This article was originally published in the 6th issue (April 2017) of The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

Several challenges will have to be faced by the next Director-General of the World Health Organization, including new global health threats, but also to reform and give a new impetus to the organization. Dr. Tedros precisely combines the balance of technical and political competences that can help the WHO to move forward.

The next Director-General of the World Health Organization will be chosen in May 2017 following a final selection among the three remaining candidates. One European, one African, and one South Asian are competing to succeed to Dr. Margaret Chan, whose second term as WHO Director- General ends on the 30th of June 2017. Ethiopia’s nominee, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, distinguishes himself from his contenders in several respects. Leveraging from a rich professional experience, the sole African candidate of the selection holds a PhD in Community Health and benefits from a dual professional path both as health expert and seasoned diplomat. During his tenure as one of the longest serving Health ministers in Africa, he overcame some of the country’s greatest health challenges and saw dramatic gains in indicators such as child and maternal health. Now, Dr. Tedros seeks to make his efforts global by using his unique background and expertise to become the first African Director-General of the World Health Organization and contribute to its revival.

Lifelong commitment to Health

Dr. Tedros’s personal and professional paths reflect his lifelong dedication to improving healthcare. As a young man, Dr. Tedros saw the impact of disease outbreaks and poor health care first-hand, in particular the suffering and deaths caused by malaria in his community. He later unsurprisingly chose to study the effects of malaria as his PhD dissertation’s topic. In 2001, while he was the head of the Tigray Regional Health Bureau, Dr. Tedros was credited with making a 22.3 percent reduction in AIDS prevalence in the region and a 68.5 percent reduction in meningitis cases. After being appointed Minister of Health in 2005, he implemented an ambitious health reform agenda. During the 2005-2008 period alone, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health built 4,000 health centres, trained and deployed more than 30,000 health extension workers and developed a new cadre of hospital management professionals. These impressive results also helped Ethiopia to achieve almost all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): maternal mortality was reduced by 71 percent, HIV mortality was reduced by 90 percent and under-five mortality decreased by two-third.

During his time as Minister of Health of Ethiopia, Tedros took part in several global health initiatives and made a profound impact in the global health architecture by leading, as a board chair, many global institutions such as UNAIDS, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Roll Back Malaria. In 2009, after assuming leadership of the Global fund, a partnership organization designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics, he notoriously turned the then- criticized institution into an up and running one. During his two-year term, Dr Tedros guided the Global Fund to address significant challenges and to make important decisions that have led to the development of a comprehensive reform agenda and a more efficient and effective Global Fund.

A Global Vision for challenges ahead

In previous decades, the World Health Organization has played a crucial role in achieving major milestones in combatting HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, and reducing maternal, child and infant mortality. Scientific, technological and social progress over the last century have made the lives of millions of people longer and healthier. However, the world is now facing daunting challenges and unprecedented health threats. Unhealthy lifestyles are leading to rising obesity, while globalization has made the transmission of infectious disease pathogens easier. Climate and environmental factors are likely to increase the frequency of deadly phenomena such as the 2003 heat wave that claimed the lives of 70.000 persons. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths per year and the direct damage costs to health is estimated to be between two and four billion dollars a year by 2030.

The World Health Organisation, which essentially operates as an international organization, with the World Health Assembly, WHO’s supreme decision-making body, at its center, will also inevitably be affected by the rapidly evolving world architecture. Recent events such as the UK’s decision to leave the European Union and the arrival of a new administration in the United States have shaken up old alliances and generated uncertainties for the future. Therefore, WHO’s incoming Director-General will need to balance scientific priorities with the politics of members states and donors, and should not only possess experience in the health sector, but also political knowledge and diplomatic skills.

Dr. Tedros precisely possesses the balance of technical and political competence that can help the WHO to move forward. His experience at the Ministry of Health and of Ethiopia’s representation in global health initiatives afford him valuable insights that he brings to bear on challenges facing the WHO. Throughout his career, Dr. Tedros has also pursued creative new fund-raising schemes to make the institutions he led sustainable, a crucial ability since financing is often cited as one of WHO’s greatest challenges. He is already known for being a coalition builder with a collaborative, context-specific, and solutions-oriented approach to global health and international relations. As Director-General, Dr. Tedros’ vision, collaborative approach and proven effectiveness will certainly help WHO better protect the health of all people.

Africa’s Turn

For the past months, the word in international circles was that it was Africa’s turn, as an African has never led the WHO – or any important UN body for that matter. Indeed, things are looking promising for Dr. Tedros. Ethiopia’s candidate has first won the endorsement of the African Union’s Executive Council and is the only prospective candidate from the continent. Dr. Tedros was shortlisted as the front runner out of six candidates through two rounds of secret voting, collecting most votes during both rounds during the 140th meeting of the Executive board in January 2017.

A winning of the African candidate would have substantial symbolic and practical consequences. First, this would not only be an acknowledgment of Dr. Tedros’ innovative efforts, but of the current change sweeping the African continent. Overall, the continent achieved average real annual GDP growth of 5.4 percent between 2000 and 2010. African countries are at the forefront when it comes to peacekeeping and diplomatic negotiations in war-torn regions.

