KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 43 * 7901 SUBSCRIBERS
KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 43 * 7901 SUBSCRIBERS
Horn of Africa Regional Conference on Women and Information and Communication Technologies.
Sign an online petition to support the Mother to Child Transmission court case being brought by the Treatment Action Campaign against the
Government.
Can Traditional and Formal Health Workers Tackle HIV Together? A study by the Kara Trust, Zambia, examined the knowledge and beliefs
of traditional healers and formal health workers through interviews and workshops.
The Kenyan Ministry of Health is negotiating the importation of cheap generic Aids drugs from Pakistan.
Far from being a private, family affair, suggests a Save the Children report, domestic violence has wider repercussions for the whole community.
The AGI has received funding from Rockefeller Foundation to continue its highly successful Associates Programme into 2002. The aim of the programme is for a limited number of African women, who are middle to senior level scholars, from across the continent to be offered the opportunity to be based at the University of Cape Town.
Media reports about a controversial decision by the American Red Cross to use some of the funds raised post-September 11 for administrative and other purposes have prompted many inquiries and comments about the obligation of charities to honour donors' intentions.
The Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) is an NGO based in South Africa committed to the development of innovative child abuse prevention strategies which combat the patterns of abuse which affect the lives of children and adults everywhere. RAPCAN seeks to appoint a Training Manager to join its training team.
As traditional media becomes increasingly repressive in Zimbabwe, the launch of a local web site, www.kubatana.net is a breath of fresh air. The NGO Network Alliance Project, the energy behind the development of Kubatana, has brought Zimbabwean NGOs, CSOs and development organisations together under one online umbrella. Kubatana is a Shona word which means "working together" - an apt name when a strengthened civic response to the current social and political unrest in Zimbabwe needs to be encouraged.
This is a tool for searching the internet for updated news on medications, treatments and vaccines. Sites are listed in categories and further broken down into subcategories. Once a search is performed, you have the choice to further your search instantly on the world's major search engines or NEWS headlines sites. Please add your favourite HIV/AIDS websites to our database. Its online services will be particularly valuable in rural locations where no local organizations exist. People can log in privately from home and have a counsellor to chat with or get answers to questions from the online forum.
The effects of global poverty have been much in the news this week. At a World Bank meeting in Ottowa last weekend, there were prominent calls for an increase in aid from richer to poorer nations. Gordon Brown, the UK Chancellor, called for rich countries to double the aid they give to the poor, while Clare Short, the UK Development Secretary strongly criticised America for "almost turning its back" on the rest of the world. It was a "paradox" that a country that prided itself on its generosity gave only 0.1 percent of its GDP in international aid, compared to Britain's 0.3 percent and the UN target of 0.7 percent, she said. At a recent meeting of EU development cooperation ministers in Brussels, increasing member contributions of aid was high on the agenda, while at the WTO meeting in Doha, the developing world won a significant victory over the right to medicines at times of public-health emergencies.
European diplomats, Clare Short and the World Bank have all cited the ‘Bin Laden effect’ as having a galvanising effect on richer nations view of poverty across the world. The terrorist attacks created an "historic opportunity" for the international community to make a concerted effort to try to solve global poverty, Short said. “The suicide bombers of September 11 appeared not to come from poor countries, but the conditions which bred their bitterness and hatred are linked to poverty and injustice." The World Bank too has come to the view that poverty alleviation in states like Afghanistan is needed to stop them becoming breeding grounds for terrorism, while the World Trade Organisation has promised to address the marginalisation of least developed countries and contribute to a durable solution to world debt. With such a concerted interest in global poverty from many of the biggest players this week, it is hard to believe that half of the world's population still lives on less than $2 a day, while the richest 20 percent consumes more than 80 percent of the world's resources,
But as George Monbiot has argued in this week’s UK Guardian, one of the reasons why the current institutions charged with managing the global economy – the IMF, World Bank, and more recently, the World Trade Organisation - have failed to deliver economic justice and sustainability is because they were not designed to do so. Despite the recent resolutions from the World Bank and WTO on debt cancellation, and a concern for greater global economic equity, these reforms are not, in Monbiot’s words, “in the WTO’s gift”.
