Of the 300 million chronically hungry children in the world, a third mostly girls - do not attend school. On empty stomachs, children are easily distracted and cannot concentrate properly. Hunger impedes a child's ability to learn and achieve. School feeding programmes offer nutritional food as well as a platform for addressing the poverty, war and disease that can affect a child's health and education.

Rather than asking what aid agencies should be doing, this article from the Overseas Development Institute asks the question: "Why are there many and different aid organisations and not just one?" The article argues that the main role of aid agencies is to mediate between donors' and recipients' interests, or preferences, and that there would be no need for mediation when donor and recipient interests were fully convergent. The article aims to provide a cross-institutional perspective to explain the relative advantages and disadvantages of each type of agency within a single explanatory model.

Third Millennium Foundation (TMF) is pleased to announce the opening of its application pool for its 2006 Scholars-in-Residence Program. The Scholars-in-Residence Program supports post doctoral fellows and young assistant professors from various academic disciplines to conduct research in the field of human rights and tolerance education. In its upcoming cycle 2006/07 TMF will focus its Scholar-in-Residence Program specifically on “unlearning intolerance” among children and/ or youth in formal and/ or informal educational settings that are critical to practitioners or policymakers’ work.

The Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for the 2006 Human Rights Award. Candidates for the Award include those with a law degree who have demonstrated experience or interest in international human rights law. In order to participate in the competition, applicants must submit an unpublished legal article/paper written in English or Spanish solely by the candidate. The Academy will grant two Awards, one for the best article in English and the other for the best article in Spanish.

The private sector in East Africa is making limited and uneven efforts to help its employees avoid contracting the virus that causes Aids, according to a new study by a Washington based think tank. About 32 per cent of companies surveyed in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda sponsor Aids-prevention activities aimed at their workers, says the study entitled, ‘Does the Private Sector Care About Aids?’

Supports social entrepreneurs who seek to leverage technology-based solutions in the interest of humanitarian, educational, and sustainable development goals. The Reuters Foundation and other programme partners will award approximately a dozen full-time fellowships, covering all Stanford University fees and expenses. Living stipends may be available for fellows accepted from developing world countries.

Rather than asking what aid agencies should be doing, this article asks the question: "Why are there many and different aid organisations and not just one?". The article argues that the main role of aid agencies is to mediate between donors' and recipients' interests, or preferences, and that there would be no need for mediation when donor and recipient interests were fully convergent. The article aims to provide a cross-institutional perspective to explain the relative advantages and disadvantages of each type of agency within a single explanatory model.

A code of practice for media organisations embracing the phenomenon of 'citizen journalism' has been launched by the British National Union of Journalists, according to a report on holdthefrontpage.co.uk. The Witness Contributors' Code of Practice outlines guidelines on issues such as accuracy and checking sources, along with payment to contributors, says an article on www.journalism.co.za

Julius Kapwepwe Mishambi, Programme Officer for the Uganda Debt Network, a civil society organization campaigning on debt relief issues, comments on the current trend of reduced donor funding for the Ugandan government’s budget support programme. In his analysis he criticises donor aid pointing out some of the negative effects of the donor dependency syndrome, and proposes that Africa needs to explore alternatives for independence from donor aid.

One would be mesmerised, looking at the aid cut trends for Uganda by some of the country’s long time funding partners. Countries and institutions that have been instrumental to Uganda’s budget support have recently reduced their funding by millions of US dollars. The estimates at the end of 2005 are as follows: Ireland and Norway– 4 million each, Sweden - 8 million, the World Bank - 15million and the United Kingdom - 35 million.

Since the late 1990s, the Government of Uganda and donors agreed to a budget support programme captured in Uganda’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP). Holding other factors constant, an aid cut means the programmes will be starved of resources. My major concern in this regard is the implication of this for the social sectors of health and education.

We ought to recall here that Uganda was one of the beneficiaries of debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. This programme was engineered by the Bretton Woods Institutions - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and The World Bank. The initiative was a response to the embarrassment occasioned by the outcomes of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) advocated by these twin cheat institutions for developing economies, particularly in Africa and Latin America. HIPC was also viewed as a response to the heat of the global call, under the Jubilee debt cancellation campaign, for the end to the killer debt burden borne by the developing economies of the world.

So, what was the original intention of aid support of the 1990s in Uganda, at least at face value? Was it aimed at beefing up Uganda’s savings of debt relief resources for anti-poverty efforts, as reflected in the national policy objectives of Primary Health Care (PHC) and Universal Primary Education (UPE) programmes and other sub-programmes in the war against poverty?

To my mother in rural Kumi district in Uganda, and those in the Zambezi region of Zambia and Ruvuma in Tanzania, the anti-poverty programmes have been of direct help, to a certain degree. Consequently, the no-flow of drugs to health centres due to the aid cut makes those categories of people the primary losers. Cutting this type of aid is criminal, defeats morality and such international goals as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ironically, the same masters of aid espouse these ideals, at least at face value.

On the contrary, I would argue that aid cuts could be justified for a different category - the expatriate donor community - the type characterized by huge salaries, residential mansions in prime locations in the recipient countries and first class air travellers. The meagre trickle down effects of these expatriate expenditures in our country’s economy cannot compensate for the losses occasioned by the resultant dependency syndrome created by the western world.

