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OCTOBER 2018 OCTOBER 2018 AFRICA A bright future? AFRICA A bright future?

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AFRICAA bright future?AFRICAA bright future?AFRICAA bright future?

OFID Quarterly is published four times a year by the

OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

OFID is the development finance agency established in January 1976

by the Member States of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum

Exporting Countries) to promote South-South cooperation by extending development assistance to non-OPEC

developing countries.

OFID Quarterly is available free-of-charge. If you wish to be

included on the distribution list, plea-se send your full mailing details

to the address below. Back issues of the magazine can be found on our

website in PDF format.

OFID Quarterly welcomes articles and photos on development-related

topics, but cannot guarantee publication. Manuscripts, together

with a brief biographical note on the author, may be submitted

to the Editor for consideration.

The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the

official views of OFID or its Member Countries. Any maps are for

illustration purposes only and are not to be taken as accurate

representations of borders. Editorial material may be freely reproduced,

providing the OFID Quarterly is credited as the source. A copy to the

Editor would be appreciated.

4

COMMENT

Africa: Development, diversity and a daunting amount to do 2

SPECIAL FEATURE:

Africa: Roaring toward sustainable development or ambling into trouble? 4

Africa, AIDS and a gathering of experts in Amsterdam 22nd International AIDS Conference 14

Africa and health: Leaders are accountable, says WHO Director-General 19

Africa, energy and the view from space 21

OFID IN THE FIELD

Moving millions of metric tons Africa and international trade 24

Good health is thirsty work Water kiosks provide affordable drinking water in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal 27

Sparking educational reform in Uganda 29

NEWSROUND

A time to say goodbye OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish retires 30

Nigeria: Scenes of peace Art and the importance of peace and stability 35

PUBLISHERSTHE OPEC FUND FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OFID)Parkring 8, P.O. Box 995, A-1010 Vienna, AustriaTel: (+43-1) 51564-0; Fax: (+43-1) 51392-38www.ofid.org

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Fernando J Garay

EDITOR Steve Hughes

DEPUTY EDITOR Anna Ilaria-Mayrhofer

CONTRIBUTORS Fatma Elzahra Elshhati, Nadine Fattah, Gabriel Hurtado González, Eunice Kamwendo, Silvia Mateyka, Dr Walid Mehalaine, Sasaenia Paul Oluwabunmi, Belkacem Ouzrourou, Manya Tandan, Justine Würtz, Dr Albert G Zeufack

PHOTOGRAPHS Abdullah Alipour Jeddi, Carlos Opitz (unless otherwise credited)

PRODUCTION Susanne Dillinger

DESIGN etage.cc

PRINTED IN AUSTRIA Druckerei Odysseus

This publication is printed on paper produced

from responsibly managed forests.

19 35

58

CONTENTS OCTOBER 2018

Education and cultural preservation in Egypt 40

Boost for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s major motorway project 41

OFID sponsors 10 remarkable young students of development 42

Regional Education Finance Fund for Africa 44

Boost for international trade in East and Southern Africa 45

Keeping heads above water in the wettest capital on earth Improving living conditions for slum dwellers on Peace Island 46

Lombok earthquake response 47

Arab Coordination Group gathers for 82nd meeting in Vienna 48

Boost for Black Sea region 49

Youth + sustainable development = big potential OFID and AIESEC’s One-Day Challenge 50

OFID Diary 51 Meetings attended by OFID 53 164th Governing Board photo gallery 54

Loan signature photo gallery 56

SPOTLIGHT

Anne-Marie Leroy on the ‘extraordinary institution’ that is the World Bank 58

PERSPECTIVES

We call it a camp, but it’s really a city Kakuma Camp: Redefining the refugee experience in Africa 60

MEMBER STATES FOCUS

Art and expression in Libya 62

OPEC

OPEC launches World Oil Outlook 2018 64

FRONT COVER PHOTO: FREEDOM RHYTHM BY BEN IBEBE

2 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | COMMENT

The 55 countries of the African continent sometimes seem so different from one another it’s possible to imagine they were grouped together at random. From

the fastest growing economy of Ethiopia in the east (averaging a rate of 10.3 percent a year from 2005/06 to 2015/16) to the multi-ethnic and cultur-ally diverse federation of 36 autonomous states that constitutes Nigeria in the west; from the con-flict-beset Sudan in the north, to Botswana, one of the world’s shining development success stories, in the south – and everything in between; Africa is rich in diversity.

It’s impossible to prescribe a one-size-fits-all development approach for such a huge and multi-faceted continent – one that’s three times the size of the US and home to more than one billion people. It’s also a real challenge to gauge Africa’s progress toward sustainable development, espe-cially given the gaps in data (one report suggests that approximately six out of every ten SDG indi-cators cannot be tracked in Africa due to severe data limitations, see page 11). Despite all this, it is possible to identify a number of development- related challenges (and opportunities) that are common to many African countries.

Ask any expert on African development (we have asked quite a few – see our special feature on

pages 5 to 13) and over and again you’ll hear the words ‘infrastructure’, ‘trade’, ‘integration’ and ‘population’. Africa today still “faces widespread poverty; unemployment; a growing population; rapid urbanization; significant infrastructure deficits and sluggish economic growth from just a few undiversified sectors,” says one expert inter-viewed on page 6. “We strongly believe that deep-ening physical and digital regional integration is key to Africa’s economic transformation. Deeper regional integration can improve market efficien-cy, minimize the costs of large infrastructure proj-ects and optimize the use of shared natural resources in Africa,” says another.

Despite the challenges, there are already some heartening examples of innovative and sus-tainable practices on the continent, perhaps more usually associated with a certain technically adroit American valley. Take the global leadership shown by Kenya in mobile banking, for instance, the use of drones to deliver medical products in Rwanda, or the start-up Hello Tractor that provides an ‘Uber-like’ solution to tractor shortages in Nigeria. Read more on page 8.

Then there is the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) that close to 50 African Union member states signed earlier this year. The main objectives of the AfCFTA are to create a

Africa: Development, diversity and a daunting amount to do

COMMENT | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 3

single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business people and invest-ments, and to pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs Union. How will this pan out? Read more on page 12.

As far as Africa’s journey toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Agen-da 2063 (in 2015, African leaders adopted Agenda 2063 as the continent’s new long-term vision for the next 50 years) goes, things become less clear. While some recent reports find positive progress – “strong domestic demand, progress in the pur-suit of macroeconomic policies and efforts to diversify national economies have been ‘major drivers’ of Africa’s recent growth”, the aforemen-tioned deficiencies in data make it difficult to get a good view of exactly where we’re at. What does appear painfully clear, however, is that there is a daunting amount of work still to be done.

OFID is committed to supporting this journey toward sustainable development, no matter how challenging it proves to be. In 2017, the organiza-tion approved US$695.6 million for development operations in Africa – representing 46 percent of OFID’s financing commitments for the year. The operations supported by these funds included solar, wind and clean cooking energy initiatives, irrigation, drainage and livestock initiatives,

transportation projects, and water and sanitation operations. A total of 32 African countries shared the funding.

More of OFID’s work in support of African countries can be read about on pages 24 to 29, including two recent commitments: US$40 million for a revolving trade financing facility for Export Trading Group (ETG) – one of Africa’s largest agri-cultural conglomerates – and a US$60 million loan agreement with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) in support of international trade. We’ve also included a report about an OFID grant of US$800,000 to improve access to safe drinking water in the Senegal River Basin and loans to support gender neutral educa-tion in Uganda.

OFID also recognizes the importance of cul-ture in sustainable development – viewing it as the fourth pillar of development, in addition to the three widely-recognized economic, social and environmental pillars. In September, OFID hosted an exhibition of Nigerian art to showcase the work of four talented artists. A work called Freedom Rhythm by one of the exhibiting artists – Ben Ibebe – adorns the cover of this magazine. Read more about the exhibition on page 35. N

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Africa: Roaring toward sustainable development or ambling into trouble?

A growing population, rapid urbanization and significant gaps in infrastructure are just three of the many challenges that require targeted development policies now if Africa is to roar toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and beyond. BY STEVE HUGHES

6 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | SPECIAL FEATURE

Dr Albert G Zeufack, World BankAt the World Bank, we strongly believe that deepening physical and digital regional integration is key to Africa’s economic transformation. Deeper regional integration can improve market efficiency, minimize the costs of large infrastructure projects and optimize the use of shared natural resources in Africa. As an example, inte-grated power trade in West Africa could lead to cost savings of US$5-8 billion per year.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (see page 12), which opens doors to a potential single market of 1.2 billion people worth a combined GDP of US$2.2 tril-lion, is also a great step forward. But much work remains to be done to address the challenge of market segmenta-tion and ‘thick’ borders that plague Africa. We need to go beyond reducing tariffs to eliminating non-tariff barriers and allowing free circulation of people to make this dream a reality. Most importantly, we need to foster Afri-ca’s digital integration. Digital dividends are potentially huge for Africa. But we’ll only be able to reap these returns if we have the appropriate digital infrastructure and a conducive policy environment. Since 2005, the World Bank is one of the major players fostering regional integration in Africa, and we intend to continue this effort, in partnership with countries, sub-regional insti-tutions and the African Union.

On the main challenges and / or opportu-nities related to development in Africa… Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP Africa’s socio-economic challenges are deeply structural. Significant transformation of Africa’s economic base and its structures is required in order to drive positive results in socio-economic indicators. As a whole, Africa today faces widespread poverty; unemployment; a growing population; rapid urbanization; significant infrastruc-ture deficits; and sluggish economic growth from just a few undiversified sectors. Although growth prospects are picking up from the 2016 global slump (from 2.2 percent to 4.1 percent in 2018), this is far from sufficient and well short of the SDGs’ growth target (7 percent). The continent needs to make the right investments in produc-tive capacities to make an impact on its socio-economic development pathway. Africa’s growing population, its youth ‘bulge’ and plentiful natural resources can benefit and power the continent’s development once constraints to growth are removed.

Belkacem Ouzrourou, OFID Without question, one of the main challenges is the continent’s infrastructure gap. Good and well main-tained infrastructure, especially transport, energy,

On considering Africa as a ‘region’…

Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP I will begin from a positive note: considering Africa as a region helps in visualizing African challenges from a common platform; and it enhances unity of purpose and the development of common solutions to continental / regional / sub-regional challenges. That approach en-hances development cooperation, the pooling of funds and expertise, and helps reduce costs for large projects. On the other hand, given the diversity of African countries in terms of peace, levels of growth and human development, taking Africa as a whole masks differences, makes it difficult to target development policy / assistance and can promote a sense of complacency among countries. There are many big differences between countries and sub-regions that make for important policy distinctions. For example, North Africa is distinctly different from sub-Saharan Africa in terms of levels of development, governance and culture; and sub-regions and individual countries within sub-Saharan Africa are different from each other.

Belkacem Ouzrourou, OFID For a continent of one billion people, three times the size of the US, it’s quite problematic to call it by one single name – Africa. In reality, Africa is a grouping of 55 countries (16 of them are landlocked) ranging in diversity from the region’s largest economies of Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa, to many more fragile countries where drought, conflict and worsening security conditions weigh heavily on economic activity. But we must keep in mind that, just as the United Nations notes, the assignment of countries or areas to specific groupings – like ‘Africa’ or ‘North Africa’ – is primarily for statistical convenience only. Each African region and country must be considered sepa-rately if we’re to arrive at a more complete picture in terms of policy options and prospects for socio-economic devel-opment and growth.

The OFID Quarterly asked the three pictured Africa development experts to ruminate on the continent’s current and future potential and select shining stars from among Africa’s 55 constituent countries.

“Africa’s socio-

economic challenges are deeply

structural.”Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP Africa SDG

Policy Advisor

SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 7

and water and sanitation, is critical for the attainment of the SDGs. Indeed, sub-standard roads, ports and airports add to the cost of producing and exporting, and provide obstacles to regional and global trade. About 600 million Africans lack access to electricity and more than 80 percent of them rely on biomass as their main source of energy. Also, access to water and sanitation is a major issue, particularly in rural areas. It is estimated that closing the infrastructure gap in Africa would need about US$90 to US$110 billion annu-ally. This inhibits economic growth and means that development is more difficult. But where there is a challenge, there is also an opportunity. Infrastructure projects are attracting development institutions such as ourselves as well as other private partners (as an example, during the last three years, OFID alone has approved about US$745 million for the development of infrastructure in Africa). This is necessary because governments alone can’t shoulder the responsibility for such a huge gap in funding. They have other focus areas too, such as carefully managing external debt to keep it at sustainable levels.

Dr Albert G Zeufack, World BankThe good news is that growth is rebounding in sub- Saharan Africa. The region’s GDP growth is projected to reach between 3.1 and 3.5 percent in 2018, and to average 3.6 percent in 2019–20. While this growth rate is still far from the average of the past two decades, it’s a clear relief from 2016 when sub-Saharan Africa only grew at 1.3 percent. African governments, especially those in oil rich countries where growth is still sluggish, must speed up and deepen macroeconomic and structural reforms. Oil-producing countries will also need to pay particular attention to the challenging task of diversifying their economies to reduce growth volatility. In addition, recent major political changes in key countries like Ethiopia, Angola or South Africa, are an opportunity to revive reforms and boost investors’ confidence and growth. However, some challenges remain. First, African coun-tries need to pay attention to the rising public debt rela-tive to GDP. This is very important as the composition of debt has changed, with countries shifting away from traditional concessional sources of financing and toward more market-based ones. In March 2018, 18 countries were classified at high-risk of debt distress compared with eight in 2013. A second challenge is that African countries must equip the 11 million youth who will enter the job market every year for the next decade with the right skills and training. Investing in human capital will be a key factor of success. Harnessing the potential of new technologies and fully embracing innovation perhaps represents the biggest opportunity of all for Africa. E

“It is estimated

that closing the infra-

structure gap in Africa

would need about US$90

to US$110 billion

annually.”Belkacem Ouzrourou,

OFID Director, Africa Region

Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP Africa SDG Policy Advisor

Belkacem Ouzrourou, OFID Director, Africa Region

Dr Albert G Zeufack, the World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa

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8 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | SPECIAL FEATURE

F On Africa’s progress toward the UN SDGs and Africa’s own Agenda 2063… (see page 13)

Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP There are reasons to be optimistic for the future if the right investments are made within and across countries geared toward the achievement of the SDGs and Agenda 2063. Investments in developing Africa’s infrastructure and industrializing its agriculture sector will create suf-ficient jobs for the majority of Africans and could reduce widespread poverty on the continent (41 percent in 2016). Progress is being seen in other indicators such as overall human development in education, health and gender; and in governance. Challenges remain with regard to food security, access to energy, infrastructure development, reducing inequalities, maintaining sustainable cities and conservation of the environment.

Belkacem Ouzrourou, OFID The SDGs comprise ambitious targets – as does Africa’s own development agenda. On the up side, Africa has enor-mous assets for addressing its sustainable development requirements. These include a young and enterprising population, natural resources, fast-growing and dynamic economies and rapid urbanization. But it must capitalize on these assets. Launching Africa’s Development Dynamics 2018 report, Victor Harison, Commissioner of Economic Affairs of the African Union Commission, was quoted as saying: “…far too often, public policies have failed to lever-age these assets effectively. The implementation of the reform program as set out in Agenda 2063 requires an increase in government capacities, greater responsibility, transparency, coordination and the promotion of institu-tional action.” The report proposed there was still signif-icant work to do on sustainable economic development, social development (including to expand and improve education) and on strengthening institutions (including broad ranging strategic aims, like improving Africa’s partnerships with the rest of the world).

On ‘shining stars’ in Africa…

Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP Overall, North Africa’s performance is better (looking at aggregate development indicators) when compared with sub-Saharan Africa, although there are instances, depending on the indicator one is looking at, that other sub-regions within Africa are also doing well. For example, although economic growth was subdued in all regions in 2015, West Africa outperformed all the other sub-regions (including North Africa) in Africa. This achievement was buoyed by strong performances in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Senegal and Togo; and this in spite of downturns in Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Strong growth rates in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozam-bique, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania also shored up East Africa’s growth prospects to an average of 6.76 percent in the same year. On the other hand, while the GDP growth rate for North Africa was very low as a region at -2.8 percent in 2014, robust growth in Algeria, Egypt and Morocco pushed the regional average up to 3.4 percent in 2015. Similar examples exist in other indicators (like education, health and inequalities, among others) showing the different progress within sub-regions and across countries.

