Document Body Page Navigation Panel
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Global Protection Needed for Human Rights 13mins. 6
According to the Human Rights Watch, the scope of today's global human
rights problems far exceeds the capacity of global institutions to address them.
HEALTH
U. N. Marks World AIDS Day Amidst Increasing Infection Rates 7mins. 7
Men must change their sexual behaviour if the world is to stop the spread
of the AIDS killer pandemic, the United Nations has warned as it launched
World AIDS Day.
Declaring War on AIDS in Africa 8mins. 13secs. 9
The need to address the epidemic in a war-like fashion in the mobilization
of
all key actors at national and international levels was highlighted at the African
Development Forum 2000.
African Leaders Restate Their Commitment To The War Against AIDS 11mins.
8
African leaders commit to fighting HIV/ AIDS at the 2nd African Development
Forum
in Addis Ababa.
Environment
POLLUTION
Zimbabwe Clamps down on Pollution 4mins. 17secs. 3
Zimbabwe's decision to penalise owners of polluting vehicles from January
2001
has met widespread approval.
Talks On Dangerous Chemicals Underway In South Africa 8mins. 5
The fifth UN treaty talks, which will provide an historic opportunity
to ban or
severely restrict the production and use of chemicals directly toxic to humans,
held in Johannesburg in December.
CONSERVATION
World Loses Two Breeds of Domestic Animal Diversity Every Week 10mins. 3
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the world loses
two
breeds of valuable domestic animal diversity every week.
Tragedy Mars Historic Discovery 8mins. 7
Four-hundred million year-old coelacanth fish have been discovered off
the
coast of St Lucia in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal, but the discovery is marred
by the loss of lives.
CLIMATE
Deadlock at Climate Change Conference 6mins. 30secs. 4
The Climatic Change Talks at The Hague collapsed, after two weeks of
intensive
negotiations, because ministers and diplomats failed to agree on how to make
the
Kyoto Protocol operational. 1
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Point of View
DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE
Africa's Thirst for Democracy 13mins. 10
UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan gives his personal view on the
concept of democracy even as his country is undergoing a historic election
process.
Noted
HEALTH
Ebola Virus Kills 160 in Uganda 4mins. 5secs. 11
The number of people infected with the deadly Ebola virus has reached
400,
with 160 of those victims dying from the highly contagious disease in Uganda.
WOMEN AND YOUTH
Girls Move to Stop Female Genital Mutilation 2mins. 8secs. 12
Two teenage Kenyan girls have obtained a court injunction restraining
their
father from forcing them to undergo for female genital mutilation
Bow You Must : Another Call To Action 5mins. 12
The struggle for gender equity is highlighted in a book on the empowerment
of women written by AdaOkere Agbasimalo, titled "Bow You Must"
Dateline
Call for nominations 4mins. 50secs. 12
The Global Health Council calls for nominations for The Jonathan Mann
Award
for Global Health and Human Rights.
SA to hold 2002 Earth Summit 6mins. 22secs. 13
The South African Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has
announced the selection of South Africa to host the United Nations General
Assembly on Environment and Sustainable Development (UNCED)
Numbers
Breaking the Silence Around Violence Against Women 3mins. 10secs.
14
As the White ribbon day passes, some sobering statistics highlight the
importance
of the of stopping violence against women.
Children's Section
What's So Funny, Ketu? A Neur Tale 21mins. 14
The story of Ketu, a man with a big laughter inside him and how this
got him
into trouble
Parting Shots
Some unforgettable quotes celebrating the past and present African
experience 16 2
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Vol. II No. 24 CHANGE Radio January, 2001
Zimbabwe Clamps down on Pollution 4min. 17sec. "It is the most
wonderful piece of news I have heard in years of campaigning," Emmanuel Koro,
a prominent
environment consultant, said of the Zimbabwe government's decision to penalise
owners of polluting vehicles
from January 2001. He is part of a small group of environmentalists who, after
years of determined campaigning, have forced the government to pay more attention
to a problem the authorities had always
considered too foreign and remote to worry about.
Until a few years ago, Zimbabwe had no laws on environmental protection, and
even now these are
fragmented and scarcely enforceable because of the inherent contradictions in
their provisions. But for the small army of environment campaigners, any step
or move by the government in reducing environmental
pollution and damage, such as the new tax on vehicles, is an achievement worth
holding a big party for to celebrate. Finance Minister Simba Makoni introduced
the tax in his November budget, a measure
campaigners expect to help reduce pollution, but most importantly, raise public
awareness of the need to
keep the environment clean.
This is certainly a move in the right direction, although the penalties in
themselves will not be enough to deter people from destroying the environment
wantonly, Koro, who consults for Africa Resources Trust,
said. "What we need is a broad-based approach that incorporates education and
cultural perception of
environment issues. We need to anchor the whole concept of protection of the
environment in the everyday lives of the people," he said.
A recent United Nations study found air in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, too
unsafe for humans to breath, and mainly attributed this to the fumes the city's
estimated 400,000 cars emitted everyday. Environment
campaigners cite cars as the country's biggest pollutants, followed closely
by industrial waste and emissions. PanAfrican News Agency
Winners of EU Journalism Prize Announced
The International Federation of Journalists has announced the award winners
of the European Commission's Lorenzo Natali Prize for Journalism. The Natali
Prize, named after the late Commissioner for development
and campaigner of human rights causes, is awarded annually to journalists
reporting on democracy and human rights as vital aspects of development.