The talk of aid cuts is an opportunity for Africa. Africans ought to explore how Kenya has moved on for the past few years with neither aid nor loans from the World Bank. Government securities (bonds and treasury bills) contribute about 6% to the country’s national budget, with the rest accruing from the Kenya government’s own, generated revenues. The government has continued to fund its industrial growth. Africans should opt for frugality so that public expenditure is optimal. For example, Uganda’s expenditure could rhyme with PEAP priority areas, already elaborated upon and jointly updated periodically by the national and local governments, faith-based and civil society organizations, academia and research institutions, individual pressure and interest groups in Uganda, etc. Is it not possible to acquire an affordable yet comfortable car for a government official whose work is over 80% city based? Does a spokesperson for the government need a 4000cc vehicle to ably articulate government positions at a weekly press briefing? How about invoking government standing orders, which provide that government vehicles should only do government business, to reduce the cost of fleet maintenance? Indeed, does a president require 20 armoured cars for his/her security?

Surely, aid conditionality has been an obstacle to decision-making of African countries. The Structural Adjustment Programmes (especially privatisation and liberalization) attest to this. In Uganda for example, the lack of hydropower dams on various suitable sites along river Nile has been a domain of aid influence. As a result, companies in Uganda continue to spend huge sums of money on announcing the schedule for load shedding. These sums should instead be expended on inviting the public to witness the opening of new power sources and resources.

Aid was used to perpetuate the tyranny of the Bath Party led by Saddam Hussein in Iraq and kuku wazabanga Mobutu in former Zaire, for decades. It served to suffocate the interests and human rights of ordinary citizens. But the governance issues that donors have raised should not simply be wished away but squarely addressed. The issues are part and parcel of Africa’s socio-economic and political development aspirations.

* Julius Kapwepwe Mishambi is Programme Officer for the Uganda Debt Network

* Please send comments to [email protected]

This collection of essays critically interrogates the internal dimensions of the identity and citizenship crises at the root of the political crises of states in West Africa, and considers the steps that have been taken thus far to address them. It show the progressive alienation of ordinary people from the state, coupled with factors of historical identity and post-colonial citizenship are at the heart of the political crisis and conflicts in the region; and argues that these matters must be addressed if West African states are to achieve democratic nationhood.

Micro-finance programmes not only give women and men access to savings and credit, but reach millions of people worldwide bringing them together regularly in organised groups. Although no 'magic bullet', they are potentially a very significant contribution to gender equality and women's empowerment, as well as pro-poor development and civil society strengthening. Through their contribution to women's ability to earn an income these programmes have potential to initiate a series of 'virtuous spirals' of economic empowerment, increased well-being for women and their families and wider social and political empowerment.

Governance concerns in Ethiopia have led the British government to cancel its budget support to the Ethiopian government. Development Minister Hilary Benn announced in Addis Ababa that Britain will cut all of its aid to Ethiopia's government. This amounts to more than 50 million pounds sterling Britain will now redirect through other development financing channels such as humanitarian agencies.

This manual aims to help readers to design, revise, and implement project selection processes in North-South research partnership (NSRP) programmes. In particular, it addresses the complex challenge of dealing with the multiple objectives of NSRP programmes: scientific quality, development relevance, and adherence to partnership principles.

This Humanitarian Action Report 2006 is UNICEF's appeal for children and women in 29 emergencies around the world. In 2005, a series of natural disasters and continuing humanitarian crises around the world have affected the lives and well-being of millions of children.

On the 10th Anniversary of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women and the founding of the World Trade Organization, the International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN) chose to focus on the impact of trade liberalization on women’s economic security as its contribution to the Beijing +10 review because trade liberalization is a leading force for global economic integration. Since 1995, there is evidence that economic and political forces have been responsible for measures and policies, which run counter to the commitments made by governments for implementing the Beijing Platform for Action.

Ecological Internet has launched a new rainforest portal dedicated to the protection of the world's remaining tropical rainforests and the rights of their inhabitants. The new site is the latest in a long list of highly successful environmental portal offerings by Ecological Internet. The portal provides unprecedented rainforest action, news, search and analysis capabilities.

At least US$232 billion will be sent back home globally by around 200 million migrants to their families in 2005, three times official development aid (US$78.6 billion dollars). Moreover, migration and remittance experts argue that the unofficial transfers could be as large as formal flows. What impact is this having on poverty reduction?

The aim of the Global Directory of Human Rights Educators is to provide a resource for individuals, communities and organisations that are looking for assistance with their activities or want to exchange information. Through the directory one can identify trainers or curriculum developers, explore potential partnerships, or share your interest in certain thematic areas. Currently almost 600 educators from over 50 countries have registered in the directory. In order to protect the privacy of those listed the directory is password protected and will only be accessible to those who have registered.

Kisumu is on the threshold of another new beginning. Kenya's lakeside town has many things going for it lately. After celebrating its centennial a few years ago, it recently achieved another first after the United Nations declared it the world's first Millennium City. It was in 1901 that the building of the Kenya Uganda Railway was concluded at Winam Gulf aka Kavirondo Gulf, that the foundation of the town was laid.

Uganda's Global Fund probe was dismayed by revelations that the country's health ministers borrowed sh7m from the Global Fund for malaria to campaign for last year's referendum on change of political systems. The chairman, Justice James Ogoola, condemned the "borrowing," calling it an act of depriving malaria patients of their aid to the benefit of a partisan political activity. The commission was hearing evidence from the project manager of the Malaria Control Programme under the health ministry.