Belkacem Ouzrourou, OFID There are many shining stars. Rwanda has been able to make important economic and structural reforms, and sustain its economic growth rates over the last decade. These growth rates have been accompanied by substan-tial improvements in living standards. Ethiopia’s economy experienced strong, broad-based growth averaging 10.3 percent a year from 2005/06 to 2015/16, compared to a regional average of 5.4 percent*. Again, economic growth brought positive trends in poverty reduction in both urban and rural areas. In 2000, 55.3 percent of Ethiopians lived in extreme poverty; by 2011 this figure was 33.5 percent*. There are many more success stories, such as Botswana, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Côte D’Ivoire, which has followed a National Development Plan designed to transform the country into a middle-income economy by 2020 and further reduce the poverty rate. These coun-tries need to sustain the focus and momentum and inspire those around them. *Figures from the World Bank

Dr Albert G Zeufack, World BankAmong several possible examples, I would mention the global leadership taken by Kenya in mobile banking, the great innovation in the use of drones to deliver medical products in Rwanda, or the start-up Hello Tractor that pro-vides an ‘Uber-like’ solution to tractor shortages in Nigeria. These examples need to be scaled-up across Africa to boost productivity across and within sectors,

Bill Gates on AfricaAs this magazine was going to press, the UK’s The Guardian news-paper carried an article entitled ‘What worries Bill Gates most?’ The answer? The booming population of Africa, which “looms over his foundation’s latest global survey”. By the end of this century, the newspaper reported, there will be four billion more people on Earth – and three billion of these extra people will be born in Africa. The challenge, according to Bill Gates, is that “Africa must almost quadruple its agricultural productivity to feed itself. That’s very daunting.”

“Among several possible exam-

ples, I would mention the

global leader-ship taken by

Kenya in mobile banking, the great innova-

tion in the use of drones to

deliver medical products in

Rwanda, or the start-up Hello

Tractor that provides an

‘Uber-like’ solu-tion to tractor shortages in

Nigeria.”Dr Albert G Zeufack, the World Bank’s Chief

Economist for Africa

SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 9

and accelerate growth. In terms of country examples, Ethiopia’s growth remains high, as government-led infra-structure investment continues. The strides toward export diversification in Ethiopia are also worth noting. Appropriate macroeconomic and structural policies must continue to be implemented to sustain this effort. Rwanda has also invested significantly in infrastructure and implementing policies to transform the country into a knowledge-based, service economy. Finally, solid growth, supported by infrastructure investment, continues in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), led by Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

On how the international community can support Africa…

Eunice Kamwendo, UNDP Africa’s development vision is well articulated through Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and Agenda 2063. The international community’s support needs to align to such analysis and visions to realize the much-needed transformative shifts within Africa. To this end, critical support would have to be channeled toward the following: financing, investments, technology transfer and partnerships to support infrastructure development and industrialization; domestic resource mobilization efforts through policy advice and other special support measures (including international trade) to crowd in domestic resources and expand African countries’ fiscal spaces; overseas development aid, since a lot of countries still need such support (like catalytic financing); and tar-geted financing for resilience building to strengthen institutions and deal with climate change, health-related outbreaks and other shocks.

Belkacem Ouzrourou, OFID Support of the international community alone will not be sufficient. It is imperative that more domestic re- sources from both private and public sectors be mobilized. In 2017, my organization, OFID, approved more than US$913 million for development projects in Africa. A good proportion of this financing supported international trade and infrastructure – two essential ingredients for socio-economic development. OFID is also clear that rather than driving a mandate, it will act in response to the priorities of developing countries. This means the onus is on the leaders and governments of individual African countries to design their development plans and define investment priorities correctly. Capacity building is also important to ensure that development operations are successfully implemented and, once completed, they are properly managed in order to ensure their long-term sustainability. N

L Northern Africa AlgeriaEgyptLibyaMoroccoSudanTunisia

L Western Africa BeninBurkina FasoCabo VerdeCôte d’IvoireGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauLiberiaMaliMauritaniaNigerNigeriaSenegalSierra LeoneTogo

L Middle AfricaAngolaCameroonCentral African RepublicChadCongoDR CongoEquatorial GuineaGabonSao Tome and Principe

L Eastern Africa BurundiComorosDjiboutiEritreaEthiopiaKenyaMadagascarMalawiMauritiusMozambiqueRéunionRwanda

SeychellesSomaliaSouth SudanUgandaTanzaniaZambiaZimbabwe

L Southern AfricaBotswanaEswatiniLesothoNamibiaSouth Africa

Sub-Saharan AfricaThe designation sub- Saharan Africa is com-monly used to indicate all of Africa except northern Africa, with the Sudan included in sub-Saharan Africa.

The following is an alpha-betical list of sub-regions used by the United Nations Statistics Division in its publications and databases – source unstats.un.org

Africa: A continent of many countries

Please note: this map is for illustration only and is not to be taken as an accurate representation of borders.

MAP SOURCE: PETER HERMES FURIAN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Since 2000, Africa's GDP has tripled

Poverty

Growth

Africa’s integration into the global economy

Africa tripled its trade with China, India and other

emerging partners

In 2016, Africa’s trade with emerging partners

accounted for:

Extreme poverty levels

Extreme poor

20162000

USD 276billion

USD 806billion

Africa has diversi­ed its trade partnerships

Africa's Gini coef­cient average

Inequality

Policy options for better growth

Deepening regional integration could boost Africa’s GDP by 1%,

total employment by 1.2% and intra-African trade by 33%

Helping African producers tap fast-growing

domestic markets

Unlocking private ­nance for productive investment

Trade

Employment

+7.2%+2.8%

+4.6%

Developing Asia Africa

peryear

Latin America and the Caribbean

51%

of its exports

of its imports

46%

Demand for food products

alone is expected to triple by 2030

Domestic savings

External �nancial in�ows

USD 422

billion

USD 185

billion

20131990

45%

35%

20131990

280million

395 million

Extreme poverty levels decreased, but more people are living on USD 1.90 a day or less

TotalOther

Asia Africa

41 points

35 points

Inequality

66%Vulnerable

Agenda 2063's target for vulnerable employmentof by 2023 is still far away41%

SOURCE: AUC/OECD 2018

Since 2000, Africa's GDP has tripled

Poverty

Growth

Africa’s integration into the global economy

Africa tripled its trade with China, India and other

emerging partners

In 2016, Africa’s trade with emerging partners

accounted for:

Extreme poverty levels

Extreme poor

20162000

USD 276billion

USD 806billion

Africa has diversi­ed its trade partnerships

Africa's Gini coef­cient average

Inequality

Policy options for better growth

Deepening regional integration could boost Africa’s GDP by 1%,

total employment by 1.2% and intra-African trade by 33%

Helping African producers tap fast-growing

domestic markets

Unlocking private ­nance for productive investment

Trade

Employment

+7.2%+2.8%

+4.6%

Developing Asia Africa

peryear

Latin America and the Caribbean

51%

of its exports

of its imports

46%

Demand for food products

alone is expected to triple by 2030

Domestic savings

External �nancial in�ows

USD 422

billion

USD 185

billion

20131990

45%

35%

20131990

280million

395 million

Extreme poverty levels decreased, but more people are living on USD 1.90 a day or less

TotalOther

Asia Africa

41 points

35 points

Inequality

66%Vulnerable

Agenda 2063's target for vulnerable employmentof by 2023 is still far away41%

SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 11

T his summer, the African Union Commission, working in part-

nership with the OECD Development Centre, produced its first annual economic report called Africa’s Development Dynamics 2018. The report’s high-level finding was that Africa needs more coherent devel-opment strategies that prioritize im-proved public action to address the growth, employment and inequali-

ties resulting from the continent’s “remarkable emergence”.

The report found that, among other things, strong domestic demand, progress in the pursuit of macroeco-nomic policies and efforts to diversify national economies have been “major drivers” of Africa’s recent growth, which is forecast to reach 4 percent annually between 2018 and 2020. On the down side, the report finds

that Africa’s growth has not created enough decent jobs, and around 282 million people are currently working in unstable employment.

The report intends to play a part in furthering the project to integrate and transform Africa as set out by the adoption of Agenda 2063 in January 2015 and of the Continental Free Trade Area in March 2018 (see page 12).

Africa’s development dynamics: A remarkable emergence

T he 2017 Africa Sustainable Development Report* considers

regional progress made toward Agenda 2063 and the SDGs since their adoption in 2013 and 2015.

The findings of the report are broadly in line with Africa’s Development Dynamics 2018: despite the accelerated growth enjoyed over the past decade, progress toward poverty reduction in Africa has been slow. It notes the disproportionate prevalence of poverty among wom-en and youth and highlights the lack of inclusiveness and sustainability of primary commodity driven growth.

Africa’s infrastructure deficits are again highlighted, and accord-ing to this report, they “…undermine industrial development and under-line the stagnation in value addition in manufacturing”. Even though value addition in agriculture has been rising, the report states “…it remains substantially low by global standards due in part to limited investments and inefficiencies at

all levels of the agricultural produc-tion chain.”

Some of the key messages and findings of the report are summa-rized below.

For more information, please see www.africa.undp.org

1. Slow progress made in reducing poverty and inequality owing to limited decent employment opportunities and weak social insurance mechanisms.

2. Rising food insecurity and undernourishment are a growing concern in Africa (excluding North Africa).

3. Agricultural value added is rising, but remains low, due in part to limited irrigation coverage and declining investment in the sector.

4. Gender disparities in education and national parliaments are declining, but conservative norms and practices are holding back progress.

5. Measures aimed at improving access to contraceptives and skilled birth attendants have reduced adolescent births and child and maternal deaths.

6. Enforcing road safety regulations mediates the impact of alcohol consumption on deaths due to road traffic injuries.

7. Weak infrastructure and limited manufacturing value addition are undermining overall job growth.

8. Limited investment in research and development obstructs pros-pects for innovation and technolo-gy development.

9. Significant increases in the cover-age of mobile cellular services is an opportunity for social and financial inclusion.

It’s worth keeping in mind, how-ever, that the usefulness of the 2017 Africa Sustainable Development Report, like many other SDG-related studies, is marred by the availability of data. In its Foreword, the report’s publishers acknowledge that: “Approximately six out of every ten SDG indicators cannot be tracked in Africa due to severe data limita-tions. Strengthening statistical sys-tems in Africa is an imperative for successful implementation of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 as it under-pins evidence based policy making.”

Africa: Progress on the SDGs and Agenda 2063

Despite the accelerated

growth enjoyed over

the past decade, prog-ress toward

poverty reduction in

Africa has been slow.

* By the African Union, Economic Commission for Africa, African Development Bank and United Nations Development Programme

12 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | SPECIAL FEATURE

I n 2015, African leaders adopted Agenda 2063 as the continent’s

new long-term vision for the next 50 years. Led by African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Agenda 2063 aims to optimize the use of Africa’s resources for the benefit of the continent’s people. The NEPAD Agency, the implementing agency of the African Union, has been tasked with fast-tracking the implementa-tion and monitoring of major conti-nental development programs and frameworks, including Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). See www.nepad.org for more.

Close to 50 African Union Member States are reported to have signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in March 2018.

According to the African Union Commission website, the main objec-tives of the AfCFTA are to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of

business people and investments, and pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs Union. A press release issued by the Union included a prominent note to editors, which read: “The African Continental Free Trade Area Proto-col is a Means towards Building the Africa we want.”

Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair-person of the African Union Com-mission, announced recently that the establishment of the AfCFTA will result in a unified market of over 1.2 billion people with a combined gross product of over US$3 trillion. He added that it would also result in an increase in intra- African trade of 52 percent by 2022 and culminate in substantial im-provements of the lives of Africans.

In a recent interview with Africa Renewal*, Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secre-tary-General of UNCTAD (the main United Nations body dealing with trade, investment and development issues) spoke about what countries stand to gain from AfCFTA and what

challenges to expect. “For Africa, a clear determination to expand trade among ourselves is an important step,” he said. “…Africa trading among its component states strength-ens its ability to trade. The experi-ences gained from that will deliver a greater market share internationally. Africa needs to build the capacity and structural transformation neces-sary to be a competitive international player. The creation of a continent with a free trade area is therefore an important step towards building, collectively, the competitiveness of African labor and African products internally and internationally.”

* The Africa Renewal information pro-

gram, produced by the Africa Section

of the United Nations Department of

Public Information, provides informa-

tion and analysis of the major economic

and development challenges facing

Africa today. Among the major items

it produces is the magazine, Africa

Renewal (formerly Africa Recovery),

which first appeared in 1987.

Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area and ‘the Africa we want’

The African

Continental Free Trade

Area Protocol

is a means towards

building the ‘Africa we

want’

Agenda 2063 is Africa’s long-term vision for the next decades.

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AGENDA 2030

GOALAGENDA 2063 GOALS

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all5. Modern agriculture for increased productivity and production7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities17. Full gender equality in all spheres of life

3. Healthy and well-nourished citizens7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities17. Full gender equality in all spheres of life

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities

3. Healthy and well-nourished citizens5. Modern agriculture for increased productivity and production10. World class infrastructure crisscrosses Africa17. Full gender equality in all spheres of life

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all6. Blue / ocean economy for accelerated economic growth7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities10. World class infrastructure crisscrosses Africa

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all2. Transformed economies and job creation12. Capable institutions and transformed leadership in place at all levels16. African cultural renaissance is pre-eminent17. Full gender equality in all spheres of life18. Engaged and empowered youth and children

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all8. United Africa (federal or confederate)16. African cultural renaissance is pre-eminent20. Africa takes full responsibility for financing her development

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities10. World class infrastructure crisscrosses Africa12. Capable institutions and transformed leadership in place at all levels16. African cultural renaissance is pre-eminent

5. Modern agriculture for increased productivity and production7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities12. Capable institutions and transformed leadership in place at all levels

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all4. Transformed economies and job creation5. Modern agriculture for increased productivity and production7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities12. Capable institutions and transformed leadership in place at all levels16. African cultural renaissance is pre-eminent

4. Transformed economies and job creation6. Blue / ocean economy for accelerated economic growth7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies

and communities

7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all4. Transformed economies and job creation10. World class infrastructure crisscrosses Africa12. Capable institutions and transformed leadership in place at all levels19. Africa as a major partner in global affairs and peaceful co-existence20. Africa takes full responsibility for financing her development

11. Democratic values, practices, universal principles of human rights, justice and the rule of law entrenched

12. Capable institutions and transformed leadership in place at all levels13. Peace, security and stability are preserved17. Full gender equality in all spheres of life18. Engaged and empowered youth and children

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all3. Healthy and well-nourished citizens4. Transformed economies and job creation5. Modern agriculture for increased productivity and production7. Environmentally sustainable climate resilient economies and communities8. United Africa (Federal or Confederate)

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all2. Well educated citizens and skills revolution underpinned by science,

technology and innovation16. African cultural renaissance is pre-eminent17. Full gender equality in all spheres of life18. Engaged and empowered youth and children

1. A high standard of living, quality of life and well-being for all4. Transformed economies and job creation5. Modern agriculture for increased productivity and production6. Blue / ocean economy for accelerated economic growth8. United Africa (federal or confederate)10. World class infrastructure crisscrosses Africa19. Africa as a major partner in global affairs and peaceful co-existence

Africa’s development agendasside by side

SOURCE: AFRICA SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2017

Africa is the region most affected by HIV / AIDS. Though it continues to be a major public health problem, the continent (and other regions of the world) has made important progress in prevention and treatment. But human rights violations and discrimination continue to undermine this progress, making Breaking Barriers – Building Bridges, the theme of the recent 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) in Amsterdam, a highly appropriate focus. OFID Quarterly Deputy Editor Anna Ilaria-Mayrhofer reports …

Africa, AIDS and a gathering of experts in Amsterdam

PHOTO: MARCUS ROSE/IAS

SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 15

AIDS 2018 brought to- gether one of the world’s largest gatherings of leading HIV experts and

heard how, despite groundbreaking medical research and highly-effective prevention and treatment options, gains are slow in reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized populations such as sex workers, migrants, transgender people, drug users, and women and children.

