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++++TCSF Newsletter No.18++++ Desember 12, 2008
Viva! Africa: People\'s Network across Continents
Published by TICAD Civil Society Forum (TCSF)
http://ticad-csf.net/eng/index.htm
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Dear colleagues,
Our English newsletter contains information about TCSF\'s Activities and
Japanese support for Africa. We hope to strengthen our network with
you by sharing information about our activities. Thank you.
------------[Index]--------------
1. Feature Stories
-Report on the progress of \"the TCSF White Paper\"
-The end of TICAD IV・NGO Network and to a new network
-The 11th Meeting of Africa Partnership Forum(APF) in Addis Ababa
-Statement from Civil Society at the 11th Africa Partnership Forum
2. Topics of Japan-Africa Relations and Japan\'s Aid Support
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[1] Feature Stories
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*Report on the progress of \"the TCSF White Paper\"*
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TCSF has been working on the fourth and the final issue of \"the TCSF
White Paper\".

The final TCSF White Paper will try to describe, comprehensively, how
the efforts of the governments of the African countries, international
community, and civil societies have reached the poor to empower them
and to improve their livelihood. At the same time, it will evaluate
the achievements of the TICAD IV held in May 2008 in Japan.

The editing work is in the final stage and the paper will be published
by the end of March 2009.

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* The end of TICAD IV・NGO Network and to a new network*
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In this September, the TICAD IV・NGO Network (TNnet) has ended its one
and a half year long operation. TNnet was established for advocacating
better Japanese African policy and encouraging the CSO\'s participation
in TICAD IV. The number of TNnet member CSOs grew up to 43, which
became the largest CSO network for Africa in Japan. The final 23rd
meeting of TNnet was held on October 2, 2008 and the participants had
comfirmed to work for establishing a new network after TNnet.

The main activities of TNnet were to hold dialogues with the
stakeholders of TICAD including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
and to make suggestions based on the voices from African and Japanese
CSOs. Through these activities, TNnet has achieved to establish the
commitment of CSO to TICAD process. TICAD Civil Society Forum (TCSF)
was the secretariat for TNnet.

To continue these efforts, TNnet members decided to establish a
succeeding NGO network which took over TNnet. Africa-Japan Forum came
forward to take over the secretariat for the new network. It is
expected that the new network will start its activities in December
2008 to work towards TICAD V in 2013 and the target year of the
Millennium Development Goals in 2015.

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* The 11th Meeting of Africa Partnership Forum(APF) in Addis Ababa*
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The 11th Africa Partnership Forum (APF) meeting was held on 17-18
November 2008 in Addis Ababa under the auspices of NEPD, AU, and,
OECD/DAC. Japan and Switzerland were together in the chair.

The 11th APF\'s agenda was \"Emerging Governance Issues in the APRM
Process\" and \"Developing Finance in Africa\", in prior to the
International Conference on Financing for Development betwee 29
November and 2 December, 2008 in Doha.

It was unfortunate that no African CSO was able to participate in the
11th APF due to late preparation and no financial support by the
organisers. However, two Japanese CSOs were able to participate the
forum and made a short presentation in the conference from the civil
society\'s point of view (please see next article).

For more information: http://www.africapartnershipforum.org/
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*Statement from Civil Society at the 11th Africa Partnership Forum*
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(Following is the speech made by Mr. Masaki Inaba, Africa-Japan Forum,
during the meeting.)

17 November 2008
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Honorable Mr. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of African Union
Commission, Honorable Co-chairs, Ethiopian Ambassador to Japan Gebreab
Newai, Mr. Nobuhide Minorikawa of Japan, Ms. Edita Vokral of
Switzerland , Representatives of African Regional Economic Communities
and International Organizations, Honorable members of the African
Partnership Forum, I am honored to present to you today, some of our
views, perspectives and concerns regarding the African development
focus of the Africa Partnership Forum and the G8. Our views are based
on our experience of working on the 10th Africa Partnership Forum, the
G8 Hokkaido Toya-ko Summit and the 4th Tokyo International Conference
on African Development or TICAD IV, with the African civil society. I
would like to begin by expressing our deep appreciation to our hosts,
the government of Ethiopia, the government of Tanzania, the government
of Switzerland, and the government of Japan, which allowed us the time
for a presentation from civil society.

Your excellencies, first I would like to speak about civil society
engagement at APF and its additional values. We emphasize, from the
lessons learned of our experiences, that civil society, both from
Africa and from the Global North, can provide unique additional values
to APF. In several years, we can find a clear collaboration between
civil society and co-organizers of the past APF. In 2005, a Civil
Society meeting for APF was held in London. In 2006 and 2007, similar
meetings of Civil Society Organizations for the APF were held in
Moscow and Berlin, with the meaningful participation of African civil
society, and in all these opportunities, recommendations from civil
society were submitted to APF and they were somewhat reflected to the
outcomes of each APF. The 10th APF held in Tokyo in April 2008 marked
a history in civil society engagement at APF. Four civil society
representatives from Africa were invited to Japan. Together we had a
joint civil society preparatory forum, and actively participated in
one hour-long civil society session at the main conference of the APF,
with a presentation from the representative of civil society. This is
the first time for civil society to be allowed to officially
participate in a segment of the forum. We truly appreciated for the
leadership of the government of Japan and NEPAD to have continued
organizing this session.

