Book Review: The African Giant: Risky or at Risk?

"Africans are like the elephant in the zoo," so argues Dr. Samuel Pipim in his latest book release titled THE AFRICAN GIANT. 

He maintains that Africa is a giant, in more ways than one. But despite its huge resources and human potential, the African continent – led by its most populous nation – poses a threat to the world at large.

Thus, he argues “the African giant is at risk, and therefore risky. The time to mitigate or remove that risk is now. Those to mitigate that risk include you. And how to do so begins by reading this book—THE AFRICAN GIANT—and making a decision to be the change that you want to see, beginning in your own sphere of influence.” 

Part I of THE AFRICAN GIANT book is based on Dr. Pipim’s keynote address at an Independence Day event at the Chamber of Commerce and Industries in Lagos, Nigeria, October 1, 2014.

The speech was delivered on the occasion of the inauguration of the Circle of Hands Foundation—a new initiative that targets the youth and young professionals, harnessing their yet-untapped creativity and energy for national development. 

Although Nigeria was the context, the message was directed at the larger issues of Pan Africanism and the African Renaissance. The message is equally relevant to many developing countries of Asia, South & Central America, and the Islands of the Pacific.

Part II of the book appears also in the latest issue of the “African Development Magazine” whose theme is: “The New Scramble for the Wealth Africa.”

Even though this section of the book addresses “The Role of the Youth in African Development," the message goes to all youths and young professionals in other developing nations of the world.

Find out why Dr. Pipim argues in THE AFRICAN GIANT that “Africans are like the elephant in the zoo.”  The book will challenge all Africans and friends of Africa to work towards the liberation of the MENTAL chains that have replaced the METAL chains of the African Elephant.

Researchers target senior high students with biotech education

Ghanaian researchers are focused on increasing knowledge on the application of biotechnology in agriculture and other economic activities.

The scientists believe the high opposition to the introduction of genetically modified (GM) products into the country could be a result of limited information on the subject.

“Biotechnology is an emerging area of science; it’s progressing faster than computer science and even those of us in this part of the world, it’s difficult to even catch up with the pace and that is what has brought about all the myth fear about the GM technology,” said Dr. Marian Quain, Head of Biotechnology Research Programme at the Crops Research Institute (CRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

She is coordinating a project to introduce biotechnology education in high schools across sub-Saharan Africa.

Some Senior High Schools in Kumasi were engaged in a debate on biotechnology as part of the project – it was won by T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School, Kumasi.

“The information on biotech even in the syllabus is scanty, so we don’t have much facility in the laboratory even to help teach it,” stated Henry Edem Denteh, a teacher at T.I. Amass.

He describes the programmes as education as his school also receives training kits to facilitate teaching and learning of the subject.

Dr. Quain observed Ghana is yet to optimize use of biotechnologies in agricultural production and is hopeful the project will enhance critical thinking among students in the areas of biotech and GMOs.

“We need to get them educated so that they can make informed decisions and communicate effectively about the technology,” she stated.

The project is supported by Inqaba Biotechnical Industries Limited, a company that assists researchers in testing for GMOs to detect and isolate wrong materials. It is also creating a network in sub-Saharan African to promote biotechnology.

Ghana Area Director of Inqaba Biotec, Christian Adabor Badu, acknowledged there are “bad” GM products in the system but stated that the country should not neglect the importance of having “good” GMOs in place.

He is worried a high court injunction halting production and commercialization of GM products will impede efforts at applying science and technology to increase Ghana’s food security.

Campaigners against GMOs, Food Sovereignty Ghana, is in court contesting the process of testing and production of crops like rice and cowpea using GM technology without an established Biosafety Authority to legally regulate such activities.

According to the group, Ghana’s food security is endangered if it has to depend on multinational companies to produce seeds for local farmers and also contends that GM products will hurt the ability of farmers to use natural seeds for production.

The Court has ordered government to stop GM activities until the case brought by Food Sovereignty Ghana is determined.

But Mr. Adabor Badu says this development will not be in the interest of research for higher productivity.

“If we are able to embrace GMOs in the right way, the country will be able to go far in terms of increasing yield and crop and animal production,” he stated.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Action 2015 Ghana rides women on bamboo bikes for climate action

The bamboo bike market is still growing and it is growing at a faster rate in its own niche market.