A plenary session organized jointly by OFID, the International AIDS Society (IAS) and the Global Institute for Health and Human Rights brought together top HIV / AIDS-focused legal and medical experts, including Fariba Soltani, a Senior Expert from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Soltani highlighted the gender specific barriers that limit access to life-saving HIV services for women who use drugs – and who are in prisons. These include stigma, dis-crimination, gender-based violence and lack of gender-responsive services.

Although fewer women use and inject drugs than men – women

account for 20 percent of the global estimate of injecting drug users – in terms of risks, these women have a greater vulnerability to HIV and other blood-borne infections than men*.

Soltani explained that in many countries, the gender-specific needs of women in prisons are not ad-dressed. Many women are pregnant or give birth in prisons; others are incarcerated with their children and limited health services are available.

To help change this situation, she said, it is essential to develop gender-responsive HIV prevention and care programs for these women, including developing and implementing alternatives to imprisonment.

A UNODC project launched in 2008 and supported by OFID (via grants totaling US$1.2 million) ad-dressed HIV issues among women who use drugs and women in prisons in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan. This initiative – the first of its kind in these countries – in-cluded approaches that: ensured HIV / AIDS policies and programs were gender responsive; supported more humane approaches, such as

alternatives to imprisonment for women; and supported meaningful engagement of civil society and community-based organizations representing women.

One of the project’s most notable achievements was its instrumental role in bringing about legal and policy reforms that are being applied in various health care set-tings in the targeted countries. It is clear that legal and policy reforms and bringing together law enforce-ment officials, health care workers and other stakeholders to share the responsibility are key to success, noted Soltani.

*UNODC World Drug Report 2018

Fariba Soltani

OFID helped

to organize a plenary

session.

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OFID is a development finance organization that has been in busi-ness for 42 years with a mandate to eradicate poverty. We have pro-vided more than US$22 billion in financing for development projects in over 130 countries around the world, of which US$664.3 million has been in the form of grants.

We became involved in combat-ing HIV because of its impact on development. At the beginning of the millennium we witnessed how devastating the pandemic was in undoing decades of progress. As a consequence, under special health programs (including HIV / AIDS, non-communicable diseases [NCDs], and neglected tropical diseases [NTDs]), OFID has committed US$98.9 million to 62 operations across the globe. This represents 25 percent of our total grant commitments.

Jointly with OFID’s global part-ners such as WHO and UNODC, as well as UNAIDS and the Internation-al Labor Organization (ILO), we help beneficiary countries accelerate their progress by providing finance to improve the efficiency and effec-tiveness of HIV prevention and treatment programs and to support even better prevention methods.

OFID’s approach to health proj-ects is in line with the WHO’s newly adopted strategy that strives to achieve the Sustainable Develop-ment Goals and universal health coverage. We encourage cross sec-toral interventions to build on what

we have already achieved and are also looking to provide a systematic approach to the prevention of hepatitis and other communicable diseases in healthcare settings.

Because our resources represent only a small portion of worldwide funding to combat HIV, we concen-trate on areas where existing funds are insufficient and we support cases that aim at ensuring cost- effectiveness for high impact pro-grams in low- and middle-income countries. We support expanding simplified HIV treatments and improved and effective use of inter-ventions to prevent new infections. We finance projects that apply combination treatments and address HIV / AIDS in association with other ‘dual epidemic’ scenarios such as NCDs and hepatitis B / C.

We will continue our practice of selecting our projects based on their ability to enhance community responses to HIV and supporting grass-roots organizations and communities on the front line (of which women make up about 50 percent).

The IAS in partnership with the Global Institute for Health and Human Rights (GIHHR) with support from OFID held a special session that focused on a ‘Call to Action’ for governments, lawmakers and stakeholders to remove legal barriers to health and human rights relating to HIV and AIDS care in conservative social settings.

OFID has been supporting initiatives aimed at addressing HIV-related challenges in conservative social settings since 2014. A regional consultation process was launched with the IAS which led to the identification of a range of recommendations presented during the AIDS conferences held in 2014 in Melbourne and in 2016 in Durban.

Building on this, a consultation on HIV in Conservative Social Settings was held in Beirut, Lebanon in January 2018. The special session at the AIDS 2018 conference presented the outcomes of this consultation for discussion.

See bit.ly/ANALYSISTOACTION for more information.

OFID Technical Assistance Grant Officer Shirin Hashemzadeh made the opening remarks at the OFID / IAS Special Session at AIDS 2018 (see box). Here, she talks with the OFID Quarterly about OFID’s involvement in combating HIV / AIDS.

OFID, AIDS 2018 and beyond

Combating HIV and AIDS in conservative social settings

Shirin Hashemzadeh

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SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 17

Leonarda PastoryElizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Tanzania, Coordinator for adolescent and youth-friendly health servicesMy organization is supporting government ef-forts to provide HIV / AIDS care and treatment services in 19 countries worldwide. In Tanza-nia, my organization operates in six areas in the northern and central regions. We provide integrated HIV / AIDS health services that focus on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and providing young children and adolescents with HIV / tuberculosis treatment.

Adolescents, as a special group, are offered access to youth-friendly services including information about sex-ual and reproductive health and care and treatment for those living with HIV and AIDS. Being at this conference has been very helpful in learning more about dealing with adolescents, as many of them don’t have the right information when it comes to these issues.

In my country, discussing these topics is still taboo – many parents are not open with their children – so we are striving to bring health education to schools. Many teach-ers haven’t been ready to accept this – they say this will promote bad behavior. But since Tanzania has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates on the African conti-nent, it’s crucial we bridge this gap.

We also have a communication gap with parents. So we first began orienting primary and secondary school teachers about sexual and reproductive health and we’ve seen some changes in attitudes.

And since the teachers are close to the parents, it’s easier to arrange for a meeting with them together with our health service providers. Now, the providers can come to the schools and offer health education, including family planning, and teachers can direct the students to additional services, such as HIV care and treatment at the nearest health facility.

What’s most important is to engage with the parents and empower adolescents. So we’ve planned meeting par-ents and children to discuss what kind of support is need-ed. We’re seeing adolescents facing challenges in adhering

to their antiretroviral regime – particularly when they are away at boarding school. In one of my projects, there-fore, we’re organizing forums among parents / caregivers, health service providers, counselors and social workers to discuss how we can best support these children.

I’m glad these issues are being highlighted at this con-ference. I’ve been happy to see how engaged the young people are – they are open, free and eager to gain access to sexual rights, education, reproductive services. At one session [#PassTheMic: Meaningful youth participation in the fight against HIV] panelists were very expressive when describing their work with adolescents. In fact, this has given me the inspiration to create a WhatsApp group for young people to interact with one another – to ask questions and get the information they need. This will be the first thing that I do when I return home.

Patience Atuhaire Makerere University, Johns Hopkins Research, UgandaI’m a study coordinator and medical officer in-volved in HIV and tuber-culosis (TB) research tri-als. During the confer- ence I hope to gain knowledge about new

anti-retroviral therapy (ART) strategies for women and children and about the drugs’ safety – especially their interaction with drugs used for treating TB. This will help me with the management, follow-up and severe adverse event reporting of clinical trial participants.

My current work focuses on women and children as they are particularly vulnerable in low resource settings. Most of the time they have no one to look after them; they are trying to cope with different socioeconomic problems and from time to time need a hand. This includes advising them about their drug regimens, discussing interventions regarding the prevention of mother-to-child HIV trans-mission, counseling, issues regarding breast-feeding and nutrition. In Uganda, we have very high rates of stunting among children…this isn’t just due to HIV but under-nu-trition in general.

At AIDS 2018, I’ve been attending sessions relating to policy, science and biomedical innovations. What has amazed me about the conference is its diversity – the glob-al village and all these different advocacy groups. This brings an interesting aspect to the management of HIV /AIDS as we often get stuck in the scientific aspects.

The sponsorship has been very important to me – I’ve met researchers from across the African continent; from the US and Europe; professors from different universities; and people doing research similar to mine. If it wasn’t E

OIFD sponsored over 70 delegates from developing countries to attend the Amsterdam conference – the majority were from Africa. Here’s what some of them had to say, as told to Anna Ilaria-Mayrhofer

OFID-sponsored delegates share their experiences

“In my country

discussing these topics

is still taboo.”

Leonarda Pastory

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F for this conference I’d never have had the chance to meet them. Collaborations are very important – I’ve been able to interact with these experts in the field and this has helped me gain more knowledge regarding the different successes and challenges in my area of research.

Maliness BandaBaylor College of Medicine, Children’s Foundation, Malawi

I’m a life skills coach / counselor working with children and adolescents living with HIV. One of our projects is a special ‘Teen Club’ initiative where fully disclosed, HIV-affected adolescents

meet at a designated health facility once a month – on Saturdays, so they don’t miss school. We bring them together to teach them about their health, refill their anti- retrovirals (ARTs) and help them cope with psychosocial issues – and also to just have fun.

We also provide counseling through a special teen hotline so they can immediately seek help. As counselors, we are specially trained to help them in difficult situa-tions. Some of the issues they are experiencing relate to being stigmatized and bullied or being kicked out of their homes – as well as experiencing sexual assault.

Those facing stigmatization at school are encouraged to stay in school. We try to empower them…to give them hope and tell them to ‘let it go’ and focus on their educa-tion. In one case, a high school student was suffering from such severe stress and depression that she was contem-plating suicide after her classmates saw her taking her ARTs and began bullying her. Fortunately, she called us and we had her come to the clinic so we could talk to her. Then we, along with our social workers, spoke with school management and eventually we helped her transfer to another school so she could have a fresh start.

At Baylor, we’re working with around 800 adolescents living with HIV. We tell them that they can do anything and to not let their HIV status define their future. And they’ve been doing very well.

Full disclosure is crucial; we had a case where a young man wasn’t aware that he was HIV positive. His parents had told him the ARTs were for his asthma. After finding out accidentally from a classmate who was also involved in our program what the drugs were actually for, he be-came furious with his parents. His mother called our ho-tline and we worked to resolve the conflict. It wasn’t easy.

At this conference they’ve gone over similar issues that will really help make a difference in my work. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity. N

HELPING TO CHANGE PERCEPTIONS – AND LIVES

At first glance, it looks like an abstract slogan. But U=U, or Undetect-able = Untransmittable, is a key public health message coined by the Prevention Access Campaign – a global health equity initiative that will change the way society views those living with HIV.

The campaign aims to broadcast a simple message to all: people with HIV can live long, healthy lives, and not worry about passing on their infection, so long as they receive the correct treatment. U=U aims to reduce stigma and discrimination, and the science supporting the ini-tiative is changing the lives of millions of people living with HIV.

Prevention Access Campaign, an ever-growing global community of researchers, scientists, activists, advocates and community partners, launched a Consensus Statement in 2017 that has been endorsed by more than 700 organizations in 100 countries as well as a number of leading experts in the medical community: People living with HIV on ART [anti-retrovirals] with an undetectable viral load in their blood have a neg-ligible risk of sexual transmission of HIV…”

The statement is backed up by an extensive range of studies that analyzed viral loads in ‘semidiscordant’ partners (an HIV positive indi-vidual with a HIV negative partner). Data from both heterosexual and homosexual couples were studied. Results revealed zero transmission rates to HIV negative partners – as long as the HIV positive individuals had low viral loads and had been taking their daily ARTs for a minimum of six months.

World-renown infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of Health states: “From a practical standpoint, the risk is zero … the science really does verify and validate that U=U.”

Such groundbreaking news deserves the spotlight, and AIDS 2018 helped publicize the campaign, with a pre-conference session ‘U=U 2018: Celebrate, activate and implement!’

The well-respected medical publication The Lancet puts it this way: “U=U is a simple but hugely important campaign based on a solid foun-dation of scientific evidence. It has already been successful in influencing public opinion, causing more people with HIV (and their friends and families) to comprehend that they can live long, healthy lives, have chil-dren, and never have to worry about passing on their infection to others.”

Read more about the Prevention Access Campaign: www.preventionaccess.org

SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 19

R eviewing progress made by African countries in tackling

major public health issues – particu-larly neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and non-communicable dis-eases (NCDs) – and achieving univer-sal health coverage were among agenda items in Dakar, Senegal, at the 68th session of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Com-mittee for Africa. The WHO also pre-sented its ongoing and planned work in the aforementioned areas, as well as measures to ensure a more effec-tive response to partner countries’ needs and how it will help increase preparedness to cope with recurrent outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola.

Speaking at the opening cere- mony of the event that brings to- gether health ministers from the 47 Member States in the WHO Afri-can Region, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus identified political commitment, partnership and a transformed WHO as key to improving the health and wellbeing of all people in the world, especially in Africa.

“It’s you as political leaders who are accountable for the decisions you make and the results you achieve,” he said. “WHO’s role is to give you the best support we can.” He remind-ed delegates that to achieve the Sus-tainable Development Goals (SDGs), there is a need for innovative, dy-namic and purposeful partnerships. According to Dr Tedros, the achieve-ment of SDG 3 on good health and

wellbeing will be through effective coordination of collective efforts.

“It will not happen if all of us just do our own thing,” he said. “It will not happen if fragmentation and du-plication continue. But it can happen if we work together. It can happen if the arrays of actors on the global health stage leverage their collective strength.”

Dr Tedros noted that there were achievements to celebrate, but also challenges in the area of universal health coverage*. “Many countries are taking bold steps towards uni-versal health coverage,” he said, naming South Africa, Madagascar and Rwanda as member states that have made tremendous progress.

Dr Tedros also warned delegates that if nothing is done about the shortage of health workers now, the world will face a huge gap of 18 mil-lion of such by 2030, and six million of these will be in Africa. N

Africa and health: Leaders are accountable, says WHO Director-General

BY STEVE HUGHES

WHO leader calls for political commitment to improve health in Africa

A new report by the WHO, launched at the Regional Committee for Africa meeting, shows a high improvement in health in the region. However, this achievement can only be sustained and expanded if countries significantly improve the way they deliver essential health services to the people who need them most, it says.

The State of Health in Africa report shows there has been a significant improvement in health in Africa, with healthy life expectancy – time spent in full health – increasing from 50.9 years to 53.8 between 2012 and 2015. This is the most marked increase of any region in the world.

The top killers in Africa are still lower respiratory infections, HIV and diarrheal disease and countries have focused on prevention and treatment with the result of a significant decline in deaths attributable to these diseases. Overall, the report notes, there has been a 50 percent reduction in the burden of disease caused by what have been the top 10 killers since 2000 and death rates have dropped from 87.7 to 51.1 deaths per 100,000 persons between 2000 and 2015.

This trend is continuing, with emerging data on healthy life expectancy showing a con-tinued improvement. However, the report shows that chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer are now claiming more lives. A person aged between 30 and 70 in the region now has a one-in-five chance of dying from a non-communicable disease. It also notes that countries are failing to provide essential services to two critical age groups – adolescents and the elderly.

New WHO report finds big health gains in Africa

* Universal health coverage is defined as ensuring that all people have access to required health services of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user to financial hardship.

“It’s you as political

leaders who are account-able for the

decisions you make and the

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W elcoming delegates, WHO Regional Director for Africa

Dr Matshidiso Moeti wrote: “Our continent faces a number of public health issues which challenge health security in the region, including the ongoing Ebola Virus Disease out-break in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We have been able to re-spond to these challenges in a timely and robust manner because of the excellent collaboration of the Mem-ber States, our partners and donors.”

Dr Moeti emphasized that in Africa, universal health coverage (UHC) is an urgent requirement to the attainment of good health for all people as highlighted in Sustainable Development Goal 3:

“We applaud efforts by several Mem-ber States that have taken steps to improve public finance management

which is one of the critical ways to progress towards UHC. The WHO African Region Secretariat is deter-mined to support its Member States towards the attainment of UHC given our mandate and comparative advantage.”