Your excellencies, as you all know, the mission of APF is to
strengthen partnership efforts in favor of Africa\'s development. APF
has been developed to be a key forum at a senior political level for
discussing and monitoring policy issues, strategies and priorities in
support of Africa\'s development. A meaningful participation of civil
society, especially African civil society, has enriched and will
continue to enrich both the process and outcomes of APF. It is because
civil society is one of the most major actors for Africa\'s development,
and is directly based on the people in the grass-roots, and can bring
their voices, based in their own benefits and interests, most directly
to the agenda of the APF.

Your excellencies, therefore, we truly hope that the participation of
civil society, both from Africa and the Global North, will be secured
positively, consistently and sustainably. We greatly encourage the
next year\'s G8 Summit host, the Italian government, to go an extra
mile and grant civil society participants an Observer Status at APF in
2009. Financing for Africa\'s Development Your excellencies, and
distinguished participants, let me move on the second agenda,
financing for development. At this year\'s G8 Toya-ko Summit and at
TICAD IV, economic growth was the main focus as a key to Africa\'s
development. There seemed to be a shared notion that Africa is in the
stage of its consistent economic growth. But only a few months later,
we see that such notion is at threat in the face of current financial
crisis. As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said, there is increasing
evidence that the poorest people living furthest away from the
epicenter of today\'s financial crisis will be the hardest hit. The
global financial crisis could wipe away the economic progress of
Africa has achieved in the recent years, as well as on poverty
reduction and social, political stability. The world must realize
that unless and until the humanity\'s longest-lasting crisis,
widespread poverty, is tackled with seriousness, Africa\'s society
will remain fragile, and the people of Africa will remain most vulnerable.
The achievement of MDGs by 2015, as well as establishing human
security in the continent, has been facing enormous difficulties in
all the regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Especially, the scores of
health-related MDGs are scarcely no improvement. Life time risk of
maternal death is as such; one in 16 in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared
to one in 2,800 in developed countries. It is an abject shame that
such enormous inequality still exists in the 21st century. Recent
dramatic rise in food and fuel prices has tremendously damaged the
lives of the people in Africa. Food prices have risen 50% to 150% and
more in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Though prices have started
to come down in the international market and effect has yet to reach
Africa. This threatens the achievement of MDGs, especially of Goal 1,
which aims to reduce by half the proportion of people living on less
than a dollar a day and by half the proportion of people who suffer
from hunger.

Your excellencies, we strongly calls on you to increase the amount of
ODA and fulfill the goals and targets by the G8 countries themselves.
We express our sincere concern on the current trend of ODA reduction
of the G8, which was revealed by the OECD DAC Report this April. Even
this harsh situation of the Global Financial Crisis, it is necessary
for donor countries to keep their pledges, especially, Monterrey
Agreement in 2002 and Gleneagles Pledge in 2005. We concern the
current shortage of financial resources which the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria faces around its Round 8 and further
Rounds for grant proposals. Global Fund should be fully funded to
ensure the sufficient resources to respond global crisis of AIDS,
Malaria, Tuberculosis and lack of health systems. Despite these
problems, we can find a lot of success stories to create additional
innovative ways for development financing, for example, IFFIm for GAVI
and UNITAID. We hope more of these innovative financing mechanisms, as
additional supplement financial source for development. And we
celebrate the success of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Pilot Group
on Innovative Financing Mechanisms in Conakry, the Republic of Guinea,
which was held in last week.

Your excellencies, in conclusion, we truly hope to participate in the
further APF processes in constructive way through providing our
experiences and expertise of the civil society of Africa, and the
Global North. Ensuring civil society participation from Africa is the
most important. Through meaningful participation, we civil society
truly hope to collaborate with you for Africa\'s development and
create the world with justice, the world without poverty. Thank you.
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[2] Topics of Japan-Africa Relation and Japan\'s Aid Support
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9 December 2008
Visit to Japan by Hon. Joyce Banda, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Malawi
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/event/2008/12/1185371_948.html
5 December 2008
Zambia: Japan to build thermal plants
http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/22008
5 December 2008
Major Conference on HIV/AIDS in Africa Underway in Senegal, Attended
by Large JICA Delegation.
http://www.jica.go.jp/english/news/field/2008/081205.html
4 December 2008
Major Adverse Effects on Africa\'s Economic Development Predicted
http://www.jica.go.jp/english/news/field/2008/081204.html
28 November 2008
Liberia: Six Ambassadors Present Letters of Credence
http://allafrica.com/stories/200812010308.html
26 November 2008
Uganda: Japan Government Aids Mpigi School
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811270103.html
17 November 2008
Nigeria: Jica As Bridgehead in Nigeria-Japan Relations
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811171437.html
16 November 2008
Japan boosts Sierra Leone energy sector with US$16m
http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/japan-boosts-sierra-leone
-energy-sector-with-us$16m-2008111616132.html
12 November 2008
Ethiopia: Japan Contributes Food Aid Worth Five Million U.S. Dollars
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811171013.html
2 November 2008
Mozambique: Japan Funds New School in Gaza
http://allafrica.com/stories/200811031455.html
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*This newsletter was edited by the TCSF network working group.
*TCSF operates an English mailing list to facilitate communication between
TCSF and African CSOs and among African CSOs.
Please contact network@ticad-csf.net if you are interested in joining.
*This mail is from a non-reply e-mail address.
To subscribe/unsubscribe from this list or change your e-mail,
please contact office@ticad-csf.net
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TICAD Civil Society Forum (TCSF)
http://ticad-csf.net/eng/index.htm
news@ticad-csf.net
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