| Important African Policy Developments Global Issues for Global Citizens - An Introduction to Key Development Challenge. Written by 27 World Bank experts, this book draws on the Bank's global capabilities and experience to promote an understanding of key global issues that cannot be solved by any one nation alone in an increasingly interconnected world. It describes the forces that are shaping public and private action to address these issues and highlights the Bank's own work in these areas. Covering four broad themes --global economy, global human development, global environment, and global governance -- this volume provides an introduction to today's most pressing global issues. What If Developing Countries Could Finance Poverty Eradication from Their Own Public Resources. In this contribution to the 2006 Social Watch Report, Jens Martens of Global Policy Forum calls for a "paradigm shift in the international discourse on development financing." Martens draws up concrete policy recommendations to enable poor countries to mobilize "enough domestic resources to guarantee universal access to reasonable quality essential public goods and services." A Policymakers’ Guide to Dutch Disease tackles the issue of Dutch Disease - that is, the theory that aid flows will lead to an appreciation of the real exchange rate which can slow the growth of a country's exports- and that aid increases might thereby harm a country's long-term growth prospects. Despite the general focus on Africa's failings, the region also has many success stories, argues this Afrol News article. Cape Verde, Botswana and Seychelles amongst others have achieved a level of development moving them out of the category of Least Developed Countries. These countries now feel "penalised for progress," as donors disengage while investors are still not convinced, bringing "new hardships" to governments trying to move their nations from a middle-income level "to a wealthy state of general welfare." A World Bank report says governments in developing countries should invest more in their young people, or else run the risk of dealing with social tensions and dropping behind in the global economy. The World Development Report 2007 - Development and the next Generation points out that there are now more than 1.3 billion young people in the developing world -- the largest number ever in history. The report says the sheer number of young people can stretch the capacity of governments to deliver services and jobs, "which poses risks for their countries and the world at large. The 2006 Least Developed Countries Report found that although the world's poorest countries have enjoyed the highest growth rates in two decades, human well-being in these mainly African countries has not improved. This Foreign Policy In Focus piece argues that the lack of rural communities' participation in governing their natural resources largely accounts for that imbalance. A high-level delegation from around 24 African countries completed a two-day visit to Malaysia to participate in a Knowledge Economy Seminar in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. This was jointly organized by the Malaysian government and the World Bank to facilitate the exchange of development experiences. Participants included finance ministers and other high-level government officials from Sub-Saharan African countries as well as observers from four Asian countries. The initiative aims to share Malaysia’s experience of successful sustained high growth and rapid poverty-reduction and in moving from a low-income country to an upper middle income country in forty years. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Report for 2006 urges countries of the South to implement more autonomous policies, and to strengthen further the global partnership for development to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In proposing discussion of proactive industrial policies and government support for some economic sectors, "we are not recommending any anti-trade stands," said UNCTAD officials. Defining the Right to Food in an Era of Globalization. Expressing grave concern with the continuing increase in global hunger and the current food crisis in Africa, this report insists the time has come to view hunger and famine "as a violation of the human right to food." While national governments have the primary obligation to fulfill their citizens' right to food, in an era where domestic actions affect people in other countries, governments must assume obligations beyond their own borders. Being more powerful than individual states, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, as well as large transnational corporations must also take on due responsibility to fulfill this human right. A new working paper A Primer on Foreign Aid explores trends in aid, the motivations for aid, its impacts, and debates about reforming aid. It begins by examining aid magnitudes and who gives and receives aid. It discusses the multiple motivations and objectives of aid, some of which conflict with each other. The Millennium Development Goals report 2006 considers progress made by the international community towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's). The authors assert that there are significant challenges ahead if the MDG's are to be met by 2015, however they note that certain goals are within reach. Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Rodrigo de Rato has drafted a proposal to increase China, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey's voting shares at the Fund, while delaying steps to increase the influence of the world's poorest countries. With no guarantee that the IMF will implement the proposal's second phase of giving "greater voice to poor countries," African countries fear the reform will weaken their position. British Chancellor of the Treasury, Gordon Brown "";has publicly backed calls for a greater voice for African countries at the Fund", and with a special appeal to Britain, African IMF representatives strongly call on other countries to block Rato's proposal. Sustainable Land Management provides strategic focus to the implementation of sustainable land management components of the World Bank's development strategies. Sustainable Land Management is a knowledge-based procedure that integrates land, water, biodiversity, and environmental management to meet rising food and fiber demands while sustaining livelihoods and the environment. Sustainable Land Management -- Challenges, Opportunities, and Trade-offs, aimed at policy makers, project managers, and development organisations, articulates priorities for investment in land and natural resource management and identifies the policy, institutional, and incentive reform options that will accelerate the adoption of productivity improvements and pro-poor growth. Informal cross border food trade in Southern Africa highlights the issue of trade barriers in Southern Africa and its impact on informal cross boarder trade in the region. The report shows that while there may be surpluses in neighbouring countries, food deficit countries such as Zimbabwe continue to experience high grain prices due to import/export restrictions. The South African Institute of International Affairs has published four new trade policy reports: Services Trade in Southern Africa - A Literature Survey and Overview; Developing a Comprehensive IBSA Strategy - On WTO Agriculture Negotiations; South-South Economic Cooperation - The India-Brazil-South Africa Case and The Aerospace Industry - Prospects for Strategic Cooperation among the IBSA Countries (Mills Soko) For African cotton farmers, more crops equal less pay. Despite cultivating more land than in previous years, cotton farmers in Burkina Faso earn less as raw cotton prices dropped more than 20 percent from 2004 to 2006. Cheap cotton from the US drives prices down. While Burkinabes cannot replace cotton for any other crop, the US government keeps the US cotton industry alive by giving US$1 billion in subsidies to only 25,000 farmers. With WTO negotiations collapsed and congressional and presidential elections looming in 2008, US legislators may not agree on any subsidy cuts at the 2007 Farm Bill revision. The ninth issue of the African Terrorism Bulletin, a quarterly newsletter produced by the Organised Crime and Money Laundering Programme of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), analyses terrorism and counter-terrorism strategies in Africa. Funding and visiting AIDS orphans projects in Malawi, pop icon Madonna joins the growing list of celebrities putting resources into Africa. Christian Science Monitor reports that most aid agencies welcome the arrival of celebrities in the world of humanitarian aid, appreciating the press attention that "these A-listers" can draw to development in Africa. Other analysts, however, fear that too many donors preoccupy themselves with projects that make them "look good," rather than promote long term development. | 
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