Events

PRESS BRIEFING OF THE AFRICAN COURT AND AFRICAN COMMISSION
Within the frame work of the 22nd AU Summit, African Court and African Commission, will on Thursday, 30 January 2014 at16:30 hold a briefing on the following issue:
- Relationship between the two institutions
- Development since the last summit
- The recent cases handled by the court
During the press conference the following panelists will address the media:
- Hon. Justice Sophia A. B. Akuffo, President of the Court
- Hon. Justice Bernard M Ngoepe, Vice President of the Court
- Hon. Justice Ben Kioko, Member of the Court
- Hon. Commissioner Zainabou Sylvie Kayitesi
The briefing will be held in Briefing room 1, at the new AU Conference Center, in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Journalist are invited to take part in the press briefing
Media Contact
Mr. Molalet Tsedeke
Media Center Coordinator
Directorate of Information and Communication AU Commission
Tel: +251911630631
E-mail: molalett@africa-union.org
For further information contact
Directorate of information and communication /African union commission/ E- mail:dinfo@africa- union.org/Web site: www.au.int/ Addis Ababa / Ethiopia
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Attachments

30 January, 2014 Contact: Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Saleemah@alma2015.org
+251 939 643 193
SEVEN AFRICAN COUNTRIES LEAD THE CONTINENT IN MALARIA CONTROL
Annual awards – bestowed at the AU – highlight how Africa’s future
is inextricably tied to progress in defeating malaria
Today during the official opening of the African Union Summit of heads of state, H.E. Armando Guebuza, President of Mozambique, conferred the 2014 African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) Awards for Excellence in Vector Control to Cape Verde, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe,and Swaziland. Each country has demonstrated exemplary leadership in maintaining at least 95% coverage year round of Long-Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN) and/or Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) interventions, the most important tools in preventing malaria.
Malaria is a leading cause of child deaths and kills 627,000 people every year, most in Africa. The continent has made tremendous progress in the delivery and use of life-saving tools in the fight against malaria, including LLINs, IRS, rapid diagnostic tests, and effective treatments, including preventative care during pregnancy.

Yet malaria continues to wreak a huge toll on Africa. It burdens already fragile health systems; it is a leading cause of absenteeism in schools; it negatively impacts agricultural productivity and businesses large and small when employees and entrepreneurs are kept from their work; and it robs African countries of at least USD $12billion every year in economic potential.
“We cannot lose ground in our struggle to end preventable deaths and suffering from malaria” said President Guebuza, who serves as Chair of ALMA. “Our people and our communities are counting on us to continue to scale proveninterventions to insure that no African loses their livelihood or life to this ancient disease.”
Last month, the World Malaria Report declared that as a result of significant scaling-up of malaria control interventions, an estimated 3.1 million lives have been saved in Africa since 2000, reducing malaria mortality rates by 49%. And while funding challenges remain, resources for malaria prevention globally have grown from $100 million in 2000 to an estimated $1.9 billion in 2013. ALMA’s current Chair, H. E. President Guebuza of Mozambique, has rallied his peers and partners to increase malaria funding so that we sustain these impressive gains.

ALMA was founded by H.E. President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania to create a platform for Africa’s presidents and prime ministers to accelerate action on malaria prevention and control. ALMA’s second chair, H.E. President Ellen Sirleaf of Liberia, continued to promote performance and accountability through the innovative ALMA Scorecard for Accountability and Action. Winners of ALMA’s Awards for Excellence are selected by an independent committee representing the World Health Organization (WHO), Roll Back Malaria (RBM), the private sector, civil society and academia. For more information about ALMA and for a profile of the progress shown by the seven winning countries, please visit www.alma2015.org.

Press Release
Global learning crisis is costing $129 billion a year
Crisis will affect generations of children without action to boost teaching, report warns.