As Monbiot demonstrates, the architects of the modern world economy had a vastly different vision than the system we have ended up with today. Many economists at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944 were aware that issues of economic justice would have to be addressed if greater commercial freedom was to work. Among the proposals made at Bretton Woods were calls for an international trade organisation, which as well as working to reduce tariffs would also protect workers rights, transfer technology to poorer countries, and regulate the world economy to prevent big corporations from becoming too dominant. But, Monbiot reports, US corporations blocked the proposals. GATT – the general agreement on tariffs and trade - was strung together on a temporary basis to bring down trade barriers, while negotiations for a proper trade body continued. It never saw the light of day; GATT turned into the WTO, and the moment was lost.
The ITO was not the only institution proposed at Bretton Woods. John Maynard Keynes, the British economist, is often credited as the mastermind behind the IMF and World Bank, the major institutions to emerge from Bretton Woods; but Monbiot argues that in fact, Keynes was bitterly opposed to them, believing that if such institutions managed the world economy, they would preside over deepening inequalities between rich and poor. Keynes called instead for an “international clearing union” which would redeem imbalances in trade, and cancel debt, by the radically simple method of charging creditors the same rates of interest on currency surpluses as those charged to debtors. But, the British delegation, lead by Keynes, was also forced by the US to back down. The US threatened to withdraw its war loan unless Keynes withdrew his proposal, and he ended up having to agree to the bodies that later became the World Bank and IMF.
The problem with the World Bank, IMF and World Trade Organisation is, therefore, that they are constitutionally designed to fail in delivering greater economic justice in world trade. All they can do, in Monbiot’s words, is “set maximum standards for global trade, rather than the minimum standards which might restrain big corporations”. In other words, the IMF, World Bank and WTO police existing inequalities that have been allowed to develop on behalf of richer nations: world debt, tariff inequalities, the lack of regulation; and despite noises to the contrary, pursue these inequalities further in the name of liberalisation.
This is perfectly illustrated by the rejection by WTO of the recent proposal made in Doha, Qatar, by seven African countries that WTO study the impacts of trade liberalisation measures imposed by structural adjustment programmes (SAPs). The proposal - submitted by Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia - was made in response to the original draft declaration issued by WTO General Council chair Stuart Harbinson in September. These countries pointed out that many developing countries were subjected to "an over-ambitious liberalisation programme" as a result of structural adjustment reform policies that did not offer flexibility in their tariff-cutting exercises. These countries were, as a result, experiencing widespread unemployment and the collapse of local industries.
What is now needed therefore is not the spectacle of Gordon Brown promising to deliver more aid to developing countries, desperately needed though that aid is, nor of the WTO promising everything and delivering nothing. As Monbiot puts it, “if the men who had planned the Bretton Woods conference knew that in 2001 we would be arguing about about how much aid to give to poor nations, they would have packed up and gone home. The stated purpose of their meeting was to render generosity redundant.”
The recent WTO negotiations may be a potential indicator of the way the future of such institutions may develop. While the negotiations at Doha were only a partial success for developing countries, they were also far from a neo-liberal victory that many in the developed world would have liked. Important areas of negotiation have effectively put on hold, to be dealt with in the future; and perhaps most importantly of all, developing countries are prepared to fight their corner much harder than in previous rounds. But, the inadequacy of the WTO as an institution capable of managing these issues was also very much in evidence, and the effectiveness of its future in increasing doubt. Without root and branch reform of world economic institutions, greater economic equity – a more distant dream now than in 1944 – is never going to be established, and the credibility of such institutions restored.
Tinkering with poverty
Doha Dreams?
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/0111dohaconc.html
WTO rejects Africans' request for study of SAP effects before more tariff cuts
http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/adjustment/a26africadoha.htm
KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 42 * 7873 SUBSCRIBERS
KABISSA-FAHAMU-SANGONET NEWSLETTER 42 * 7873 SUBSCRIBERS
The World Association of Newspapers today welcomed the release from prison of three Togolese journalists, bringing to four the number freed in the past two weeks.
The International Federation of Journalists, the worlds largest journalists' organisation, representing more than 500,000 journalists worldwide is deeply concerned about the fate and safety of 25 Ethiopian journalists who are presently seeking political asylum through the UNHCR office in Nairobi, Kenya.
