Monday 6 February 2012

The NEPAD heads of state and Governments Summit at the 18th Ordinary Assembly of the AU SUMMIT IN ADDIS Ababa-Ethiopia


Ayoub mzee in the NEPAD Summit
H.E Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo-The president of Equatorial Guinea charing the NEPAD summit in Addis Ababa


President Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo Republic


President Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon,



H.E Mbingu wa Mutharika -Malawi President


H.E Paul Kagame Rwanda President

H.E Goodluck Jonathan - the Nigeria President

Ambassador Augustine Mahige - UN special rep in somalia.Mr. Mahiga brings to this position many yearsof both Government and United Nations experience. He combines extensive experience in conflict management, mediation, humanitarian and recovery/development activities. In particular, Mr. Mahiga has lengthy and pertinent experience in the Horn of Africa and other parts of the continent, which will be invaluable in his new position.
Since 2003, Mr. Mahiga has served as the United Republic of Tanzania’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. In this capacity, he has been actively involved in various United Nations reform initiatives, including co-facilitating negotiations on establishing the Peacebuilding Commission (2005) and co-chairing intergovernmental consultations on System Wide Coherence reforms, including Delivering as One in eight pilot countries (2008). Ambassador Mahiga has been engaged in intergovernmental and informal working groups on issues of development, peace and security, human rights, and strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union.
Before joining the Tanzanian Foreign Service in 1983, Mr. Mahiga worked in the President’s Office as Acting Director General and Director of Research and Training from 1977–1983. He served in various capacities with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), including as Chief of Mission to Liberia, Coordinator and Deputy Director of the humanitarian and refugee crisis in the Great Lakes Region, and UNHCR Representative in India, Italy, Malta, the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino.
Mr. Mahiga holds a PhD in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Toronto, Canada. He was born on 28 August 1945 and is married with three children.
The Secretary-General expresses his deep appreciation to Mr. Ould-Abdallah for his




The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is a programme of the African Union created by Africans, for Africans and implemented by Africans.
The NEPAD was adopted at the 37th session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia. It is meant to develop values and monitor their implementation within the framework of the African Union.
NEPAD is a merger of the Millennium Partnership for the African Recovery Programme (MAP) and the OMEGA Plan. The merger was finalized on 3 July 2001. Out of the merger, NAI was born. NAI was approved by the OAU Summit Heads of State and Government on 11 July 2001. The plan was endorsed by the leaders of G8 countries on 20 July 2001. The policy framework was finalized by the Heads of State Implementation Committee (HSIC) on 23 October 2001, and NEPAD was formed.
What is NEPAD?
. NEPAD is a vision and programme of action for the redevelopment of the African Continent. . NEPAD is a plan that has been conceived and developed by African leaders. . NEPAD is a comprehensive integrated development plan that addresses key social, economic and political priorities in a coherent and balanced manner. . NEPAD is a commitment that African leaders are making to African people and to the international community, to place Africa on a path of sustainable growth. . NEPAD is a commitment African leaders are making to accelerate the integration of the African Continent into the global economy. . NEPAD is a framework for a new partnership with the rest of the world. . NEPAD is a call to the rest of the world to partner Africa in her own development on the basis of her own agenda and programme of action.
Goals
. To promote accelerated growth and sustainable development. . To eradicate widespread and severe poverty. . To halt the marginalisation of Africa in the globalization process.

