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How policies end: not with a bang, but a whimper Aid Thoughts Masimba Tafirenyika describes how dire the food security situation in Malawi has become: Once again Malawi finds itself in a tight spot. A food crisis set off by erratic rains, rising food prices and economic hardships is slowly unfolding. For the first time in several years, the country's ability to feed its citizens is at risk. Sadly and unexpectedly, Malawi has lost its hard-earned status as an agricultural success story — it used to produce enough maize for its people to eat and still provide a surplus to neighbours. Many are now wondering what went wrong and whether there could be lessons for other African countries. More than 1.63 million people, or 11 per cent of the population, are facing severe food shortages, according to the World Food Programme, a UN relief agency. Malawi needed $30 million to the end of 2012 to cover the shortfall. As Tafirenyika hints, this...

Somewhat less neglected tropical diseases Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk What progress has been made, a year on from Big Pharma's promise to help eliminate neglected tropical diseases? A year ago, the leaders of some of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies arrived for a meeting in London, at Bill Gates's behest, and announced they would all do their bit towards fighting neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). On Wednesday, two reports give some idea of what has been achieved since, and it looks like a positive story. The companies have delivered 1.2bn treatments for diseases where treatments exist, which is an increase of 150m treatments on what they were delivering before. More to the point, perhaps, is that they delivered on every order made by a developing country. According to a report released by organisations including pharma, Gates and NGOs who were involved in the London meeting, 29 countries began...

Running on empty Baobab CARS snaked around the petrol station and back down a dusty street in Mzuzu, a town in northern Malawi. Pedestrians armed with jerry cans patiently formed another line. "I've been here three hours, and spent three days before that looking for a queue to join," said Lloyd, a young chauffeur, his feet resting on his dashboard as he waited for petrol tankers to unload. Petrol stations across this southwest African country of 16m are either eerily empty or jam-packed. Malawi is once again suffering fuel shortages and supplies come in fits and starts. Economic problems are to blame. The government has failed to balance the books which means that foreign reserves, which it needs buy petrol, are running low. Several years ago this led petrol companies to default on payments. "The credit rating has dropped so companies that supply fuel are demanding cash payments," says Henry Kachaje, an economic analyst. The short...

Kenyan Consumer Guide on Solar for Homes Bankelele Kenya is currently the largest market for solar home systems on the African continent and second largest in the world, after China, by both annual sales as well as total installed base. The Kenyan solar home system (SHS) category is considered the most competitive by far, and  due to its history and heritage ,one of the most developed, albeit primarily in the informal sector.  Today, there are over 350,000 solar home systems across Kenya and the market is still growing at more than 15% a year. What does this mean for you, the consumer?  V ariety of solar options for rural household s Choice:   With so much to choose from and new products, services and business models being launched, how can you evaluate what kind of solution would work best for your household needs? Not only is there something for every budget, but big names such as Safaricom, Total, Dayliff (Davis & Shirtliff), Solla...

The Great Bank Escape Project Syndicate - A World of Ideas - the highest quality opinion ... Corporate decisions taken in the name of shareholder value often benefit only those whose wealth is closely tied to the firm's profits, and may be harmful to many shareholders. If policymakers and regulators do not strengthen their reform efforts, taxpayers and shareholders – not bankers – will suffer the consequences of the next crisis.

Stephen Ellis on Africa in world: "best" book 2012 Africa Works Worldwide, there's a growing concensus that "outsiders" (useful, for lack of a better term to describe non-residents of the sub-Saharan) ought to view Africa with a new set of spectacles. Outdated pre-conceptions still dominate outisders perceptions of what ails Africa, and how the "patient" might best be "cured." But increasingly, the dangerous stereotypes of the past – mental maps and meta-narratives that influenced all manner of wrong-headed understandings of what's happening in the sub-Saharan – are giving way to new approaches that begin with asking better questions about Africa's present and future. Probably the clearest expression of the need for looking afresh at a tired subject is this year's most important book on Africa by a professional Africanist, the eminent observer of the region's politics, Stephen Ellis. An advisor ...

The 'Great Scam' Economist's View Following up the post below this one, Paul Krugman explains why it's important to realize that deficit reduction is not the true goal of Republicans, it's just a means to bring about tax cuts for the wealthy and pay for them with cuts to social services such as Medicare and Social Security: ...Remember, George W. Bush campaigned on the basis that the surplus of the late Clinton years meant that we needed to cut taxes — and Alan Greenspan provided crucial support, telling Congress that the biggest danger we faced was that we might pay off our debt too fast. Now Greenspan is helping groups like Fix the Debt. And as  Duncan Black  points out, the Bush experience tells us something important about fiscal policy: namely, that when Democrats get obsessed with deficit reduction, all they do is provide a pot of money that Republicans will squander on more tax breaks for the ...