This year the two 10,000 Euro first prizes -one for journalists from the European
Union, the other for journalists from the South -are shared between four outstanding
winners. The Developing World category
winners are Atiya Achak Ulwisut of Thailand's The Nation and Fariah Razak Haroon,
freelancing for Pakistan's Dawn Magazine. First prize in the European Union
category goes to Marco Bello and Paolo
Moiola writing for Italy's Mondo e Missione and Astrid Prange, a freelance contributor
to the Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt.
"These pieces demonstrate that hard-edged and professional journalism plays
a vital role in showing how the well-meaning aspirations of human rights declarations
touch peoples' lives," said Aidan White, General
Secretary of the IFJ, which organises the annual award. "The judges sifted through
entries from human rights and development reporters in 44 countries. Their overall
assessment is that media, particularly in
northern developed countries, must give greater prominence to this area of reporting."
International Federation of Journalists
World Loses Two Breeds of Domestic Animal Diversity Every Week 10mins.
The world loses two breeds of valuable domestic animal diversity every week,
according to the UN Food
and Agriculture Organisation. "The trends for the African region are alarming:
The number of mammalian 3
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breeds at risk of extinction has increased from 8 to 19 percent since 1995,"
it said in news release. "The situation with bird breeds is even more serious
with the total percentage of breeds at risk of being lost
increasing from 20 percent in 1995 to 34 percent in 1999," it added.
These findings are contained in the 3rd edition of the "World Watch List for
Domestic Animal Diversity," which FAO co-published with the UN Environment Programme.
Over the past decade, FAO has helped
collect data from some 170 countries on almost 6,500 breeds of domesticated
mammals and birds, including
cattle, goats, sheep, buffalo, yaks, pigs, horses, rabbits, chickens, turkeys,
ducks, geese, pigeons, even ostriches. "In the past 100 years we have already
lost about 1,000 breeds. Our new findings show that
domestic animal breeds continue to be in danger, one third are currently at
risk of being extinct," Keith Hammond, Senior Officer of FAO's Animal Genetic
Resources Group, said.
The FAO Global Databank for Farm Animal Genetic Resources contains information
on 6,379 breeds of 30 mammalian and bird species. Population size data is available
for 4,183 breeds of which 740 breeds
are already extinct and 1,335, or 32 percent, are classified at high risk of
loss and are threatened by extinction. According to Hammond, since 1995, the
number of mammalian breeds at risk o f extinction has
risen from 23 percent to 35 percent, as countries have extended their surveys
and updated their animal
genetic resources data. The situation with bird breeds is even more serious,
with the total percentage of those at risk of being lost increasing from 51
percent in 1995 to 63 percent in 1999. "Alarmingly, without
adequate action, a large number of domestic animal breeds at risk of extinction
(2,255 breeds) could be lost within the next two decades," Hammond said, adding
that domestic animal diversity is unique and
cannot be replaced. "As much as novel biotechnology may attempt to improve breeds,
it is not possible to
replace lost diversity. Loss of diversity is forever," he added.
The greatest threat to domestic animal diversity is the export of animals
from developed to developing countries, which leads to crossbreeding or even
replacement of local breeds, he said. While people in
developing countries still consider breeds from industrial ised countries as
being more productive, the
release said, "the problem, however, is that these animals are mainly suited
to the conditions of the country they come from and they have difficulty coping
with the often harsh environment of developing countries.
"We estimate that 4,000 of the world's remaining breeds are still popular
with farmers, but only about 400 are the subject of breeding programmes -almost
all of them in developed countries," Hammond said. "The
often difficult environments in developing countries, with very hot, dry and
humid climates, require particular
types of animal genetic resources, that are adapted to them," he added. In Sub-Saharan
Africa, a total of 738 breeds have been recorded, around 15 percent of which
are at risk.
Panafrican News Agency
Deadlock at Climate Change Conference 6mins. 30secs. The Climatic
Change Talks convened at The Hague collapsed, late November, after two weeks
of intensive
negotiations, because ministers and diplomats failed to agree on how to make
the Kyoto Protocol operational. They also failed to agree on how to strengthen
financial and technical cooperation between developed and
developing countries on climate-friendly policies and technologies.
Describing his frustration, Jan Pronk, the Conference Chairman and Environment
Minister of The Netherlands said "it is extremely disappointing that political
leaders were unable to work it out here and
finalize guidelines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially when
the public had such high
expectations," Pronk said "I believe that the political will to succeed is still
alive, and I am confident that we can regroup in the very near future and complete
a deal that leads to effective actions to control emissions
band protect the most vulnerable countries from the impacts of global warming."
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The conference made progress towards outlining a package of financial
support and technology transfer to help developing countries contribute to global
action on climate change. But the key political issues -including
an international emissions trading system, a "clean development mechanism",
the rules for counting
emissions reductions from carbon "sinks" such as forests, and a compliance regime
-could not be resolved in the time available.
"This conference highlights both the importance and the difficulty of making
the transition to low-carbon
economies," said the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme. "It
is better to suspend the talks and resume later to ensure that we find the right
path forward rather than take a hasty step that moves
us in the wrong direction." A compromise text tabled by Mr. Pronk will be
forwarded as an input to a resumed sixth session of the Conference of the Parties
to the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change. These talks could be held in late May in Bonn, the home of the climate
change secretariat. This Day
Talks On Dangerous Chemicals Underway In South Africa 8mins. The fifth
UN treaty talks, which will provide an historic opportunity to ban or severely
restrict the production
and use of chemicals directly toxic to humans, held in Johannesburg in December.
Experts say negotiators at the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) treaty session
hope to reach a deal that aims to eliminate 12 of
the most dangerous chemicals in the world. The meeting is also to set the criteria
for eliminating additional ones, and provide technical and financial assistance
to developing nations to help them move toward safer
alternatives.