Drawing attention to the “rapid increase in non-communicable dis-eases in many African countries”, Dr Moeti called for urgent action. “The good news is that the underly-ing causes of this problem such as tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor diets and harmful use of alco-hol are well known. I urge member states to take deliberate and sus-tained actions to address these risk factors.” N

OFID’s relationship with the WHO began nearly four decades ago when we extended a US$2 million grant in support of one of the earliest initiatives to contain river blindness. Most recently, OFID signed a US$1 million grant agreement with WHO to support the elimination of neglected tropical diseases.

This meeting is addressing some important Africa- related issues such as tackling disease outbreaks (not limited to Ebola, but also cholera and other communicable and preventable diseases), strengthening national health systems and achieving universal health coverage. One key aspect we have focused on is regional and transboundary cooperation, and how partners and donors could make their assistance to the continent more effective.

On a related matter, and while acknowledging bud-getary constraints, WHO called on national govern-ments to fulfil their com-mitments to allocate more domestic resources to the financing of the health sec-tor, in order to reduce de-pendence on foreign aid. This is a welcome development that should contribute to increasing countries’ ownership and the sustainability of their investments in the health sector.

To conclude, I found this event, which OFID attended for the first time, very useful in terms of not only keeping abreast of the latest developments in the health sector on the African continent, but also – and most importantly – in hearing the voice of the main stakeholders: partner coun-tries themselves. In this regard, the meeting demonstrated that WHO is responsive to the needs of African countries and encouraging them to take more responsibility in nation-al efforts toward tackling public health issues.

Health security in Africa

Dr Matshidiso Moeti

OFID’s Dr Mehalaine

OFID and WHO

OFID’s Head of Grants and Technical Assistance Dr Walid Mehalaine, who attended the Dakar event, explains the nature of OFID’s relationship with WHO and explains some of the meeting’s focus areas...

“Our continent

faces a number of public

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Satellite images released by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) show Africa, seen from space at night, as almost com-

pletely unlit. The continent of more than one billion people appears as dark as Siberia, home to far fewer people. Africa’s 1.2 billion people account for approximately 16 percent of the world’s population, but the continent generates only about 4 percent of global electricity. Approximately 620 million of its people live without access to electricity.

Energy experts have opined that in order to achieve the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 on affordable and clean energy by 2030, sub-Saharan Africa should have an annual electrification growth rate of between 8 and 9 percent. The current growth rate is somewhere between 3 and 5 percent. As of 2017, more than 60 percent of people in sub-Saharan Africa had no access to electricity.

While the afore-mentioned figures may sound gloomy, an analysis of Africa energy E

Africa, energy and the view from space

By Sasaenia Paul Oluwabunmi MIET PMP, Operations Officer at OFID and

Gabriel Hurtado González MEng CEng MIET, Energy Solutions Manager at Mitie

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3,557

3,962

Brazil

Sub-SaharanAfrica 423

Canada

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Sub-Saharan Africa 2040

1,570

European Union

China

United States

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2,944

6,264

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8,394

1,961

626

15,137

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Other countries

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Electricity consumption, kilowatt - hours/capita

Greece

Cambodia

Australia

Romania

Nepal Afghanistan

Israel

Angola Nigeria

Niger

France

Ethiopia

Mozambique

Burundi

Tunisia Cameroon

China

Poland

Tajikistan

GDP, current $ /capita

Azerbaijan

Libya

Germany

Turkmenistan

Italy

Spain

Belarus

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Bangladesh

Tanzania

South Africa

United States

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F trends shows that although Afri-ca is not where it should be in terms of access, it’s definitely in a better place than it was.

Three decades ago, based on data sources from the World Bank, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the percentage of sub- Saharan Africa’s population with access to electricity was just 23.4 percent, compared with about 42.8 percent today. This is a remarkable improvement, especially given that the annual population growth rate for sub-Saharan Africa was approximately 2.7 percent over the analysis period.

Despite these improvements, Africa – and sub-Saharan Africa in particular – has a highly underde-veloped energy sector compared with other continents. This is wor-rying on economic grounds (as well as on other socio-economic indica-tor bases). McKinsey and Company’s analysis of the growth potential of the sub-Saharan Africa region shows that countries with electrifi-cation rates of less than 80 percent of the population consistently suffer from reduced GDP per capita. Figure 1 shows the relationship between electricity consumption and GDP – lower access / consump-tion points to lower GDP per capita.

More concerning still is that due to huge population growth, increas-

ing urbanization and other factors, by 2040 sub-Saharan Africa is pro-jected to be ranked fourth globally in terms of energy demand per capita (out-ranked only by the US, China and the European Union – see Figure 2). Where will this energy come from?

A ray of hopeThe next few years will be crucial for Africa’s energy sector. Accord-ing to African Energy Live Data, the installed energy capacity on the entire African continent is predicted to increase by about 50 percent over the next five years and this trend is expected to continue. Most of this expansion is expected to come from liquid fuel fired projects and gas power stations.

The next few years

will be crucial for

Africa’s energy sector.

* BASE 10 LOGARITHMIC SCALE.

SOURCE: IHS ECONOMICS; INTERNATIONAL ENERGY STATISTICS, US ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION, 2013, EIA.GOV

GRAPH INITIALLY SOURCED FROM MCKINSEY & COMPANY: BRIGHTER AFRICA – THE GROWTH POTENTIAL OF THE SUB-SAHARAN ELECTRICITY SECTOR

Relationship between electricity consumption and GDP,* 2011

Figure 1

Consumption/capita,

426

522

760

841

996

3,035

3,557

3,962

Brazil

Sub-SaharanAfrica 423

Canada

India

Latin America

Japan

Sub-Saharan Africa 2040

1,570

European Union

China

United States

kilowatt-hours

13,395

2,944

6,264

989

8,394

1,961

626

15,137

2,381

514

Sub-Saharan Africa countries

Other countries

100

1,000

10,000

100,000

10 100 1,000 10,000 100,000

Electricity consumption, kilowatt - hours/capita

Greece

Cambodia

Australia

Romania

Nepal Afghanistan

Israel

Angola Nigeria

Niger

France

Ethiopia

Mozambique

Burundi

Tunisia Cameroon

China

Poland

Tajikistan

GDP, current $ /capita

Azerbaijan

Libya

Germany

Turkmenistan

Italy

Spain

Belarus

Japan

Bangladesh

Tanzania

South Africa

United States

Haiti

SPECIAL FEATURE | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 23

But renewables are expected to play an integral part in Africa’s energy space in the longer term, with their share in the energy mix projected to reach more than 20 percent over the next five years. Solar photovoltaic (PV) and micro- hydro are currently the most pop- ular renewable technologies in Africa, with each accounting for approximately one percent of the overall energy mix. These technolo-gies are expected to lead the African renewable market over the next few decades.

The predicted prominence of solar PV and micro-hydro is in part down to their abundance1, but more

significantly, because both tech- nologies can be deployed easily as off-grid and mini-grid solutions, removing the bottlenecks associated with connecting to national infra-structure.

Out of the darkAfrican Energy Live Data shows that East Africa has outlined an ambitious plan to increase its poten-tial for energy trading and foster growth in off-grid electricity. West and South Africa currently have several power stations (with a com-bined capacity of about 14 GW) under construction. North Africa (especially Egypt and Algeria) is currently developing the continent’s largest power stations, with a total

expected installed capacity of about 30 GW. And several countries in Central Africa have plans to con-struct small and medium-scale power projects with a total com-bined capacity of about 900 MW.

Despite the current situation, the energy landscape in Africa is promising. Liquid fuel fired projects and gas powered stations are ex-pected to shape the future of Afri-ca’s energy baseload, while renew-ables will play a strategic part, espe- cially in remote and rural areas.

If current energy projects continue as planned – with private sector participation mixed with good public sector policies – Africa’s future could be bright; even when viewed from space. N

1 Compared to other continents, Africa has the highest hours of sunlight per year.

SOURCE: KEY WORLD ENERGY STATISTICS, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, 2013, IEA.ORG; WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, WORLD BANK GROUP, WORLDBANK.ORG

GRAPH INITIALLY SOURCED FROM MCKINSEY & COMPANY: BRIGHTER AFRICA – THE GROWTH POTENTIAL OF THE SUB-SAHARAN ELECTRICITY SECTOR

Electricity consumption, terawatt-hours p.a., 2010

Despite the current

situation, the energy land-

scape in Africa is

promising.

Figure 2

OFID in the field

PHOTO: MAGNIFIER/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

OFID IN THE FIELD | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 25

While Africa is home to six out of the 10 fastest growing econ-omies in the world,

it accounts for only around three percent of global trade1. Big gaps in infrastructure and access to finance still pose major hurdles. Intra-trade among African countries also remains disappointing, with high tariffs representing continual deterrents (see page 12 for news on Africa’s Continental Free Trade Area).

OFID has long supported trade in Africa. In 2017 alone, OFID ap-proved US$425 million to support international trade on the continent. Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Gambia, Senegal and Tunisia were among the beneficiary countries.

Two recent commitments that highlight OFID’s focus in Africa are the US$40 million the organization contributed to a revolving trade financing facility for Export Trad-ing Group (ETG) – one of Africa’s largest agricultural conglomerates – and a US$60 million loan agreement with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) specifically in support of international trade (see page 45 for more on the TDB loan).

ETG’s operations span procure-ment, processing, warehousing, transport, distribution and mer-

chandising. The company prides itself on connecting smallholder farmers to the global economy and the global economy back to small-holder farmers through a value chain that operates between the farm gates of emerging markets and supermarket shelves around the world. The OFID co-funded lending facility – led by Standard Chartered Bank – will help the various sub- Sahara African subsidiaries of the group import and export agricul-tural commodities.

ETG Chief Treasury Officer Anish Jain confirms that the main challenge to agricultural trade in Africa – like trade more generally – is poor infrastructure. But a lack of ‘know-how’ can slow things down, too. “We’re often talking about moving millions of metric tons of soft commodities from land-locked countries to on-shore coun-tries where they can be exported to international markets,” he says. “Since the farmers lack logistics, a lot of the time their produce is limit-ed to being sold in their own coun-try, or even in the village or street where they are farming.”

Jain says it’s the role of commod- ity players such as ETG (backed by the likes of OFID) to help mobilize commodities and provide the means of getting them to market where E

International trade is widely acknowledged to expand overall material wellbeing. So Africa is working hard to improve its record. BY STEVE HUGHES

Moving millions of metric tons

PHOTO: MAGNIFIER/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

1 According to the ITFC

26 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | OFID IN THE FIELD

F farmers can receive the best pric-es for their crop. “We can help in other ways too,” adds Jain. “We advise on what type of fertilizer to use, how harvesting can be improved, how to store crops most efficiently and how to improve yields.”

ETG runs what it calls a Farmers Foundation – a non-profit organiza-tion established in 2013 that seeks to establish meaningful partnerships with the public and private sectors to support smallholder farmers in the ways mentioned above. “We now engage with more than 40,000 farm-ers in different districts,” Jain says. “Research shows that the arable land available for cultivation and the number of individual farmers who can work that land make Africa an ideal region for global food production.”

“But we need to help address the challenges,” he continues. “Mar-ket buyers, government agencies, research and development institu-tions, donor organizations, trans-portation companies, farming tech- nology companies and investors all need to play a part in making it happen.”

Much of OFID’s work in Africa is undertaken in partnership with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), which aims to ‘catalyze’ trade across Afri-ca, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. “Through the strategic part-nership with OFID and other key financiers, ITFC targets to achieve an annual financing of US$1 billion in sub-Saharan Africa by 2019,” says ITFC’s Nasser Al-Thekair, GM Trade and Business Development. “In addi-tion, going forward, ITFC plans to scale up its interventions across the entire African continent to exceed the US$11 billion already achieved from 2008 to 2017. This is expected to support ITFC’s pursuit to be the financier of choice in the region.”

Africa holds substantial growth potential in trade, Al-Thekair ex-plains. “There are several challenges.

Through collaboration between OFID and ITFC, these challenges can easily be turned into opportuni-ties. Already, the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB – see next page) presents an example of collabora-tion to unlock trade potentials and opportunities.

“One of the main requirements in Africa is the enhancement of knowledge and skills,” Al-Thekair continues. “For this reason, the AATB includes capacity building on trade matters as one of the main objectives and the action plan in-cludes several capacity development interventions.”

The benefits of trade are well documented: it allows countries to specialize in producing what they do best; it makes markets bigger – enabling research and development spending, for example; it leads to the ‘survival of the fittest’ as less efficient producers either exit the market or improve; and it encourag-es contact with foreign companies and governments, often leading to cooperation and new ideas.

As John Van Reenen, an econo-mist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), said in a recent interview with The Economist: “…free trade increases the size of the pie. The overall amount of material

wellbeing expands. But just because the size of the pie expands, it doesn’t mean that everyone is better off.” In the longer term, Van Reenen argues, education systems and social sys-tems should guard against the nega-tive consequences of trade by mak-ing people more resilient to shocks, so that if they are “hit by tough times, they can reskill and move around more easily to cope”.

OFID is optimistic about the power of trade to boost economic and social development in Africa. But the organization is cognizant of other priorities and supporting factors, too. This is why it continues to provide support to build essential infrastructure and strengthen social services. OFID’s work is people- centered, focusing on projects that meet basic needs – such as food, energy, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education – with the aim of encouraging self-reliance and inspiring hope for the future.

Anish Jain, ETG Treasury Officer

Nasser Al Thekair, ITFC

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OFID IN THE FIELD | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 27

Around 12 million people live in the Senegal River basin – an area that cov-ers around 337,000 km2.

During the seven months of the dry season, rainfall averages only 2.5 mm per month, and daily temperatures can reach over 38 degrees Celsius*. Many poor rural communities living in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal – part of the basin – still lack access to safe drinking water. Population growth and human activity – including farming, industry and mining –

have contributed to the pollution and contamination of existing water sources, negatively impacting peo-ple’s health.

Working with Swiss Fresh Wa-ter, the Access to Water Foundation (A2W) and local partners, OFID has provided a grant of US$800,000 (toward the total project cost of US$1,690,000) to improve access to safe drinking water in the region. The proposed project is a scale-up of an initiative successfully imple-mented in four regions of Senegal from 2011 to 2016.

Badara Diom, Djirnda Mayor and President of A2W Senegal, says: “As in many countries of the world, safe water access is restricted in Senegal. In the Senegal River region more precisely, the main issues are that the water coming from dif-ferent sources such as boreholes, rivers, public networks and wells is most of the time contaminated which means the population suffers from illnesses such as diarrhea, hypertension, kidney diseases and so on. In addition to the negative E

* Figures according to the World Bank.

OFID’s relationship with ITFCIn terms of trade development, OFID and ITFC enjoy a strategic partnership and collaboration mechanism through several plat-forms. The two organizations are collaborating directly under the Arab Coordination Group for En-hancing Cooperation on Trade Fi-nance and Export Credit Insurance. Over the last 10 years, OFID and ITFC have supported over 70 trade

finance transactions in 23 partner countries, with a strong focus on Africa, providing these countries with innovative trade finance solu-tions to support their economic de-velopment. OFID and ITFC continue to support partner countries by fa-cilitating the import and export re-quirements of a range of products, including petroleum and agricultur-al products, and helping partner countries with inventory and work-

ing capital needs. OFID is also a contributor to, and a founding mem-ber of, the Governing Board of the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program, which was designed and launched by the ITFC in collabora-tion with other institutions. AATB aims to enhance trade relations between the two regions through trade-related technical assistance interventions, as well as trade devel-opment projects. N

Kiosks to provide affordable drinking water – and jobs – to vulnerable populations in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal

Good health is thirsty work

BY STEVE HUGHES

OFID and ITFC have supported

over 70 trade finance

transactions in 23 partner

countries.

“Safe water access is

restricted in Senegal”

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28 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | OFID IN THE FIELD

F health effects, this has a strong impact on absenteeism at school and work, and on life quality, and can push people from remote areas to migrate to cities.”

OFID’s Head of Grants and Tech-nical Assistance Dr Walid Mehalaine says: “The two-year project is ex-pected to benefit approximately 250,000 people directly and create 300 local job opportunities. We’re aiming to reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases and improve living conditions significantly.”

