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Posts Tagged ‘Zimbabwe’
UN faces $5bn aid gap in recession
July 22nd, 2009 |
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Half-yearly report says members countries have less funds to spare while poverty is on the increase in developing world
The United Nations is warning of a $4.8bn (£2.9bn) shortfall in funding to tackle humanitarian crises in the world’s poorest countries, as the credit crunch leaves developed world governments with little cash to spare.
Delivering its half-yearly update about emergency fund-raising, John Holmes, of the UN’s Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that while the UN’s emergency appeals had received more funds than at the same time last year, the economic crisis was exacerbating poverty and increasing need.
“It is clear that the global recession puts pressure on the aid budgets of all donor governments, but of course it puts immeasurably more pressure on crises-stricken people in poor countries,” he said.
The UN has raised a total of $4.6bn over the past six months for its humanitarian appeals – but Holmes said it had identified $4.8bn of “unmet needs” – the biggest gap ever.
Holmes compared the shortfall in funding for the world’s poorest people with the vast sums spent by the US, UK and other developed countries on bailing out their banking sectors.
“If just a fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars recently committed by governments to private financial institutions were allocated to humanitarian action, these appeals could already be fully funded, and those in need could be getting the best available protection and assistance, on time,” Holmes said.
He singled out Kenya, Palestine and Zimbabwe as states whose financing needs have become more severe over the past six months, and said the UN is keen to raise more resources during the rest of the year.
Holmes said humanitarian needs in just one country, Somalia, had decreased recently – but only because a food aid project had been cancelled due to rising insecurity for the staff working on the ground.
Aid agencies have repeatedly sounded the alarm since the global downturn began last year about the disproportionate impact on poor countries, which often rely heavily on export earnings.
World trade volumes have collapsed over the past six months, and unlike their richer counterparts, governments in the developing world find it hard to raise funds on international capital markets. Only a small proportion of the funding pledged at the G20 summit in London earlier this year to combat the impact of the crisis was targeted at the world’s poor.
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi came under international pressure in the run-up to the G8 summit he hosted in L’Aquila earlier this month, after cutting Italy’s aid budget.
At a recent conference in New York, organised by the president of the UN general assembly, member-states pledged to offer extra aid, but little has so far been forthcoming.
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HIV care ‘should switch to villages’
July 21st, 2009 |
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By Navdip Dhariwal
BBC News, Cape Town
Scientists say the largest HIV/Aids clinical trial ever done in Africa should make it easier and cheaper to get life-saving medicines to villages.
The results of the Dart clinical trial are to be announced at an international conference in South Africa.
They show that expensive routine lab tests, part of normal treatment, have only a small benefit because they do little to extend survival rates.
Without the testing, patients would not need to travel to clinics in cities.
The tests are very hard to carry out in most of Africa, the research suggests.
Despite promises of universal treatment for HIV/Aids, only a third of the six million Africans who need treatment are getting it and there are concerns that money for Aids programmes is running short.
There is still no cure for HIV/Aids, but anti-retroviral drugs can stop the disease from developing.
The difficulty for rural Africa is that normal Aids treatment requires patients to undergo regular laboratory tests to check for side-effects and make sure the medicines are working.
These test are expensive and require sophisticated laboratories that are often only available in cities – many hours’ drive away from the villages where people live.
Three countries
Now the results of Africa’s largest ever HIV/Aids clinical trial, called the Dart trial, show the regular tests which patients undergo have either no benefit or very little benefit.
Scientists in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Britain followed almost 3,500 patients over six years.
If regular laboratory tests are not needed, doctors say it will be much easier and cheaper to give treatment in village clinics – rather than making patients travel to centres with laboratories.
Practitioners say with trained healthcare workers they can provide close supervision and support, and give HIV treatment to many more patients close to where they live.
And for many in rural Africa this is the only way of getting treatment for a disease that has spread rapidly across the continent.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Over-65s to outnumber under-fives worldwide
July 21st, 2009 |
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US census bureau report highlights shift in global population that may bring social and economic changes worldwide
The world is about to cross a demographic landmark of huge social and economic importance, with the proportion of the global population 65 and over set to outnumber children under five for the first time.
A new report by the US census bureau highlights a huge shift towards not just an ageing but an old population, with formidable consequences for rich and poor nations alike. The transformation carries with it challenges for families and policymakers, ranging from how to care for older people living alone to how to pay for unprecedented numbers of pensioners – more than 1 billion of them by 2040.
The report, An Ageing World: 2008, shows that within 10 years older people will outnumber children for the first time. It forecasts that over the next 30 years the number of over-65s is expected to almost double, from 506 million in 2008 to 1.3 billion – a leap from 7% of the world’s population to 14%. Already, the number of people in the world 65 and over is increasing at an average of 870,000 each month.
The rate of growth will shoot up in the next couple of years, with both overall numbers and proportions of older people rising rapidly.
The shift is due to a combination of the time-delayed impact of high fertility levels after the second world war and more recent improvements in health that are bringing down death rates at older ages. Separate UN forecasts predict that the global population will top 9 billion by 2050.