But the World Wide Fund for Nature said for the treaty to work, elimination,
not management, of such chemicals and dioxins must be a central goal, combined
with financial and technical help for developing
nations. "This is a chance for negotiators to make a stand against toxic chemical
contamination and complete
the first major environmental treaty of the new millennium," said Clifton Curtis,
Director of WWF's Global Toxic Chemicals Initiative.
POPs are chemicals that break down in the environment extremely slowly, travel
thousands of miles in the
air and water, and are extremely toxic to wildlife and humans. They are linked
to birth defects, cancer and developmental problems. But a major problem is
that the pollutants are detected in the bodies of every
man, woman, child and animal on the planet.
South Africa has identified a number of POPS destined for elimination. These
include pesticides and chemicals such as aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, chlordane,
hexaclorobenzene, mirex, toxaphene and heptachlor,
all of which have been de-registered. Besides, the adverse effects of POPs
on health and the environment, they also impact on the economy and trade. The
elimination of unintended by-products like dioxins, furans
and PCBs, which are by-products released during many industrial processes, is
high on the priority list.
The Global Alliance for Incineration Alternatives (GAIA) believes that incineration
must be phased out in favour of a combination of alternatives including recycling,
and the development of safer technologies to
deal with hazardous and medical waste. A global alliance aimed at stopping
the incineration of waste has
been launched in South Africa to coincide with the final intergovernmental discussion.
More than 70 grassroots environmental and public health activists from 23 countries
have joined up to promote alternatives
to incineration in an attempt to protect the environment and public health.
International environmental groups protested at the opening of the talks, calling
for an effective international treaty to eliminate some of the most dangerous
toxic chemicals known to man.
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Global Protection Needed for Human Rights 13mins.
The scope of today's global human rights problems far exceeds the capacity
of global institutions to address them, the Human Rights Watch has claimed.
In its annual survey of human rights conditions around the
world, the organization called for a "reinforced global architecture" to meet
these challenges.
The Human Rights Watch World Report 2001, issued in advance of Human Rights
Day on December 10,
describes human rights developments over the past year in 70 countries. It also
analyzes the international community's response to serious human rights abuse.
Global trade and investment should provide for
greater protection for human rights, the Human Rights Watch World Report says.
The report further argues that the United Nations needs more resources to help
end armed conflicts and aid refugee problems.
The emerging system of international justice, including the international
criminal court, should have more robust support from all countries, including
the United States. "The world doesn't have global institutions
with the muscle to adequately address the most urgent human rights issues of
our time," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "We
urgently need to remedy these institutional failings."
Among the crises addressed in the report are those of Russia and her conduct
during its war in Chechnya
with gross disregard for the suffering of the civilian population. Although
the United Nations did censure Russia, Moscow has largely escaped international
penalties for its conduct in Chechnya.
Fresh atrocities continue in the nine-year civil war in Sierra Leone, despite
the capture of a major rebel leader there. International efforts to establish
a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone are not proceeding
quickly enough. The military in Colombia has still not severed its links with
paramilitaries who are responsible for grave human rights abuses. U. S. President
Clinton's waiver of the human rights conditions on "Plan
Colombia," the massive U. S. aid package, is almost certain to exacerbate the
abuses.
The government of Indonesia has not called to order militias in West Timor who
were responsible for
scorched-earth tactics in East Timor in 1999. Armed insurgencies in Ambon and
Aceh are testing civilian control over the military. Israel responded to Palestinian
demonstrations protesting continued military
occupation of parts of the West Bank and Gaza with force that was frequently
excessive and indiscriminate, leading to many civilian casualties.
As the fiftieth anniversary of the office of the United Nations High Commission
for Refugees approaches on December 14, some of the least developed countries
in the world are bearing the brunt of caring for
refugees. Developed countries, which were responsible for establishing UNHCR
in the first place, should bear a greater burden financially and keep their
own doors open to refugees.
Human Rights Watch said the global economy had yielded undeniable wealth,
opportunities, and jobs. But street protests over the past year in Seattle,
Prague, Washington, D. C., and elsewhere reflect widespread
popular concern over associated ills, such as an increase in the number of people
living in poverty and the abuse of migrant workers. In the polarized debate
over globalization, human rights offer an important and
promising framework to address many problems, such as the tendency of some governments
and
corporations to compete by profiting from repression.
Within the workplace, respect for freedom of association should allow workers
to join together -in trade unions should they choose -to improve wages and working
conditions. Similarly, the prohibition against
discrimination should be used to help ensure that historically marginalized
people enjoy the fruits of their
labor on the same terms as others. 6
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On a societal level, respect for civil and political rights, including
the right to elect one's government, should enable the disadvantaged to have
a voice in the direction of their country's social and economic development,
including on such matters as increasing the minimum wage, protecting union activists
from retaliation, enforcing prohibitions on discrimination, regulating extraction
industries, or ensuring that investments are
made with social values in mind. This emphasis on rights would not guarantee
particular wage levels,
working conditions, or regulatory policies. Nor would it eliminate inequalities
in bargaining power or eradicate all forms of social exclusion. But rights guarantees
would allow a vigorous civil society to make its views
heard, and permit people from around the world to have a say in the pace and
direction of global developments.
Human Rights Watch
Tragedy Mars Historic Discovery 8mins. Four-hundred million year-old
coelacanth fish have been discovered off the coast of St Lucia in South
Africa's KwaZulu-Natal. The fish termed the dinosaur of the deep -because of
its prehistoric features -was thought to be extinct until the discovery of a
dead fish in the net of a fishing trawler off East London,
South Africa, in 1939. That find caused international headlines. Two scuba divers
captured historic video footage of six coelacanths -about two metres long -at
a depth of 115 metres near the popular resort.
