26 June: GEF: Benin Energy Efficiency Project: T
he World Bank’s Board of Directors approved a programme to reduce greenhouse gases and promote clean energy use in Benin. The programme, supported by a US$1.82 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant (about CFAF 900 million), seeks to improve energy services in urban areas for customers that already have access to electricity in Benin. [More information]
26 June: UNIDO-Brazil: Energy Cooperation for Africa: Cooperation in the area of energy, particularly bio-energy, was the focus of discussions between the UN Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) Director-General, Kandeh K. Yumkella, and Ambassador André Amado, Under-Secretary General for Energy and High Technology, Brazilian Foreign Ministry. The Director-General and Ambassador Amado agreed to explore the possibility of expanding cooperation through UNIDO in Africa, including issues relating to technology transfer, bio-energy and agribusiness would also be explored, targeting priority commodities such as sugar, palm oil, cassava and jatropha.
[More information]
29 June: CAADP: African Ministers renew their commitments to CAADP: “The outcome of the CAADP Day will feed into the agenda of the Heads of State at the 13th Session of the Assembly in a couple of days as they address themselves to the theme of the summit, which is ‘Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security”, said Erastus Mwencha the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission. In attendance at the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Day proceedings which were held at the Corinthia Bab Hotel in Tripoli, Libya where more than 200 participants including African Ministers of agriculture, regional economic communities, civil society organizations development partners and farmers.
[More information]
29 June: CAADP: African Union Promotes Agricultural Development in Africa: At the margin of the 13th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly scheduled for Sirte, Libya, under the theme: “Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security”, the African Union Commission and its program, NEPAD, celebrated on Saturday 27 June 2009, the day of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), in Tripoli, Libya. Initiated by the African Union, the Programme was put in place during the Maputo Summit in 2003, with the view of redefining the future of African agriculture by accelerating economic growth, minimizing poverty, and enhancing food security.
[More information]
29 June: ECA: African Innovation Framework Workshop: A two-day consultative workshop on developing an African Innovation Framework was held in Addis Ababa, to chart the way towards developing a concrete and “implementable” framework to guide Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) development in the continent. The second objective of the workshop is to focus on the opportunities and challenges for the development of African innovation strategy to complement national, sub-regional and sectoral ICT, Science and Technology policies and strategies.
[More information]
29 June: IRENA: The second session of the Preparatory Commission of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) took place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 29-30 June 2009, during which the Preparatory Commission designated Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, as the interim headquarters, and decided that Bonn, Germany, will host IRENA’s center of technology and innovation, while the Agency’s liaison office for cooperation with other organizations active in the field of renewables would be located in Vienna, Austria.
[Press release]
30 June: UNCTAD: Food Security: A panel on “African Food Security: Lessons from the Recent Global Food Crisis” was held on 30 June 2009, in Geneva, Switzerland, during the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) Trade and Development Board Executive Session on Africa. The meeting ended with a call for a massive, well-funded programme to support small farmers who produce the majority of Africa’s food, and stressed that climate change adds to Africa’s food crisis by bringing droughts and floods.
[UNCTAD press release] [Panel website]
1 July: African Development Bank (AfDB): Investment in the Global Trade Liquidity Programme: The Board of Directors of the AfDB Group approved a US$500 million investment in the Global Trade Liquidity Program as the second phase of its Trade Finance Initiative. The first phase approved in March 2009 was a US$500 million in lines of credit to support trade finance by African banks, bringing the combined ceiling for both phase 1 and 2 to US$1billion.
[Press release]
1 July: AfDB/RWSSI: Rwanda: Rwanda will receive US$ 24.76 million in the form of grants to finance the second phase of the country’s second 2009-2012 Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Sub-Programme (PNEAR). The funding from the AfDB and the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI) Trust Fund was approved by the ADF Executive Board on Wednesday in Tunis.
[Press release]
1 July: ECA: Knowledge For Development: Speaking at the opening of the First International Conference on African Digital Libraries and Archives, which took place at ECA head office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 1-3 July the Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Lalla Ben Barka, called for the promotion of knowledge as an essential element in the development process. The Conference was held to explore ways of capturing and disseminating knowledge in the service of development, from the grassroots level to senior policy makers.
[More information]
1st July: AU Summit: African Union Heads of States gathered met from 1-3 July in Sirte, Libya, within the framework of the 13th Ordinary Session of the Summit of the African Union (AU). Meeting under the theme: “Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security”, speakers focused on agriculture and food security, climate change, and peace and security in Africa.
[AU Summit]
1 July 2009: UN: AU Summit: In a speech to the 13th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), taking place in Sirte, Libya, from 1-3 July 2009, Asha-Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General, underlined that tackling climate change must be a top priority for Africa. She explained that unaddressed, climate change would hinder efforts to support agriculture and eradicate hunger as it “strikes at the heart of Africa’s key development concerns: clean energy, better water, reduced disease incidence and increased food security.” She stressed the need to seal a deal this December in Copenhagen on a new climate change agreement that would help African countries adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. She called on industrialized countries to commit to substantial emissions cuts to provide additional, adequate and predictable financing to developing countries for mitigation and adaptation. Noting that the majority of those who suffer the most from climate change are in Africa and have contributed the least to the phenomenon, she underscored the need to address equity issues in the future climate change agreement. In conclusion, highlighting that climate change, rapid urban growth, unemployment and food insecurity can lead to open conflict, she urged a new multilateralism that delivers results for all.
[UN press release] [AU Summit]
