The summit was organised to bring together leaders in the development community with international business operators. Centred on aid and development activity in Africa, it brought leading partnership and procurement officials from global UN agencies and NGOs to the continent to meet with senior corporate executives and discuss working more closely together in projects and programmes across all industry sectors. Crucial to these discussions was the emphasis on reflecting the needs and demands of the people of Africa and achieving goals such as sustainable development, fair trading conditions and good governance, goals which sit alongside a number of challenging difficulties that, on a daily basis, are a hindrance to their achievement.

The summit proved to be hugely successful, with an unrivalled level of organisation making full use of the two days in covering the key issues during the morning presentations and enabling delegates to meet with UN and NGO officials in the afternoons. Around 30 roundtables were set up for this purpose, with over 500 meetings taking place over the two days.

Fully supported by the Government of Kenya, proceedings were opened by the Honourable Alfred Khangati, Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister. In his opening statement, Mr Khangati reaffirmed his Government's commitment to assisting the efforts of the humanitarian community wherever possible, also emphasising the strong synergy enjoyed with its own Vision 2030 initiative, a long-term plan for national development which aims to transform the lives of Kenyans within the stated time frame.

The Minister was followed by Dr Amos Namanga Ngongi, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and an experienced UN official who has served in senior positions with the World Food Programme (WFP), Food & Agricultural Organisation of the UN (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), including the position of Deputy Executive Director for the WFP from 1994-2001. Dr Ngongi focused on the significance of the current global food crisis and the need for increased agricultural development throughout the continent to increase food supplies, while also generating income through trade and the creation of jobs.

Following a mid-morning break, the second session focused on procurement issues, and was led by Sabine Adotevi, Chief of Procurement at the Food & Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). Ms Adotevi provided a detailed presentation on the regulations for supplying to the FAO and the range of products required, from seeds and grain to pesticides and agrochemicals, storage facilities to animal diagnostics. She was followed by Dominic Grace, Chief of Project & Emergency Services at the Field & Emergency Support Office (FESO) at WFP, who specifically focused on emergency procurement practice in responding to emergencies, and then by Arie Von Roon, coordinator of the procurement portfolio within the International Procurement Agency (IPA) and an expert on African projects. The session was concluded by Fri Beatrice Bime of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, who gave an address on behalf of the pharmaceutical procurement division on key elements for managing an efficient supply chain and challenges faced in the forecasting, management and distribution of drugs.

The final session before the lunch interval focused on health promotion and disease prevention. It was opened by Kingsley Moghalu, Head of Global Partnerships at the Global Fund, who stressed the need for building strategic partnerships with governments, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders. Dr Moghalu was followed by Patricia Mugambi, Vice President & Regional Director for East Africa of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, who outlined the challenges posed by these diseases and the objectives for a suitable response from the business community. Further contributors to the session included Dr Jeremiah Chakaya, Chairman of the Expansion Group for the World Health Organisation's Stop TB Partnership, Erasmus Morah, Regional Representative for the UN Joint Mission on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and Dr Edward Kairu, Executive Director of the Kenyan Water & Sanitation Network, who emphasised the importance of sanitary conditions in preventing the spread of disease.

The event model used by the Humanitarian Development Program is a unique one, whereby in addition to the key content provided by its speakers the summit provides the opportunity for delegates to meet with key decision makers face-to-face in a structured format. Following the morning addresses the summit hall was converted into a series of around 30 roundtables, from which the various attending agencies partook in pre-scheduled 20-minute meetings. For a full list and profiles of the attending agencies, please visit the following webpage. An area was also set aside for local NGOs to hold similar discussions on issues more specific to Kenya.