The US census bureau has led the way in sounding the alarm over the changes. This is its ninth report drawing together data from around the globe since it first focused on the trend in 1987.
Its latest projections warn governments and international bodies the tipping point will present widespread challenges at every level of human organisation, starting with the structure of the family, which will be transformed as people live longer.
That will in turn bring new burdens on carers and social services providers, while patterns of work and retirement will similarly have huge implications for health services and pensions systems.
“People are living longer, and in some parts of the world, healthier lives,” the authors conclude. “This represents one of the crowning achievements of the last century but also a significant challenge as proportions of older people increase in most countries.”
Europe is the greyest continent, with 23 of the world’s 25 oldest countries. Such dominance of the regional league table will continue. By 2040, more than one in four Europeans are expected to be at least 65, and one in seven at least 75.
The UK comes in at number 19 in the list of the world’s oldest countries. Top of the pile is Japan, which recently supplanted Italy as the world’s oldest big country. Its life expectancy at birth – 82 years – is matched only by Singapore, though in western Europe, France, Sweden and Italy all have life expectancies of more than 80 years (in the UK it is 78.8).
The contrast in life expectancy between rich and poor nations remains glaring. The report shows that a person born in a developed country can expect to outlive his or her counterpart in the developing world by 14 years. Zimbabwe holds the unfortunate record for the lowest life expectancy, which has been cut to 40 through a combination of Aids, famine and dictatorship.
But an important finding of the report is that the wave of ageing that has until recently been considered a phenomenon of the developed world is fast encroaching on poorer countries too. More than 80% of the increase in older people in the year up to July 2008 was seen in developing countries.
By 2040, the poor world is projected to be home to more than 1 billion people aged 65 and over – fully 76% of the world total.
Ageing will put pressure on societies at all levels. One way of measuring that is to look at the older dependency ratio, or ODR, which acts as an indicator of the balance between working-age people and the older population that must be supported by them.
The ODR is the number of people aged 65 and over for every 100 people aged 20 to 64. It varies widely, from just six in Kenya and seven in Bangladesh, to 33 in Italy and also Japan. The UK has an ODR of 26, and the US has 21.
From that ratio, a number of profound challenges flow. Countries with a high ODR are already creaking under the burden of funding prolonged retirement for their older population. Life expectancy after retirement has already reached 21 years for French men and 26 years for French women.
Though retirement ages have begun to rise in developed countries, partly through inducements from governments to continue working, this still puts an extreme burden on public pensions funds.
Socially, too, there are intense pressures on individuals and families.
With women living on average seven years longer than men, more older women are living alone. Around half of all women 65 and over in Germany, Denmark and Slovakia are on their own, with all the consequent issues of loneliness and access to care that ensue.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Ivan Katz: A Demagogue In Full Cry
July 17th, 2009 |
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Los Angeles Supervisor Mike Antonovich has earned a place of distinction in the Pantheon of Public Stupidity.
Michael Strong: The Most Progressive Movement on the Planet
July 16th, 2009 |
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What if we could apply the power of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship to the problem of poverty reduction?
Zimbabwe talks resume after fight
July 14th, 2009 |
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Zimbabwe’s president and prime minister have condemned disturbances at a meeting to discuss a new constitution, and issued a call for unity.
President Robert Mugabe told a news conference that the government would "not brook any further nonsense".
The comments came after the meeting was abandoned when fights broke out between his supporters and those of his former rival Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mr Mugabe’s supporters disrupted the opening speech by dancing and singing.
At a joint press conference with Mr Tsvangirai, Mr Mugabe said it was necessary to complete the update of the charter.
"These things we’ll continue to rectify and improve as we move forward," he said.
"Rome was not built in one day."
Mr Tsvangirai said the disturbances did not benefit anyone.
"Whether as a political party or as a nation, we are only hurting our efforts," he said.
On Monday, water bottles were thrown and scuffles broke out between politicians from both parties in Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government.
Some delegates walked out in protest and riot police were brought in to clear the venue.
Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party wants the new constitution to be based on a draft drawn up last year, but critics say it gives the president too much power.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Bangladesh seal rare Test victory
July 13th, 2009 |
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First Test, St Vincent (day five, stumps):
Bangladesh 238 & 345 beat West Indies 307, 181 by 95 runs
Match scorecard
A superb bowling spell from Mahmudullah saw Bangladesh record only their second ever Test victory with a 95-run win against a weakened West Indies side.
Set 277 to win, the home side crumbled to 181 all out as the debutant off-spinner ripped through the batting order with 5-51 in St Vincent.
David Bernard (52 not out) was the only batsman to provide any resistance.
Earlier, Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for 23 runs to finish on 345 with Darren Sammy claiming 5-70.
The victory is Bangladesh’s first overseas – their previous win came against Zimbabwe over four years ago in Chittagong – in 60 matches since their introduction to Test cricket nine years ago.
The victory was made the more remarkable considering captain and strike bowler Mashrafe Mortaza missed the West Indian innings with a knee injury, with vice-captain Shakib Al Hasan deputising in his absence.
"It was probably a blessing in disguise when we got bowled out (on Monday morning) which gave us more time," said Mortaza, skippering his first Test match since succeeding Mohammad Ashraful last month.