Strict embargo until 29 January 00.01 GMT:
The 11th Education for All Global Monitoring Report reveals that a global learning crisis is costing governments $129 billion a year. Ten per cent of global spending on primary education is being lost on poor quality education that is failing to ensure that children learn. This situation leaves one in four young people in poor countries unable to read a single sentence. The Report concludes that good teachers are the key to improvement and calls on governments to provide the best in the profession to those who need them most.
This year’s Report, Teaching and learning: Achieving quality for all, warns that without attracting and adequately training enough teachers the learning crisis will last for several generations and hit the disadvantaged hardest. In many sub-Saharan African countries, for example, the Report reveals that only one in five of the poorest children reach the end of primary school having learnt the basics in reading and mathematics.
Poor quality education is leaving a legacy of illiteracy more widespread than previously believed. Around 175 million young people in poor countries – equivalent to around one quarter of the youth population – cannot read all or part of a sentence, affecting one third of young women in South and West Asia. On current trends, the Report projects that it will take until 2072 for all the poorest young women in developing countries to be literate; and possibly until the next century for all girls from the poorest families in sub-Saharan Africa to finish lower secondary school.
In a third of countries analysed by the Report, less than three-quarters of existing primary school teachers are trained to national standards. In West Africa, where few children are learning the basics, teachers on temporary contracts with low pay and little formal training make up more than half of the teaching force.
“Teachers have the future of this generation in their hands,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “We need 5.2 million teachers to be recruited by 2015, and we need to work harder to support them in providing children with their right to a universal, free and quality education. We must also make sure that there is an explicit commitment to equity in new global education goals set after 2015, with indicators tracking the progress of the marginalized so that no one is left behind.”
The Report calculates that the cost of 250 million children around the world not learning the basics translates into a loss of an estimated $129 billion. In total, 37 countries are losing at least half the amount they spend on primary education because children are not learning. By contrast, the Report shows that ensuring an equal, quality education for all can generate huge economic rewards, increasing a country’s gross domestic product per capita by 23 per cent over 40 years.
Even in high-income countries, education systems are failing significant minorities. In New Zealand, while almost all students from rich households achieved minimum standards in grades 4 and 8, only two-thirds of poor students did. Immigrants in rich countries are also left behind: in France, for example, fewer than 60 per cent of immigrants have reached the minimum benchmark in reading.
The Report shows that to achieve good quality education for all, governments must provide enough trained teachers, and focus their teacher policies on meeting the needs of the disadvantaged. This means attracting the best candidates into teaching; giving them relevant training; deploying them within countries to areas where they are needed most; and offering them incentives to make a long-term commitment to teaching. The Report also highlights the need to address gender-based violence in schools, a major barrier to quality and equality in education. It underscores the importance of curriculum and assessment strategies to promote inclusion and improve learning.
Pauline Rose, the director of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, said: “What’s the point in an education if children emerge after years in school without the skills they need? The huge numbers of illiterate children and young people mean it is crucial that equality in access and learning be placed at the heart of future education goals. New goals after 2015 must make sure every child is not only in school, but learning what they need to learn.”
The Report makes the following recommendations:
1. New education goals after 2015 must include an explicit commitment to equity so that every child has an equal chance of an education. New goals need clear, measurable targets with indicators that will track the progress of the most disadvantaged.
2. New goals after 2015 must ensure that every child is in school and learning the basics. Children do not only have the right to be in school, but also to learn while there, and to emerge with the skills they need to find secure, well-paid work.
3. Ensure the best teachers reach the learners who need them most. National education plans must include an explicit commitment to reaching the marginalized. Teachers should be recruited locally, or have similar backgrounds to disadvantaged learners. Every teacher needs pre- and in-service training on ways to target support to disadvantaged children. Incentives must be provided to ensure the best teachers work in remote, under-served areas. Governments must work to retain their best teachers, providing pay that meets at least their basic needs, good working conditions and a career path.

For interviews, photos, b-roll, pre-edited videos, quotes or case studies of teachers or children please contact:
Kate Redman : k.redman@unesco.org 0033 6 71 78 62 34
Sue Williams: s.williams@unesco.org 0033 1 45 68 17 06 or 0033 6 15 92 93 62

Notes to Editors:
Developed by an independent team and published by UNESCO, the Education for All Global Monitoring Report is an authoritative reference that aims to inform, influence and sustain genuine commitment towards Education for All.
@EFAReport / GMR Facebook Web: http://www.efareport.unesco.org | World Education Blog: http://efareport.wordpress.com

The global GMR launch in Addis Ababa is held in cooperation with the Government of
Ethiopia and the African Union Commission.

Press Release Nº31/22nd AU SUMMIT

AUC Chairperson in audience with US Deputy of State

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 30 January, 2014:The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr. NkosazanaDlaminiZumaon Thursday 30 January 2014, granted audience to US Deputy Secretary of State, William Burns who was heading the US delegationto the 22nd Assembly of Heads of State and Government holding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 30-31 January 2014.

The AU Commission Chairperson and the Deputy Secretary of State discussed issues of mutual interest aimed at strengthening their cooperation.

Dr. DlaminiZumahighlighted investment in people, industrialisation, intra-African trade, and others, as important areas in which US partnership with Africa would help the continentto move forward. She underscored the importance of African partners taking the continent’s priority areas into consideration.

Mr Burns concurred that these are areas in which President Obama takes keen interest in working with Africa to unleash its potential. He noted that these areas would be discussed further in a Summit to be held in August, to which President Obama is inviting African leaders. The US, he said, looks forward to working with the AU on peace and security in South Sudan, Central African Republic and other areas.

The AUC Chairperson also expressed gratitude to the US for its support inthe airlifting of Rwandan soldiers to support the AU peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic.

JEE/wzm

For further information contact
Directorateof Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: dinfo@african-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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