Day 1

Keynote Addresses
	Honourable Wycliffe Oparanya – Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, Government of Kenya - Delivered by Honourable Alfred Khangati, Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister
	Amos Namanga Ngongi – President, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
Private Sector Partnerships
Chair: Travis Haneveld, Account Director, United Nations, Motorola
	Gerald Lewis – Director of Strategic Partnerships, World Vision International
	Stefan Engels – Private Sector Specialist, UN Development Programme (UNDP)
	David Dickie – Director, Advance Aid
Procurement & Asset Management
Chair: Egon Weinmueller, Director, Agricultural Products, BASF
	Sabine Adotevi – Chief of Procurement & Asset Management, Food & Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO)
	Finbarr Curran – Director, Field & Emergency Support, World Food Programme (WFP)
	Arie van Roon – Procurement Coordinator, International Procurement Agency (IPA)
	Fri Beatrice Bime - Partnerships Officer, Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria
Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
Chair: Torben Holm Larsen, Product Director, Bestnet Europe
	Kingsley Moghalu – Head of Global Partnerships, Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria
	Denis Broune – Chief, Partnerships Division, Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
	Patricia Mugambi – Vice President & Regional Director, East Africa, Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria
	Jeremiah Chakaya – Chair of Expansion Working Group, Stop TB Partnership, World Health Organisation (WHO)
	Edward Kairu – Executive Director, Maji na Ufanisi (Water and Development)

Day Two of the summit began with presentations on issues such as logistics, emergency response mechanisms and food security. Opening with a session on Logistics & Transportation – the delivery of aid is perhaps the biggest single issue within the developing world – the summit enjoyed insightful and thought-provoking presentations from the likes of Peter Geets, Chair of the Logistics Sub-Group for the Inter-Agency Working Group on Emergency Preparedness (IAWG) and a key figure in the pre-positioning of supplies and the establishment of inter agency supply chains. Mr Geets was joined on the panel by Laszlo Viranyi, Director of Procurement, Administration and Logistics Management at Mercy Corps, Maurice Bisau, Global Fleet Manager for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Matthew Bader of Jacana. With the issue of fleet management being of particular significance within UNHCR, Mr Bisau provided a detailed overview of the challenges faced, while Mr Bader was able to shed more light on the recent move to leasing within many agencies, as they seek to minimise the cost of transporting essential materials in and out of emergency zones.

The penultimate session covered the wide ranging theme of emergency response and was opened by Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Head of Emergency Telecommunications at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), who stressed the need for improved communications infrastructure when addressing crises. Dr Zavazava was followed by Graham Saunders, Head of Shelters at the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), who advocated for greater understanding between the humanitarian sector and the supply sector. Also partaking in the panel session were Besida Tonwe, Head of the Regional Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), responsible for all UN coordination platforms and emergency response mechanisms in the region, Doug Brooks, President of the International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), speaking on the role of the private security industry in assisting aid workers in crisis countries, Wubeshet Woldemariam, Country Director for the NGO Merlin and Phyllis Mihalas, Manager of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Programme of Correspondence Instruction (UNITAR POCI).

The summit conference sessions concluded with a special session devoted to Food Security & Agricultural Development. Opened by WFP Kenya, it addressed the biggest single challenge currently faced within Africa and other developing regions; that of ensuring people have enough food to sustain their existence. With different areas of focus including the effects of malnourishment on younger generations, the significance of agricultural subsidies in the marketplace and the growing trend for using crops for energy production as opposed to food, the session welcomed a strong panel of key experts from Save The Children, Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) and CARE International.

HDP 2008 concluded with a second afternoon of private meetings between attending company delegates and UN and NGO officials, which enabled further detail to be provided on key topics areas as well as commercial negotiations on specific supply agreements. The afternoon also saw a special hour-long seminar held on behalf of the IFRC by Graham Saunders, which covered in more depth the challenge of meeting shelter needs, as well as linkages with the World Economic Forum's Disaster Resource Network and the issue of specialist human resource capacity in the field.

Day 2

In summary, the 2008 Humanitarian Development Summit was deemed an overwhelming success, attracting the world's partnership and procurement leaders to discuss in practical terms how specific challenges can be tackled and how different actors within global society can gain mutual benefit through the establishment of such partnerships. Such bilateral discussions are crucial to the establishment of a comprehensive system for development that will address the many problems facing Africa and beyond, as the 2015 deadline for achievement of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches.

As the Humanitarian Development Program we offer our sincerest thanks to all participants at the summit, appreciating the time taken out from busy schedules, the quality of the speakers heard, the cooperation from agencies in partaking in the bilateral meetings and the expenditure made by all sponsors and delegates. We hope to welcome you again in 2009.