Piracy in the Western Indian Ocean has been a growing threat to security, international shipping and development since the mid-2000s. While bearing all aspects of organised crime, piracy is a complex issue that can only be overcome by combining political and diplomatic efforts with military and legal action, development assistance and strong international coordination.

The past two decades have delivered unprecedented progress and improvements in quality of life across the developing world. Poverty has fallen in most developing countries, and the number of low-income countries fell from 60 in 2003 to just 39 in 2009. Countries such as India and (particularly) China have managed to lift very large numbers of people out of extreme poverty. Progress has not been restricted to increases in income; many developing countries have also dramatically improved their access to vital services, such as education and health.

What's the Big Idea?
To reposition Africa as the Fifth BRIC-
A Destination for Investment, not just Aid

Remarks by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, The World Bank

Let me start with a riddle: What trillion dollar economy has grown faster than Brazil and India between 2000 and 2010 in nominal dollar terms and is projected by the IMF to grow faster than Brazil between 2010 and 2015?1 The answer may surprise you: it is Sub-Saharan Africa!

I. Introduction

1. In March 2010, Governments will assemble in New York to review progress made in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), fifteen (15) years after its adoption. In this context, Africa, supported by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), is reviewing its performance in delivering the outcomes agreed upon in 2004 in Addis Ababa at the Seventh Africa Regional Conference on Women

Pandemic H1N1: WHO is very concerned by the rapid spread of the pandemic which has now claimed more than 700 lives worldwide. In our Region, no death has been reported so far but the number of confirmed cases and countries affected is rapidly increasing. As of 21st of July 2009, a total of 174 confirmed cases were reported from 12 countries. AFRO maintains its call to the member states to intensify surveillance.

Floods: We continue to monitor the floods in West Africa countries as we enter the rainy season. Other outbreaks