Somalina Posted February 2, 2011 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Wednesday, February 02, 2011 Workers at Djibouti’s port, which lies at the center of the country’s strategy for becoming a regional hub (photo: Marco Longari/AFP/Getty Images) The Red Sea country of Djibouti has achieved strong growth in recent years through large foreign direct investment inflows and brisk port activity. But the country must become more attractive to private investment—while maintaining macroeconomic stability—if it is to realize the ambitious goal of becoming a regional transport, trade, and financial hub, IMF economists say. Djibouti’s growth remains strong despite the global economic crisis, the IMF says in its latest country analysis, with only a modest decline—from 5 percent to 4.5 percent—expected in 2010 (see Chart 1). But the former French colony is now seeing the indirect effects of the global crisis through lower foreign direct investment and a possible decline in aid flows, the IMF said. Moreover, unemployment remains stubbornly high, at 60 percent, and poverty is pervasive. “The authorities have a vision of becoming an important logistical and strategic hub for the region,” said Carlo Sdralevich, IMF mission chief for Djibouti. “Djibouti should seize the opportunity to build on recent achievements to attain sustainable growth, decrease unemployment, and reduce poverty.” Djibouti’s service-based economy has considerable potential, but the country faces many serious problems, Sdralevich noted. Lagging in many social indicators, the country ranked 147th out of 169 countries in the United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Index for 2010. The drought-prone country has seen its food security situation deteriorate sharply owing to low rainfall over the past four years, and malnutrition has risen. --- Cont'd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalina Posted February 3, 2011 Strategic location Djibouti has long exploited the advantages of its position on the Bab El Mandeb straits, at the entrance of the Red Sea, halfway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. The port of Djibouti is neighboring Ethiopia’s only access to sea. And the country’s location has made it a major strategic outpost, hosting French and U.S. military bases as well as international anti-piracy operations, such as the European Union’s operation Atalanta. The Djibouti authorities have accelerated economic expansion in recent years by successfully undertaking a foreign investment-financed transformation of their economy, the IMF report notes. A new container terminal at Djibouti’s port built recently by Dubai World and the Djibouti government in a public-private partnership expanded the port’s capacity many times over, while the new five-star Djibouti Palace Kempinski—owned by Nakheel, a Dubai World company—has given a boost to tourism and business. Broadening the benefits of growth Despite progress on infrastructure development, Djibouti’s high growth has thus far not succeeded in significantly reducing poverty or unemployment. High production costs faced by domestic companies—relating mainly to energy, telecommunications, and labor—have limited the benefits of foreign investment. Economic activity has been largely confined to the free trade zone and the port, with limited positive spillovers on the rest of the economy. To address these challenges, both old and new, and successfully develop its regional hub strategy, Djibouti must now diversify the investor base and develop a strong local private sector by improving the economy’s competitiveness through better business environment and lower production costs. At the same time, the authorities should work closely with official donors to secure the needed concessional financing to support social spending and infrastructure investment, the IMF says. These efforts will be supported by the $20 million, three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) IMF loan secured by Djibouti in September 2008. The ECF program includes measures aimed at improving the economy’s competitiveness through lower input costs and a better business environment. More fundamentally, the ECF is helping foster macroeconomic stability and improve fiscal discipline. This latter objective will be an important focus for 2011, IMF economists note. The authorities incurred a larger-than-expected fiscal deficit in 2009 to address security issues stemming from a border conflict with Eritrea and a social emergency arising from a prolonged drought. The authorities are now taking corrective measures to strengthen their fiscal shortcomings, particularly by enhancing the budget process. Banking potential Djibouti’s banking sector has expanded rapidly since 2006, say IMF economists, with increased competition leading to a wider offer of financial products, more attractive deposit terms, and strong credit growth (see Chart 2). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalina Posted February 3, 2011 International Office of Migration (IOM) IOM Press Briefing Wednesday, February 02, 2011 DJIBOUTI, Djibouti - IOM Director General William Lacy Swing is in Djibouti for meetings with senior government officials on ways to address the humanitarian needs of vulnerable migrants, refugees and asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa on their way to Yemen via the Gulf of Aden. Today, he will travel to the port town of Obock, on the northern shores of the Gulf of Tadjoura, to open the first Japanese-funded Migration Response Centre in Djibouti. The centre, which is located on the outskirts of Obock, aims to provide direct humanitarian assistance and referral services to migrants, refugees and asylum seekers who are currently living is miserable conditions in and around Obock. It will also provide unbiased information on the dangers of irregular migration across the Gulf of Aden and offer the option of voluntary return and reintegration for stranded individuals and families. "This centre is a milestone in our joint efforts to address the humanitarian needs of vulnerable individuals, including victims of trafficking and unaccompanied minors," says Mr. Swing. "It will hopefully prevent more suffering and tragedies at sea by offering a way out for all those who currently have no one to turn to but ruthless human smugglers." Obock and the Gulf of Tadjoura are increasingly used by smuggling networks that regularly put the lives of thousands of Ethiopians, Somalis and Eritreans at risk. Last year, more than 30,000 people boarded smugglers boats in the region of Obock, including women and children. Many have suffered terrible abuse at the hands smugglers, including beatings, rape and people being thrown overboard. Djibouti has a unique set of migration challenges owing to its location at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa. It is also a gateway from the Horn of Africa to the Middle East and although not documented, is increasingly becoming a source and transit country for movements across the Gulf of Aden and beyond. As part of this Japanese-funded initiative, IOM recently trained 60 coastguards from Djibouti, Yemen and Somalia's Puntland to equip them with the necessary skills to protect and assist particularly vulnerable groups such as victims of trafficking. IOM Djibouti also organized in December a meeting for high-level government officials from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen, to find ways to jointly address the needs of irregular migrants en route to Yemen. Source: IOM Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalina Posted February 13, 2011 AFDB approves grant of $ 1.2 million to reduce poverty in Djibouti Saturday, February 12, 2011 The group of African Development Bank (ADB) recently approved of an additional grant of $ 1.2 million for Djibouti through the concessional window of the African Development Fund (ADF), for the financing Program to reduce urban poverty (PREPUD). This additional grant provides additional funding to three project components namely capacity building, access to socio-economic base PREPUD and monitoring and evaluation. These activities will be implemented within three years. The PREPUD aims to reduce disparities between regions and Djibouti city through improved access to basic infrastructure, responding to negative effects on quality of life of people affected by recent financial and food crises and droughts repetitive in the country. It also aims to promote and strengthen the socio-economic development in the 5 towns of the regions of Djibouti. Besides the government of Djibouti, the project is funded by four donors who include ADB, the French Development Agency, the Islamic Development Bank and World Bank. Source: Microfinance Focus Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted February 15, 2011 Good luck to them. Hope they stop acting like they're still a French colony though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Somalina Posted February 16, 2011 Atleast they don't claim to be the queen's orphans. ---------- DJIBOUTI: Challenges remain, despite nutrition gains Tuesday, February 15, 2011 DJIBOUTI (IRIN) - In a region with some of the world's worst indicators for malnutrition, Djibouti is making gains and ensuring mothers and their children have access to life-saving interventions, say officials. "We are making progress in the fight against malnutrition but much remains to be done; I applaud the government of Djibouti for its efforts to ensure that children have access to the help they need," Josefa Marrato, the representative of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Djibouti, told IRIN. The rate of global acute malnutrition in Djibouti has dropped from 17 percent three years ago to 10 percent today, according to UNICEF. Marrato said serious challenges, such as funding, remain, with almost 70 percent coming from emergency monies. "The problem with emergency funding is that you cannot plan for, say, next year," Marrato said. "You cannot plan for non-life-saving interventions which are critical to the fight against malnutrition.” Emergency funding is "to respond to a crisis, it is not for prevention and we need that here". Lack of statistical data to facilitate proper planning and adequately trained staff were the other challenges, Marrato said. "In all of Djibouti, we have one pediatrician," she said. Djibouti’s neighbours in the Horn of Africa have large populations and experience frequent conflict; its tiny area and population mean it is often overlooked by donors. "People look at the Horn and see a small country, in peace and [with] a growing economy, and say Djibouti has no problems," Marrato said. Possible progress However, Marrato said she was confident that further progress against malnutrition is possible. "If we continue the way we are today, malnutrition will be under control in 2015 in Djibouti." A sentiment echoed by Mohamed Aden Ahmed, the medical doctor in charge of nutrition in the Ministry of Health, who said the government was working with partners such as UNICEF to eradicate malnutrition by 2015. "It is extremely important for the government and the ministry to not only reduce, but eradicate, malnutrition," said Ahmed. At present, only 70 percent of malnourished children are reached, Ahmed said. "Our aim is to reach 100 percent by 2015." In 2010, he said, with the help of UNICEF, a community-based surveillance system was established throughout the country. "What this does is alert us to problem areas and enable us to know what the situation of malnutrition is in any given area." The system involves local communities participating in the fight against malnutrition. "We train them to identify malnourished children and provide them with the medicine and the food they need." Ahmed said the government had deployed nutrition specialists to all six regions of the country to treat the most vulnerable. He said the national nutrition surveillance system aims to collect data continuously, to follow up on interventions and to identify problem areas and give early warnings; "basically, it allows us to be proactive instead of reactive". Through such strong community-based health networks, mass media education and support from partners, "we will achieve our goal of total eradication of malnutrition", said Ahmed. Reaching more children According to Aristide Sagbohan, a nutrition specialist for UNICEF, since the introduction of these systems, coverage of malnourished children had improved dramatically. "Two years ago, we were covering 40 percent of the children in need, now our coverage is over 70 percent," Sagbohan said. "This, in large measure, is due to improvements in the management of therapeutic supplies, such as milk and Plumpy’nut [a high-energy peanut paste]. We have decentralized the storage of supplies where now you have stocks in different regions for easy delivery to where they are needed, instead of coming to Djibouti city." Another component in the fight against malnutrition is the promotion of infant and young child (younger than five) feeding, which involves educating mothers on better family nutrition. "At this level, we promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and adequate complementary feeding," said Sagbohan. Mohamadou Bachir Mbodj, head of UNICEF's child survival and development programme section, said Djibouti had also recorded some success in its maternal and child health programmes. He said immunization coverage was up to 89 percent via the expanded programme on immunization (EPI), the introduction of new vaccines and campaigns, as well as improving the cold-chain by replacing and maintaining refrigerators to ensure vaccine storage at correct temperatures. Djibouti is also introducing the pneumococcal and pentavalent vaccines. Source: IRIN Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
