Posts Tagged ‘africa’
2012 State of East Africa Report
Tuesday, April 10th, 20122012 Tanzania Economic Update:Stairways to Heaven
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012WB: Why development is elusive
Friday, July 8th, 2011By Beatus Kagashe
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Market failures and government policy distortions have been cited as general causes of poor growth in many African countries.A new World Bank report also shows that successful nations on the continent whose economies are on a rebound have tended to deploy collective and home grown actions deliberately charted to avoid a repeat of past mistakes.
Titled Yes Africa Can: Success Stories from a Dynamic Continent, the report was released in Dar es Salaam yesterday, as was the case in several other capitals, through a video-conference from the WB headquarters in Washington DC.
It involved 26 case studies, including 20 that were national in scope and six for multiple countries. It also covered places, such as war-torn Somalia and Tanzania, whose economic growth are among the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The WB regional chief economist for Africa, Mr Shanta Devarajan, said the study was meant to look beyond the often painted monolithic picture of Africa. It was also meant to bring out the successful experience to be shared and replicated among nations.
“Overall, the case studies show that success was driven by collective action, usually but not always, led by governments to either overcome or avoid failures of the past,” he said.
Lead economist and the report book’s main editor, Ms Punam Chuhanpole, said that while market failures could be corrected by creating incentives for desired outcomes, governments’ failures were more difficult to address “because it is usually harder to dislodge powerful individuals who are benefiting from the status quo.”
Mr Devarajan noted that bad policies did not seem to persist in nations with strong political checks and balances. He said innovation, dynamism and the enduring spirit of the people were some of the features driving successful reforms.
Asked why in the case of Tanzania economic benefits were slow in seeping to the rural masses ravaged by poverty, the official said lack of requisite infrastructure and insufficient energy supply were some of the inhibiting factors. He said poor agricultural investment was another factor.
Mr Devarajan said Tanzania’s economic growth has averaged six per cent, which was above the rates for sub-Sahara African countries. “A lot has been done, but there is still more left to translate the success across the board,” he said.
Source:The Citizen
Keynote Address by Ambassador Mwapachu at Uwezo East Africa Report Launch
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011Migiro applauds Tanzania’s bold war against HIV/Aids
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011By Lucas Liganga
The Citizen Chief Reporter
Dar es Salaam.
The United Nations yesterday hailed Tanzania for playing a frontline role in the fight against HIV/Aids.The UN called on Tanzania to push HIV/Aids concerns up the political agenda and integrate it in broader health and development programmes.
The UN deputy secretary general, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, told a news conference in Dar es Salaam at the end of her two-day tour of Tanzania that the UN appreciated President Jakaya Kikwete’s personal commitment to enhancing the fight against HIV/Aids. She said President Kikwete was already playing a leading role in global health by co-chairing the Commission on Information and Accountability for Women’s and Children’s Health.
“This is a milestone year in our global battle against the disease,” said Dr Migiro, adding: “Three decades ago, Aids was a death sentence… Today, we have the means to prevent transmission, offer treatment and research a vaccine.”
The UN deputy secretary general said the challenge now was to make sure that all people were covered.“Our goal is simple: zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero Aids-related deaths,” she said, adding that these three zeroes would add up to tremendous gains for millions of affected individuals and the world as a whole.
She said that during her visit to Tanzania, in which she was accompanied by the executive director of the UN programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids), Dr Michel Sidibe, they toured the Tanzania Youth Alliance where young people are showing an extraordinary sense of responsibility in addressing HIV/Aids.
“We can all learn from their energy and commitment,” said Dr Migiro, adding that they also visited a clinic focused on preventing mother-to-child transmission.She said: “We were both heartened to see how they are reaching pregnant women and stopping the spread of the virus.” Dr Sidibe said the HIV incidence fell by at least 25 per cent between 2001 and 2009 in 33 countries, including 22 in sub-Saharan Africa.
He added that more than six million people across the world were able to access lifesaving antiretroviral treatment at the end of 2010, up from 5.2 million at the end of 2009. Dr Sidibe said global coverage of antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV transmission from mother to child exceeded 50 per cent for the first time in 2009.The UNAids boss said that a significant funding gap remained.
Source: The Citizen