The Africa APPG
Annual Report
(March 2014-September 2015)
2015 was the 12th year of the Africa APPG, during which the group elected a new Chair Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle and who was also named as one of The Guardian's Women of 2015. Since the general election there has been an influx of new members and membership is now over 200 parliamentarians. Lord Chidgey has become Co-Chair from the House of Lords. The group also elected several new officers including Patrick Grady, SNP MP for Glasgow East and SNP Spokesperson on International Development, and Lord McConnell as a Vice Chair.
The APPG held 16 meetings in the 2014-2015 reporting year varying from roundtables with John Vine, Former Independent Chief Inspector of Borders & Immigration and the Minister for Immigration to discuss ongoing problems African visitors face in securing UK visas, to high-level briefings with Roger Nord, Deputy Director Africa, International Monetary Fund and Dr David Nabarro, UN Special Envoy on Ebola.
The APPG continues to enjoy good relationships with the FCO & DFID and in addition to Minister's participating in the group’s meetings, the APPG holds regular roundtables bringing parliamentarians together with Ministers and senior officials to facilitate discussion and feedback on policy approaches.
The International Development APPGs of which the Africa APPG is a key member continued to host high-level meetings including a preview briefing before the Sustainable Development Goals were agreed at the UN with Amina Mohammed, The Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Post 2015 Development Planning.
Further, the APPG concluded its joint enquiry with Polygeia- Lessons from Ebola affected communities: being prepared for future health crises. The enquiry received over 31 written submissions and held 5 evidence gathering meetings. 23 key informants were interviewed ensuring that the voices of affected communities were represented in the report. In Sierra Leone interviews were conducted by Restless Development and in Liberia by the Public Health & Development Initiative. A summary of the report was submitted as evidence to the International Development's Committee Ebola enquiry. The chief finding was that efforts to curb the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa were most effective when local leaders of affected communities led the demand for assistance from their governments and the international actors, and also played an essential leadership role in the management of that assistance.
The group continues to meet with visiting delegates from African countries to better inform the APPG’s agenda and aims to develop and establish connections with African Universities, Think Tanks and NGOs as well as diaspora groups. The group also encourages smaller organisations to get more involved by submitting evidence to their enquiries.
The Annual General Meeting to elect the Officers of the group was held on the 15th June 2015.
President: / Lord Steel of AikwoodVice-Presidents: / Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey
Chair: / Chi Onwurah MP
Co-Chair from the Lords: / Lord Chidgey
Vice-Chairs: / Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale
Lord Lea of Crondall
Pauline Latham MP
Jeremy Lefroy MP
Secretary: / Patrick Grady MP
Treasurer: / Baroness Uddin
September 2015- Written Evidence submitted to the International Development Select Committee
A submission to the inquiry on responses to the Ebola Crisis based on evidence gathered for the APPG inquiry into community led approaches to health systems strengthening and lessons from the Ebola outbreak.
November 2014- Written Evidence Submitted to the International Development Select Committee
A submission to the International Development Select Committee's sub-committee on ICAIinquiry into ICAI’s report on DFID’s approach to anti-corruption and its impact on the poor. The submission drew on Members' collective experiences and knowledge of the subject.
Africa in Parliament bi-weekly bulletin
15.10.2014 Roundtable with Smail Chergui, AU Peace & Security Commissioner
Chair: Lord Steel
21.10.2014 African Health Leaders – Making Change and Claiming the Future
Speakers: Dr. Francis Omaswa, Director of African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST); Lord Nigel Crisp; Dr Luis Sambo, Executive Director of the African Region of WHO; Dr. Uche Amazigo, formerly Director of the African Programme for Onchoceriasis control; Professor Catherine Odora-Hoppers, South African Research Chair in Education & Pascal International Observatory, University of South Africa
Chair: Baroness Kinnock
In collaboration with the Global Health APPG
08.12.2014 Combating Ebola: has the media helped or hindered?
Speakers: Solomon Mugera, Editor BBC Africa; DrTitilola Banjoko, RAS Council Member; Dr Michael Edelstein, Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House; Tulip Mazumdar, Global Health Correspondent, BBC News
Chair: Lord Chidgey
In collaboration with BBC Media Action
9.12.2014 Roundtable with Nic Hailey, Africa Director, FCO
Chair: Lord Chidgey
10.12.2014 Roundtable with Roger Nord, Deputy Director Africa, International Monetary Fund
Chair: Lord Chidgey
19.01.2015 Ebolanomics: a pharmaceutical question
Speakers: Dr Egeruan Babatunde Imoukhuede, Clinical Project Manager and Vaccinologist, The Jenner Institute, Mr Jon Pender, Vice President, Government Affairs, GlaxoSmithKline, Dr. Adrian Thomas, Vice President of Global Market Access & Head of Global Public Health, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and Dr. Adesina Iluyemi PhD, Executive Board Member, NEPAD Council. Remarks: Baroness Northover, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DFID
Chair: Meg Hillier MP
In collaboration with the Global Health APPG
27.01.2015 Visas roundtable with John Vine, Independent Chief Inspector for Immigration & Borders
Chair: Lord Chidgey
02.02.2015 Mitigating a major food security crisis in West Africa: The impact of Ebola on agriculture and rural livelihoods
Chair: Lord Chidgey
In collaboration with the Agriculture and Food for Development APPG
11.02.2015 High-level parliamentary roundtable with Peter West, British High Commissioner to Sierra Leone to discuss the Ebola crisis
Chair: Lord Chidgey
11.03.2015 High-level meeting with UN Special Advisor on Post 2015, Amina Mohamed
Chair: Lord McConnell
In collaboration with the International Development APPGs and British Group IPU
16.06.2015 AGM followed by presentation from Magnus Taylor, Editor of African Arguments- Overview of African political trends for 2015/16
Chair: Lord Steel and Chi Onwurah MP
02.07.2015 The role of community in the Ebola response: briefing with Dr David Nabarro, UN Special Envoy on Ebola
Chair: Chi Onwurah MP
08.07.2015 Parliamentary roundtable with James Brokenshire MP Minister for Security and Immigration
Chair: Chi Onwurah MP
09.07.2015 The Blue Book- "Union of South Africa- Report on the natives of South-Africa and their treatment by Germany"
Chair: Lord Steel
In collaboration with Doughty Street Chambers
This statement of the Africa APPG covers the period from March 2014 to September 2015.
Date / Description / Expenditure / Income / Balance31.03.2014 / Opening balance brought forward / £1,193.30
29.05.2014 / Costs of printing report-
Democracy Soup / £750.05
29.04.2014-
29.08.2015 / Total bank charges for use of account / £137.44
01.09.2015 / Closing balance / £305.81
In September 2015, the decision was taken by the group’s Chair and Officers to close the APPG bank account and transfer the balance to the Royal African Society to be administered by them with oversight from the elected Chair and Treasurer.
Benefits in kind: The Royal African Society provides the full-time Secretariat of the group (band £31,501 to £33,000).
Africa APPG, C/O The Royal African Society, 36 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PD, United Kingdom
Tel: 02030 738 339
Registered Charity: 1062764
Chi Onwurah, Chair of the Africa APPG
Baroness Uddin, Treasurer of the Africa APPG
1