MISA has confirmed that Geoffrey Nyarota, editor-in-chief of "The Daily News", and Wilf Mbanga, the former chief executive of Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe Limited (ANZ), that publishes "The Daily News", have been released from police custody on bail of Z$10,000 each.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Associated Newspapers Company (ANZ), Muchadeyi Masunda, has dismissed reports alleging that ANZ's investment certificate had been cancelled by the Zimbabwe Investment Center (Z.I.C). ANZ publishes "The Daily News". In a statement, Masunda said the report was malicious and false and seeks to undermine the operations and integrity of ANZ.
Entrepreneurship is thriving in Africa. Throughout the continent poor people start up and run tiny businesses – micro-enterprises - in the unregulated informal sector. Why are aid agencies, governments and financial institutions not improving their access to credit? Why isn’t more being done to give small and medium enterprises (SMEs) increased access to credit facilities?
As the pace of decentralisation in Africa quickens, how can external agencies help communities fulfill new management responsibilities? A study from Niger has implications for other parts of Africa where commitment to decentralised natural resource management is offering scope for radical new approaches to transferring power to local people.
How can international NGOs (INGOs) integrate peacebuilding into development and relief work in conflict zones? What are the risks and consequences of mixing relief with peacebuilding? Can INGOs simultaneously be mediator, arbitrator, advocate, trainer, witness, supporter, counsellor and therapist in fraught circumstances?
When unsound southern banks go bust the impact can be devastating. The costs are usually borne by depositors and taxpayers - rarely by those who own and manage errant banks. How can more prudential monitoring and earlier intervention improve bank regulation? Would US-style regulatory mechanisms work in the south?
Can the flow of private capital be a substitute for aid? Is the commitment of G7 finance ministers to UN development targets at odds with the vigorous manner in which the IMF is promoting capital account liberalistaion (CAL) – the removal of restrictions on the movement of capital across national boundaries? Will CAL block governments from undertaking pro-poor initiatives?
Will the current round of land reform in southern Africa mark a decisive break with the colonial past or will it entrench new forms of inequality? Do the land invasions in Zimbabwe herald a new phase of land struggle throughout the region? These are some of the questions raised in a new Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa report that examines the policies and discources underlying the struggle for land in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Domestic violence is the most common form of violence experienced by women worldwide. How does domestic violence affect women and children emotionally, psychologically and socially? Far from being a private, family affair, suggests a Save the Children report, domestic violence has wider repercussions for the whole community.
Critical voices about participatory initiatives have focused largely on mis-matches between overambitious aims and poor practice. Despite the aims of participatory development to involve people in development that affects them directly, surprisingly little attention is paid to understanding who wants to 'participate', what makes their participation possible, and what's in it for them. Often, participatory processes have left women on the sidelines, along with the gender issues that shape their lives. Combining gender awareness and participatory approaches can be used to unlock men and women's voices for gender redistributive change and gender-sensitive programme and policy development.
Differences in status and associated power between women and men, old and young, richer and poorer, make grassroots planning difficult if the aim is to represent the diversity of perspectives and interests in a community. Since 1994, Redd Barna Uganda has acknowledged such differences within communities and adapted participatory approaches to provide innovative ways of incorporating a gendered perspective into community-based planning.
World trade rules have been developed by the rich and powerful on the basis of their narrow commercial interests. Rich countries and powerful corporations have captured a disproportionate share of the benefits of trade, leaving developing countries and poor people worse off. Trade rules should be judged on their contribution to poverty reduction, respect for human rights, and environmental sustainability.
A new book from IDS, edited by Michael Edwards and John Gaventa and published by Earthscan, explores campaigns to reform the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; the Jubilee 2000 campaign to end Third World Debt; the movement against Free Trade; the Landmine campaign and several other human rights, social justice and environmental campaigns that have spanned international borders. Earthscan, 2001.
Joanna Macrae
International aid traditionally assumes the existence of states capable of making policy. In countries like Cambodia, Uganda or Kosovo, this is no longer the case. The big donor agencies usually respond by substituting emergency relief assistance for development aid. There are now calls to make relief more development-oriented in order to address the conflicts underlying crises. But the original research in this book demonstrates that relief and development aid are very distinct processes. Without public policy-making authorities, aid becomes highly fragmented, often inadequate in scale and incapable of building local sustainability for particular programmes. Zed Books, 2001, ISBN: 1 85649 941 3.
