Brussels, 14 May 2012 – The trade and development agreement concluded by the EU and four Eastern and Southern African states Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Zimbabwe will take effect today.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said: "Today, our first interim Economic Partnership Agreement with an African region is applied. This is excellent news and I salute the hard work of negotiators and colleagues on all sides. With this trade deal we hope to accompany the development of our partners in Eastern and Southern Africa and open up better and lasting business opportunities."

The interim Economic Partnership Agreement provides duty and quota free access to the EU market for exports from Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Zimbabwe. These countries will gradually open their markets to European exports over the course of 15 years, with exceptions for certain products the countries consider sensitive. [...] It is therefore an improvement for Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Zimbabwe on the unilateral duty and quota free regime they enjoyed so far because it encourages regional integration and strengthens a partnership approach with the EU. Regional integration brings economic and political benefits that individual countries cannot achieve alone.

Read the full press release here.

African countries’ development strategies must soften the environmental impact of economic growth, and they must also position themselves to benefit from the promotion of green economies. Donald Kaberuka, who heads the African Development Bank, explains how best they can scale-up the climate finance system and embrace green growth.

Green growth will be critical to Africa’s future because the fragility of its natural environment coupled with its heavy dependence on agriculture is set to put heavy pressure on the continent’s ecological carrying capacity. African countries’ pressing need for growth to combat poverty at a time of runaway population growth mean that development policies must be fashioned to reduce the environmental impact. And the same African countries also need to position themselves so they benefit from promoting green economic growth. [...]

But African countries are going to need a good deal of help if they are to devise green manufacturing strategies and position themselves advantageously in the value chain of clean technology manufacturing. They also need to benefit from technology transfers and North-South partnerships while helping to promote them.

Read full article here.

Maternal health in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is undermined by a lack of awareness and access to healthcare.

[...] Although conditions have improved in recent years, Kinshasa general hospital remains plagued by the country's problems: power cuts, outdated equipment, poorly-paid staff and drug shortages. Years of corrupt leadership and low levels of investment in health have taken a toll.

Over her lifetime, a Congolese woman faces a one in 24 chance of dying from complications arising from pregnancy or childbirth. In several interviews with medical workers in Kinshasa, they all cited poverty as the main trigger of maternal deaths. Three-quarters of Congolese women who did not give birth in a health facility cited lack of funds to pay for services as the reason, according to a World Bank survey.

Click here to read full article.

The European Union is providing $8 million to help revive Zimbabwe’s ailing agriculture sector.  Zimbabwe - once southern Africa's breadbasket - is still trying to revitalize its agriculture sector, which took a nosedive after President Robert Mugabe’s government embarked on a land reform program in 2000 that displaced thousands of white farmers.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization will administer the $8-million European Union donation to Zimbabwe announced Thursday.

The FAO says it hopes that this money will help Zimbabwe revive the devastated agricultural sector. [...] At the signing ceremony in Harare Thursday, Seiso Moyo, Zimbabwe’s junior agriculture minister said the EU donation would begin to revive the country's ailing economy.

“Considering that agriculture is the mainstay of the country’s economy, this signing ceremony is a positive and pivotal development to national economic growth, since nearly 70 percent of the population of Zimbabwe live in rural areas and derive their livelihoods mainly from farming," said Moyo.

Read full article here.

Mr Claude Maerten, Head of the European Union (EU) in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday said that the body was committed to reducing poverty and ensuring prosperity in Africa.

He said the EU was a major development partner of Ghana, and Ghanaians could count on the Union for policies that would be to the benefit of the people. [...]

Mr Maerten said the EU was widely recognized as one of the world’s leading and most innovative and effective international donor.

He said the Union was revamping its development policy titled “an Agenda for Change,” to promote good governance and economic growth in Ghana.

Mr Maerten said: “In few weeks time there will  be the Rio+ 20 summit. Europe is happy to share the same level of ambition as Ghana, be it sustainable energy, which we are already committed to working together in the coming weeks, on water and sanitation or on climate change migration efforts.”

Read full article here.