Dr Mehalaine says that water treatment machines installed in ‘kiosks’ will produce drinking water from brackish, polluted or salty water, and these kiosks will sell the safe water at an affordable price – 1.5 US cents – per liter. This is much cheaper than bottled water or water sold in plastic bags by local shops or

private vendors. Around 100 water treatment machines are planned: 25 machines in both Mali and Maurita-nia, and 50 machines in Senegal. The project will also train local techni-cians and water kiosk managers.

A2W Project Manager Clémence Langone explains: “Each kiosk instal-

lation can generate around three di-rect jobs, to manage, administer, market, deliver and clean the facility. Some indirect jobs can also be creat-ed around the kiosk due to its daily activity: water can be used for fish cleaning, fruit juice production, etc. We are now setting up training ses-sions particularly dedicated to wom-en and youth to teach them all these jobs.”

Renaud de Watteville, A2W Founder, says: “The first phase of the program in Senegal generated a lot of satisfaction and made a real and measurable impact thanks to the monitoring of each machine via the internet. Because of this, there is much demand for better access to clean water in Senegal. Every week, A2W receives new requests for help from developing countries in Africa and other parts of the world.” N

The project will be implemented by Access to Water Foundation – a Swiss-based organiza-tion established by Swiss Fresh Water (SFW) in 2012. SFW was established in 2008 and is based in Switzerland. It has designed and developed decentralized desalination water treatment machines successfully tested in Senegal. Local partners will be engaged to encourage owner-ship and sustainability.

About the project partners

Phili, a female kiosk manager, Senegal

OFID IN THE FIELD | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 29

Some 10 years ago, the Ugan-dan government initiated a program of education re-form to promote profession-

al training for young people. Known as the Vocational Education Pro-gram and driven by a growing de-mand for skilled workers, it has so far produced nine higher-learning colleges, each in a different region of the country.

OFID has supported this pro-gram with two public sector loans: the first loan of US$22.9 million in 2009 helped finance the initial stages of construction; and a fur-ther loan of US$14.3 million in 2015 is helping to expand capacity and drive quality teaching.

The technical and vocational education provided by these schools is essential to equip workers for

Uganda’s growing industrial, agri-cultural and commercial sectors. By facilitating access to specialized training, the government is also addressing high unemployment rates and low income levels.

The nine colleges offer a spectrum of courses ranging from building

and construction, through catering and computer applications, to fashion design and hairdressing. Enrolment across all courses is gen-der neutral – 50 percent of students are women and 50 percent men.

Solomon Amieyeofori, now re-tired but formerly OFID’s country officer for Uganda, led OFID’s coop-eration with the Ugandan govern-ment on this project and praises the commitment to education reform and the successful completion of Phase 1. Sasaenia Paul Oluwabunmi has taken on the OFID mantle from Amieyeofori: “As an African, I un-derstand the challenge of youth un-employment across the continent,” he says.

“It’s satisfying to see the objec-tives of this project already being achieved,” Oluwabunmi continues, looking at a photograph of recent graduates from the Nawanyago Technical Institute. In August, 228 students graduated from this institute – one of the nine new facilities – in the Kamuli District of Uganda. These young graduates will be among the first wave of professionals to benefit from the country-wide program and have much better prospects than before.

“I hope this program becomes a model for other African countries,” says Oluwabunmi. N

Vocational education project supports growing industrial, agricultural and commercial sectors.

BY JUSTINE WÜRTZ

Sparking educational reform in Uganda

In the latter half of 2017, Uganda’s economy grew, driven largely by growth in information and com-munications technology services and favorable weather conditions for the agricultural sector. Real GDP growth is expected to be above 5 percent in 2018, and could rise further to 6 percent in 2019. This outlook assumes continued favorable weather conditions, robust external demand, an increase in foreign direct investment inflows and capital spend-ing executed as planned.

SOURCE: WORLDBANK.ORG

Uganda at a glance

A student graduation ceremony.

Students in one of the new workshops.

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NEWSROUND

After 15 years, Suleiman J Al-Herbish hands over the OFID reins

A time to say goodbye

There is much that outgoing OFID Director- General Suleiman J Al-Herbish has achieved during his 15 years leading OFID. He has modernized the organization beyond recog-

nition; he has made it a better and more progressive place for staff to work; and he’s readied OFID for the future – both structurally and financially.

All this has involved an enormous amount of team-work, of course, and Al-Herbish has surrounded

himself with a modern, forward-looking team. It has also required a strong and visionary leader.

From modest but relatively comfort-able beginnings, Al-Herbish grew up in the city of Ar Rass in Saudi Arabia. As a child, he tells, he hadn’t heard of electricity, never mind experienced it. The young Al-Herbish would study by the light of a kerosene lantern each

Al-Herbish has spent the last 15 years fighting for the world’s most vulnerable people.

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NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 31

night. Later in life, on moving to Riyadh, he was still without elec-tricity at home, but would visit the local mosques in the evenings – which did have electricity – to study.

These formative years shaped Al-Herbish, and if you ask the man himself about his greatest achieve-ment in his long career, he doesn’t hesitate. As he told OFID’s Ministe-rial Council in his farewell speech last June: “Our efforts – along with our friends in the international are-na – have culminated in something remarkable; something that will un-derpin the entire sustainable devel-opment agenda to 2030 and beyond: Access to energy for all is recog-nized as Sustainable Development

Goal 7 (SDG 7); a stand-alone goal in the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.”

“We have advocated tirelessly for energy poverty to be given the priority it deserves in the post-2015 Development Agenda after it was ignored in the Millennium Develop-ment Goals,” he added. “It was such an omission; we called it the ‘miss-ing ninth MDG’.”

Al-Herbish, who before dedicat-ing his life to fighting for the world’s most vulnerable people served for 14 years as the Governor of Saudi Arabia at OPEC, will be remem-bered by those who worked with him closely for being a demanding boss – wanting tasks completed E

2004Former Austrian President, the late Dr Thomas Klestil, welcomes Al-Herbish.

2006Meeting with former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

2005 Blaise Compaoré, former President of Burkina Faso, described OFID as a “valuable partner.”

2004Al-Herbish said his

meeting with late Cuban President

Fidel Castro was a “milestone” in OFID’s

relations with Cuba.

2008With then

Uzbekistan Deputy Prime Minister

Rustam Azimov.

PHOTO: OPEC

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F to perfection. His sense of humor will remain front of mind, too – he would often relieve the tension in a room or situation via a friendly quip. More memorable still will be his compassion. Al-Herbish is quick to recognize and reward good work; ready to listen and adapt; and above all, seems to be driven by some in-ternal force to work relentlessly to make the world a better place.

He will also be remembered by many staff for his extraordinary memory. Al-Herbish has not once misremembered a date, no matter how far back, and beguiles with humorous stories of long-past mis-sions – like flying all the way to New York as a young man only to discover the conference he was due to attend had been cancelled.

In and out of the organization, Al-Herbish built strong relation-ships. Friendships based on mutual interest and respect blossomed with the leaders of other international organizations. Kandeh K Yumkella, for example, then Special Represen-tative of the UN Secretary-General and CEO of the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Initiative, wrote: “Addressing audiences in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean and the USA, Al-Herbish has pursued the en-ergy issue among students, political and business leaders, intellectuals and development workers alike…I would like to take this opportunity to thank Al-Herbish personally for his foresight, commitment and partnership.”

Similarly, LI Yong, Director- General of the United Nations Indus-trial Development Organization (UNIDO) called Al-Herbish one of the world’s leading advocates of en-ergy poverty alleviation. “With Al-Herbish at the helm,” he wrote in the Foreword of Uniting against pov-erty: OFID’s Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish and the fight for sustainable develop-ment, “OFID has helped its develop-ment partners deliver on issues

relating to energy access, sustain-ability and efficiency…Our alliance was forged in our common desire to end poverty and it has been strength-ened by the common conviction that access to modern energy services is a vital precondition to achieving sustainable development…”

Toward retirement from OFID, where many may have slowed down in preparedness for a different pace of life, Al-Herbish has done the op-posite. This year alone: he has led a delegation to Bangladesh where he met with the country’s Prime Minis-ter and signed two loan agreements to help bolster the transportation sector; in Bolivia, Al-Herbish met with President Evo Morales who expressed his gratitude for OFID’s support; on the same mission, Al-Herbish received an honorary doctorate from a Bolivian university in recognition of development financing supplied by OFID, and he signed loan agreements with Bolivia and Argentina to boost socioeconomic development in the water and sanitation, and trans-portation sectors.

And there’s more. Still during 2018: visiting Rwanda, Al-Herbish signed a US$20 million loan agree-ment for a water and sanitation pro-gram that will improve living stan-dards for nearly 1.6 million people; in Jordan, he signed agreements worth US$1.16 million to implement projects in support of the resilience of Palestinians residing in East Jeru-salem, Hebron and Gaza Strip; and in Belize, he signed a US$40 million loan agreement in support of an im-portant road rehabilitation project with the Belizean Prime Minister Dean O Barrow. Couple this to meet-ings in India, Spain, Portugal, the UK and the US – in addition to a recent high-level mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina – and you get the picture. Al-Herbish is not one for taking his foot off the gas.

As this magazine was going to print, Al-Herbish had recently

2009 During his Armenian mission, Al-Herbish was presented with the Anania Shirakatsi medal by President Serzh Sargsyan.

2011 Meeting with former Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung. During the mission, Al-Herbish signed three major agreements to intensify collaborations in the Asia region.

2012 Discussions with former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Raja Paksa focused on the long-standing cooperation between OFID and Sri Lanka.

NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 33

returned from Cairo, where he signed grants in support of the Re-gional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and Biblioth-eca Alexandrina, supporting three causes he holds extremely dear: access to energy, education and the preservation of culture; the latter of which he has more than once referred to as “the fourth pillar of development, in addition to the three widely recognized economic, social and environmental pillars.”

Not long back from Cairo, Al-Herbish was preparing for a mis-sion to Amman, Jordan. There, he plans to sign an agreement for a grant under OFID’s Special Health Program amounting to US$400,000 in support of the King Hussein

Cancer Foundation and Center (KHCF), which focuses on support-ing underprivileged and vulnerable patients, including the large refugee community in Jordan, as well as pa-tients from neighboring countries. The agreement is to be signed with Princess Ghida Talal, Chairperson of the KHCF.

Al-Herbish will also sign an agreement for a grant amounting to US$150,000, in support of a project to be implemented by the Saudi Center for Blind Girls from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pales-tine, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. Based in Amman, the Saudi Center is a charitable insti-tution established with the aim of enhancing blind women’s literacy E

2014 Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said OFID was a strong partner in the fight against energy poverty.

2013 At the launch of OFID’s children’s book One Planet Earth One People, Al-Herbish explained to young participants how important it was for them to learn to act as responsible global citizens.

2015An audience with Queen of Jordan Ranya Al Abdullah.

2016Maldivian President

Abdulla Yameen thanks Al-Herbish

for OFID’s long- standing support.

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46 percent of the organization’s commitments for the year. A total of 32 African countries shared this amount.

It’s doubtful that Al-Herbish will put his feet up even in retirement. In OFID’s internal magazine – in which Al-Herbish has written a reg-ular column for the past decade – he signed off to staff in typical style: “I hope and believe this new chapter in my life – and yours – will be filled with much more love, laugh-ter, exciting challenges and successes.”

“I will reflect on the journeys we’ve shared for as long as I live, and I hope I will always remain a

F and promoting their socio-economic empowerment through training and education. It will be gratifying to Al-Herbish that he is concluding his career by signing such important agreements.

Similarly, that this very ‘fare-well’ article to Al-Herbish is printed within a special edition of the OFID Quarterly honed in on development in Africa will be particularly pleas-ing to Al-Herbish, since the conti-nent is close to his heart. He is alert to Africa’s development needs, and has helped maintain OFID’s focus on this front. In 2017 alone, OFID approved US$695.6 million for de-velopment operations in Africa –

part of the OFID family,” he contin-ued. “I believe what we have achieved together – for OFID and for people across the globe – will last far longer than any of us and will help many generations to come. I believe teamwork has been central to our success and I implore you to continue to work together.”

There will be many people who will genuinely miss Al-Herbish’s company; his drive and enthusiasm. But there is no need for immediate concern; all indicators point to him being a part of the international development community for some time to come. N

“I hope I will always

remain a part of the OFID

family.”

2017 Al-Herbish with his ‘OFID family’ in front of the OFID monument that was presented to the City of Vienna as a lasting ‘thank you’ for playing host to OFID.

2018Meeting with Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, during OFID’s first high-level mission to the country.

2018Bolivian President Evo Morales was

present at the loan signing for an OFID

co-financed road project.

NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 35

OFID never misses an opportunity to cele-brate the culture and art of a member coun-

try and recently hosted Nigeria: Scenes of Peace – an exhibition fea-turing the works of four talented Nigerian artists: Kaltume Gana, Ben Ibebe, Amedu Iklaga and nine-year-old Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke.

Jointly opened by OFID Director- General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and the Ambassador of the Federal Re-public of Nigeria Vivian N R Okeke, the exhibition marked International World Peace Day on September 21. With more than 50 works on display,

the artists presented their hopes for peace and harmony.

In his welcoming remarks, Al-Herbish highlighted the impor-tance of peace and stability. “The artworks featured here depict scenes of freedom, of culture and of family life and they serve as a reminder for us to stop and reflect on the importance of peace and sta-bility in a world filled with turmoil,” he said. “The very essence of peace allows us to move forward with our development and helps us leave behind a sustainable world for our children.” E

Art and the importance of peace and stability“Nigeria is and will always be a country of peace,” says Ambassador Okeke

BY SILVIA MATEYKA

From left: Nigerian Minister of State for Environment Ibrahim Jibril; Nigerian Ambassador Vivian Okeke; OFID General Counsel Violet Onyemenam; and OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish.

36 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | NEWSROUND

“My works are a cry for peace and stem from depressing events that emanated from the humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria. I work mostly with acrylics in shades of yellow ocher, maroon and umber to depict the terrain and portray anguish. Hope and gradual return to normalcy is portrayed by shades of blue and bright yellows; evidence of a new dawn.”

Kaltume Bulama Gana

Buni Yadi, acrylic on canvas.

NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 37

F Ambassador Okeke said: “Peace, a prime desire of mankind is con-stantly threatened in our world today, owing to varied manifesta-tions of intolerance. In this context, the exhibition highlights in a most unique way the underlying culture of peace in Nigeria, through an emphasis on the everyday life and engagements of the average Nigerian. Our message is that Nigeria is and will always be a country of peace.”

Particularly noteworthy is the work of Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo- Okeke. The nine-year-old artist has experienced the life changing prop-erties of art; his parents believe that art represents a shining light in the sometimes dark world of autism in which he lives. “Kanye represents our future, and I am glad to see that he has drawn such a bright one,” said Al-Herbish.

Nigeria: Scenes of Peace is the third exhibition to highlight the art of

Nigeria hosted by OFID. Previously, Rhythm of Hope showcased painting, sculpture and mixed media from three prominent Nigerian artists in 2013. The Susanne Wenger Exhibition pro-vided another opportunity to experi-ence Nigerian art and culture in 2017.

Other exhibitions hosted by OFID have highlighted the art and culture of member countries Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, as well as partner countries Kenya and Sudan. N

“The inspiration for my art comes from people: how they respond to social, economic, and political forces in their daily living. The issues, ideas and events arising from man’s quest to contain and contend with these forces form the subject of my paintings. Given this background, my paintings are highly figurative with women accorded prominent attention in my composition.”

Ben Ibebe

Nine-year-old artist Kanye has experi-

enced the life changing

properties of art.

Islamiya bound, oil on canvas.

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“I am a great believer in my African heritage and hope to use my work to promote peace in my country and Africa as a whole. I love my country deeply and am a promoter of the Idoma – an ethnic group in Benue State, Nigeria”.

Amedu Iklaga

Twist of melancholy, acrylic on canvas.

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“We began to understand that Kanye was comfortable in this environment and gradually we understood what he could be thinking and what certain pictures represented to him. We realized that Kanye is truly an exceptionally talented little boy who through art, expresses himself in a totally different way. Art has helped Kanye to connect with us, and with the society he lives in.”