Bicycle ridership has grown over the last few years globally and bicycle enthusiasts all over the world are gradually eyeing bamboo bikes.

The bicycle advocacy is increasing as the wind of global warming and climate change issues blows the world over, coupled with increasing cost of steel and aluminium, higher fuel prices and other environmental concerns.

As part of the Action/2015 Ghana advocacy campaigns, campaigners used this year’s International Women’s Day commemoration to urge government to invest in the establishment of a bamboo plantation to support climate mitigation strategies.

Action/2015 Ghana in partnership with civil society groups organized two major activities in Greater Accra and Eastern Region under the theme: “Rethinking Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality in 2015 and Make it Happen”.

The activities involved a bamboo bicycle road show in which Miss Tourism Ghana and a former winner of the Ghana Most Beautiful pageant rode bamboo bicycles through some principal streets.

“I am happy to be an ambassador for action/2015 Ghana and particularly excited to promote this bamboo bicycle to mark International Women’s Day as part of my rural community development based project which works to improve educational and equal economic opportunities for women in rural Ghana,” said Miss Tourism Ghana 2014, Naa Teidey Ofori.

She noted that the project is helping to improve the environment and creating employment opportunities for the youth, women and people with disability.

The former Ghana Most Beautiful, Lamisi Sam Awinongya, noted that women in developing countries are not only victims of climate change but also effective agents of change in relation to adaptation, mitigation and disaster reduction strategies.

“Their responsibilities in households and communities as guardians of natural resources have prepared them well for livelihood strategies adapted to changing environmental realities,” she stated.

The road show attracted market women and created a platform for young women to count various milestones and progress made so far whiles calling for greater equality.

Coordinator of action 2015/Ghana, Kenneth Nana Amoateng, said rural women need equal access to natural resource such as land and water, adding that investing in women through agriculture, education and child care will make young girls and women stronger to contribute their quota in their communities for national development.

“We stand at the turning point for the future of people and the planet. We must accelerate action and leave no citizens behind. We will raise our voice today for the generations of tomorrow and demand Action,” he concluded.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Work of Ghana’s oil revenue watchdog hampered by lack of funds

The integrity of Ghana’s oil and gas resources will be better protected when the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) is given a strong legal status, observed Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP).

PIAC is a statutory body mandated to monitor and evaluate compliance of the Petroleum Revenue Management Law and ensure prudent use of petroleum revenues by government and various state agencies.

But this mandate to ensure Ghana’s oil revenue is prudently used is hampered by funding constraints hitting the revenue management watchdog.

According to PIAC’s Yaw Owusu Addo, the Committee, as at the beginning of the 2015, had a meager Gh1,000 in its coffers to run activities. This lack of funds has placed huge limitation for the committee to do its work.

“Our situation is dire, very dire,” he exclaimed. “This year we haven’t got any funding for our budget; it is only the benevolence of some benefactors which is allowing us to survive up to today but the money that must come from the taxpayer to support us so that we do this job is not forthcoming.”

PIAC’s annual reports on the management of petroleum revenues serve to inform the Ghanaian public on revenue and expenditure in the oil sector.

Dr. Amin Adam, however, says the legal status of PIAC is very weak as it lacks the power to summon public officials for information and also to go beyond the Attorney-General to proceed to court to prosecute people against whom adverse findings have been made in the mismanagement of petroleum revenue.

He therefore wants the Committee’s capacity adequately built to deliver its mandate.

“I have so much respect for the members of PIAC; these are members who are not coming from the industry background, they are coming from different backgrounds as journalists, as lawyers, as accountants, as traditional rulers, and so they need a strong secretariat with all the technical capacity and if they don’t have that they should be able to have consultants attached to the secretariat,” he requested.

The ACEP boss believes such capacity is critical to enable the Committee undertake its own independent analysis and technical work on the use of the country’s oil revenues.

Dr. Amin Adam hopes a review of the Petroleum Revenue Law should empower the Committee to leverage on its work done so far.

