Challenges of Decentrali- sation in Ethiopia's Somali Region

TLDR: In this paper, the report of the Commission strikes a note of optimism and hope in its attitude to Africa and its prospects, and the task will be to work together to make a reality out of that prospect.

Abstract: If the outcome of our combined efforts over a ten or twenty year period were to be a real reinforcement of 'human capital' in Africa then their success as people will also be dependent upon all the other dimensions of successful development. The production of people with skills has to move in parallel with the provision of the tools they need to do the job. As a spanking new hospital without the right quantity and quality of staff can be a white elephant of massive proportions, so also the trained pharmacist in the town clinic needs to have the tools to do the job an income that is sufficient to live, uninterrupted electricity to keep the vaccines safe in the fridge, clean water in the taps, and drugs to dispense that are not counterfeit chalk tablets. And pharmacy has to be a viable business in a thriving economy, and one which is not subject to the devastation of war or the debilitation of corruption. The Report of the Commission strikes a note of optimism and hope in its attitude to Africa and its prospects. The task will be to work together to make a reality out of that prospect.