Chukwuemeka Tagbo Okeke, Kanye’s father.Kanyeyachukwu Tagbo-Okeke

My family, acrylic on canvas.

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September was a busy month for OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish with a tightly-packed schedule

of meetings and missions. One such mission was to Egypt to sign two grant agreements: one that supports the renewable energy youth pro-gram of the Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) and another to fund a cultural initiative of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

RCREEE’s Arab Program for Sustainable Energy Youth – APSEY – is a regional sustainable energy internship program targeting young professionals and post graduate engineering, economy and law stu-dents from the Arab region. OFID supported the 9th and 10th rounds of the APSEY program with two grants totaling US$250,000. In 2015, Al-Herbish was invited to inaugu-rate the ‘OFID Meeting Room’ – in recognition of the institution’s

support to the center – and also to attend a graduation ceremony at RCREEE’s headquarters in Cairo.

This year, Al-Herbish was guest of honor at the graduation ceremony of the 10th APSEY program and signed a US$180,000 grant agreement with RCREEE Executive Director Dr Ahmed Badr in support of the upcoming 11th round of students.

At the signing ceremony, Al-Herbish said: “The eradication of energy poverty requires effective synergies and partnerships, while capacity building is key to achieving development in any sector. This grant is an important milestone as it sup-ports a much needed intervention in the Arab Region.”

Thanking Al-Herbish, Dr Badr said RCREEE was “honored and excited” to continue its partnership with OFID: “We are privileged to have the opportunity to support the region’s future leaders in a sustain-able field,” said Dr Badr.

OFID in EgyptGrant agreements signed in Cairo support energy- related education and cultural preservation BY ANNA ILARIA-MAYRHOFER

Al-Herbish signed another grant agreement in Alexandria with the Director of Egypt’s Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Dr Mostafa el Feki. OFID’s US$200,000 funding will support a project titled ‘The Arabs’ Memory’, which documents, pre-serves and digitizes Arab heritage. Inaugurated in 2002, Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a major library complex and cultural center hous-ing books in Arabic, English and French.

At the signing ceremony, el Feki expressed his gratitude for OFID’s continued support and explained that the latest project would “help to record and preserve the past, making it available to all people, as a timeless gift to the world.”

Al-Herbish reiterated OFID’s focus on culture as “the fourth pillar of development, in addition to the three widely recognized economic, social and environmental pillars.” He commended Bibliotheca Alexan-drina as “a place of dialogue, learn-ing and understanding between cultures and peoples.”

OFID’s first grant to Bibliotheca Alexandrina supported a scientific conference, while the second co- funded production of an Arabic- language TV program series cover-ing a variety of scientific topics for broadcast to the general public. N

OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish with RCREEE Executive Director Dr Ahmed Badr.

Al-Herbish and Dr Mostafa el Feki, Director of Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

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OFID has signed agree-ments to support a major transport infra-structure project in

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH): two loans totaling US$55.5 million will support the southeastern European country’s ‘Corridor Vc Motorway Project, Section Nemila Donja Gracanica’ (Zenica North).

The project is part of the Trans- European road corridors network that connects Budapest, Hungary, in the north, with the Adriatic port of Ploče, Croatia, in the south. Com-plex physical and geographical characteristics of the route present significant engineering challenges and require the construction of 180 bridges and 80 tunnels, and an investment worth US$5 billion.

OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish signed the agreements with BiH Minister of Finance and

Treasury Vjekoslav Bevanda and the President of the Federation of BiH, Marinko Čavara. OFID’s dele- gation also attended a high-level meeting hosted by BiH Chairman of the Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdić, alongside BiH Prime Minis-ter of the Federation Fadil Novalić and other ministers and senior gov-ernment figures.

OFID’s Al-Herbish addressed a press conference alongside Zvizdić and Ismir Jusko, BiH Minister of Communications and Transport. Al-Herbish praised the excellent cooperation between OFID and BiH and underlined OFID’s support of the government’s development strat-egy, which prioritizes transporta-tion. Al-Herbish noted that these new agreements represent OFID’s third investment in the project.

OFID has a long-standing rela-tionship with BiH, having now

approved US$195 million in devel- opment finance through its public sector window. Under OFID’s private sector operations, three loans have been committed to BiH banks for on-lending activities.  In addition, seven national grants have been extended to support operations including assisting refugees and providing humani- tarian aid. N

Boost for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s major motorway project BY STEVE HUGHES

At OFID’s 164th Session of the Governing Board two further transportation sector loans of US$30m and €35m were approved for the con-struction of the Hrenovica-Gorazde Expressway and Hranjen Tunnel in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project aims to provide a more efficient and less expensive means of transport in a region where agriculture is a key sector. An estimated 900,000 people will benefit.

OFID Director-General Al-Herbish (left) at a press conference alongside Denis Zvizdic, BiH Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Complex physical and geographical characteris-

tics of the route present

significant engineering challenges.

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BY FATMA ELZAHRA ELSHHATI

Annual Scholarship Award 2018OFID sponsors 10 remarkable young students of development

As part of the organization’s vision to support sustainable development centered on human capacity-building, OFID’s

Annual Scholarship Award helps young people from its partner countries achieve their full potential. Close to 10,000 young

people applied this year for the opportunity to pursue their graduate studies, sponsored by OFID. The following

ten remarkable young students were successful…

Israa Mohammed from Sudan will pursue a degree in Public Health for Development at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Israa hopes to effect policy change back in her home country: “I will be able to set health promotion policies and evidence-based strategies to con-trol health problems in Sudan,” she says.

Alazar Lemedo from Ethiopia will be studying for a degree in Structural Engineering at the University of Manchester. During his studies, Alazar wishes to explore sustainable and resilient structures to engage in building a green and cost-effective housing sector in his home country. “For a country like Ethiopia, where construction consumes 60 percent of the national budget, implementing cost efficient infrastructure is indispensable,” Alazar says.

Sri Lankan Amayaa Wijesinghe will attend Oxford University to pursue a Master’s in Biodiversity, Conservation and Management. “I am passionate about my country, its people and its natural beauty and resources,” says Amayaa, who aims to help build the resilience of rural communities.

Maria Ines Cubides Kovacsics from Colombia

will study at the International Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands, for a Master’s in Development Studies. She has been fighting for the rights of excluded and marginalized people in Colombia. “I want to learn more about strategies for achieving justice from a developmental angle,” Maria says. Upon her return home, she hopes to help increase commu-nity involvement in development projects.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF OFID 2018 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

“I am passionate

about my country...”

“I will be able to set health promotion

policies...”

NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 43

Originally from Somalia, Abdishakur Ahmed will study for a degree in Sustainable International Devel-opment at Brandeis University in the US. Abdishakur is the co-founder and CEO of SomLite, a solar financing and distribution social enterprise that focuses on providing energy access to off-grid rural residents. “I believe that access to sustainable energy is the pyramid base on which other foun-dations of sustainable development – such as agriculture, health, and livelihoods – can be built,” he says.

From Malawi, Thokozani Chapomba will study at the University of Leeds, UK, for an MA in Health Management, Planning and Policy. “I have a strong drive to do more in society,” she says. As a practicing nurse and midwife, Thokozani has experienced first-hand the challenges surrounding health service delivery in Malawi, such as the lack of resources and an enabling public health policy.

Hayatullah Bayan from Afghanistan will attend the University of Sussex, UK, to pursue a degree in Governance, Devel- opment and Public Policy. Hayatullah believes that sound and functional public institutions are the key to sustainable development and wants to focus on re-forms that promote good governance and transparency. “The program will equip me with the knowledge and expertise for policy making and allow me to empower myself to push for sustainable develop-ment in Afghanistan,” he says.

From Armenia, Mariana Javakhyan will study for a degree in Sustainable Development. Mariana is part of the governmental working group for the national implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “I am at the heart of the development process in my country and studying at the University of Sussex will give me enough strength to become one of the drivers of positive change,” she says.

“I have a strong drive to do more in society.”

Nji Atanga Desmond from Cameroon will study Health Economics at the University of East Anglia, UK. “My goal is to contribute to increased access to quality health care and wellbeing,” he says. Nji Atanga has been involved in promoting the sexual health of adoles-cents and helped establish the non-profit organization BlockFakeRx, which aims to provide low cost quality medication for low-income communities in Cameroon.

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“My goal is to contribute to

increased access to quality health care

and wellbeing.”

Evelyn Changala from Zambia will pursue a degree in Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Evelyn cur-rently develops financial inclusion poli-cies for small and medium-sized enter-prises to promote food security. “These policies have lifted over 38,000 low in-come families in Zambia out of extreme poverty and enhanced their household food security and resilience,” she says. She has also helped establish zero-inter-est loans for female entrepreneurs, benefiting 25,700 people.

“ These policies have lifted over 38,000 low income families in Zambia out of extreme poverty.”

44 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | NEWSROUND

O FID has committed a total of US$5 million to the Regional Ed-

ucation Finance Fund for Africa (REF-FA) – the first blended finance fund to exclusively support the development of the education sector in Africa.

REFFA aims to provide customized financial services for the education sector and increase equal access to primary, secondary, vocational and higher education, as well as enhance the quality of education.

“OFID is focused on helping its beneficiary countries make progress in achieving the Sustainable Develop-ment Goals – the fourth of which fo-cuses on education. We are therefore pleased to support this innovative ini-tiative which aims to catalyze private financing to help develop human cap-ital in Africa,” said Tareq Alnassar, OFID Assistant Director General, Pri-vate Sector and Trade Finance Operations.

As of June 30, 2018, REFFA had dis-bursed in excess of US$25 million to eight financial institutions in seven countries in Western, Eastern, and Northern Africa. REFFA supports more than 700 schools and over 4,000 students. School fee loans are extend-ed to more than 45,000 families and loans to private schools represent 49 percent of the Fund’s portfolio.

OFID invests in African education sector

PHOTO: JAKE LYELL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 45

OFID has signed a loan agreement with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and

Development Bank (TDB), demon-strating continued commitment to sustainable development in Africa.

Amounting to US$60 million, the loan will support international trade in TDB’s countries of opera-tions by allowing the bank to on-lend, prioritizing sectors that augment the sustainable socio-economic growth of the region.

TDB operates in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) – a free trade area with 19 member states.

The loan has been approved through OFID’s Trade Finance window, which supports private enterprises and governments by facilitating import and export re-quirements. This helps address working-capital needs and improves

the cross-border trade prospects of partner countries.

In 2018, OFID also signed a mem-bership and subscription agreement with TDB amounting to US$20 mil-lion, which provides a platform for TDB to enhance its financing of trade and infrastructure in its

beneficiary countries. The invest-ment further enhances a nine year partnership with TDB, during which time OFID has approved financing totaling US$150 million to the bank for the benefit of countries in East and Southern Africa. N

P Burundi

P Comoros

P Democratic Republic of Congo

P Djibouti

P Egypt

P Eritrea

P Ethiopia

P Kenya

P Malawi

P Mauritius

P Mozambique

P Rwanda

P Seychelles

P Somalia

P Sudan

P South Sudan

P Swaziland

P Tanzania

P Uganda

P Zambia

P Zimbabwe

L Established in 1985 as a sub-regional multilateral development bank.

L Recently rebranded as TDB from PTA Bank.

L Provides development capital through trade finance and project finance loans to private sector institutions and sovereigns.

L Intends to further aims of COMESA region and make the economies of member states increasingly complementary.

L Aims to become a world-class financial institution contributing to the economic growth, prosperity and development of the Eastern and Southern African Region.

US$60m boost to international trade in East and Southern AfricaBY MANYA TANDAN

About TDB

TDB regional members:

46 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | NEWSROUND

better-quality housing. Project activities will include building and renovating water and sanitary facil-ities, raising awareness of health and hygiene issues and providing support to community-led waste col-lection and management programs. Also planned is an affordable housing scheme that will provide construc-tion materials and micro-finance loans, and support capacity build-ing. The agreement was signed at Habitat’s regional office in Bratislava, Slovakia, by OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and Habitat for Humanity’s Area Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Torre Nelson.

At the signing ceremony, Al-Herbish spoke of OFID’s strong commitment to helping boost socio-economic development in its partner countries – particularly the least developed in sub-Saharan Africa. He said OFID would continue directing a substantial portion of its resourc-es to countries lacking adequate water and sanitation infrastructure and facing water shortages.

Torre Nelson thanked OFID for its support, which will dramatically improve the living conditions of families – especially children – who had to walk long distances to reach a water point. He said Habitat’s

Liberia’s most populous city Monrovia is inhabited by circa one million people – around three-quarters

of whom live in slum settlements. Deemed the wettest capital in the world, Monrovia is subject to severe flooding owing to substandard drainage. This, along with poor sanitation, subjects communities to waterborne illnesses and impedes livelihoods and businesses that depend on reliable roads to trans-port goods and services.

OFID’s US$420,000 grant agree-ment (the project is co-financed by Cities Alliance) will support a broad program to provide affordable and

OFID has signed a grant agreement with Habitat for Humanity International (Habitat) to support a project to improve living conditions for slum dwellers on Peace Island in Greater Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa.

BY ANNA ILARIA-MAYRHOFER

Keeping heads above water in the wettest capital on earth

OFID Director-General Al-Herbish and Habitat for Humanity’s Area Vice President for Europe, Middle East and Africa Torre Nelson sign a US$420,000 grant agreement.

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OFID has extended an emergency grant of US$400,000 to the Inter-national Federation of

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societ-ies (IFRC) to support the delivery of shelter and immediate basic needs by the Indonesian Red Cross, nationally known as Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI), to the victims of the recent multiple earthquakes in Lombok.

Two earthquakes struck Lombok Island within a week in late July and early August. Both earthquakes affected five districts in West Nusa Tenggara Province: North Lombok, East Lombok, West Lombok, Central Lombok and Mataram, with North Lombok the hardest hit. A third quake hit on August 9 and a fourth on August 18, and aftershocks con-tinued long after.

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Authorities stated that the four earthquakes had caused more than 510 fatalities, at least

partnership with OFID will enable approximately 13,000 people to gain access to clean water, adequate sani-tation and hygiene.

International NGO UN-Habitat strives to provide low-income households with affordable, decent housing through community-led schemes and aims to develop and expand market-based services, prod-ucts and funding. This includes microfinance and disaster-reduction and preparedness services. Habitat is a partner in the five-year Liberia Country Program (see box) – an urban-upgrading program drafted by the global partnership Cities Alliance.

Liberia has been a beneficiary of regional OFID grants that have helped fund HIV / AIDS and polio eradication, fight Ebola and support water safety and clean cooking initiatives. N

The Liberia Country Program will:

L Mobilize urban poor groups to help improve lives.

L Provide improved access to water and sanitation.

L Transform living conditions of poor urban house- holds through investments in city-wide slum upgrading and incremental housing policy frameworks.

L Recognize the contributions of the informal economy by supporting street vendors in Greater Monrovia to negotiate better working conditions with city governments.

L Support communities to create vibrant local associations so they are better equipped to achieve long-term improvements in living con-ditions.

L Work with city and national government to improve strategic urban planning frameworks and enhance environments for Liberian cities through the county’s first National Urban Policy.

The program is running from 2016 to 2021.

SOURCE: CITIES ALLIANCE WEBSITE

Lombok earthquake responseOFID emergency grant supports Indonesia BY STEVE HUGHES

Habitat’s partnership with OFID will enable

approximately 13,000 people

to gain access to

clean water, adequate

sanitation and hygiene.

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7,100 injuries and more than 431,000 people to be displaced. Economic losses are massive, thought (so far) to be in the region of IDR 5.04 trillion, or around US$350 million.

PMI staff and volunteers were quickly mobilized to support search and rescue efforts and provide emergency first aid and non-food items including tarpaulin tents and blankets. Ambulances and water trucks were also deployed. OFID’s grant will help scale-up this assistance. Longer term, the response aims to deliver human- itarian assistance to 80,000 people (20,000 families).

As this issue went to print, OFID approved another US$400,000 grant to the IFRC to help meet the immedi-ate needs of victims of a second earth- quake and tsunami that struck Indo-nesia’s Sulawesi Island. This brings the cumulative total of emergency grants to the IFRC to more than US$25 million for 77 operations. N

48 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | NEWSROUND

Representatives from the Asian Development Bank, the Global Fund and the World Bank joined those

from the ten members of the Coordi-nation Group for discussions focused on topics ranging from improving development cooperation and effec-tiveness to liaising on upcoming developmental projects.