“PIAC in its current state can still play a significant role if they are given the capacity, in terms of the resources,” he noted.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

African Ministers call for Adaptation-Mitigation Parity in 2015 Climate Agreement

The 15^th Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) has issued the Cairo Declaration which reaffirms their resolve to reach a binding climate change agreement that reflects the continent’s priorities and aspirations at the Paris talks, later this year.

The Declaration also spotlights the need to improve the management of Africa’s abundant natural resources and the integration of the inclusive green economy in development planning.

AMCEN President and Minister of Environment of Egypt, Dr. Khaled Fahmy said, “the Cairo Declaration covers a wide range of priorities for the continent; from climate change and natural resources management to the illegal trade in wildlife and the integration of the inclusive green economy across sectors. African countries are showing solidarity and a determination to play a positive and responsible role in support of sustainable development, building resilience and poverty eradication.”

Stressing Africa’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change, in particular the adverse effects on ecosystems, food production, and social and economic development, Ministers agreed to support an agreement in 2015 that provides parity between mitigation and adaptation – noting the increased burden for adaptation in developing countries.

They indicated the agreement needs to ensure that the mitigation ambition keeps global temperatures well below 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels, by the end of the century.

The Cairo Declaration calls for a global goal for adaptation which takes into account adaptation needs and associated costs, including support for developing countries, while recognizing the need to up adaptation investments in developing nations.

The science shows that Africa is the continent where a rapidly changing climate is expected to deviate earlier than across any other continent from “normal” changes; making adaptation a matter of urgency.

The second edition of the Africa Adaptation Gap report indicates that extensive areas of Africa will exceed 2°C by the last two decades of this century, relative to the late 20th century mean annual temperature. This would have a severe impact on agricultural production, food security, human health and water availability.

In a 4˚C world, projections for Africa suggest sea levels could rise faster than the global average and reach 80 cm above current levels by 2100 along the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, with particularly high numbers of people at risk of flooding in the coastal cities of Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal and Morocco.

Under these scenarios, adaptation costs would reach US $50 billion annually by mid-century.

“The only insurance against climate change impacts is ambitious global mitigation action in the long-run, combined with large-scale, rapidly increasing and predictable funding for adaptation. Investment in building resilience must continue to be a top funding priority, including as an integral part of national development planning,” said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“The coming months will determine how Africa’s development priorities and climate change common position are articulated and reflected in the context of global negotiations. The work undertaken here by the AMCEN will influence the future of generations to come. It is a grave responsibility that also carries myriad opportunities for the future welfare, prosperity, and development of the continent and its people,” he added.

Managing Africa’s Natural Capital and Transitioning to a Green Economy

African Ministers agreed to optimize the use of natural resources for sustainable development and poverty alleviation. They also expressed their resolve to integrate the inclusive green economy into development planning by mobilizing funds, creating jobs and specially targeting small and medium-sized enterprises.

“We need to step up regional and national efforts and to consider natural capital valuation in decision-making in order to harness the full potential of Africa’s rich endowments and to employ the competitive advantage offered as an engine for inclusive economic growth,” said AMCEN President, Khaled Fahmy.

Africa, the world’s second-largest continent, holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources, both renewable and non-renewable. Ecosystem services such as water, hydrologic regulation, soil fertility, biodiversity, climate change adaptation etc. underpin Africa’s economic sectors like energy, tourism and agriculture.

The new Green Economy Africa Synthesis study, conducted across 10 African countries, shows that despite real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increases across Africa of, on average, 5.1 per cent a year over the last 10 years, social and economic challenges remain acute: 48.5 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africans live in extreme poverty, 76 per cent of households are not connected to the grid, and 70 per cent do not have access to improved sanitation.

The report makes clear that green investments can not only drive economic growth faster than business as usual investments, but represent a valuable opportunity for Africa to conserve the natural foundation wealth on which economies, lives, and livelihoods depend.

Enormous sustainable, renewable, and untapped resources exist on this continent. Africa receives 325 days per year of sunlight and is using less than 7 per cent of its hydroelectric potential, and less than 2 per cent of its geothermal capacity.

“What is required, if the green economy is to effectively take off across Africa, is to scale-up investments and adopt the right mix of policy, incentives, enforcement, education capacity development and informational tools,” said Mr. Steiner.

