World Bank shifts HIV/AIDS focus in Africa

“The World Bank on Wednesday unveiled a four-year strategy to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa that shifts focus from emergency response to long-term development.

The International Herald Tribune added “The bank also said it would commit to provide at least $250 million a year for HIV/AIDS initiatives based on country demand and establish a grant incentive fund of $5 million annually to promote analysis and health and education projects.

‘With AIDS the largest single cause of premature death in Africa, we can't talk about better lasting development without also committing to stay the course in the long-term fight against the disease,’ said Elizabeth Lule, manager of the bank's AIDS Team for Africa.

The unit devised the strategy by consulting widely with African countries, people living with AIDS, U.N. agencies, non-government organizations and private companies.” [International Herald Tribune]

“The bank report says that ‘more than 60 percent of the people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa are women; and that young women are six times more likely to be HIV positive than are young men. As a result of the epidemic, an estimated 11.4 million children under age 18 have lost at least one parent.’

Lule says that interventions are needed to protect young women, who are often vulnerable to infection from older men, who may have multiple partners. Poverty also plays a role, often causing many women and girls to become prostitutes to raise money to feed themselves and their families.” [Voice of America]

The change was made possible after billions of dollars in grant funding became available from the U.S. Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Geneva-based Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which alone has committed $10.7 billion to fight disease.

The World Bank has sent $1.5 billion to more than 30 African countries to fight HIV/AIDS since 2000….The World Bank said it would concentrate on advising countries on how best to manage the new international funding, and at the local level try to help governments take a long-term view on how to best tackle the disease. [The Guardian/Thomson Reuters]

World Bank eyes slower 2008 Latin American growth

“The World Bank is forecasting slower economic growth for Latin America in 2008 due to higher food and fuel costs, but stressed the region is ready to weather a global slowdown, a senior official said on Wednesday. Pamela Cox, the Bank's vice president for Latin America, said growth for the region this year should be "more or less" 4.5 percent. Her last estimate of 4.8 percent was given to Reuters in April and was lower than a previous forecast of 5.1 percent. [Reuters]

She said that a bigger impact of a slowdown in growth in the U.S. will likely be seen in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. That would be due in part to a weakening of remittances. Cox said that South American nations will be better protected against any economic downturn due to a wider base for their exports and greater commodity production.

The Latin American nations are also expected to be protected in many cases by what Cox called their "sensible" macroeconomic policies. [Dow Jones International]

The comments came as Cox attended the EU-Latin America summit in Peru, where she added that “Droughts and an increasing agricultural focus on biofuels instead of staple food crops mean food prices will probably remain high until 2015, Cox said. The World Bank is ‘concerned’by global inflation, she said.

‘The era of cheap food is over, for at least the next seven or eight years,’ Cox said.

Latin America needs to invest more in transportation infrastructure to bring down food prices, Cox said. The World Bank plans to lend Latin American countries $4.6 billion this year, she said.” [Bloomberg]

Rwandan parliament to create public accounts watchdog

“The national parliament is planning to establish a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) before the end of this year. The decision was made by the lower house of parliament to harmonize the system with the other East African Community (EAC) member states and will take effect after parliamentary elections slated for September.

‘After several decades of misrule, war and genocide, Rwanda has endeavoured to carry out major legal and institutional reforms to enhance good governance. This included the establishment of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) for effectiveness and efficiency,’ said Constance Mukayuhi Rwaka, a member of parliament.” [BBC]

“Rwaka added that the activities of the PAC in Rwanda are presently carried out by the budget committee and the OAG.

‘Despite the fact that the budget committee and the OAG have been able to carry out duties otherwise meant for the committee, it is equally important to establish PAC and harmonize with the other EAC member states. We are also in the process of harmonizing the budget presentation and other laws.’ she added.

Currently the three founder members of the East African Community; Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania have a uniform date for presentation of the Budget.

The PAC is responsible for overseeing government expenditures to ensure transparency and accountability in state finances.” [The New Times]

UN warns of 'second wave of deaths' as Myanmar braces for new cyclone

“Heavy rains and another powerful storm are posing a serious threat to relief operations in Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta, where so little aid has arrived that the U.N. warned today of a possible "second wave of deaths" among an estimated 2 million survivors.

The warning came as the Red Cross warned that the death toll from Cyclone Nargis could be at least 68,833 and as high as 127,990 -- considerably higher than the government's official count of 34,273 dead. [Los Angeles Times]

The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area.

The area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 3, leaving at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing, according to the government. [Associated Press]

The new storm, which was passing near the former capital, Yangon, may develop into a cyclone once it reaches the Bay of Bengal, the typhoon center said in a bulletin issued at 3 a.m. today Yangon time. The system was packing winds of 46 kilometers (29 miles) per hour and heading west-northwest across Myanmar at 11 kilometers an hour, it said.

The storm was already producing ``substantial amounts of rainfall,'' the UN's World Meteorological Organization said today in an e-mailed statement. ``With the monsoon season approaching, this type of weather will continue and periods of intensive rainfall will become more frequent,'' the agency said. [Bloomberg]

The British aid group Oxfam said the death toll could hit 1.5 million if disease broke out and people did not get access to clean water.