During his welcome speech, OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish spoke of the Group’s important role in strengthening partnerships and enhancing visi- bility with the common goal of pro-moting sustainable development. “In my years as Director-General

of this noble institution, I have viewed the Coordination Group as I view OFID, and expect of the Group what I expect of OFID: steadfast am-bition and unparalleled dedication.” Al-Herbish highlighted OFID’s efforts in the alleviation of energy poverty, and its special efforts in Palestine, and urged the group to continue supporting these initia-tives as it looks ahead.

High on the meeting’s agenda was the Arab Development Portal (ADP), a Coordination Group initia-tive developed in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide up-to-date development-related data

and statistics concerning the Arab world. The ADP has become a re-gional hub for data collection and analysis and is growing ever more relevant. The ADP team updated

Arab Coordination Group gathers for 82nd meeting in ViennaOFID hosted the 82nd Meeting of the Heads of Opera-tions of the Coordination Group of Arab and Regional Development Institutions, the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) and OFID at its Vienna headquarters over three days in September.

The meeting’s agenda included discussions on:

• Planned and ongoing opera-tions in partner countries

• Ongoing progress of the Arab Development Portal

• Harmonization of statistics on Arab aid

• Deep Dive cooperation with the World Bank

• Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

• Abu Dhabi Fund initiative on renewable energy

• AGFUND initiative on the financial inclusion of the poor

• Arab Monetary Fund ongoing work on the Arab financial system

“I expect steadfast

ambition and unparalleled dedication.”

Al-Herbish

From left: Azzeddine Bouchelaghem, Coordination Secretariat, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (Arab Fund); OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish; OFID Assistant Director-General, Public Sector Operations, Fuad Albassam; and Assistant to the Coordination Secretariat, Arab Fund, Ali Thunayan Al-Ghanim.

NEWSROUND | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 49

the meeting about its role in ensur-ing high quality data and building capacity through workshops. In October, the ADP will host the sec-ond ‘hackathon’ involving youth from Arab countries in Beirut, Lebanon.

The importance of the Global Partnership for Effective Develop-ment Cooperation (GPEDC) was also discussed. The GPEDC enables the Coordination Group to cooper-ate effectively with other institu-tions outside the United Nations framework. Under the GPEDC, the Coordination Group has committed to the effective use of its resources and to principles of transparency. In order to measure aid effective-ness, the group agreed that perfor-mance indicators must be set and measured.

Other topics on the agenda in-cluded cooperation with the Organi-sation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC); the Deep Dive dialogue with the World Bank Group; and technical meetings with the Asian Develop-ment Bank and the Global Fund. The OECD-DAC and Deep-Dive ini-tiatives are both concrete examples of the Coordination Group of Arab and Regional Development Institu-tions’ efforts to combine resources and align institutional priorities to realize joint projects and actions.

The Coordination Group com-prises: the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, OFID, the Qatar Development Fund and the Saudi Fund for Development.

The group will meet next on January 14, 2019 for the OECD-DAC meeting, hosted by the Arab Fund in Kuwait. N

“Inter- national trade is

essential to strong and

growing economies.”

Al-Herbish

OFID has signed a Coop-eration Agreement with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank

(BSTDB). Under the agreement, the two development institutions will coordinate efforts to promote the economic and social development of countries of the Black Sea region (see box) through financing private sector projects, trade transactions and private equity investments.

“OFID is very pleased to be working with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to support development within its member countries,” said OFID Director-

General Suleiman J Al-Herbish. “Since OFID’s inception, and through our public and private operations, we have approved more than US$1.3 billion to eligible countries in the Black Sea region, and with the signing of this agreement we look forward to further scaling up our support.”

Al-Herbish added: “This Cooper-ation Agreement shows we are committed to strengthening devel-opment financing through private sector funding and illustrates our belief that international trade is essential to strong and growing economies. It is also a good example of how we look to build partner-ships to tackle the complexities of sustainable development.”

Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, BSTDB President, said: “Development finance institutions need to forge synergies to increase effectiveness and make a real difference. Our signing today is based on the already established successful interaction between BSTDB and OFID on a ma-jor project in Turkey and we hope this MOU will help us to develop a meaningful and long lasting cooper-ation in the Black Sea region, bring-ing funds more quickly where they are needed.” N

OFID to work with Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to promote economic and social development

BY STEVE HUGHES

About BSTDBThe Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bul-garia, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Rus-sia, Turkey and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquar-ters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guar-antees for projects and trade financing in the pub-lic and private sectors in its member countries. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org

Boost for Black Sea regionOFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and BSTDB President Ihsan Ugur Delikanli. PHOTO: KPHA

50 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | NEWSROUND

OFID and global youth- led organization AIESEC have chal-lenged young people

across the world to engage with the United Nations Sustainable Develop-ment Goals (SDGs) like never before.

The challenge was thrown down at July’s Youth Speak forum in Hurghada, Egypt. Over 650 young people from more than 120 countries took part in the One-Day Challenge, which aimed to encourage concrete actions to achieve the SDGs, or the Global Goals as they are also known.

“We believe that young people are a strong partner for the imple-mentation of the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals,” says Abdelrahman Ayman, President of AIESEC Inter-national 2017-18. “We are happy to partner with OFID on the SDG Challenge to inspire youth to take action for the Global Goals.

“This partnership has helped us increase the level of awareness of young leaders about how their everyday actions can create a strong ripple effect for positive change and most importantly, strive to fulfill

[the Global Goals] even after the Challenge,” he added.

The activities of the challenge are based on AIESEC’s The Young Person’s Guide: Changing the World publication and aim to address each one of the 17 Global Goals. Related tasks and actions fall under four categories: Influencers aim to raise awareness about issues – such as gender equality or quality educa-tion – through social media; Role-models challenge people to take concrete action, such as signing-up to a carbon footprint tracker app; Change-makers encourage engaging with others to raise awareness of particular issues; and SDG Champions inspire young people to get creative to drive more major change, by supporting other young people with work and educa-tion opportunities, for example.

OFID and AIESEC believe that the 1.8 billion young people living in the world today have the potential to make the Global Goals a reality. With over 100 tasks completed in just one day, the One-Day Challenge is just one example of how the ball can be set in motion. N

OFID and AIESEC’s One-Day Challenge inspires young people to achieve the Global Goals

BY FATMA ELZAHRA ELSHHATI

Youth + sustainable development

= big potential

Abdelrahman Ayman, AIESEC President.

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AIESEC (pronounced eye-sek) was originally an acronym for Association Internationale des Étudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales. AIESEC is no longer used as an acronym but simply as the name of the organization. The organization is youth-led and encourages young people to explore inter-ests and potential in relation to world issues, leadership and management. In 2015, the orga-nization launched its Youth for Global Goals (Youth4GG) initiative to engage and mobilize young people to achieve the Global Goals. In 2018 alone, AIESEC aims to engage over 100,000 young people and reach 10 million more.

OFID DIARY JULY– SEPTEMBER 2018

JULY 3

Public sector loan agreement signed

Sri Lanka. US$50 million. Technological Education Devel- opment Program. To improve the provision of technology disci-plines in more than 300 second-ary schools, benefiting circa 10,000 students per year, as well as 1,600 administrators and teachers.

AUGUST 2

Public sector loan agreements signed

Côte d’Ivoire. US$19 million. Agricultural Value Chains Devel-opment Program. To help reduce poverty for around 180,000 people through the repair and installation of rice and mango processing/packaging systems,

upgrading of rural roads, devel-opment of farmland and improv-ing links to export and urban markets.

Malawi. US$15 million. Karonga Town Water Supply. To expand the capacity of potable water supplies in Malawi’s north-ern region, where demand is outpacing supply. An estimated 184,000 residents will be able to enjoy improved health and livelihoods.

AUGUST 6

Trade finance agreement signed

Fibabanka AS of Turkey. US$30 million. To support Fibabanka’s international trade finance activities by providing short-term foreign currency financing to its sub-borrowers. The facility is expected to boost

employment and living standards, as well as helping promote the optimal use of the country’s resources.

AUGUST 27-28

Public sector loan agreements signed

Burundi. US$20 million. Rumonge-Nyanza Lac Road Reha-bilitation. To improve a 52 km stretch of road that will promote development in Burundi’s south-west region and strengthen re-gional integration with Tanzania. Some 340,000 people will benefit.

Guinea Bissau. US$6 million. Economic Development Project for the Southern Regions of Guin-ea Bissau. To alleviate poverty and enhance food security in the rural communities of Tombali, Quinara and Bolama-Bijagos by increasing rice production and modernizing 33 km of rural roads.

Uganda. US$11.5 million. Luwero-Butalangu Road. To improve access to markets, social and health services, and employ-ment opportunities for some 677,000 people comprising farm-ers and businesses in central Uganda.

AUGUST 30

Public sector loan agreements signed

Bosnia and Herzegovina. Corridor Vc Motorway Project, Subsection Nemila-Donja Gračanica (Zenica North). US$27.1 million and €24.3 million. To improve travel connections for some 150,000 people in the metropoli-tan area of Zenica, an important center for mining and metallurgy. Works will include construction of a 17.65 km carriageway as well as interchanges, bridges and tunnels.

OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish with incoming Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo honors Al-Herbish with a farewell luncheon with Nigerian Ambassador Vivian Okeke and other dignitaries in attendance.

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SEPTEMBER 19

164th session of the Governing Board

Public sector loans approved

Bosnia and Herzegovina. Construction of Hrenovica- Gorazde Expressway and Hranjen Tunnel. To provide a more effi-cient and less expensive means of transport in a region where agriculture is a key sector. An estimated 900,000 people will benefit (two loans of US$30m and €35m).

Burkina Faso. US$19 million. Tougan-Ouahigouya Road. To upgrade a 94 km stretch of road to promote trade, improve links between production zones and the capital Ouagadougou, and enhance access to social services for around 250,000 people.

Malawi. US$12 million. Nkhata Bay Town Water Supply and Sanitation. To improve health and living standards for circa 124,000 people by rehabilitating and expanding infrastructure for potable water.

Mozambique. US$12 million. Angoche Fishing Port. Rehabilita-tion of the AO17 Road Corridor (Rakwana-Suriyakanda). To build a new port that will result in higher incomes for around 18,000 artisanal fishermen and enhance

food security and socioeconomic development in the town of Angoche, Nampula province.

Sri Lanka. US$40 million. Rehabilitation of the A017 Road Corridor (Rakwana – Suriyakanda). To repair an 18 km stretch of road in an area where lack of access to markets and social services hin-ders socioeconomic development.

Grants approved

Arab Organization for Agricultural Development. US$500,000. To boost food security and incomes in high-poverty rural households in the Darfur region through the construction/rehabilitation of water-harvesting and storage facilities, distribution of agriculture inputs and equip-ment, as well as capacity-building and outreach activities.

Deutsche Welthungerhilfe. US$345,000. To provide rural energy solutions in low-coverage areas in the provinces of Nangarhar and Parwan, Afgha- nistan. This will help foster socio-economic development and directly benefit circa 22,600 people and 45 small businesses.

Institut zur Cooperation bei Entwicklungs-Projekten (ICEP). US$800,000. To improve the quality of programs focusing on technical and entrepreneurial skills in nine vocational training centers in Kenya and Uganda.

Beneficiaries include 116 teachers / trainers, 4,200 young people and 2,700 small entrepreneurs.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. US$500,000. To enhance the resil-ience of host communities and improve living conditions of both local residents and refugees host-ed in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, by providing safe and sustainable shelter and settlement solutions.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. US$1 million. To expand access to sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services and pro-mote hygiene in high cholera-risk districts of Ghana, Malawi and Rwanda. Activities will include rehabilitation and construction of water points and providing schools and households with improved latrines. Also planned are outreach / awareness raising and capacity-building programs, aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of about 115,000 people.

Light for the World. US$500,000. To help prevent the transmission of trachoma and waterborne dis-eases commonly associated with poor sanitation and hygiene in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Water points and latrines will be built / repaired in 50 schools and outreach activities carried out to benefit at least 25,000 schoolchildren.

Plan International. US$900,000. To deliver affordable and reliable modern energy in rural areas of Mali, Niger and Senegal by offering renewable energy services to over 4,650 women-led small- and medium-sized enter-prises and 600 women’s savings groups comprising around 21,000 members.

Research grants approved

Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED). US$50,000. To sponsor produc-tion of AFED’s Annual Report and 2018 conference titled Financing Sustainable Develop-ment in Arab Countries.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). US$50,000. To support the participation of professionals from low-income countries to attend the IAEA’s international symposium Understanding the Double Burden of Malnutrition for Effective Interventions taking place December 10 – 13, 2018 in Vienna, Austria.

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas. US$200,000. To increase productivity, resil-ience and marketability of micro-nutrient rich legumes in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. The project will directly benefit 5,000 households (farmers and consumers) and about

Kazem Gharib Abadi, the new Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Vienna, pays a courtesy visit to OFID Director-General Al-Herbish.

Al-Herbish greets the new Ambassador of the Mission of the League of Arab States and former Ambassador of Tunisia, Mohamed Samir Koubaa.

OFID DIARY | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 53

25,000 households indirectly from additional incomes and food security.

International Humanitarian Relief (IHR). US$100,000. To support the continuation of an education program for Syrian refugee children at the Saad Nayel Educational Center. OFID’s contribution will help provide schoolbooks and uniforms and partially cover teacher salaries, benefiting about 320 children.

Islamic Relief, Switzerland. US$200,000. To help fund the third phase of education and protection programs for refugee children in Lebanon. The project will target 1,700 Palestinian and Syrian children, in addition to children from disadvantaged families in the Lebanese host community.

Saudi Center for the Rehabilitation and Training of Blind Girls, Jordan. US$150,000. To help finance the expansion of the Saudi Center, which provides courses, cultural activities and a Braille library to visually im-paired girls from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen.

Shell Foundation. US$150,000. To improve the effectiveness and coordination of mini-grid sector support through the web-based data platform Odyssey.

Meetings attended by OFID

JULY 23 – 27AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

22nd International AIDS Conference

AUGUST 27 – 30THESSALONIKI, GREECE

22nd Meeting of the Interna-tional Financial Institutions Compensation and Benefits Specialists

SEPTEMBER 2 – 5BEIRUT, LEBANON

Strategic Advisory Board meeting of the Arab Develop-ment Portal

SEPTEMBER 6 – 7 FRANKFURT, GERMANY European System of Central Banks Legal Conference 2018

SEPTEMBER 10VIENNA, AUSTRIAAfghanistan Infrastructure Trust Fund (AITF) Financing Partners Conference

WASHINGTON DC, USIFC Asset Management Company Annual Limited Partner Program

SEPTEMBER 11 – 13VIENNA, AUSTRIA82nd Heads of Operations Coordination Group Meeting

This platform will enable project developers to design, build, and operate data-driven micro-grids as well as allow OFID to facilitate collaboration on mini-grid invest-ments and track impact and performance.

World Bank’s Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development. US$50,000. To co-fund a policy study that will explore the inte-gration of refugees and asylum seekers in Greece; a session of Law, Justice and Development Week 2018 titled ‘How Incorporat-ing Legal Initiatives in World Bank Projects is Critical to Achieve the Twin Goals of Eradi-cating Poverty and Sharing Pros-perity’; and the development of a Human-Centered Business Model.

Al-Herbish receives former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, now Executive Director of NGO Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.

Johannes Peterlik, new Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs in the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs meets with Al-Herbish.

54 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | OFID DIARY

164th Session of the Governing Board

Bader Ahmed Al QayedGovernor, Qatar

The 164th Session of OFID’s Governing Board held in September approved more than US$270 million of new development funding to benefit developing countries across the globe. Amounting to US$154 million, the public sector loans will co-finance projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mozambique and Sri Lanka. Other approvals include seven grants totaling US$4.5 million to the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development; Deutsche Welthungerhilfe; Institut zur Cooperation bei Entwicklungs-Projekten; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; Light for the World; and Plan International. Under OFID’s private sector facility, US$42 million was approved to help enhance the energy sector in Bangladesh and support a financial institution in Cambodia. Under the institution’s trade finance opera-tions, US$70 million was approved to help boost the garment production industry in Jordan and support international trade activities in Bangladesh and Georgia. See pages 51-53 for more details.