The dramatic discovery earlier this week was marred when one of the divers,
34-year-old Dennis Harding, died while filming the fish. A second unnamed diver
also got into serious difficulties and had to be rescued.
Two years ago, another diver, Riaan Bouwer, died in the same area while searching
for the fish.
South African coelacanth expert Dr Phil Heemstra who viewed the footage has
verified that the fish are coelacanths. In December last year, St Lucia was
listed as South Africa's first World Heritage Site and the
latest discovery is expected to give it an enormous boost in tourism. The coelacanths,
which have survived
for 30 million generations, are the last example of the crossopterygians, whose
fleshy limb-like fins were the probable precursors of arms and legs.
It is the end of the line that scientists believe gave rise to the first tetrapods,
or four-legged, land-dwelling vertebrates. The discovery of the extraordinary
fish in South African waters in 1939 was regarded as the
marine equivalent of finding a living dinosaur. South African scientist JLB
Smith, reacting to reports that the fish had been spotted near the Indian Ocean
Islands of Madagascar and the Comoros, posted notices
throughout the islands offering 100 pounds for a specimen. His efforts went
unrewarded until 1952, when a second coelacanth was caught off the Cormorian
Island of Anjouan.
The South African government lent Smith and his team a military Dakota to
fly to the island and claim the fish. Coelacanths were caught in increasing
numbers until the 1980s; most were sent to museums and
aquaria for study. Scientists were concerned that even in the race to get specimens
for research, they were endangering the species. Until this week, no other coelecanths
have ever been found in South African
waters. There are 125 species of coelacanth in the fossil record -but only one
species is known to remain
and it is in serious danger of becoming extinct. Panafrican News Agency
U. N. Marks World AIDS Day Amidst Increasing Infection Rates 7mins. Men
must change their sexual behaviour if the world is to stop the spread of the
AIDS killer pandemic, the
United Nations has warned as it launched World AIDS Day. The virus has cut through
southern Africa, is firmly gripping Asia and is threatening to spread among
wealthier nations that are able to buy expensive 7
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anti-viral drugs. More than 36 million people worldwide are now living with
AIDS or the virus that causes it, the U. N. says, while 20 million others have
been killed by the disease around the globe. The disease,
which attacks the body's immune system, is passed through direct contact with
body fluids, most commonly during sex, blood transfusions and through drug-users'
shared needles. Africa is the worst hit region but
Asia and Russia are also facing the prospect of the disease reaching epidemic
proportions.
This year's U. N. campaign, called "Men Make a Difference," is aimed at sending
a message to men and adolescent boys that multiple sexual partners, sex without
a condom and lack of health care are recipes for
disaster. Often male infection leads to a deadly encounter for women, who are
more susceptible biologically to HIV, according to UNAIDS, the world body's
coordinating agency in the fight against the deadly virus.
"Men are expected to be physically strong, emotionally robust, daring and
virile. Some of these expectations translate into ways of thinking and behaving
that endanger the health and well-being of men and their sex
partners," an agency spokesman said while the U. N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
has been quoted as saying "Men can make a particular difference… by being more
caring, by taking fewer risks, and by facing
the issue of AIDS head-on," A report by the UN released on the eve of World
AIDS Day, said the main hope for achieving that goal rests with stopping the
spread of the disease to the next generation through a
strong campaign of sex education and the promotion of condom use.
The World AIDS Day emerged from the call by the World Summit of Ministers of
Health on Programmes
for AIDS Prevention in January 1988. Each year, it is the only international
day of coordinated action against AIDS.
CFC
African Leaders Restate Their Commitment To The War Against AIDS 11mins.
African leaders have reiterated their commitment to fight HIV/ AIDS while
addressing the last day of the 2nd African Development Forum, which in December.
Amidst discussions on the challenges of HIV/
AIDS to the development of the continent, the leaders emphasized the crucial
role of national mobilisation, with the government spearheading the campaign
against the scourge of the epidemic. Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni believes that such a campaign would necessitate "the largest
and loudest alarm possible
to the dangers of the syndrome." The plenary's "Heads of State and Government
Forum" at which each leader delivered a statement, was chaired by OAU Secretary-General
Salim Ahmed Salim, who stated
that the AIDS pandemic had indeed constituted a great leadership challenge
as indicated by the theme of the gathering. Ethiopia, Botswana, Rwanda, Malawi
and Chad and Senegal took turns to express their
country's commitment to stop AIDS.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia stated that there was no reason why
Africa could not succeed in what he described as a war for the future of the
continent. "What is required is the active participation of
all sectors of our population in all aspects of fighting against the pandemic,"
he said. Museveni, who has been credited with being the first African leader
to have taken a bold leadership role against the pandemic,
stated that by sounding the alarm about AIDS at political gatherings, through
radio and television broadcasts and at community gatherings, Uganda has been
able to attain 100 percent awareness of the pandemic.
President Mogae of Botswana said an appeal must be made to "our partners"
in the developed world to convince major pharmaceutical companies to make the
cost of anti-AIDS drugs affordable to Africans.