According to ICFTU sources in Doha, an unexpected but peaceful demonstration led by unions and NGOs took place at the entrance to the Conference Centre at the opening ceremony of the 4th Ministerial WTO Conference.
Community Multimedia Centres combine local media, especially radio, by local people in local languages with information and communication technology (ICT) applications in a wide range of social, economic and cultural areas. An interactive and participatory approach ensures that the ICTs are genuinely enabling technologies for all members of the community.
There has never been a more interesting time to be in the radio business. 20 years ago African radio was not much more than a string of state networks. Today radio pluralism is unstoppable. But there are still a few bumps along the information superhighway that bear thinking about.
Elizabeth Francis
Livelihoods in rural Africa are changing in response to disappearing job prospects, falling agricultural output and collapsing infrastructure. This book explains why the responses to these challenges are so different in different parts of Africa. 'Making a Living' uses case studies from commercial farming regions in Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe and from much poorer areas within eastern and southern Africa to give a broad comparative study of rural livelihoods. These case studies reveal how household relations, poverty and gender all play a part in the changing political economy of rural Africa. Routledge, 2000.
Eileen Stillwaggon
Houses made of rags and flattened soda cans, filthy water that breeds disease, counterfeit medicines, no access to decent medical care-how can children growing up in such an environment become productive workers contributing to a developing economy? Stunted Lives, Stagnant Economies describes in vivid detail the living conditions of the poor in developing countries and the diseases and injuries that result from this environment of need. Rutgers University Press, 1998.
The world's population is expected to increase by 50% by 2050, with all of the projected growth taking place in developing nations, the U.N. Population Fund's "State of the World Population 2001" report, which was released aound the world, states.
The impact of Angola's long war and a lack of investment in social services have had a devastating impact on the country's children, with basic indicators continuing to be "among the worst in the world", Save the Children Fund says in its latest emergency update.
Events following the disappearance of Cain Nkala, a senior Bulawayo-based war veteran, have taken a sinister turn as senior government and Zanu PF officials threatened a violent response to members of the MDC, who they accuse of being responsible for his ‘kidnapping’.
The recently launched mobile registration exercise taking place in resettlement areas and occupied farms is aimed at boosting Zanu PF's chances of winning the elections, its critics have said.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has used his sweeping powers of decree to force farmers off their land and sidestep their rights to have their eviction approved by the courts, the state press said on Saturday.
President Mugabe's Government has announced that it would not allow aid agencies to distribute emergency food supplies to Zimbabweans affected by a famine. The ban will wreck a relief operation that was being mobilised by the United Nations and several international charities, including Oxfam, Western diplomats said. Nearly a million people are in dire need of food, according to a survey last month by the World Food Programme. Food stocks are expected to start running out in December and even the Government says that at least four times as many people will be affected as the famine worsens.
"The absence of effective references to workers' rights at the WTO meeting in Doha is creating a crisis in world trade negotiations," Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the ICFTU said from Doha, where he is leading a trade union delegation to the 4th Ministerial Conference of the WTO.
Making war, these days, also amounts to making law. Just as Nato's attack on Serbia established a right of humanitarian intervention, so the war to topple the Taleban will stand as a legal precedent -but for what universal principle?
Trade ministers at the WTO summit in Doha, Qatar should abandon threats of sanctions against countries trying to obtain medicines for health emergencies such as HIV/AIDS, Human Rights Watch has said.
The editor of Zimbabwe's only privately owned daily newspaper, The Daily News, has been arrested, for the second time in less than three months, raising fears of a widening crackdown by the government against its opposition ahead of next year's elections.
Rather than trying to shut down the new computer networks that allow people to directly connect other personal computers, the military wants to enlist their creators in the war against terrorism.
A two-day hearing on racism in the media held before the Parliamentary Communications Committee has concluded with an agreement on the need for transformation. Industry insiders however warned against using legislation to resolve widespread complaints by blacks of racial stereotyping and control of advertising revenue by white owned media.
The American Dream may be souring, some even say it's turning into a nightmare. America's tragedy is that the world is more acutely aware of this than Americans themselves. Not just Muslims, but everyone now talks of US double standards. Instead of this world-wide perception aggravating their persecution complex, Americans should listen to criticism from unbiased countries. And then in the robust US style, do something about it, if they are to steer the course of this war away from disaster lane.