Moreover, Africa is the continent most afflicted by potential international public health concerns, but recent cases such the WHO’s management of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was perceived as inept and showed the WHO’s vulnerabilities when it comes to early detection and rapid response in Africa. For its part, Dr. Tedros, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, played a pivotal leadership role in the Africa Union’s response to the Ebola epidemic by facilitating greater country ownership and urging countries to adhere to the WHO guidelines. As an experienced reformer acquainted with the intricacies of global diplomacy and coming from exemplary high-performing country, there is no doubt that Dr. Tedros will deliver in boosting the surveillance system and the communication between countries, while seeking input and consultation about how the organization can be reformed.

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/8f5a61a6-34be-11e7-99bd-13beb0903fa3

Several sub-Saharan African economies will grow at more than 6 per cent this year but the rest of the continent will drag growth back to 2.5 per cent, highlighting the emergence of a “two-speed Africa”.

In its annual economic outlook for the continent, the International Monetary Fund warned that the modest rebound, from a dismal 1.5 per cent last year — Africa’s worst performance in two decades — is driven largely by one-off factors in the continent’s largest economies.

These include a pick-up of oil production in Nigeria, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest oil producer and its biggest economy measured in purchasing power parity terms, as well as slightly stronger oil prices, which helps Angola, the second-largest oil producer.

Even so, Nigeria and Angola are projected to grow in 2017 at only 0.8 and 1.3 per cent respectively. South Africa, the continent’s other big economy, is also forecast to grow at just 0.8 per cent.

The fund projects that six economies — Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia — will grow at above 6 per cent. Several others should grow at above 5 per cent. Ethiopia, which is recovering from last year’s drought and is a potentially large market with 100m people, is expected to be the continent’s star performer in 2017, growing at 7.5 per cent.

Read the full article: https://www.ft.com/content/8f5a61a6-34be-11e7-99bd-13beb0903fa3

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Akililu Hailemichael held talks with the Netherlands Ambassador to Ethiopia H.E Bengt Van Loosdrecht where the two discussed on migration and bilateral issues.

Reiterating the existence of more than 800000 refugees​ in Ethiopia ​the two parties agreed to work on shared responsibilities ​related to migration.

The World Bank has extended a US$108 million loan for the implementation of the Fourth Phase of Productive Safety Net Project (PSNP). Agreement was signed on Wednesday last week (May 10) by Finance and Economic Cooperation State Minister Admasu Nebebe and World Bank Country Director Carolyn Turk. State Minister Admasu said the loan would enable scaling-up the PSNP to reach drought-affected households not currently receiving any support and strengthen the response of the PSNP to core beneficiaries suffering from the drought. He said the additional financing was another testimony to the Bank’s continued support to government programs that aim to improve the livelihoods of affected Ethiopian communities. World Bank Country Director, Ms. Turk, said PSNP has been central to the broader drought response in Ethiopia.

The PSNP was launched in 2005 with the objective of shifting people away from reliance on annual emergency food aid to a more predictable approach to responding to food insecurity.

Apply to the 2nd round of the Sustainable Water Fund (FDW) Grant Programme! Deadline for concept notes: 8 December 2017.

The FDW is a Public-Private Partnership facility from the Netherlands MFA and the Netherlands Entreprise Agency which aims to contribute to water safety and water security in developing countries.

Learn more here: http://english.rvo.nl/subsidies-programmes/sustainable-water-fund-fdw

Pr. Dr. Luc Duchateau (Ghent University, Belgium) is the Coordinator of the Institutional University Collaboration with Jimma University.

Fields of research: statistics and biostatistics, malariology.

This article was originally published in the 6th issue (January 2017) of The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

Since the beginning of the current migration crisis, several measures have been agreed by the EU partners to address the root causes of migration. However, the actions implemented so far have not been responding effectively to the mounting migration pressure. To really address the issue, Europe should look at Africa beyond the current problems and crisis faced by the continent.

The history of migration is as old as that of humanity. It already existed in the past, is still a very noticeable phenomenon today, and it will continue to exist in the future, notably in countries undergoing traumatic economic and political transformations, where there is conflict, persecution, where individuals are in search of better life elsewhere.

Current measures are insufficient

Acknowledging this reality and in order to address the root cause of the current migration problem, the meeting between the European Union (EU) and African Heads of States and Governments in April 2014 in Brussels under the theme “Investing in people, prosperity and peace” adopted a Joint declaration on mobility and agreed to prepare an Action Plan for the period 2014-2017. In this declaration, they agreed to:

“…..foster synergies between migration and development, including by reducing the costs of remittances, enhancing the role and engagement of the diaspora and consolidating the African Institute for Remittances. To better organize intra and inter-regional labour mobility and that of business persons. To enhance cooperation to address trafficking in human beings, notably by strengthening partnership and cooperation on prevention, protection and prosecution. To cooperate on irregular migration, addressing all its relevant aspects, including strengthened migration management, return and readmission as well as the promotion of alternatives to irregular migration. And finally, to work together in the field of international protection and asylum, and towards promoting respect of the human rights of migrants.” (Article 36)

Even though the level of migration flows in 2014 had not yet reached height they would attain in subsequent years, the problem was well articulated and indicated possible remedies that could be used in the current migration crisis. However, the main problem has since then been laying in the implementation of decisions taken.

