What We're Reading: Is investing in Africa a good bet? | ONE

Huffington Post: Germany Davos Announcement: Country Donates 1 Billion Euros To The Global Fund ? Germany?s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dirk Niebel, announced on Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that it will increase its contribution to The Global Fund to 1 billion Euros. Germany had already committed 400 million Euros over the past two years, and the announcement extends the country?s commitment to another 600 million Euros over the next three years. ?We need to continue to devote hard work and determined efforts to halting the spread of HIV, malaria and other infectious diseases,? said Niebel. (Lance Gould)

Guardian: Opinion: To stop hunger, it?s not enough to change policy; we must challenge power ? The If campaign proposes policy options aimed at ending hunger: ?more aid, stopping companies dodging taxes, stopping land grabbing for biofuels and other crops, and forcing governments and companies to be more transparent about their investments in developing countries.? While all important goals, in order to end hunger and poverty we need to tackle their root causes. (Deborah Doane)

VOA: Is Investing in Africa a Good Bet? ? Many sub-Saharan countries have had sustained economic growth despite the global recession, but ?conflict, political instability and weather extremes? still deter some investors. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, African leaders discussed strategies for making the continent more attractive to investors. South African President Jacob Zuma explained that African leaders are coming together to ?grow out infrastructure; to grow our intra-trade . . . [and] to integrate the five economic regions in the continent.? (Joe DeCapua)

Bloomberg: Africa Infrastructure Deficit Widening, SABMiller Chairman Says ? The lack of basic infrastructure in Africa is hampering investments by companies, and according to the World Bank, Africa needs $93 billion per year over a decade to improve infrastructure, with ?almost half that required to boost power supply.? Despite the fact that the economies of sub-Saharan Africa countries will expand 5.3 percent this year, the infrastructure gap is still significant. (Maram Mazen)

Washington Post: Fake drugs flood East African markets ? Government officials and international aid agencies have long encouraged the sick to place their trust in modern medicine. Recently, however, the influx of fake pharmaceuticals from Asia into Uganda and other African nations have ?pushed patients back to traditional healers.? In cities like Kampala, Uganda, waiting in long lines at clinics takes vulnerable time and top-end malaria cures are expensive. Because of this, when a malarial fever strikes, many people search for medicine in neighborhood drugstores, where the fakes are frequently found. (Kathleen McLaughlin)

Source: http://www.one.org/us/2013/01/24/what-were-reading-is-investing-in-africa-a-good-bet/

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