On Wednesday 7/11 the Community Security’s Police beat a 15 year old child to death. Alnour Ali Abd Allah who worked as street trader in Alkalakla Al-lafa Local market about 9 miles southwest centre of Khartoum.
On Wednesday, November 7, Professor Paula Escarameia of Portugal and Ms. Xue Hanqin of China became the first women ever elected by the United Nations General Assembly to serve on the 55-year-old International Law Commission.
There have always been speculations and forecasts about the world's capacity to feed itself. However, to date, few studies have undertaken a comparison of predictions and projections with actual outcomes. As modeling and projecting global food security continues to grow more complex and expensive, revisiting the key predictions and projections of the last half century, and assessing how accurate they were, should provide valuable insights for future exercises.
Since Seattle, African governments have joined with other developing nations in sustained efforts to develop common positions and present them to the WTO. Despite all this, final proposals presented at the last minute by the WTO's inner club as the basis for consensus almost totally disregard these critiques. Whether or not this power play results in imposing a false "consensus" declaration in Doha, the contentious issues will not go away. Below are the points of most concern to African and other developing countries, as concisely and in as non-technical language as possible.
The Bush administration has opportunistically draped its call for the launch of a new trade round in the rhetoric of the fight against terrorism. So far it appears that gambit has failed to work, with many developing countries opposed to the outlines of a new round as laid out in the revised October 27 Draft Ministerial Declaration. Particularly galling to Southern members was the failure to include brackets indicating disputed language around text that failed to present alternative or competing perspectives from Southern members.
Weapons, from handguns to fighter jets, are a profitable business. Generous government contracts, huge profit margins, and inevitable cost over-runs ensure spectacular dividends for weapons producers. Conflicts burning throughout the world guarantee plenty of buyers. After a post-cold war decline, global weapons purchases rose in 2000 to $800 billion. In the aftermath of the September 11 tragedies, arms production and sales worldwide will likely continue their upward trajectory--encouraged by national policies and supported by multilateral economic institutions.
To change the situation and mainstream HIV/AIDS as a cross-sectoral issue in the final PRSP, the Government of Mali, in collaboration with the HIV/AIDS Theme Group, convened a three day workshop on “Integrating HIV/AIDS into the final PRSP” in Bamako, in September 2001.The main objective of the workshop was to elaborate a multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS action plan to insert in the final PRSP.
How are the healthcare needs of children changing in the developing world? How can poor countries most effectively use limited resources to improve child health? What should their priorities be? To design effective strategies for improving health, it is important to know the most significant problems and select appropriate cost-effective approaches.
How many children suffer from communication disabilities in Uganda? What services are available for these children? How can parents get more involved in their child's progress? Researchers from the UK Centre for International Child Health report on a study in three districts in Eastern Uganda.
Nearly a third of all children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa are underweight. With evidence that health risks are elevated even for children who are only mildly to moderately underweight, tackling malnutrition is crucial for reducing infant mortality.
Why do so few people in sub-Saharan Africa use condoms regularly? How can condom promotion campaigns be more effective? Researchers from a collaborative study between institutions in Europe and Africa report on a study in four cities in sub-Saharan Africa.
HIV prevalence in Zambia is among the highest in the world, but prevention campaigns have so far had little impact. Many Zambians seek healthcare from both traditional and formal sectors. Is there a role for traditional healers in the fight against HIV? Are traditional and formal healthcare workers willing to work together?
This is to invite you to participate in an online debate on the future of HIV/AIDS Communication, and particularly the challenges of evaluation in this field. The debate is designed particularly to help inform the agenda and discussions of this forthcoming meeting of the Communication for Development Roundtable - a meeting of senior representatives from United Nations, donors and other international organisations working on HIV/AIDS Communication issues. The debate is open both to all participants in the meeting and to any others who wish to engage in it.
Except at the fringes, American popular music has become so bereft of political messages over the past decade that a performance by an outspoken artist like Nigeria's Femi Kuti can seem downright shocking. Kuti repeatedly attacked the Nigerian government and Western democracies that he accused of looking away from corruption in Africa. He also warned of a coming civil war for his homeland. Somehow, though, he and his band of frenetic horn players, exuberant dancers and furious percussionists made political engagement feel like a party.
North East District Council secretary, Itireleng Phatshwane says government, councils, corporations and other organisations have lost huge amounts of money due to improper tendering procedures and practices.
An Egyptian court has ordered a former minister and five other senior officials to be held in jail as they face a corruption trial over millions of dollars in public funds.
A top government official in Sierra Leone was arrested with his wife Thursday on accusations they smuggled diamonds out of the West African nation, officials said.
The issue of corruption "goes to the very heart of good governance", observed British High Commissioner to Zambia Thomas Young.
The issue of corruption "goes to the very heart of good governance", observed British High Commissioner to Zambia Thomas Young yesterday.
The Minister responsible for Industries and Trade, Mr. Idd Simba has tendered his resignation to President Benjamin Mkapa and the later has accepted the request 'with regrets'.
It is now two months since the heinous attacks in the United States of America. Much has happened since then and will have profound implications for civil society organisations around the world. The Bush Administration has abandoned, in part at least, its earlier reluctance for engaging with global governance institutions such as the United Nations and has constructed a broad, albeit shaky, coalition for a war against terrorism. This period has also seen the curtailment of civil liberties in the United States and in several countries around the world. In Afghanistan, an existing humanitarian crisis has now reached catastrophic proportions as innocent people flee their homes and as many are threatened with starvation. What does this mean for civil society in Africa?
To a large extent African opinion, of both governments and civil society organisations, has not been taken into account in media coverage or in the deliberations regarding the response to the events of September 11. What little coverage there has been has focused on the tragic conflict in Nigeria, speculation that Sudan might be a possible target for the war against terrorism and comments by the South Africa President, Thabo Mbeki, to the United Nations, where he urged that there should be no stigmatizing of people on the basis of their race, language or religion.
Civil society in Africa now faces several challenges. When talk of war predominates, voices of citizens and their organisations are often sidelined or silenced. War becomes the overbearing and all consuming focus and given the global nature of the current US-led initiative African civil society runs the risk of being relegated even further to the margins of global discourse and events.
To compound matters it seems likely that we are about to enter a prolonged global recession as the United States slips into recession. Joseph Stiglitz, one of the winners of Nobel Prize in Economics this year and formerly the chief economist at the World Bank, said this week, that developing countries stand to lose the most. He notes that: Globalisation has been sold to people in the developing world as a promise of unbounded prosperity or at least more prosperity than they have ever seen. Now the developing world, will see the darker side of its links to the US economy. It used to be said that when America sneezed, Mexico caught a cold. Now, when America sneezes, much of the world catches cold. And according to recent data, America is not just sneezing, it has bad case of the flu.(Washington Post, 11 November 2001)
Given this global financial crisis, African NGOs who have received support from institutions in North America and Europe face the daunting prospect that potentially the scale of that support might be cut back or withdrawn completely. Some US Foundations, for example, have seen their resources drop to alarming levels and are now considering serious reductions in the funding levels in the coming year. More importantly, the demand for support for services provided by African NGOs is likely to grow sharply as the economic crisis deepens the existing developmental challenges facing the continent.
On the advocacy level, the important work that has been done around African debt relief is also set to suffer a setback as billions of dollars of potential debt relief resources get drawn on for the war on terrorism. Furthermore, there is growing intolerance of voices for greater economic justice at the global level. Some commentators have attacked those that have been lobbying for a more equitable world trading system that benefits all of humanity, and some have gone so far as to say that there is not a coincidental synergy between those that have advocated for greater economic justice and those that perpetrated those awful attacks of September 11.
One of the issues that has concerned African civil society activists was the absence of African voices from much of the activism at a global level. Resource constraints, urgent priorities on the continent, and violent political conflict have all contributed to the relatively low level of African participation. Now with growing security concerns particularly in the United States and in Europe, where most of the global institutions are headquartered, the restrictions to international civic mobility, particularly of African civil society leaders, seem very likely. It is important to note that even prior to September 11, many of the developed countries in the world have been more than a little hesitant to grant visas to Africans. For example, at the CIVICUS World Assembly in August in Canada, some participants from Africa were denied visas. This is likely to worsen.