Later in November 2015, leaders of the two continents gathered in Malta and adopted five pillars and 16 priority areas to address migration-related problems and established a 1.8 billion euros EU Trust Fund for Africa to finance projects to implement these priorities in 33 African countries. Nearly a year and half after the Malta Summit, the operational committee established to govern the Trust fund approved nearly €1.589 billion under three windows, namely the Sahel-Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa and the North Africa windows. Of the approved fund, projects worth of 600 million euros (37.75%) have been contracted out and only 163 million euros (10.25%) of the total approved has been spent. This clearly shows the complexity and slowness of this process which involves several countries

It has also to be noted that the implementation of nearly 50% of the projects was given to NGOs, International Organizations and EU Member States. Local institutions that could have used this opportunity to build their capacity will therefore miss this chance. Moreover, despite the emphasis given during both meetings, efforts made to promote legal migration and to encourage remittances were minimal.

Of course, many positive steps were taken in this framework. Several discussions and researches which could contribute to address migration problem were organized. The cooperation in the area of prevention, protection and prosecution is also worth mentioning. But if one raises the question whether the activities taken so far are responding to the mounting migration pressure, particularly in countries of origin, the answer is clearly negative.

In addition to that, the mass deportations, construction of fences, xenophobia and growing nationalism prevailing today in Europe have raised scepticism on Africa’s side on wether the EU is still cooperating with Africa on the issue of migration with candour. More recently, the affirmation by the High Representative Federica Mogherini in Malta during the Senior officials meeting on the 8th of February 2017 that Europe “unlike others, will not build a wall”, the announcement of a European external investment plan (whose implementation is yet to be seen) and the job compact initiated by the Commission were some indications that the EU is willing to extend a credible offer to Africa. However, this is not enough.

Looking at Africa beyond the current problems

Europe should look at Africa beyond the current problems and crisis faced by the continent. Those problems will be overcome, but to do so, Africa needs a credible friend to help at this critical moment. For historical and geographical reasons, Europe stands on the top to do this.

After the end of the Second World War, Europe was as devastated, if not more devastated than many African and Middle East countries today. There are arguments that both migration and refugees played a significant role in Europe’s reconstruction after the war. The actions taken to reconstruct the continent were far-sighted, and bore fruits. The stable and prosperous Europe of today is in part the result of such courageous and generous initiatives by countries both inside and outside Europe. As Europe was saved by the implementation of the Marshall plan, so could Africa. That is why Germany established an “African Marshall plan”.

Jean-Pierre Lehmann in his article, “Refugee and migrants: Europe’s past History and future challenges”, articulately said that “the current economic hardships, social transformations, political oppressions, ethnic hostilities, religious and racial persecutions, and traumas of wars that are occurring at various degrees of intensity in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia in many fundamental ways reflect what occurred in the not too distant past in Europe.”

The important lesson to draw here is that Europe was largely able to overcome tremendous challenges, build a stable and prosperous continent and overcome the traumas of WWII thanks to the Marshall Plan.

Migration problems in Africa remain largely the responsibility of African countries. Europe cannot and should not fix those problems on behalf of African authorities.

The EU and Africa can either join hands to fix the problem in the foreseeable future, or Europe can wait until African countries fix their problem, regardless of the time it may take, while investing huge budgets to close its borders in the meantime.

A viable solution would be to take multi-action efforts ranging from generous support to boost Africa’s economy through FDI and financial support to infrastructure construction, to easing the currently difficult EU trade policies to help African farmers and manufacturers increase their production, expand their activities and employ more people. Among the critical missing links in the development of most African countries is the absence of skilled manpower who can adopt or innovate in new technologies and improve the way things are done locally. For this to happen, the EU and its Member States have a moral obligation to offer more scholarships and avail encouragement for those who pursue their education in Europe to return back to their countries and help themselves and their people.

EU and AU leaders are scheduled to meet in Abidjan in November 2017. Of the potential agenda items to be discussed, migration will be on the top. The real question is: will the leaders as usual, simply “call”, “reiterate”, “acknowledge” the need for action, or will they dig into the core of the matter and come up with workable policies aimed at opening EU’s markets to Africa, support Africa private sector both in finance and networking, and encourage EU’s investors to invest in Africa?

Focusing on business ties will certainly benefit both continents. Strong and flexible ties can be regarded, more than anything else, as the guarantee to quell the irregular migration crisis looming in Europe and Africa. The EU should look at tomorrow’s Africa as a potential market for Europe, both in terms of import and export instead of barely interacting with the world’s future most populated continent as a region in need of help.