The President of Rwanda mentioned the Great Lakes Initiative on AIDS set up
in 1999 in which countries in the region were co-operating and co-ordinating
efforts to fight the epidemic. He went on to observe that 8
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while only 2 percent of Rwandans were infected with the disease after
the 1994 genocide, the figures have increased to 11 percent by 1998. He added
that his government was providing anti-AIDS drugs to the
affected at reduced prices. The Vice President of Malawi said increased access
to anti-AIDS drugs was
crucial and should be made the agenda of African leaders, reiterated by the
petition of the youths attending the conference. He further stated, "We should
mount a campaign for debt cancellation, not debt relief,"
pointing out that sub-Saharan African external debt presently stands at 227
billion US dollars.
President Yamassoum of Chad told the gathering that the number of AIDS patients
in his country, which
only had two reported cases in 1986, had now reached more than 12,000. He said
even this figure was "the tip of the iceberg," as experts estimate the number
of AIDS patients in Chad between 40,000 and
50,000. "We have come to this conference to learn from the experience of others
in the fight against the disease," he stated.
President Niasse of Senegal called for "concrete and concerted" action against
the pandemic. Secretary General of the OAU, Salim Ahmed Salim, said that it
was important that the message of the gathering
reach the "African people and our partners involved in this struggle as a matter
of urgency." He urged the participants to focus their attention on the "consensus
declaration to be issued by the gathering and leave
Addis Ababa with a total commitment to implement it." Salim said the consensus
declaration will be taken
to the special OAU summit on AIDS and other related issues to be held in April
in Abuja, Nigeria. CFC
Declaring War on AIDS in Africa 8mins. 13secs. There is a need to address
the HIV/ AIDS epidemic in a war-like fashion through acceleration of the
response to the disease and the mobilization of all key actors at national and
international levels. It is essential to develop a true partnership with all
stakeholders, especially communities, families and individuals,
who must be empowered to deal with the HIV/ AIDS issues. It is therefore imperative
that institutions adopt a complete different approach to the HIV/ AIDS problem
in terms of behavioural and institutional
change.
These were some of the conclusions that were made at the recently concluded
ADF 2000. The conference tagged "HIV/ AIDS: The Greatest Leadership Challenge",
was organized by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa. The participants at the forum agreed that the fight against
HIV/ AIDS should benefit from conventional war experiences. Communities are
very much aware of the way to approach the
epidemic and should be given the opportunity to do so. Traditional and non-traditional
approaches should be adopted to mobilize funds and governments should budget
internal resources to fight the epidemic.
There is a need for the international community to adjust their policies to
address this war-like situation. An appeal was made to the World Bank to examine
the ethical and moral implications of loans for AIDS
projects and several speakers called for debt cancellation and the conversion
of loans to grants. Governments were urged to establish funding mechanisms to
facilitate the transfer of funds to the communities. The
importance of the international partnership against AIDS at country level was
emphasized and the following implementation issues were highlighted: Community
participation, information sharing, capacity building of
People Living With AIDS (PLWA), women and communities ensuring sustainability,
care and support
including drug access for PLWA.
The need to move from rhetoric to action was reiterated consistently throughout
the forum. All stakeholders were encouraged to intensify their response to the
HIV/ AIDS epidemic. Considerable progress has been 9
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made at national, and international levels since the introduction of the International
Partnership Against HIV/ AIDS in January 1999. The main achievements at international
levels include: high level political
mobilization. For example the issue of AIDS was raised at the Security Council
and the Secretary General launched the partnership in September 1999. There
has also been an increase in resource mobilization
from the stakeholders at the international level. At national levels the International
Partnership against HIV/
AIDS has resulted in increased political will and commitment, improved strategic
plans, decentralization of the national response to district and community levels,
and increased resource mobilization including
innovative ways of raising funds. CFC
Point of View Africa's Thirst for Democracy 13mins.
There is a saying among my people in Ghana: one head alone is not enough
to decide. I often think of that
when I hear people say that democracy is alien to Africa, or that Africans are
"not ready" for democracy. In reality, African communities from the village
upwards have traditionally decided their course through
free discussion, carefully weighing different points of view until consensus
is reached.
So Africans have much to learn from their own traditions, and something to teach
others, about the true
meaning and spirit of democracy. We need to understand that there is much more
to democracy than simply which candidate, or which party, has majority support.
Of course, even that is not always easy, as
one of the world's most successful democracies has recently shown us. But
the US's difficulties should not cast doubt on the value of democracy itself.
On the contrary, they remind us how important it is that
elections are held within a broader contest of democratic institutions and culture.
Democracy depends on
the rule of law, because without respect for law it is not possible to hold
free elections, to conduct them fairly, or to settle disputes about the electoral
process.
Yes, democracy implies majority rule. But that does not mean minorities should
be excluded from any say in decisions. Minority views should never be silenced.
The minority must always be free to state its case, so
that people can hear both sides before deciding who is right. How can people
learn about those ideas? At the level of the village, they may learn directly,
by face to face contact. But in today's mass societies they
depend above all on mass media. For an election to be truly fair, different
parties and candidates should have equal access to the media. Neither state
power nor the power of money should determine that one
party gets a hearing while another is denied it. The media must actively seek
out the truth on the public's
behalf, and be free to tell it as they see it. Often, especially in times of
conflict, that requires journalists to take real risks. Many have lost their
lives in the quest for truth. We owe them an enormous debt. Even
more, we owe it to ourselves to give them better protection. It is our interests,
and our freedom that they are upholding.
In mature democracies, parties alternate between power and opposition, as
opinion shifts, and minorities become majorities. But not all societies are
like that. Not all minorities are composed simply of people
whose views are out of fashion. Many are structural minorities -people who in
some sense form a separate group, defined by race, color, culture or creed.
If parties are formed on the basis of such group identities,
a winner-take-all election offers minorities no security. A minority in power
will not risk losing it, and a
minority without power will have no hope of winning it.