We can also anticipate that the challenge to advance the concerns of the African continent will become increasingly difficult. The valiant attempts made by the Secretary General of the United Nations to mobilize resources to fight HIV/AIDs might turn out to be a casualty. At a time when HIV/AIDS continues to decimate Africa it becomes imperative that civil society organisations in Africa and their allies elsewhere find creative ways to argue that, if there is a will to fight the AIDS pandemic and genuinely support Africa’s overall recovery, this will be possible. It is important to observe the levels of financial and other resources that have been mobilized overnight for the war against terrorism. We need to ask, why was it not possible to raise even a small fraction of resources when millions of people’s lives are at risk. We need to question, why is it that the pharmaceutical companies and powerful governments in the north, are now more than willing to waiver patents, or offer to relax other trading rules, to ensure that drugs are available to fight the obnoxious anthrax attacks, when no such flexibility was offered to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and elsewhere.
In the light of what is a gloomy period for Africa, how should African civil society organisations respond? Firstly, it is imperative that we persevere with much of the current work that is being done to fight poverty, to improve the quality of life for people, to promote long-lasting sustainable peace where political conflict persists and not to be immobilized by the current focus and talk of war. Yet, we cannot ignore this reality. We have to monitor developments carefully, offer African perspectives and interpretations on current developments, and argue strongly that it is not appropriate for African civil society to be sidelined.
Specifically, we must recognize that the African continent is home to millions of citizens of the Islamic faith. We therefore need to be vigilant that we contain the rise of Islamophobia and do whatever it is necessary to promote inter-faith dialogue and understanding and work creatively to avoid a repeat of the recent tragedy in Nigeria, elsewhere on the continent.
It is also vital that we do not allow pessimism to dominate our thinking and work. If anything, what we need right now is an all out war against poverty and injustice. Only if humanity succeeds in creating a more equitable world can we secure a just and sustainable peace for future generations. In pursuing this goal, African civil society should be a central player. Forging the appropriate links with partners around the world is also necessary. The future of this planet is far too important to be left in the hands of politicians alone.
* Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS
Developing countries have won a breakthrough deal on relaxing drug patents at the World Trade Organisation's Doha meeting. Campaigners hope it will bring down the cost of remedies for treating diseases killing millions of poor people every year.
The Government has announced an end to free distribution of male condoms.
Condom users will henceforth be required to buy the devices in a new cost-sharing strategy.
The Ministry of Health is negotiating the importation of cheap generic Aids drugs from Pakistan, Minister for Public Health, Mr Maalim Mohammed, has said.
World population and consumption is rising at a rate that is threatening the wellbeing of people and the planet, a report published last week by the United Nations Population Fund said.
Have you ever wondered why, despite the official denouncements and bans on female genital mutilation, the practice still persists?Where, for instance, do the perpetrators derive the confidence to violate the body, soul and mind of defenceless and innocent girls and women? And where does the buck stop? Is it at the doorstep of the parent who engineers and sanctions the act or the leaders who, for fear of losing the people's goodwill, turn a blind eye to it.
RSF protested the closure of two private newspapers, the daily "Diario de Bissau" and the weekly "Gazeta de Noticias". "The independent press has been in the authorities' sights since Mr. Yala's election to the presidency of Guinea-Bissau in January 2000," stated Robert Mard, the organisation's secretary-general.
At the recent conference on implementation of the Rome Statute for the International
Criminal Court in Dakar, Senegal, participants called upon the government of Senegal, which was the first country to ratify the Rome Statute on February 2, 1999, to be among the first countries to adopt implementing legislation of the Rome Statute.
ENO-Environment Online is a global virtual school for environmental awareness. 73 schools in 43 different countries are studying four different environmental themes within a schoolyear, on weekly basis. Every second week we have organised and
moderated chat learning sessions. Students share information on their local environment. Material is summarized and available for everybody as pdf files. Our ongoing theme is Forests. We have organised special sessions and possibilities for everybody.
On 22nd October 2001, Mr. Wisely Wani Barnaba, a Sudan Medical Care (SMC) community health worker (CHW) was abducted by the Government of Sudan (GOS) sponsored Militia while traveling by bicycle between Napotpot and Lolim (on Loyoro River), Eastern Equatoria, south Sudan. New Sudanese Indigenous NGOs (NESI-Network) hereby, appeals to all UN and international NGOs Agencies working in South Sudan to amount a protest and demand the immediate release of Mr. Baranaba.
Research compiled by an environmental group has, for the first time, linked land use changes with negative effects on public health. The comprehensive report by the group Sprawl Watch spotlights the connections between suburban sprawl and rising rates of asthma, obesity, and other health problems.