Press release
Sunday 5th February 2012
Embargoed until 2200Hrs Sunday 5 February 2012

Miliband tells Cameron: Save 6,000 nurses by abandoning NHS reorganisation now


Ed Miliband will today (Monday) accuse the Government of directly damaging frontline patient care with its unnecessary and unwanted top-down reorganisation of the NHS.Talking today about frontline pressure right across the NHS, he will point to new figures released by Labour that show the number of NHS nurses has now fallen by 3,500 since the general election and that indicate the total fall in nurses could be at least 6,000 by the end of this Parliament.At the same time Labour will highlight that the funds set aside to pay for the costs of the Health Bill’s reorganisation would be more than sufficient to protect all of these 6,000 nursing jobs if Parliament chose in the coming weeks to abandon the reorganisation.The Labour leader, along with Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, will be visiting s taff and patients at the Princess Royal University Hospital in Kent.It comes as Labour launches the next stage of its campaign against the Government’s Health Bill which is returning to Parliament this week.Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Labour Party, will say:"In tough times and with little money around the very first priority should be to protect the frontline NHS. Instead we have a government blowing a vast amount of money on a damaging top-down reorganisation at the same time as it is cutting thousands of nurses, with more than 3,000 already gone."Labour’s priority is protecting the frontline, not a pointless and damaging reorganisation of the NHS. So we are calling for the Bill to be scrapped, and for some of the money set aside to fund this reorganisation to instead be made available to the NHS to protect the thousands of nursing posts either already cut or set to be cut in the coming years."It is a clear and simpl e choice for the Government: by stopping this damaging reorganisation we can fund 6,000 nurses."In opposition David Cameron told people he could be trusted to protect the NHS. In government he has put Tory free-market ideology ahead of basic patient care."Last year, the Government set aside nearly £1.8bn to pay for the costs of Health Bill reorganisation that could only be used once the Health Bill is enacted. Labour is calling for £750m of the money being used to fund the reorganisation to be used instead to fund 6,000 nursing posts over the Spending Review period, replacing the 3,500 nurses that have already been lost, and protecting a further 2,500 posts that research suggests will be lost in the coming years.Andy Burnham MP, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary, will say:"In just over 18 months in government, the Coalition has taken a successful and confident NHS and turned it into an organisation that's demoralised, destabilis ed and fearful of the future. It is reckless in the extreme to plough on with this reorganisation when organisations that represent 1.2m NHS staff are lined up against it. It threatens seriously damaging the key relationships that underpin the NHS. By allowing existing NHS structures to disintegrate before new ones are in place, the Government is creating a loss of grip and focus at local level and the NHS is showing signs of increasing distress."
Ends

Editor's notes:
1. The 2011 Spring Supplementary Estimate set aside £1.785bn to fund the costs of Health Bill reorganisation, which could not be spent until the legislation had been enacted: “Part of the provision under subhead G2 in RfR1 is subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill, which has passed second reading in the House of Commons. The provision sought, £1,785,000,000 will not be used for the service or for any other purpose until the enabling legislation has been enacted.” (2011, p.75)2. The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) qualified nurses (excluding midwives, health visitors and school nurses) has fallen from 281,431 in May 2010 to 277,915 in October 2011 (latest figures), a fall of 3,516 (NHS Information Centre, Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics in England - October 2011). The figure refers to the change in ‘Qualified nursing, midwifery & health visiting staff’ net of changes in the numbers of midwives, health visitors and school nurses. (When midwives, health visitors and school nurses are included in the total, the overall fall in qualified nursing, midwifery & health visiting staff is 3,000 (2,968).)3. Recent research by the Royal College of Nursing suggests that many more nursing posts may already have been earmarked for cuts (Frontline First: November 2011 update, Royal College of Nursing). The RCN analysis identified 5,000 nursing posts at risk, comprising both qualified nurses and healthcare assistants. Here we assume that half (2,500) of these 5,000 posts are qualified nurses.4. According to calculations by the House of Commons Library, the average total cost of employing a nurse for three years through 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 is £124,800, including employer NICs and pension contributions (calculations based o n NHS Staff Earnings, estimates, July 2011 to September 2011). The total cost of supporting 6,000 FTE posts at £124,800 is therefore £748.8m.5. The list of professional bodies which have come out in opposition to the Health and Social Care Bill include: The Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of Midwives, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Radiologists, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.6. Labour's Policy Review is currently looking at workforce pressures among health professions, including among doctors, nurses and midwives, in addition to broader workforce planning issues.