A state of emergency has been introduced in the five worst-hit areas - the Irrawaddy delta, the cities of Yangon and Pegu, and the states of Karen and Mon. Most of the deaths have been in the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region. [RIA Novosti]

AustraliaPraised For New Refugee Policy

“Australia's new government won praise from the United Nations and human rights groups Wednesday for offering refugees permanent sanctuary rather than temporary visas,” reports [The Associated Press]

“In 1999, the former government began issuing refugees "temporary protection" visas, which were good for only three years, if they entered the country without authorization to apply for sanctuary. Those who applied from abroad could stay permanently if their applications were accepted.

But Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's government, which won elections last November, announced Tuesday night that all refugees can now apply for permanent residence, regardless of how they reach the country. U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Graeme Innes commended the government Wednesday for its decision.

…Immigration Minister Chris Evans said Tuesday that about 1,000 refugees who are on temporary visas will automatically qualify for permanent visas if they meet security and character requirements.”

In a related story,   [Australian Associated Press] writes “Australia's refugee intake will rise for the first time in two years, with an emphasis on accommodating Iraqis and Africans in need, Immigration Minister Chris Evans says.

There will be a one-off increase of 500 places in 2009 to help those pushed out of their homeland by the war in Iraq, and a permanent increase of 750 extra positions in 2009-10.   "We are committed to helping people in vulnerable situations from around the world, in particular Iraqi nationals and refugees in Africa who are unable to return to their homes," Senator Evans said in a statement.”

Also in this Edition; Briefly Noted…

Military helicopters dropped food and medicine to Chinese earthquake survivors who remained cut off Wednesday in remote mountain villages, while the official death toll rose to nearly 15,000. The scale of devastation became clearer as more rescuers walked into the hardest-hit areas of central Sichuan province, finding towns where 80% of the population fell victim to Monday's magnitude 7.9 quake. [The Wall Street Journal]

[US] Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said today he will list the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.The announcement…amounted to the government's first use of the Endangered Species Act to list a species as menaced because of a loss of habitat caused by global warming.[Agence France Presse]

The secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, has disclosed that all the recent World Bank (WB) funded projects in The Gambia are "successfully progressing," as planned. Mousa Gibril Bala Gaye said this is the first time that none of the WB projects in the country has an unsatisfactory rating, in contrast to those in late 1990s and early 2000s, when one third of the projects were rated satisfactory. [The Daily Observer]

Provincial authorities in Katanga province, the epicentre of Congo's copper and cobalt industry, asked mining companies to cut their energy consumption by 60 percent last month after thieves made off with 1,800 metres of electrical cables. [Thomson Reuters]

Royal Dutch Shell is close to agreeing a deal with Nigeria that would see the company provide loans to meet funding shortfalls that have cut production at one of its most important oil businesses. The plan is designed to inject cash into Shell's joint venture with the Nigerian government. The state's failure to pay its share of costs has stalled main projects. [The Financial Times]

Clearance of goods at the port of Mombasa and border points in the country is set to improve once the concept of ‘One Stop Border Post' integrated land and border management process is implemented. Commissioner for Customs at the Kenya Revenue Authority - KRA, Mrs Wambui Namu said the delays at the Kilindini harbour will be reduced from the current two weeks to a few hours, once the process is in place. [Kenya Broadcasting Corporation]

Russia wants further reform of the International Monetary Fund but currently sees no alternative to the fund, Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin told Reuters in an interview.  IMF members overwhelmingly approved a new voting system last month that increases the power within the global financial institution of large emerging economies such as China and India, although IMF critics have said the new system falls far short of what is needed. Russia abstained from the vote. [The Guardian]

Azerbaijan's leading commercial bank Azerigasbank has sold a 10 percent stake to Britain's Kazimir Investment Caspian Fund for $8.4 million, a spokesman for Azerigasbank said on Wednesday. "We've got a second foreign shareholder, after International Financial Corporation (IFC). The deal with Kazimir Investment Caspian Fund was $8.4 million," Alekper Aliyev told journalists. IFC, part of the World Bank, became a shareholder of Azerigasbank in 2006 after acquiring a 17.5 percent stake. Thomson Reuters]

The World Bank announced today that it was granting three loans to Jamaica totaling USD 65 million to support social, health and educational projects. A press release from the financial organization indicated that a USD 15 million loan would finance a development project for children during their first years of schooling.Another USD 40 million loan would contribute towards strengthening the security and social assistance system in that Caribbean country. [EFE]

“We want to increase our presence in Paraguay”, said the World Bank’s regional director, Pedro Alba, who met today with the President-elect, Fernando Lugo. He added that they are willing to support any project that the new government undertakes. [ABC Color (Paraguay)]

Grameen Healthcare Trust and the Saudi German Hospital Group of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday signed a cooperation agreement for the establishment of a trust to build social business hospitals in Bangladesh, which will bring health services to the poor and disadvantaged people of Bangladesh. Dr Ahmed Mohamed Ali, President of Islamic Development Bank was the chief guest at the signing ceremony. [The New Nation]

Leaders of a dozen Commonwealth countries will meet in London next month to discuss reform of international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, the organisation said on Wednesday. [Thomson Reuters]

Korea has been named to the executive committee of the World Bank's agricultural advisory group for a two-year term. The Rural Development Administration represents the country in the World Bank Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. Its 20-member executive committee wrapped up a two-day meeting in Ottawa, Canada, on Wednesday. Korea takes the seat representing the four Asia-Pacific members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - Australia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. It replaces Australia on the executive panel. [The Korea Herald]

Yemen and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed on Wednesday three project documents. One of these projects will be implemented at the national level, while the other two will be implemented at the regional level. According to UNDP's press release, the three project documents were signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhani and UNDP Yemen Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran…[Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies]