AU-led peace operations need “predictable and sustainable” financing

“Predictable and sustainable” financing is needed to sustain African Union-led peace operations over the long term, the UN Security Council has heard. That was the clear message conveyed to the council by Ambassador Tete Antonio, Permanent Observer of the African Union or AU. The UN and AU often team up to deploy “boots on the ground” in hot spots like Darfur, Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic and Burundi. Jocelyne Sambira has the story.

African post offices in remittance reinvention

African migrants sent home more than US$65 billion last year; a figure that is projected to hit US$80 billion by 2020, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The UN agency believes the continent’s 26,000-plus post offices can serve as an increasingly-important channel for loved ones sending cash home, particularly those living in rural areas. IFAD has brought together representatives from national postal operators, private sector banks, governments, and others to look at ways to expand access to basic financial services. Dianne Penn spoke to Pedro De Vasconcelos, coordinator of IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances, who was in Côte d’Ivoire for the conference.

“Digital classroom in a box” could boost rural education in Africa

What’s been described as a “digital classroom in a box” could provide a much-needed boost to rural education across Africa. That’s the hope of Alex Masika, Head of Business Development for a Kenyan technology company called BRCK, which unveiled its new product called the Kio Kit, at the recent ITU Telecom World conference, in Thailand. The kit, an ITU innovation award-winner, has been specially built for remote areas that don’t have regular access to electricity or other basic services, but as Mr Masika explained to Maximillian Jacobson-Gonzalez, it doesn’t come cheap.

Presenter: Matthew Wells

Production Assistant: Sandra Guy

Duration: 10’00″