25 May 2011 is the 48th anniversary of Africa Day.
As the world reflects on Africa it is important to recognise how far this great continent has come and to celebrate its accomplishments.
Political and economic reforms have fostered impressive growth in recent years but Africa remains the poorest continent in the world. It has 33 of the world's 48 least developed countries and half a billion of its people live in absolute poverty.
Africa also lags behind other regions in its progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Australia's increased aid to Africa reflects the Australian Government's commitment to support global efforts to achieve the MDGs by 2015.
On 10 May 2011, the Australian Government reaffirmed its commitment to the continent with Australian aid to Africa rising to $291.3 million for the year ahead.
Australia's increased aid is in sectors where Australia has experience and expertise. In particular, support to agriculture and food security, natural resource management (including mining), water and sanitation, maternal and child health, and in building human resources.
Australians can be proud that we have contributed to many achievements that have improved the lives of African people.
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Australia is sharing its expertise in the administration of the mining sector and around 100 officials from Africa will benefit from mining-focused scholarships in 2011.
- Australia has supported more than 300,000 orphaned or poor children in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, and assisted a further 586,170 vulnerable children in Tanzania through the provision of food, nutrition, shelter, education and psychosocial support.
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Australia has provided support to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia for more than two decades.
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In 2009 the hospital treated 2278 fistula patients, distributed 15,622 birthing kits to traditional birth attendants and health extension workers, and provided awareness training on the prevention and treatment of obstetric fistula.
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Graduates from the Hamlin College of Midwives will increase the access for women in rural areas to trained health personnel.
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Australia has supported the upgrade and installation of latrines and hand washing facilities in Tanzania, which has improved the health of more than 40,000 households.
- The aid program is also helping some of Africa's poorest farming communities to increase farm-household food security and productivity through the development of more resilient, profitable and sustainable maize-legume farming systems.
Three recent reports reflect on the important progress Africa is making and the challenges that remain.
Africa Progress Panel Report
The 2011 Africa Progress Panel Report [PDF 4.6mb, external website] examines the transformative power of partnerships.
While the idea of linking and sharing resources to address specific development challenges isn't new, too few success stories are copied or amplified to effect lasting structural change.
This report looks at development progress and challenges in Africa over the last year and identifies partnership models that have already proven their potential in Africa. The report then assesses how to create policy frameworks and incentives to spur more collaboration for progress.
Global Financial and Economic Surveys
The International Monetary Fund's Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa: Recovery and New Risks report was published in April 2011. It looks at Sub-Saharan African economies in detail and makes performance comparisons across various sectors of their economies.
The report indicates that Sub-Saharan Africa's economic recovery following the Global Financial Crisis is well under way, but among groups of countries the speed of the recovery is variable. In most of the region's low-income countries and among the seven oil exporters growth is almost back to pre-crisis levels. However, in the region's middle-income countries, including South Africa, the recovery has been more gradual.
The One Data Report 2011
In 2005, the G8 and EU made a set of historic commitments to help sub-Saharan Africa meet the Millennium Development Goals. ONE's DATA Report 2011 has monitored these commitments for the past 5 years. It calls for a renewed focus on accountability, effectiveness and innovation to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015
Findings from this year's report show how countries performed on their ODA commitments to sub-Saharan Africa.
Key success stories include:
- 46.5 million more children started going to primary school in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Nearly 4 million people in the region have gained access to life-preserving antiretroviral treatment for AIDS.
- Agricultural production in 17 sub-Saharan African countries has increased by 50%.