematic meetings between leadership of the government and the World Bank gives an opportunity to exchange opinions, to understand better positions of the sides that make our cooperation more efficient, Yanukovych noted.

The prime minister focused attention on basic results of the economic development of Ukraine in 2006 and strategic plans of the government. According to Viktor Yanukovych, due to consolidated stand of the government and parliament necessary laws for Ukraine’s accession into the World Trade Organization have been adopted. Summing up the results of 2006 the rates of economic growth increased, in particular, real GDP increased by 7 percent as compared with 2005. … As Viktor Yanukovych noted, the economic strategy of the government envisages elaborating mechanisms of reliable protection of all kinds of property, guaranteeing its inviolability, ensuring rights of minority stockholders at legislative level. …” [ForUm (Ukraine)]

Ukrainian News adds that “…Yanukovych declared that one of the priorities will be to overcome corruption and underground economy. He noted that ambitious economic plans and structural reforms need huge investments and assistance from international financial organizations, from the World Bank above all. At the same time, the Ukrainian government and the Bank have to reconsider the portfolio of projects and adjust it to changes in priorities of government policy, the prime minister suggested. First of all, it concerns new projects aimed at development of power engineering, energy saving, transportation and municipal infrastructures. Support of the World Bank in judicial and pension system reforms as well as in the area of management of government finances is vital for Ukraine.

Yanukovych extended [an] invitation to World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz to visit Ukraine in 2007. …” [Ukrainian News/Factiva]

Also In This Edition: Africa: New Study Reveals Investment Potential;Good Governance Key To Sustaining Gains; Analysis: Shackles Severed - How The Developing World Is Striving To Free Itself Of Debt; Briefly Noted...

Africa: New Study Reveals Investment Potential. “Sub-Saharan Africa is fast becoming a more attractive and hospitable destination for investors, according to a new report, Snapshot Africa, released by the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

The report is an extract of a study conducted by MIGA, comparing the operating costs and conditions for investors in six industries and nine sub-Saharan African countries. These include Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Designed to help intermediaries to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), the study identifies each country's comparative advantage by capturing a snapshot of an industry in one location at a static point in time from the perspective of an investor. In total, nearly 300 investors, both foreign and local, were surveyed for the study. …” [Business in Africa(SA)/(02/05)]

“The study  […] is the fifth in a series of sector analyses under MIGA's Global Enterprising Benchmarking Program.[…] “In many regions of the world, foreign direct investment has spurred economic growth, employment, and the means of integrating into the global economy," says Yukiko Omura, MIGA's executive vice president, "and it is also happening in Africa. …”[Xinhua/Factiva]

“Snapshot Africa examined the attractiveness of six sectors from the vantage point of investors: textiles, apparel, food and beverage processing, horticulture, tourism, and call centers. [...] These sectors currently attract the highest level of mobile FDI in sub-Saharan Africa. (Mobile investment refers to investment that can locate at multiple locations such as car plants, clothing factories). The study examined numerous thriving investments, underscoring the untapped potential of these sectors. […] For prospective investors, Snapshot Africa provides hard-to-find comparable information on investor costs and conditions in the above mentioned sectors, and can help them develop their site selection options. …” [The New Times (Rwanda)/(02/05)]

"Given low current investment levels, a first in advantage awaits those investors ready to move into these relatively underdeveloped markets," the [Bank] statement [about Snapshot Africa] explains. …” [East African Business Week (Kampala)/(02/05)]

"Despite the many challenges for business in Africa, MIGA's Snapshot Africa indicates that there are considerable possibilities for new investments, and for diversifying and expanding business activities on the Continent," says David Bridgman, who spearheaded the report. "We hope that the findings of this study will help governments and investment promotion intermediaries explore creative ways to attract foreign partners in the sectors in which they have the greatest comparative advantage. …" [Accra Mail (Ghana)/(02/07)]

“For Madagascar, which is amongst the nine African countries studied, the sectors that receive the most investment are textile, horticulture and food and beverage processing. The government will continue improving the investment climate by revising the Code of Investment. …” [Les Nouvelles(Madagascar)]

The New Times (Rwanda), Les Echos (France), L’Essor Quotidien (Mali), Le Quotidien (Madagascar), adagasikara Tribune (Madagascar), l’Express de Madagascar (Madagascar) also report on Snapshot Africa.

Good Governance Key To Sustaining Gains.  “The Philippines must support its improving financial health with good governance to be able to stay on the economic growth path, a World Bank official said. 

