President Kufuor attends Africa donor conference

....Japan opens conference with billion-dollar pledge
TOKYO, JAPAN -- President John Kufuor is in Tokyo to attend the 3rd Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD III). Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, opening the major donor conference Monday, pledged $1 billion US in new aid for education and health care in Africa.

The money, to be dispersed over five years, will help fund AIDS treatment, vaccinations and building schools and facilities for drinking water. Koizumi's announcement came at the start of a three-day conference in Tokyo on fighting poverty and promoting sustainable development in Africa.

President Kufuor and Heads of state from 22 other African countries and representatives of leading donor countries and aid groups will discuss infectious diseases, conflict prevention and investment on the continent during the meeting.

The conference is the third such meeting hosted by Japan, Africa's biggest international donor, since 1993.

"Japan hopes to act as a bridge between Asia and Africa," Koizumi said in an opening speech.

The pledge was the centrepiece of a three-tiered program to promote development, poverty reduction and peace. That program included earlier initiatives to earmark $300 million over the next five years for loans for Japanese investment in Africa, and to forgive up to $3 billion in yen loans to the most heavily indebted countries on the continent.

Koizumi said Japan has provided Africa assistance totalling $12 billion since the first TICAD conference a decade ago.

He spent Sunday greeting Ghana's President John Kufuor (PIC: at a Tokyo hotel) and he was due to meet South Africa's Thabo Mbeki on Monday.

Japan's Foreign Ministry said the conference is charged with supporting a recovery plan, known as the New Partnership for Africa's Development, that grew out of collaboration between leaders from South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal.

While the plan has the backing of G-8 countries, some countries providing aid have expressed concern about the need to eliminate corruption, to ensure that aid arrives where it is most needed.

More than half of Africa's population lives on less than $1 a day and more than 24 million Africans are infected with HIV/AIDS but cannot afford expensive drugs designed to slow its effects.