Calendar of events

 14-15 March, COMESA Ministers of Agriculture meeting, Seychelles.
 19-20 March, CAADP Partnership Forum, Seychelles.
 21-22 March, CAADP capacity building workshop, Seychelles. Source : NEPAD, march 14, 2008

NEPAD TV schedule

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the NEPAD TV programme due to appear on the SABC Africa channel (DSTV channel 286) on 12 March will now be aired as follows : African Views 19 March, 8pm-9pm (SA time)

This phone-in panel discussion will feature Prof. Eric Buch, NEPAD advisor on health, HIV and AIDS. He is professor of health policy and management in the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and is a member of the Strategic Advisory Group of the International Centre for Human Resources in Nursing. He is also a board member of the Global Health Workforce Alliance.

The topic for discussion will be : “Action on the health workforce : the time is now” and the panel will include three members of the World Health Organisation — Prof George Bikirya, Chairperson, Health Service Commission, Uganda ; Dr. Antonio Mussa, Director, Human Resources, Ministry of Health, Mozambique ; and Jennifer Nyoni, Human Resources for Health Management, Division of Health Systems and Services Development, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Source : NEPAD, march 14, 2008

Heads of State and Government attend the Peer Review Summit

The 8th Summit of the African Peer Review Forum held on 30 January 2008 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was chaired by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi and attended by 15 Heads of State and Government.

Among the decisions taken at the Summit were :

Legal status of the APRM Secretariat The Forum recommended to the African Union Commission that it should formally approach the Government of South Africa to host the APRM Secretariat as an autonomous organ of the African Union.

Rotation of membership of APR Panel The term of the office of the current APR Panel of Eminent Persons has come to an end. Three new members will be appointed immediately while four of the present members will be requested to remain on the Panel until July 2008 to ease the handover process and ensure continuity.

Country Review Mission to Benin Members of the APR Forum who conducted the peer review of Benin in July-August 2007 congratulated President Boni Yayi for an excellent presentation and also for his determination to improve the conditions in Benin.

Overarching issues On the subject of overarching issues such as managing diversity which have been identified in peer-reviewed countries, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa suggested that the APR Panel may wish to pursue these issues and to share experiences.

Signing of MoU on the APRM The President of Mauritania signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the African Peer Review Mechanism and Mauritania became the 29th African country to accede to the APRM.

Latest developments in the APRM The Country Review Mission to Nigeria to validate the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) national review process completed a month-long visit on 2 March 2008. The team will now work on producing a Country Review Report which is expected to make recommendations on Nigeria’s National Programme of Action. Nigeria is then due to be peer-reviewed at the July 2008 Summit of the APRM Forum. Under the leadership of Amb. Bethuel A Kiplagat, the Country Review Mission comprised a 30-member team of experts drawn from the APRM strategic partners, African resource institutions and the APRM Secretariat. Former President of Sierra Leone, Alhaj Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, was part of the mission as an eminent observer.

A feature of the visit was the enthusiastic participation of the Nigerian people in the validation process.

Mme. Angelique Savané who is the lead member of the APR Panel for Gabon undertook an advance mission to the country from 11-17 January 2008.

The Algerian Government has published its Country Review Report which was distributed at the Forum Summit in Addis Ababa on 30 January 2008.

At the invitation of the Egyptian authorities, an advance mission led by Amb. Bethuel Kiplagat, visited the country from 14-17 December 2007. The team met with the chairman and members of the National Commission to exchange views on the steps taken so far by Egypt in conducting its self-assessment exercise. The Country Review Mission has been scheduled for May 2008.

Burkina Faso has submitted its self-assessment report and a Review Mission is expected to visit the country soon. The review team with be led by Professor Babes, of the APR Panel.

Angola organised a conference on 27-28 November 2007 to brainstorm on fast-tracking the implementation of NEPAD and APRM in the country.

The Country Review Report for South Africa has been published and will be tabled at all key regional and sub-regional meetings in 2008 as mandated. Source : NEPAD, march 14, 2008