Democracy can only work if all groups in a society feel that they belong to
it, and it belongs to them. Often that means ensuring, one way or other, that
minorities are given a permanent share of power. In some 10
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places, this can be done by decentralisation, so that national minorities
can win local power, in regions
where they form the local majority. In others it may be done by provisions giving
minorities guaranteed representation at national level in the legislature, or
the executive or both. What is important is not the
particular device used, but the outcome.
It is easy to state such principles, but not always easy to practice them, especially
in a country that has just
emerged from conflict, or one whose people are desperately poor and hungry.
People in such conditions are easily manipulated by those who use force to seize
power, arguing that constitutional rights are a luxury
which a poor country cannot afford. How often we have heard those arguments!
"Democracy begins with breakfast", or "a hungry stomach has no ears". But over
and over again we have learnt, especially in Africa
that poor people's stomachs are not filled by rulers who refuse to submit themselves
to the people's
judgement. We have learnt that democracy begins at breakfast -that power has
to be shared in the home, between women and men and from there on up the highest
levels of the State, and indeed of the international
system.
Oppression is not an alternative to poverty. Nor is development an alternative
to freedom. Poverty and
oppression go hand in hand, while true development means freedom from both.
My generation of Africans has learnt, the hard way, that no State can truly
be called democratic if it offers its people no escape from
poverty; and that no country can truly develop, so long as its people are
excluded from power.
The building of African nations has been one long struggle against poverty,
ignorance, disease and conflict.
It is hardly surprising that African democracy has known many setbacks. What
is striking, rather, is the fierce and ever-growing thirst for democracy that
Africans have shown; their indomitable courage in
defying oppressive regimes; and their success, in so many countries, in insisting
on accountable government. My generation saw its dream of independence come
true, but our dream of democracy shattered. Thank
God we have lived long enough to see democracy spreading again through Africa
today, and taking root. UN Secretary General, Kofi A. Annan, Ghana
Mail
Noted
Number of Ebola victims reaches 400 4mins. 5secs. The number
of people infected with the deadly Ebola virus reached 400 in December, with
160 of those
victims dying from the highly contagious disease, a health official said. Two
people have died in the northern town of Gulu, while two others died in Masindi,
125 miles northwest of Kampala, said Dr. Alex Opio,
assistant director of the National Disease Control Center. During the same period,
Opio said seven new cases were identified in Gulu, the epicenter of the outbreak.
So far the disease has been confined to Gulu,
Masindi and Mbarara districts, he added.
The outbreak has taken a staggering toll on the health workers in Gulu. "So
far 26 health workers have been affected by the virus," Opio said. "Of the 13
of these people who have died in Gulu, they include 11
nurses, one doctor and a clinical officer ... two nurses and one doctor are
down with the disease." The fever caused by the Ebola virus is transmitted through
body fluids. The disease can cause severe hemorrhagic
fever and is often fatal, but victims aggressively treated with fluids to fight
dehydration stand a better chances of survival.
Associated Press 11
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12
Girls Move to Stop Female Genital Mutilation 2mins. 8secs. Two teenage
Kenyan girls obtained a court injunction restraining their father from forcing
them to go for
female genital mutilation. The court restrained the father, Pius Kandie, a farmer
at Simotwo in northern Kenya's Keiyo district, about 312 miles north west of
Nairobi, from taking the girls to a traditional
circumcision ceremony scheduled for 9 December 2000. Keiyo's Resident magistrate,
Daniel Ochenja,
ordered Kandie and his agents not to circumcise the secondary school girls —
Edna Jebet Kandie, 17, and Beatrice Kandie, 15, until the case is heard and
determined. The girls had filed a court application
under certificate through an attorney, Nixon Sifuna, who argued that Kandie
had not obtained the consent of the girls to undergo female genital mutilation
or FGM under the Keiyo customary law. Kandie had
threatened to stop paying school fees for the two if they failed to comply with
the traditional cut. Panafrican News Agency
Bow You Must : Another Call To Action 5mins. The struggle for gender
equity received yet another boost on the 2 nd November 2000. It was the public
presentation of "Bow You Must", a book on the empowerment of women written by
AdaOkere Agbasimalo.
The presentation attracted eminent personalities in the country who shared in
the vision of enhancing the status of women.
In "Bow You Must", Agbasimalo converted her field experience as a Program
Officer with the John Hopkins University into a moving and inspiring story of
the biased treatments meted out to women in the
developing world. The book in a subtle way highlights issues of sexual harassment,
discrimination, disinheritance, harmful widowhood practices and so on. "Bow
You Must" is the story of Meriye, a
hardworking mother, wife, leader of the women's League who despite the corrupt
society around her refuses to bow but rather works to make a change. Rather
than present a pessimistic view of the situation,
the book focuses on creating a change, a revolution spearheaded by the Women's
League. This revolution
gives rise to a new awakening in society: a better life for men, women and children
-a society with less violence, less corruption, ethnic tolerance, transparency,
and better values.
In "Bow You Must", Agbasimalo challenges society to do more to enhance the
status of women considering the positive effect this will have on the society.
It is a call to action, a call to the entire society, a call that
provokes the question, Must You Bow? CFC
Dateline
Call for nominations 4mins. 50secs. The Global Health Council
invites you to submit nominations for The Jonathan Mann Award for Global
Health and Human Rights. This is your opportunity to nominate an unsung hero
-an individual or organiza-tion -that is out in the field as a leading practitioner
in health and human rights, for the Jonathan Mann
Award. Those working on the grassroots level as well as those operating at the
national or inter-national level are eligible.