Danny Leipziger, Vice President and head of the Bank's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network, stressed in a forum Thursday that good governance spells a big difference in sustaining the returns of an improving economy. Presenting comparative examples from other developing countries, he noted that governance affects the efficiency of public spending, or the capacity of countries to properly disburse much-needed funds to sectors which are in need of it or sectors which will contribute a higher rate of return for the expenditure. ‘There is a huge leakage in the public sector due to bad governance. The more leakages, the lower the economic returns,’ Leipziger said. 

Since much of the economic direction of a country depends on government policies, he said good governance is also key to good policies that have a stronger impact on growth. In terms of official development assistance, for example, good policies usually lead to more effective use of foreign aid to spur growth. ‘Good economic management usually gives better results,’ he said. He also noted that bad governance only serves to turn away much-needed private sector investments since this usually means unpredictable policies. … 

World Bank Philippines country director Joachim Von Amsberg noted, however, that there is no single solution towards the improvement of governance. ‘There is no textbook recipe for it. There is no single prescription for it,’ Von Amsberg said. The Philippines, he noted, has a good example in a very active civil society. ‘The challenge is to develop this good practice enough to have a strong impact on ... public spending and governance,’ he said.” [BusinessWorld (Philippines)/Factiva]

Analysis: Shackles Severed - How The Developing World Is Striving To Free Itself Of Debt. “The head of the Nigerian government's Debt Management Office is as mild-mannered as debt management officers come. But even he could not resist what in that profession must be the equivalent of a sportsman's victory dance: a flourish to demonstrate the consummate mastery of his game. Into his PowerPoint slide presentation detailing Nigeria's clearance of more than $30 billion of its external debt, Mansur Muhtar, the official, slipped an unexpected but dazzling image of fireworks.

It signaled that Nigeria, once seen as one of the world's financial basket cases, had entered a promising era: from $35 billion, debt was almost entirely cleared last year, through write-offs and windfall revenues from oil. Nigeria is just the latest example of a phenomenon taking root in the developing world. After decades under mountains of debt, many countries are digging themselves out. Thanks to high commodity prices and, in some cases, debt forgiveness programs, many of the seemingly hopeless cases of old are paying off debts and avoiding new ones.

Russia, whose $40 billion domestic debt default and financial collapse in 1998 sent shock waves throughout the world, has used its windfall from high oil and gas prices to pay off a large chunk of its foreign debt. Moreover, debt reduction has not been limited to oil exporters: Argentina, historically a serial defaulter - most recently on $100 billion worth of debt in 2001 - ended its relationship with the International Monetary Fund a year ago and is paying more money back to creditors than it is borrowing in fresh loans or bonds. Countries scarred by past crises, including Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and other countries in Latin America and Asia have taken steps over the past five years to insulate themselves from the effects of a future global financial crisis. In stark contrast to past periods of strong global growth and low interest rates, they are husbanding resources rather than spending them - many are paying off public debt, running budget and/or current account surpluses and building foreign exchange reserves. When they do issue bonds, governments are increasingly doing so locally rather than in international capital markets. …” [The Financial Times (UK)]

Briefly Noted… The lack of sanctions against monopolistic practices and subsidies poorly aimed at productive activities, not only inhibit poverty reduction, but also amplify inequality in Mexico, maintained Isabel Guerrero, World Bank Country Director for Mexico during an interview after her participation in the International Forum on Public Policies for the Development of Mexico which took place in Mexico City on Wednesday and Thursday. She further affirmed that in order for the federal government to diminish poverty in the country it must begin to regulate monopolies and begin to sanction their practices as is commonly done in many other parts of the world. [El Economista (Mexico)/Factiva]

A final ruling by a "neutral expert" appointed by the World Bank to resolve a dispute between India and Pakistan over the construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River will be released on February 12. [Reuters/Factiva]

Indonesia blamed the World Health Organization Wednesday for the government's decision to stop sharing samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus, claiming that the United Nations agency passed them on to pharmaceutical companies to make vaccines that Jakarta had to buy at high prices. [The Financial Times (UK)]  

Germany will accept a EU cap on carbon dioxide emissions of 453.1 million tons per year to show its faith in the trading system, the country's environment minister was quoted as saying on Thursday. According to an article released by Die Tageszeitung newspaper ahead of publication on Friday, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in Nairobi that Germany would end a spat with Brussels over how much carbon dioxide it can emit. [Reuters/Factiva] 

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said Thursday that unless there is a breakthrough in global trade talks this spring, efforts at securing a new global trade treaty could be delayed by another two years. Mandelson, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Stockholm seminar, said that although the prospects of an agreement in the World Trade Organization talks are better now than in the past two-and-a-half years, the issue of agricultural trade that has confounded negotiators for the last five years remains "the immediate bottleneck." [Dow Jones/Factiva]