Getting in sync with development

As 2010 comes to an end, we celebrate the second anniversary of our Bulletin with a special publication entitled ‘The APP Editor’s Diary’. It provides a narrative view of the issues we have been discussing for the past two years.

Had everything gone as we wished in 2010, today’s editorial would be a wrap up of a year that began with the post-Copenhagen disappointment and ended with Cancun’s unexpected success.  Unfortunately, this is not the case. And as Secretary General Ban urges governments for an agreement, the risk now is not only failing to make progress on climate change negotiations but to lose overall credibility and fuel cynicism on the issue and the multilateral process. 

This is not the only disappointment. Over the last year we have again sought to put the spotlight on key issues in need of more attention and in some cases –like around the World Cup with our ‘Scoring for Africa’ guide and with the Africa Progress Report – actually succeeded. But as we compare our priorities with global interest, as reflected by Google searches (see chart), we realize that still far too few capture the attention we would like to see. 

Women’s empowerment, ODA, poverty, agriculture, governance, elections, and independence anniversaries in Africa may all be high on our list but they pale next to the likes of Wikileaks and the engagement of Prince William. However juicy these stories may be, we need to ask ourselves why the global fight against poverty and hunger cannot achieve a fraction of the attention they create and remain merely tiny smudges in the chart. We all clearly have more work to do on that front. Our New Year’s Resolution here at the APP is clear – we need to work even harder to ensure Africa receives the attention it needs and deserves. We hope you will join us.

Best wishes for 2011.