The Award is intended to be a substantial cash prize, to allow its recipients
a measure of freedom to pursue their work. Jonathan Mann was a key figure in
the 20th Century against global poverty and illness. He was
a crusader against AIDS and a champion of human rights. He died tragically in
1998 in the crash of Swissair Flight 111. In memory of his life and work the
Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud, Doctors of 12
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the World, and the Global Health Council with the Mann family, established
the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights. The 3rd Annual Jonathan
Mann Award will be presented in May 31
during the Global Health Council's 28th Annual Conference May 29 -June 1 in
Washington, D. C. USA.
CFC
SA to hold 2002 Earth Summit 6mins. 22secs. The South African Department
of Environmental Affairs and Tourism has announced that the United Nations
General Assembly on Environment and Sustainable Development (UNCED) had chosen
South Africa to host the Earth Summit in 2002. In a statement, Rejoice Mabudafhasi,
the Deputy Minister of Environmental
Affairs and Tourism, said that South Africa welcomed the decision to bring the
conference to the African continent. The summit would be held in Johannesburg.
"Bringing the Earth Summit to South Africa is a
major boost for Africa as the major conference on sustainable development on
our soil will firmly place these issues and debates on the agenda of our continent"
said Mabudafhasi. In February, President Thabo
Mbeki made a formal offer to the United Nations to host the 10-year Review Summit,
popularly referred
to as the Earth Summit 2002. 'It is significant that it should take place in
the developing world' Several heads of state will attend the summit that is
expected to draw about 40 000 participants. More than 130
Heads of state participated in the summit in 1992 and it is expected that
the majority of the 188 members of the UN will send delegations to the 2002
conference. More than 15 000 NGOs were represented at
the 1992 meeting.
In related news the UN Secretariat has also released the following information
from the UN General Assembly The Rio+ 10 event will carry the title "World Summit
on Sustainable Development" Four
Preparatory committees (Prepcom) have been set up for Rio+ 10. The first prepcom
is scheduled from 30 April to 2 May 2001 (in New York), followed by prepcoms
in 2002. The event and its preparatory
process will include active participation of NGOs and other major groups, including
multi-stakeholder dialogues. The event will also open accreditation to new NGOs
interested in making a contribution to
Rio+ 10. CFC
NGOS Charged With The Task Of Fighting Corruption 4mins. The Nigeria
Network of Non Governmental Organisations recently organized a two day conference
on
"Issues in Corruption and Governance: NGOs Agenda for Combating Corruption".
The conference was well attended with notable Nigerians such as the Nobel laureate
Wole Soyinka, the Professor Ransome
Kuti and a cross section of notable Nigerians from the business and academic
communities, participating
in the workshop. A communiqué issued at the end of the conference said that
corruption is a complex problem that cannot be defined and adequately expressed
in a single statement but nonetheless it is a
constraint to development and cuts across cultures. It was also noted that
poverty reinforces corruption. In view of this, the conference recommended that
workers should be paid a living wage as at when due,
elected officials should be accountable to their constituencies, who in turn
should be educated in democratic
principles and processes. The 30-point communiqué however NGOs to champion the
fight against corruption, advocate for the rule of law and an independent Judiciary
and that NGOs must be equally
accountable.
The conference which was sponsored by the Democracy and Good Governance Program
of the Embassy
of the United States of America, ended on a hopeful with each participating
NGOs promising to take these resolutions back to their constituencies.
CFC 13
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Numbers
Breaking the Silence Around Violence Against Women 3mins. 10secs.
On November 25, 2000 people from all over the world joined international
celebrities such as Annie
Lennox, Dawn French , Ainsley Harriott and Gaby Roslin to publicise White Ribbon
Day 2000 to protest against violence against women. The following statistics
were broadcast:
One in four women experience domestic violence at some time during their lives
British Medical Association 1998
Globally, men's violence causes more death and disability amongst women
under 44, than cancer, malaria or war
World Bank Discussion Paper 255
The police in the UK receive 1300 calls from victims of violence in the
home every day: 81% of these are from women attacked by men
Violence Research Programme, University of London, 2000
The campaign against violence against women can certainly borrow a leaf
from the UN AIDS
campaign. Here is one problem in which the MEN can MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! CFC
Children's Section
What's So Funny, Ketu? A Neur Tale 21mins. In
Africa, near the Mountains of the Moon, there once lived a man name Ketu. He
was a happy man. A big
laugh lived inside him. But it was this that got him into trouble. It happened
like this…
One day Ketu heard his dog yelping, kao, kao, kao, behind the hut.
He investigated and found the dog
worrying a harmless little snake. Ketu scolded the dog and sent him slinking
off. The little snake raised its head and said, "Thank you, man. You are kind.
I'm going to give you a gift." Ketu laughed, tu-e, tu-e, tu-e!
"What can a small creature like yourself give to me?" he asked. "A magic
gift," said the snake. "From
now on, you will hear animals think. But you must not tell anyone, or you will
die!" Ketu was not sure he wanted such a gift. He tried to protest. But the
little snake had vanished!
That night Ketu's wife, Nyaloti, put their baby into her basket bed. She
tucked a pacifier, made from the
neck of a tiny gourd, into the baby's mouth. And she patted her to sleep. Then
Ketu fasted the door. And
he and Nyaloti lay down on their low beds along the walls of the hut. Soon they
heard a mosquito going zeee around the door. And Ketu heard it say to
itself, " I know they're in there! Fat, juicy people! But I
can't find a big enough crack!" Ketu laughed so hard, he rolled off his bed
– GU-MAPP! Nyaloti cried, what's so funny, Ketu?" "Nothing!" said Ketu
as he climbed back into bed. He could not tell her.
