MEDIA ADVISORY - Kofi Annan and Other Panel Members Launch the 2014 Africa Progress Report -- Grain, Fish, Money

NEW YORK, May 8, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Thursday, May 8^th 2014 at 2PM GMT, the Africa Progress Panel (APP) launched its annual Africa Progress Report during a press conference held at the Tate Museum in London, England.

Presented to an audience made up of international media, global think tanks, NGOs and global business leaders, the 2014 Africa Progress Report Grain, Fish, Money – Financing Africa's Green and Blue revolutions, finds that Africa can and must unleash green and blue revolutions in its agriculture and fisheries. The report highlights the opportunities for Africa, the world's growing demand for food and the critical importance of agriculture and fisheries for two thirds of people in Africa engaged in these sectors. The report also recommends related policies, including policies to scale-up Africa's infrastructure and extend its financial services.

Mr Kofi Annan, chairman of the Africa Progress Panel and former Secretary - General of the United Nations, hosted the press launch alongside Caroline Kende-Robb, Deputy Executive Director, Africa Progress Panel. Panel members in attendance included Peter Eigen, Founder of Transparency International, and Founding Chair and Special Representative of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Sir Bob Geldof, Musician, Businessman, Founder and Chair of Band Aid, Live Aid and live8, Co-Founder of DATA and ONE Advisor and Advocate, and Tidjane Thiam CEO, Prudential Plc.

To download a copy of the 2014 Africa Progress Report visit www.africaprogresspanel.org

Links to the 2014 Africa Progress Report and related infographics are available here:

Download the 2014 Africa Progress Report (executive summary): http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/31121/file/26334.pdf

Download the Infographic "Africa's Food Exchange": http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/31121/file/26335.pdf

Download the Infographic "Africa's Losses: Cost of Illicit Outflows": http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/31121/file/26336.pdf

For more information about the report
http://appablog.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/plunder-of-timber-and-fisheries-is-holding-africa-back-kofi-annan/

PHOTOS:

Photo 1: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25256 (From left to right: (1) Peter Eigen, Panel Member and Founder of Transparency International, (2) Kofi Annan, Chair of the Africa Progress Panel and former UN Secretary General, (3) Caroline Kende-Robb, Executive Director of the Africa Progress Panel, (4) Tidjane Thiam, Panel Member and CEO of Prudential Plc, and (4) Bob Geldof, Panel Member, Musician, Businessman, and Advocate.)

Photo 2: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25257 (Bob Geldof talks about the way in which illegal fishing by foreign vessels destroys communities along African coasts at the launch of this year's Africa Progress)

Photo 3: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25258 (Former UN Secretary-General answers a question from the media at the launch of this year's Africa Progress Report)

Photo 4: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25259 (Former UN Secretary-General answers a question from the media at the launch of this year's Africa Progress Report)

Photo 5: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25260 (Mr. Kofi Annan, Chairman, Africa Progress Panel and former Secretary-General of the United Nations)

VIDEO FOOTAGE:

Download the Script: http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/31121/file/26337.pdf

Download the footage (part 1): http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25266

Download the footage (part 2): http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25267

Download the footage (part 3): http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=25268

Additional broadcast material is available on request.

About the Africa Progress Panel

Chaired by Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, the ten-member Africa Progress Panel (link) advocates at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. The Panel releases its flagship publication, the Africa Progress Report, every year in May.

www.africaprogresspanel.org

http://www.facebook.com/africaprogresspanel

@africaprogress