As the rainy season begins in Mozambique, aid organisations and the government are still to complete contingency plans to help cope with the possible repeat of the flood disasters that have hit the country for two-years running.
The Human Rights Education Program at Amnesty International USA has published a guide that focuses on issues surrounding the Sept. 11th attacks. Titled "September 11th Crisis
Response Guide", it is targeted to junior high and high school teachers and covers topics that range from racism and discrimination to International Humanitarian Law. All topics are placed within the framework of human rights and the inherent dignity of all people, as developed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The High Court has asked counsel for the 33 opposition UDP supporters arrested by police in the wake of the presidential election, to find out within 48 hours if they had been released from custody as stated by the Director of Public Prosecution.
On Wednesday 31 October the security forces arrested four lawyers and two leading members of the Communist Party. The men have not been charged although officers alleged the lawyers had held an illegal meeting. The whereabouts of the men is currently unknown.
Poor teaching standards among primary teachers in Kenya is worring the government. The concern has been triggered off by reports that some students have reached the middle school level, without knowing how to read and write.
A major Canadian oil company was sued for one billion dollars in a New York federal court Thursday for its part in serious human rights abuses committed against the southern population of Sudan where it has been exploring and drilling for oil.
The Association for Women's Rights in Development presents The 9th International Forum on WOMEN'S RIGHTS and DEVELOPMENT: RE-INVENTING GLOBALIZATION October 3-6, 2002 Guadalajara, Mexico. How can we re-invent globalization to further the rights of all women? The 9th international AWID Forum will take an innovative approach to this central question. We'll go beyond the all too familiar critique of globalization to examine what we really see as alternatives and how we translate these alternative visions into realities. Deadline for Submission 31 December, 2001.
Gerhart Baum, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan, has called for documentation to verify how the Sudanese government uses its oil revenues in a report discussed at the UN General Assembly.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson has urged Burundi's newly installed transitional government to respect and protect the human rights of all Burundians in the ethnically charged nation.
Four EU diplomats, who had been recalled from Eritrea in protest against the expulsion in October by the Eritrean authorities of the Italian ambassador, have arrived back in the capital, Asmara.
The 11 September terror attacks on New York and Washington have dealt a severe blow to economic growth prospects in the developing world, and according to analysts, are likely to also undermine current debt reduction strategies.
The majority of African countries have had the political will to address gender issues and enhance the status of women in their societies, yet widespread poverty and inequality of women's access to assets remain particular problems to be addressed, K.Y. Amoako, the executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), said in his opening address to a key meeting on women and development in Africa on 8 November.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) last week distributed over 1,000 metric mt of food under various programmes in Guinea. The bulk of the supplies - more than 600 mt - went to refugees in the southwestern region of Kissidougou. Other recipients included children and pregnant and nursing women in nutritional centres in Albadaria, north of Kissidougou, and internally displaced persons in the eastern area of Kerouane, WFP said on Friday.
Chad's government does not plan to extradite the former military chief of the Central African Republic (CAR), who fled to Chad on Friday after several days of fighting in the CAR capital Bangui, Chadian government spokesman Moukhatar Wawa Dahab told IRIN on Monday.
Internationally respected scientists have warned that farmers in the region face particular pressures with growing cash crops - vital for many to supplement subsistence food crops - as a result of global warming in the next few decades, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned on Thursday, 8 November.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on all parties to the 1999 Lusaka peace accord to "fulfill their important responsibilities", noting that "the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be at a turning point".
The president of the Transitional National Government (TNG), of Somalia, Abdiqassim Salad Hassan, on Monday announced the appointment of Hasan Abshir Farah as his new prime minister, the TNG director of information told IRIN.
A subregional conference on the protection of women and children in armed conflict in central Africa will be held from 14 to 16 Nov. in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UN Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa has announced.
A preliminary version of the final report of Uganda's Porter Commission of Inquiry released on Thursday exonerates President Yoweri Museveni, his family, his government, and top military officers of charges levied by a UN panel in April of involvement in the illegal exploitation of natural resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Ugandan government-owned daily newspaper, The New Vision reported, on Friday.
Aid workers say they are expecting another 2,500 displaced people on Friday in the besieged eastern Burundi town of Ruyigi, as rebels of the Forces pour la defense de la democratie scour the area looting and sometimes kidnapping school children.