OFID DIARY | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 55

Dr Mahmoud Isa-DutseGovernor, Nigeria

Jean J Essono NguemaGovernor, Gabon

Dr Hamad S Al-BazaiGovernor, Saudi Arabia

Jesse Alonso Chacón EscamilloGovernor, Venezuela

See the press releases section of www.ofid.org for more information.

56 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | OFID DIARY

LOAN SIGNATURE PHOTO GALLERY

July 3. OFID Director-General Al-Herbish and Dr Ranepura Hewage Samantha Samaratunga (left), Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Mass Media of Sri Lanka, sign a US$50 million public sector loan agreement to support the Technological Education Development Program.

August 2. A US$15 million loan agreement signed by Al-Herbish and Michael B Kamphambe Nkhoma, Ambassador of Malawi to Germany, will co-finance a project aimed at expanding potable water supplies for around 184,000 people in Karonga Town in the country’s northern region.

August 2. The Ambassador of Côte d’Ivoire to Austria Roger A Kacou and Al-Herbish sign a US$19 million loan agreement for the Agricultural Value Chains Development Program to help improve living conditions and incomes for around 180,000 people.

OFID DIARY | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 57

August 27. Rui Domingos Baticã, Ambassador of Guinea Bissau to Germany, and Al-Herbish sign a US$6 million loan agreement that will help bolster economic development in the southern regions of Guinea Bissau.

August 27. Al-Herbish and Dr Domitien Ndihokubwayo, Burundi’s Minister of Finance, Budget and Economic Development, sign a US$20 million loan agreement for the Rumonge-Nyanza Lac Road Rehabilitation Project to promote development and strengthen regional integration with Tanzania.

August 28. Uganda’s Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija and Al-Herbish sign a US$11.5 million loan agreement for the Luwero- Butalangu Road Project, which will improve access to social services and job opportunities for some 677,000 people.

SPOTLIGHT

Anne-Marie Leroy is recently retired from her position as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the World Bank Group. On a visit to OFID earlier this year, she spoke with the OFID Quarterly about retirement, working for the good of mankind and being moved to tears out in the field. As told to Steve Hughes…

Anne-Marie Leroy on the ‘extraordinary institution’ that is the World Bank

SPOTLIGHT | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 59

I’ve been retired for more than one-and-a-half years now. I recommend it – you should take retirement at

your first opportunity. I read, I travel, I go to the pool – but I resist my husband’s efforts to get me into gardening.

Why did I choose law? Because I was terrible at maths! If you can’t do maths, you do law, but I ended up liking it. From the beginning of my career, I’ve been more involved in designing, drafting and interpreting laws. From law, I logically moved into public affairs, which is a much broader field. Public policy is what interests me.

I don’t like to talk about ‘achieve-ments’, but there have been high points during my career. One was being appointed senior advisor to France’s Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin [who served between 1997 and 2002]. I was in charge of govern-ment reform. When you’re at the heart of the government machinery you really see what’s going on in the country and all that is at stake, and Jospin was a real statesman.

The second high point was the World Bank. The Bank is an extra- ordinary institution and it was a privilege to work there. You’re at the center of the international com-munity and its efforts to fight pov-erty, to foster development, to com-bat inequality. There are very few institutions that give you the oppor-tunity to wake up every morning believing what you are doing is for the good of mankind. The Bank is not perfect because it’s a very large institution, so there is bureaucracy. But I believe it is one of the most remarkable things that the interna-tional community has ever put together. It achieves a great deal.

My fondest memory of the bank? Visiting my staff in Indonesia. I met with the World Bank task manager responsible for the reconstruction project after the Aceh tsunami. He had accomplished something

revolutionary at the time. Instead of issuing an international tender for reconstruction work, which would have taken years to materia-lize, he had convinced the Bank to simply give money to people to re-build their own houses. In a few months, the people were back in their homes, and in the process they had given business to local constructors instead of the large multinational companies who would have won the big tenders. When I visited, he had just applied the same recipe to an area devastated by an earthquake two years before. The Bank had also provided some tech-nical assistance to teach people how to build to withstand earthquakes, and everything was already back to normal.

We walked through the streets, and a homeowner showed me the type of bolt he’d used so that his wall could move in case of an earth-quake. And then a tiny elderly wom-an came running out of her house. She gave the task manager a huge bear hug. ‘I know you,’ she said to him. ‘You came after the tsunami and said you would rebuild my house. And you did.’ I was moved

to tears. That’s the kind of thing that happens when you’re at the World Bank.

In terms of development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), I’m optimistic. For me, edu- cation is at the heart of it all. It’s through education that you prepare the future; that you build gender equality; that you improve health and agriculture and wellbeing... The world is doing well when it comes to achieving universal primary education and we’re well on the way with secondary education. But it’s about quality. Are children actually learning anything?

Energy is also a priority for the bank. The World Bank President [Jim Yong Kim] is a medical doctor and he knows that without electric-ity, you can’t run a maternity ward so you can’t fight maternal and child mortality; without electricity, kids can’t study at home after school because it’s dark. It goes on.

I do believe that when the inter-national community sets its mind on achieving these type of goals, it will achieve progress. But I doubt wheth-er the SDGs will be reached by 2030. Some of them are pretty ambitious. But there will be progress, and I think that is what counts.

“I believe it is one of the most remark-

able things that the inter-national com-

munity has ever put

together.”

Anne-Marie Leroy was visit-ing OFID to attend and deliver a keynote speech at the 23rd IFIs General Counsels Annual Meet-ing. For more information about the event, see page 52 of the last edition of the OFID Quarterly magazine (July 2018).

Anne-Marie Leroy with Jim Yong Kim, World Bank President, on the occasion of her retirement party (December 7, 2016)

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At the Kakuma Refugee Camp in rural Kenya, in-habitants are redefining what it means to be a

refugee. Situated in Turkana Coun-ty, the camp is home to over 150,000 refugees – primarily from South Sudan and Somalia – making it one of the seven largest refugee camps in the world. The success stories of Kakuma refugees are a tribute to

the progressive nature of the camp, and those living in it.

In 26 years of existence, Kakuma has transitioned from a place of tem-porary asylum to an ‘urban center’, complete with its own market. Referred to by many as ‘Hong Kong’, the market is home to over 1,200 refugee-run businesses, which offer a variety of products and services to both the camp’s residents as well as

the host community. Among these is the small business of Safi Kisasa, who earns her daily income through bread-baking. Known by her friends as Mama Safi, she employs over a dozen people in the camp and bakes more than 1,000 loaves of bread per week.

“We call it a camp, but it’s really a city,” Tayyar Sukru Cansizoglu, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Head of Sub-Office Kakuma, told the OFID Quarterly. “It is providing a place with opportunities for refu-gees that can’t be found anywhere else in Kenya.”

The environment in the camp, Cansizoglu explains, has allowed refugees to rebuild their lives and search for solutions – to become more self-reliant. “This does not mean that refugees here are no longer in need of humanitarian aid,” Cansizoglu clarifies. “Rather, it represents Kakuma’s environ- ment which provides opportunities for refugees to make the most out of their resources.”

PERSPECTIVES

“We call it a camp, but it’s really a city”

Kakuma Camp: Redefining the refugee experience in Africa BY OFID INTERN NADINE FATTAH AND COMMUNICATION OFFICER FATMA ELZAHRA ELSHHATI

An aerial view shows recently constructed houses at the Kakuma refugee camp in Turkana county, northwest of Nairobi, Kenya.

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M H Mohamud, a Somalian refugee living in the camp, adds: “In the last couple of years, there has been a shift in the mindset of refugees in Kakuma. We have gone from seeing ourselves as hopeless victims who rely on food aid and NGO assistance to viewing the camp as ours, and becoming active and productive members of society.”

Development institutions includ-ing the World Bank are committed to furthering this shift by support-ing refugees and host communities in ways that complement, rather than replace, the work of humani-tarian partners. “Including refugees in development planning and na-tional systems is a key part of this approach,” says Franck Bousquet, Senior Director of the World Bank Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group (FCV). In this way, the World Bank believes refugees can become active recipients of aid and capital-ize on its impact by developing their own skills.

A recent report by the Interna-tional Finance Corporation (IFC) supports this claim and illustrates a unique dynamic between Turkana locals and Kakuma refugees. The report finds that the refugee entre-preneurs in Kakuma have not only been able to support themselves, but also members of their host coun-tries. In Kakuma, the report notes,

refugees have employed locals in camp jobs and town residents sell resources to refugees.

“That Kakuma refugees and Kenyans are able to attend school, work and trade together both in camp and in Kalobeyei (a nearby settlement) illustrates the positive social and economic potential of refugee integration,” Cansizoglu adds.

M H Mohamud and Mama Safi are just two of many people creat-ing positive change in Kakuma Camp. During June, in an event organized by TEDx, a non-profit organization with the aim of spread-ing empowering messages, many more stories were told by the camp’s current and former inhabitants. Under the theme of Thrive, they highlighted their stories of success despite difficult circumstances. The environment in Kakuma Camp, however, no doubt fosters many more untold stories. N

During the 2016 One Young World (OYW) Summit in Ottawa, Canada, OFID hosted a session themed “Ref-ugee Heroes”. The session highlighted the stories of four individuals with refugee backgrounds to an international audience. Two of the OFID-sponsored delegates were

Anjelina Nada Lohalith and James Nayang Chiengjie, refugees from South Sudan who had grown up in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Lohalith and Chiengjie shared their stories of life in the camp and spoke about their experi-ences as athletes in the first refugee team at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

OFID works hard to keep migration and all its related issues in the spotlight, not least dedicating the whole of 2016 – the organi-zation’s 40th anniversary – to raising aware-ness of the plight of refugees. One of many projects related to refugees (in Africa) was the humanitarian aid of US$500,000 OFID extended in support of providing food and nutrition to vulnerable refugees in Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya in 2014. This project was conducted in partnership with the World Food Program (WFP).

PERSPECTIVES | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 61

“We have gone

from seeing ourselves

as hopeless victims...

to viewing the camp as

ours.”

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MEMBER STATES FOCUS

Up and coming artist Takwa Barnosa has an ambitious goal: to revive the art scene in Libya.

In 2015, then 17 years-old, Barnosa founded the WaraQ Art Foundation with the aim of promoting free expression among young people in Libya. Since then, she has been the organizer and curator for exhibi-tions held both at home in Libya and abroad.

The Foundation’s latest interna-tional exhibition entitled ‘Across Borders’ was held in Vienna and showcased the work of 11 young contemporary Libyan artists. “The exhibition encouraged artists to challenge their own boundaries and the borders that surround them – personal, social, political and geographical borders,” Barnosa explains to the OFID Quarterly.

In her own work, Barnosa offers commentary on current social issues through calligraphy and pho-tography. In the Vienna exhibition, Barnosa’s Arabic calligraphy spells out the words ‘commodity’, ‘fear’ and ‘failure’. The words are superim-

WaraQ Art Foundation showcases the work of young contemporary Libyan artists at home and abroad.

BY FATMA ELZAHRA ELSHHATI

Art and expression in Libya

Takwa Barnosa writing ‘art’ in Arabic and her native language Amazighe.

posed onto photographs of refugees crossing the Mediterranean on dinghies.

“I realized that the best way to start a career as a curator and cul-tural manager was to learn by do-ing,” Barnosa says. “So I invested all my education savings on the Founda-tion’s start-up. The opening of our ‘work space’ was in 2016 – it was the first independent work space and gallery since the revolution.”

It’s been a tough task to highlight contemporary issues in a country still healing from conflict. “We faced different challenges when it came to acceptance, security and funding,” she continues. Following the Founda-tion’s exhibition focusing on human rights, WaraQ’s space was shut down in 2017. However, Barnosa explains that she – and fellow artists – were inspired to continue work, expand-ing to a wider audience and promot-ing Libyan artists locally and internationally.

“What we need urgently at the moment is to raise awareness about the importance of art in our daily life, specifically in a post-con-flict society like the one we live in,” Barnosa says. “This can be achieved by focusing on audience develop-ment and targeting the public with all its differences.”

With this in mind, the WaraQ Art Foundation is bringing art into

public spaces to promote the values of openness and inclusivity. Using the city as their canvas, young artists are showcasing their work. “We see the public space as an alternative for the absence of art galleries and cul-tural institutions,” Barnosa says. “If we can’t have our freedom of ex-pression in our own space, we go to the public, present what we do, inte-grate with them, and bring people together through art.”

Another recent exhibition, held in August, marked International Youth Day. It was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UN-FPA) and held near the Red Castle Lake in the heart of Tripoli. The

It’s been a tough task to

highlight contemporary

issues in a country still healing from

conflict.

MEMBER STATES FOCUS | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018 | 63

‘Improvised’ exhibition was charac-terized by its experimental and in-clusive approach to art and invited members of the public to engage in interactive sessions.

“We prepared the lake area to look like a studio and provided all the equipment,” explains Barnosa. “People could create artworks (in groups) with supervision and guid-ance from professional artists from WaraQ community.

“I can’t tell exactly how many people attended because it was a very open event in an open area,” she says. “But the crowd was craving more paint and brushes, and we ran out of canvas eventually.” N

Failure, Takwa Barnosa.

PHOTOS: OFID/FATMA ELZAHRA ELSHHATI

64 | OF ID QUARTERLY OC TOBER 2018

OPEC

This year’s publication considers developments in the global economy, energy demand, oil supply

and demand, policy and technology developments, and environment and sustainable development concerns, among others.

In launching the WOO, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said that the past year had been a historic one for the organization as well as the global oil industry, with the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ (resulting from Mem-ber Countries of OPEC coordinating with 11 non-OPEC oil producing

countries) “helping accelerate the return of balance to the global oil market, bringing more optimism to the industry, which in turn, has had a positive effect in the global economy and trade worldwide.”

He added that “the importance of these recent developments, spe-cifically in terms of helping achieve sustainable market stability, is clearly vital across all timeframes,” which is evidenced in the analysis provided in the WOO 2018.

See the OPEC website www.opec.org for more information.

OPEC has launched the 2018 World Oil Outlook (WOO) in Algiers, Algeria. First published in 2007, the WOO presents a review and assessment of the global oil industry to 2040.

L Oil is expected to remain the fuel with the largest share in the energy mix throughout the forecast period to 2040.

L Total primary energy is set to expand by a robust 33 per-cent between 2015 and 2040, driven predominantly by developing countries, which see almost 95 percent of the overall energy demand growth.

L Natural gas witnesses the largest demand growth in ab-solute terms, and renewables the largest growth in per-centage terms.

L Long-term oil demand has been revised upward for the second consecutive year, with total demand at over 111.7 million barrels of oil per day (mb/d) in 2040.

L Demand growth is driven by non-OECD regions, which see a huge increase of around 23 mb/d to 2040.

L There is no expectation for peak oil demand over the forecast period to 2040.

L Long-term demand growth comes mainly from the petro-chemicals (4.5 mb/d), road transportation (4.1 mb/d) and aviation (2.7 mb/d) sectors.

L The total vehicle fleet – including passenger and commer-cial vehicles – is projected to increase to around 2.4 billion in 2040.

L The majority of the growth continues to be for conven-tional vehicles, but the long-term share of electric vehicles in the total fleet is projected to expand and reach a level of around 13 percent in 2040, supported by falling battery costs and policy support.

L OPEC remains fully engaged and supportive of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and it is vital to collectively develop and adopt technologies, as well as all-inclusive energy policies, that transform the environmental creden-tials of all energies.

L Energy poverty remains a major global challenge, with almost one billion people still without access to electricity and three billion lacking access to clean fuels for cooking.

Highlights from this year’s WOO include:

OPEC launches World Oil Outlook 2018

OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo.

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OPEC launches World Oil Outlook 2018

Parkr ing 8, A-1010 Vienna, Austr ia

P.O. Box 995, A-1011 Vienna, Austr ia

Telephone: (+43-1) 515 64-0

Fax: (+43-1) 513 92-38

www.of id.org