EU submits its Climate Action Plan ahead of Paris 2015 Agreement

The European Union (EU) today submitted its new climate action plan to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The EU’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) comes well in advance of a new universal climate agreement which will be reached at the UN climate conference in Paris in December, this year.

The new agreement will come into effect in 2020 and will pave the way to keep a global temperature rise this century under 2 degrees C.

Governments have agreed to submit their INDCs in advance of Paris with many developed and bigger developing countries expected to do so in the first quarter of this year.

In February, in Geneva, countries under the UNFCCC also finalized the negotiating text for the Paris agreement. The next round of formal negotiations will take place at UNFCCC headquarters in Bonn, Germany, in June.

INDCs have been chosen as the vehicle for national contributions to the international Paris agreement. They include, for example, details of emission reductions the country will undertake and can include other action plans covering areas such as adaptation to climate change.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC has encouraged countries to come forward with their INDCs as soon as they are able, underlining their commitment and support towards a successful outcome in Paris. "Momentum towards Paris is building everywhere. I look forward to many more INDCs being submitted over the coming weeks and months,” she said.

Countries have agreed that there will be no back-tracking in their contributions. This means that the level of ambition to reduce emissions will increase over time.

The negotiating text from Geneva also signals the ambition among many governments for a long-term goal to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the century.

Meanwhile, African civil society is advocating an agreement that will compel developed countries to communicate emission reduction targets as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) that commensurate to keeping global average temperature well below 1.5°c and against principles of equity – historical responsibility, capacity, the right to sustainable development.

“We should not hold back from putting pressure on rich countries to change excessive production and consumption systems while protecting and compensating communities affected by their historical actions. Discussions around the new climate change agreement should be preceded by the rich countries honouring the promise they have already made as a signal of good faith,” said Augustine Njamnshi of the Pan African Climate Justice (PACJA).

The CSOs have told the 15^th African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) in Cairo, Egypt, that climate change negotiations under the UNFCCC have so far delivered no concrete results as growing impacts of climate change continue to stand in the way of African development aspirations.

They therefore want Developed Countries Parties (DCPs) to mobilize at least USD 1 trillion and monetize pledges to the financial entities of the financial mechanism of the Convention in order to meaningfully implement adaptation interventions and low carbon development strategies.

Ghana in oil curse trap over prudent use of petroleum revenue

The Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) is worried Ghana will not be far from suffering the oil curse if government fails to prudently  utilize revenue from petroleum receipts.

Ghana’s total petroleum revenues between 2011 and 2013 stood at 3.29 billion Ghana cedis.

PIAC however says accountability and transparency in utilization of the oil revenues remain a challenge.

According to Committee member, Yaw Owusu Addo, the efficient use of oil revenue depends on prioritization of national projects.

“For example, we have prioritized roads and infrastructure as one of the sectors of our economy that we want to use the oil money; but why should we spread in one year some $20million on 118 roads? Why don’t we pick only two roads and spend the $20million on them so that we can fully construct that road and make them a showcase to the world that this is what Ghana used the oil money for?” he opined.

Inspite of the fall in global oil prices, the country’s oil money is expected to grow bigger with the exploration of oil and gas in new fields.

Executive Director of the African Center for Energy Policy (ACEP), Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, believes a long-term National Development Plan (NDP) remains crucial to guide the utilization of oil revenue in order “to have a consistent application of the resources to planned projects”.

He adds that Ghana needs a Public Investment Management Plan (PIMP) that ensures that projects are not unduly delayed, value-added projects are selected and such projects do not suffer cost and time overrun.

“While the long-term NDP will guide you in terms of where to spend the money – whether in agriculture, in industry, in education – the selection of projects and the time to deliver those projects are guided by the PIMP,” said Dr. Adam.

The Ministry of Finance has cut down the number of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that receive oil money from 16 in 2012 to six in 2014.

“That is very positive,” noted Dr. Adam. “However the problem has not been cured because the Ministry of Finance does the broad allocation and the ministries that receive the money also distribute thinly across so many projects”.

He is therefore advocating guidelines on the utilization of the oil revenue as part of the Budget guideline to inform the ministries not to “distribute thinly; they should identify projects that they can fund consistently for two–three years and complete those projects”.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

New Report: Costs of Climate Change Adaptation expected to rise far beyond Africa’s coping capacity

Africa, the continent with warming deviating most rapidly from “normal” conditions, could see climate change adaptation costs rise to US$50 billion per year by 2050, even assuming international efforts keep global warming below 2°C this century, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

Released at the 15th African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), Africa’s Adaptation Gap builds on UNEP’s Emissions Gap Report 2014, which showed that the world is not currently headed in the right direction for holding global warming below 2°C.

This latest Africa Adaptation Gap report also builds on UNEP’s Global Adaptation Gap Report 2014, which found that adaptation costs in all developing countries together could climb as high as US$250-500 billion per year by 2050.

Produced in collaboration with Climate Analytics and the African Climate Finance Hub, the report says deep global emissions reductions are the best way to head off Africa’s crippling adaptation costs. It also finds that the continent’s domestic resources are insufficient to respond to projected impacts, but would be important to complement international funding for African countries—including meeting the Cancun climate finance commitments by 2020.

“The accelerating rate of climate change poses great adaptation challenges, of which we have been well forewarned,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “The best insurance against the many potential negative impacts of climate change is ambitious global mitigation action in the long-run, combined with large-scale and rapidly increasing funding for adaptation. Investing in resilience and adaptation as an integral part of national development planning can develop resilience to future climate change impacts.”

Africa’s looming climate crisis

Africa is the continent where a rapidly changing climate is expected to deviate earlier than across any other continent from “normal” changes, making adaptation a matter of urgency, the report says.

Warming projections under medium scenarios indicate that extensive areas of Africa will exceed 2°C by the last two decades of this century relative to the late 20th century mean annual temperature. Under a high warming pathway, temperatures could exceed 2°C by mid-century across much of Africa and reach between 3°C and 6°C by the end of the century. This would have a severe impact on agricultural production, food security, human health and water availability.

In a 4˚C world, projections for Africa suggest sea levels could rise faster than the global average and reach 80cm above current levels by 2100 along the Indian and Atlantic Ocean coastlines, with particularly high numbers of people at risk to flooding in the coastal cities of Mozambique, Tanzania, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal and Morocco.

“This is not just a question of money; millions of people and their livelihoods are at stake,” said Binilith Mahenge, President of AMCEN and Tanzania’s Minister of State for Environment. “Africa’s population will be at an increasing risk of undernourishment due to increasing food demand and the detrimental effects of climate change on agriculture on the continent. Global warming of 2˚C would put over 50 per cent of the African continent’s population at risk of undernourishment. Yet, the IPCC showed that without additional mitigation we are heading to 4˚C of warming.”

“Rising to the challenge and addressing the systemic harm that climate change may cause in Africa, thus undermining the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, warrants leaving no stone unturned in exploring opportunities for supporting adaptation actions and measures in Africa,” he added.

Closing the funding gap

The report explores the extent to which African nations can contribute to closing the adaptation gap—especially in the area of identifying the resources that will be needed.

The evidence suggests that African countries—such as Ghana, Ethiopia and South Africa—are already committing some resources of their own to adaptation efforts. Country-case studies in the report suggest that by 2029/2030, under moderately optimistic growth scenarios, Ghana could for example – based on hypothetical scenarios – commit US$233 million to adaptation financing, Ethiopia US$248 million, South Africa US$961 million and Togo US$18.2 million. However, international funding will be required to bridge the growing adaptation gap even if African nations commit to ways to increase domestic sources. Current levels of international finance, through bilateral and multilateral sources, are not sufficient.

“Because of the magnitude of the challenge, further examination of the potential and the feasibility of mobilizing untapped international, regional and domestic sources should be explored further,” said Mr Steiner.

Scaling up international climate finance under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may lead to sufficient funding for adaptation, but even in that case, implementation can only reach its full potential if complemented by comprehensive and effective national and regional policy planning, capacity-building and governance.

The promotion of an effective enabling framework for private sector participation in adaptation activities would also be a key contributor to closing the funding gap, the report finds.

Systems research offers solutions to poverty, hunger and environmental degradation

Agricultural scientists and researchers from over 30 nations have gathered at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, Nigeria, for the International Conference on Integrated Systems for Sustainable Intensification in Smallholder Agriculture.

Conference speakers and exhibitors will present strategies and results that respond directly to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations, and have a marked impact on the lives and livelihoods of smallholder producers and consumers of developing countries.

Considerable progress has been made towards those goals, but much is yet to be done. Despite significant economic growth in many developing countries over the past decade, over 800 million people remain under-nourished, including 160 million children.

According to recent Lancet reports, under-nutrition remains the underlying cause of death for at least 3.1 million children a year, accounting for fully 45% of all deaths of children under 5 and stunting the growth of another 165 million.

Dr. Kwesi Atta-Krah, Director, CGIAR Research Program on Integrated Systems for the Humid Tropics (Humidtropics), says “the conference offers a platform for sharing of experiences and research results in systems research for development, from different countries and regions of the world. It provides a reminder of the challenges facing global agriculture and food systems, and the solutions that integrated systems research offers as part of a global effort to tackle poverty, hunger and environmental degradation.”

The conference calls upon the donor community, agricultural research institutions, partners in the wider research and development community, the private sector, as well as policy and decision-makers to work jointly and strengthen the use of systems approaches in agricultural research for development.

This is in order to further advance the contribution of science to the international community’s commitment to end hunger completely by 2030.

Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Chief Executive Officer of the CGIAR Consortium, emphasizes, “We cannot simply tread familiar paths in response to these statistics. Over the next few years we will join with our partners to redouble our focus on the needs of women and young people, extend our efforts to improve dietary quality among the poor and vulnerable, and intensify our work on climate-smart agriculture – all recent additions to our research agenda.”

 

Dr. Nteranya Sanginga, Director General of IITA, similarly emphasizes the importance of systems research.

He calls for continued efforts, declaring, “we must develop and promote improved and nutritious crop varieties of Africa’s major staples, as well as innovative practices on natural resources management, and innovations on integrated farming systems towards sustainable intensification of agriculture.”

GAVI works to sustain child immunization in local communities

Child health is an important component of the quality of health within local communities.

However, the immunization coverage within the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly of the Ashanti region is 24% -- far below the national average.

The Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly is one of the recently upgraded districts in the Ashanti region, with a population of over 300 thousand.

Local communities include the Asokore Mampong township, Akorem, Asawasi, Dagombaline, Aboabo No1, Aboabo No2, Sepe, Dote, Sawaba, and Adukrom.

Unfortunately, the Assembly is the last of all metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) regarding immunization in Ghana.

Strong health systems are therefore needed to deliver and scale-up new vaccines and to improve immunization coverage and equity.

The Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Health is therefore implementing a project to increase access to immunization to improve health service delivery and save the lives of children.

This is under the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) Health System Strengthening cash-based support programme.

GAVI will be undertaken in 20 MMDAs where the immunization rate is less than 90%. The Asokore Mampong Municipal is therefore one of the 20 local assemblies.

The Centre for the Development of People (CEDEP) is coordinating NGO for the project. The two supporting NGOs are Muslim Family Counseling Services and Resource Link Foundation.

“The benefits of the GAVI project to citizens of Asokore Mampong include protecting the entire district, saving families’ time and money, protecting future generations and saving children's life,” said Aba Oppong. CEDEP Health Programme Manager, responsible for Gender, Advocacy and Good Governance.

The first phase involves ten selected communities within the municipality with an overall goal to increase immunization target from the current 24% to the 80% mark.

The five year project, which began in December 2014, principally targets mothers, fathers, grandparents, uncles and aunties for sensitization to complete the full immunization schedule for new borns.

“They are all expected to support health workers and volunteers to report defaulters to ensure that all newborns receive the full immunization schedule by 18 month,” stated the Programme Manager.

At the end of the project phase in 2018, satellite project sites should be sustainably functional to ease data collection for use by the local assembly.

Community leaders at Asokore Mampong should also be trained to be engaged in routine immunization exercises, including the National Immunization Day.

“The inherent challenge will be when families and friends do not remove misconceptions and stigmatization associated with immunization. In this case, there could be outbreaks of the killer diseases immunization fights against,” observed Aba Oppong.

Under the WHO and UNICEF's Universal Childhood Immunization campaign, a remarkable 80% of the world's children are being immunized with the six EPI vaccines -- tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles and polio.

A recent report by the BBC says families have been imprisoned in Afghanistan for their failure to allow their babies to be immunized. According to the report, they will be freed only when they allow their babies to be given the polio immunization.

GAVI has the purpose of improving access to new and underused vaccines for children in poor countries.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Why Ghanaians should be worried at ENI/Vitol $7b gas deal

President John Mahama wants Ghanaians to be excited at an oil and gas deal signed with ENI/Vitol for the development of the Sankofa gas field.

The agreement for the development of the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) integrated oil and gas project – being undertaken by Italy's largest oil company, Eni Spa, in collaboration with Vitol Energy – is aimed at boosting Ghana’s gas supplies to secure the country’s energy and power sector.

“This investment is worth $7 billion and is reportedly the single biggest investment signed in recent history,” said the President in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament on Thursday.

Ghanaians should however be worried about this deal, says Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, Executive Director of the African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP).

According to him, “the $7 billion deal they signed with Ghana is badly negotiated; it’s everything for ENI, nothing for Ghana. The only thing Ghana can guarantee is that we’ll have gas to buy, other than that what?”

Revenue accruing from the oil and gas industry is dependent on the quality of contracts signed.

“Unless you have good contracts, you will not get much revenue and unless you have contracts that will lead to production, you will not get revenue,” observed Dr. Adam, in reference to recently signed contracts and processes in acquiring oil blocks.

 

He has acknowledged government’s share of potential proceeds from new oil contracts are progressively increasing. But there are doubts the new contracts will lead to oil discoveries because Ghana is not attractive to big players in the oil business.

“Those who have been given contracts are doing nothing on their blocks because most of them have no experience in upstream work; they don’t have money,” said Dr. Adam.

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has stated that the award of new petroleum contracts to eight foreign companies in 2014 was negotiated within the existing legal and regulatory framework of Ghana.

But the ACEP Executive Director says attracting big oil players in Ghana’s upstream sector will demand the disclosure of beneficiary ownership information in signing agreements, whilst providing “transparency and predictability” in the process.

“If you are not connected you cannot get an oil block and this is why we say government must adopt an open and competitive bidding process so that the companies that can give us higher value for our oil wealth, for our deposits, we give the contracts to them,” Dr. Amin Adam said.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh 

Paris climate deal leads African Ministers confab on environment

Egypt is hosting the fifteenth session of African Ministerial Conference on Environment (AMCEN) holding 2-6 March 2015 on the theme: "Managing Africa’s Natural Capital for Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication".

The focus of the meeting is on harnessing Africa’s natural capital, taking into consideration the region’s diverse biodiversity and ecosystems.

This session is being held in a crucial year for global and regional action to secure our global future.

The meeting comes at the heels of the recently concluded 20th UNFCCC Conference (COP20) held in Lima and also at a time when the African Civil Society is gearing its momentum towards the 21st UNFCCC COP to be held in Paris, France.

The world is also engaged in critical negotiations that will lead to the adoption of a post-2015 development agenda, including a set of Sustainable Development Goals that will chart a path for the next generation of development.

The Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), as a key actor, sees AMCEN-15 as an opportunity to contribute towards Africa’s sustainable development agenda.

PACJA has therefore organized a Pre-AMCEN Major Group and Stakeholders’ Forum to promote African governments and the civil society to work together, exchange experiences and strategies in order to carry the voice of African peoples forward.

“The selection of the 15th AMCEN Session’s theme resonates with this year’s spirit, where two most important global agreements which will determine the future resource governance, will be concluded,” said Mithika Mwenda of PACJA. “AMCEN has been a central player in these two processes, and as civil society, we will continue playing our role within the limits of the space we have been accorded”.

On the road to Paris, the Pre-AMCEN forum is framing the narrative of green economy in the context of sustainable development, poverty eradication and ensuring African issues are reflected in Post 2015 Agenda/consultations.

African CSOs expect the Conference to define a concrete blueprint that will guide the continent to discussions on the SDGs.

“We want to crystallize a strong position when it comes to climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); we want to link environment with economy; we want to work on poverty eradication and job creation for our young population,” said Dr. Khaled Mohamed Fahmy Abdel Aal, Egyptian Minister of Environment.

Stakeholders have expressed concerns that Africa is now more than ever before experiencing adverse consequences of climate change.