Soon a rat tried the door. It could not get in either. But it found a hole under
the roof and came in there. Ta, ta, ta, went the little feet of the rat,
back and forth across the floor. Then Ketu heard it say to itself, " I
wonder where that so-so woman keeps her butter!" Ketu exploded with laughter,
kye, kye, kye! He laughed so heard he scared the rat. And it leaped up
onto Nyaloti's bed – TWUM -in the middle of 14
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Nyaloti! "A-a-a-a!" she screamed. "Get that rat off me!" The
rat leaped to the wall and scurried out through the hole.
Nyaloti sat up in bed. She said, "Ketu, I think your big laugh made that rat
jump on me! What were you
laughing about?" "Nothing!" said Ketu.
The next morning Ketu fetched the cow from the shed and tied her to a tree so
that Nyaloti could milk her.
Soon he saw his wife coming with her big calabash bowl. The cow saw her too,
and Ketu heard her say to herself "here she comes to steal my milk! This time
I just won't give any milk. And my calf will drink it
afterward!" Ketu laughed, ge-e, ge-e, ge-e! he laughed so hard, he
scared the cow, who ran.
Nyaloti set the bowl down so she could scold her husband with both hands. She
said "What's so funny,
Ketu? Now you've frightened the cow with that silly laugh! Were you laughing
at me?" "No" said Ketu as he walked away. "it was nothing." The cow did not
give any milk. Nyaloti didn't get a drop in her bowl.
But the calf drank from her mother until her belly was round and fat. It was
as if she knew the saying, Lest good food wastes, let the belly bust. That evening
at milking time the cow still could not give milk. Nyaloti
called Ketu. "Look," she said, "no milk again. Our baby is ill for want of it.
That calf is killing our daughter!"
The cow swung her big head around and looked at Nyaloti. And Ketu heard her
say to herself, "What!
My daughter is killing her daughter!" Ketu tried to hold back the laughter.
But it burst out between his fingers, gug, gug, gug! The cow was so startled,
she kicked and sent the milk bowl rolling, in the dirt.
"Now see what you did!" cried Nyaloti. "You and that stupid laugh. I'm going
to tell the chief." Nyaloti told
the chief. The chief called Ketu and all his wise men to the Tree of Justice
in the middle of the village. Nyaloti came too, with the baby in a basket on
her head. And many other people came, just to hear the
palaver.
"Ketu," said the chief, "your wife tells me you laugh when there is nothing
to laugh about. Is that true?"
"Oh, Chief," said Ketu, "I never laugh without a reason. But I can't tell the
reason. If I tell, I will die!" "Nonsense!" exclaimed the chief. "Talking never
killed anyone!" Nyaloti said, "he laughs at me, Chief. I'm
the only one around." "No," said Ketu. "it isn't that!"
If you don't laugh at your wife, what do you laugh about?" demanded the chief.
Someone shouted, "tell us,
Ketu. We want to laugh too!" The chief said, "Ketu, if you will not tell, your
wife will have to take the baby and go back to live with her father." Ketu's
head drooped. He dug his toe into the sand at his feet.. He
didn't know what to do. Just then his baby began to cry, ke-yaa, ke-yaa,
ke-yaa! Ketu watched as Nyaloti lowered the basket and lifted out their
beautiful baby. The pacifier he had made dangled from the
baby's fat little wrist. Suddenly Ketu knew that no matter what happened, he
could not let his wife and
baby go. So he told about the little snake, the magic gift, and the funny thoughts
of the animals.
Then KWAM! He fell over dead! "Look!" cried the oldest wise man. "We made
him do what he should not have done. And he has had to pay with his life!" Nyaloti
and many of the women began to wail, wolu,
wolu, wolu! The chief shook his head sadly.
Presently the little snake appeared. It put its shiny head on Ketu's head.
Ketu opened his eyes. He turned
his head in time to see the little snake wriggle off into the weeds. And he
heard it say to itself, "Snoopy! That's what they are! They can't let a man
keep a secret!" Ketu laughed, kye, kye, kye! He rolled on the
ground with laughter. The oldest wise man bent over him and asked "What's so
funny, Ketu?" The chief 15
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cried, "Don't ask him that!" And Nyaloti said, "Laugh all you want, Ketu. I'll
never make palaver about it again!"
Then all the people began to laugh. They laughed so hard, they scared the
baby. And above the sounds of
the laughter was heard the crying of the baby KE-YAA, KE-YAA, KE-YAA! Retold
by Verna Aardema
Parting Shots
Some memorable quotes from the recently concluded ADF 2000:
In this age of information technology, let www be our driving force. If we
are committed and dedicated, WWW, we will win!
Kenneth Kaunda, Former president of Zambia, encouraging Africans in their
fight against AIDS
Loans would have been acceptable without AIDS but they are not acceptable
in a World
with AIDS Michael Kelly, A Participant at the ADF 2000, commenting on debt
relief for African countries
The Youth are angry about poverty, debt, corruption and social injustice.
Genevieve -Global Youth Connection, one of the members of the Youth Forum
at the ADF 2000
And a bit of ancient African wisdom…
Those who refuse to drink from the well of knowledge will die of thirst in
the desert of ignorance Guinea
If you listen to the voice of thunder you will not be soaked by the rain
Ghana
The only thing to do with good advise is to pass it on
Uganda More African Proverbs
Communicating for Change will like to wish all readers of Change Radio
the very best this
season has to offer. Happy New Year! 16
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