“Annual temperature is consistently increasing; we need to keep temperature lower than two degrees. For adaptation only we need between $7-15billion. If the trend continues, by 2050 we will need $100billion,” observed Mounkaila Goumandakoye, Director and Regional Representative, UNEP-ROA.

AMCEN is a permanent forum where African ministers of the environment discuss matters of relevance to the environment of the continent.

Switzerland submits its Climate Action Plan ahead of Paris 2015

Switzerland has become the first Party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to submit its new climate action plan.

Switzerland’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) comes well in advance of a new universal climate agreement to be inked by governments at the UN climate conference in Paris in December.

The new agreement will come into effect in 2020 and will pave the way to keep a global temperature rise this century under 2 degrees C.

Governments have agreed to submit their INDCs in advance of Paris with many developed and bigger developing countries expected to do so in the first quarter of this year.

The news from Switzerland comes in the wake of a meeting in Geneva where countries also finalized the negotiating text for the Paris agreement. The next round of formal negotiations will take place at UNFCCC headquarters in Bonn, Germany in June.

INDCs have been chosen as the vehicle for national contributions to the international Paris agreement–they include for example details of emission reductions the country will undertake and can include other action plans covering for example adaptation.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC said: “Switzerland is today demonstrating leadership, commitment and its support towards a successful outcome in Paris in 10 months’ time–it is the first but will not be the last. Momentum towards Paris is building everywhere. I look forward to many more INDCs being submitted over the coming weeks and months.”

Countries have agreed that there will be no back-tracking in their contributions. This means that the level of ambition to reduce emissions will increase over time.
The negotiating text from Geneva also signals the ambition among many governments for a long-term goal to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the century.

Governments on Track to Reaching Paris 2015 Universal Climate Agreement

Another key step towards a new, universal climate change agreement has just been taken as the negotiating text for the agreement was officially issued by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The text was agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference in Geneva earlier this month, and covers the substantive content of the new agreement including mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology, capacity building, and transparency of action and support.

“I’m delighted that the negotiating text from which the Paris agreement will be constructed has now been officially published. This will allow early consideration of the text on the part of governments,” said UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.

The negotiating text will be formally communicated to all governments that are Party to the Convention as soon as it becomes available in all six official languages of the UN.

The expectation is that this could be achieved by the end of March, thus amply fulfilling procedural requirements for adoption of the agreement at the end of the year.

This milestone kick-starts a year of intense negotiations and political efforts focused on completing the new agreement and building broad-based momentum across all levels for a unified and lasting response to the challenge of climate change.

“I welcome the broad-based engagement of Heads of State and Ministers ranging from finance to health to energy. The new agreement will not only be of relevance to Ministers of environment, but will be of key relevance across all government ministries and departments committed to the triple intertwined agendas of 2015: namely climate action, the realization of a suite of Sustainable Development Goals and progressing on disaster risk reduction,” Ms. Figueres stated.

Negotiators will reconvene at the Climate Change Conference in Bonn from 1 to 11 June to seek convergence, find ways to bridge positions and reach common understandings.

“The June session will be of crucial importance,” Ms. Figueres said. “I would like to call on all governments to empower their negotiators to come prepared to make choices in June and to converge on outcomes all Parties can accept,” she added.

Additionally, negotiators will identify elements within the negotiating text that are of a durable nature and therefore need to be enshrined in the agreement, and aspects that are more suitable to be contained in decisions at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.

This could mean, for example, that the establishment of a mechanism that boosts the response to climate change would be enshrined in the agreement, but the details of how this mechanism would operate would be captured in an accompanying decision.

Following the June conference, two further formal sessions have been scheduled in Bonn, from 31 August to 4 September and from 19 to 23 October.

Meanwhile, the 15^th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) holding in Cairo, Egypt from 1-6 March, will provide an opportunity for ministers and experts to review and analyse the outcomes of the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP20) that held in Lima, Peru in December 2014.

The on-going climate change negotiations have entered a critical stage towards the 2015 legal agreement and this session will be an opportune platform to review issues at stake for the continent and agree on a roadmap in preparation for the twenty first session of the UNFCCC (COP21) to be held in Paris later in the year.