"I thought we let ourselves down in the first innings"
Captain Floyd Reifer
"We were looking to bat until lunch and get a lead of about 300 or more, but we lost our last five wickets quickly."
However, Bangladesh’s achievement came against a second-string West Indies side missing 13 of its best players because of an ongoing contract dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
The board has insisted it will field the same squad – seven of whom made their debuts at Arnos Vale – if no settlement can be reached ahead of the second Test, which starts in Grenada on Friday.
The final day began promisingly for the home side as Sammy claimed three dismissals for his second Test five-wicket haul.
But with 80 overs to chase down 277 on a wearing wicket encouraging turn, the inexperienced West Indies batting line-up succumbed to Bangladesh’s triple spin attack.
Openers Dale Richards and Omar Phillips each fell for 14 before captain Floyd Reifer became the first of Mahmudullah’s five victims for 19.
Reduced to 85-5, Bernard found support in Sammy, but the vice-captain was dismissed by Shakib Al Hasan to leave the home side precariously placed at 119-6.
606: DEBATEYour thoughts on Bangladesh’s victory
Despite reaching his second half century of the match, Bernard could not find adequate support as Bangladesh wrapped up their historic victory 40 minutes from the scheduled close.
"It is disappointing to lose but I think the guys, brought here the night before a Test, fought well," said 36-year-old stand-in skipper Reifer, who made his first international appearance in more than 10 years.
"I thought we let ourselves down in the first innings, when the batsmen did not capitalise on the starts that they got.
"Many of us got a start, but never really carried on. Young Omar Phillips scored 94, but I thought that a lot of other guys, including myself, got starts, and we never carried on to a big score."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Fighting ends Zimbabwe meeting
July 13th, 2009 |
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By Jonah Fisher
BBC News, Johannesburg
Zimbabwe is expected to take another step towards the drafting of a new constitution.
Several thousand politicians and civic leaders are to attend a Stakeholders’ Conference in Harare.
After a public consultation, the new constitution will be put to a referendum, according to the country’s power-sharing agreement.
Once a charter is in place Zimbabwe is expected to have another attempt at holding a free and fair election.
Monday’s meeting is supposed to begin the process of consulting the Zimbabwean people about their new constitution.
Battle lines drawn
Thousands of representatives from civil society are expected to meet with politicians in Harare to plot the way forward.
The battle lines have already been drawn between the two main partners in Zimbabwe’s coalition government, which was inaugurated in February.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change is calling for this to be a genuine public process – with ordinary people given a real say in drafting the document.
President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF wants the constitution based on what is called the Kariba Draft, which was drawn up by the parties last year.
But that draft’s critics it say gives the president too much executive power.
If all goes according to schedule a period of public consultation will be followed by a referendum on the new constitution this time next year.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Tough love
July 12th, 2009 |
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By Will Ross
BBC News, Ghana
He may only have been in Africa for 21 hours but it was long enough for Barack Obama to send out his inspiring message across the continent – "A New Moment Of Promise," he called it.
He urged Africans to stop laying the blame elsewhere and to take control of their own destiny.
He encouraged the younger generation to catch the "Yes We Can" fever that had assisted his own rise to the White House.
Strengthening democracy from the grassroots requires some brave foot soldiers and Mr Obama singled out the work of civil society groups such as Zimbabwe’s Election Support Network, which struggled to ensure people’s votes counted in the face of a violent state-driven clampdown.
"Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions," Mr Obama stated.
Ghana is a case in point – one of the reasons for Ghana’s successful election late last year was its strong electoral commission.
Along the West African coast the Sierra Leone People’s Party was voted out of power in 2007 amid growing anger at government corruption.
The election worked because the National Electoral Commission, headed by Christiana Thorpe, was strong and did not buckle under pressure to fix the vote.
The strong institutions are certainly lacking in Barack Obama’s African home – Kenya.
When Mwai Kibaki was announced the winner of the 2007 election, the head of the government-appointed electoral commission, Simon Kivuiti, admitted that he did not know for sure if Mr Kibaki had won.
"He said if you want to play ball on the international level you have to play by the international rules"
Kwesi Aning
Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Institute
During his speech Barack Obama did not name and shame leaders – that is not his style.
But his denunciation of Africa’s "strong men" will have made a few leaders squirm in their presidential palaces.
Mr Obama seemed to be adding his voice to the collective despair across West Africa as Niger’s president, Mamadou Tandja, tears up the rule book in an attempt to stay in power.
Cameroon’s Paul Biya, Senegal’s octogenarian President Abdoulaye Wade, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and several others have also changed the rules in order to remain in office.
Mutual responsibility
The question is whether those leaders are going to play the blindest bit of attention to the words of an African-American who is far more popular than they are.
They may well have reached for the television remote control and found something less uncomfortable to watch.
Barack Obama said the partnership between Africa and America must be one of mutual responsibility.
"He threw the ball into our own court and said if you want to play ball on the international level you have to play by the international rules," said Kwesi Aning of the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Institute.
It will not be easy to change some old, corrupt habits but if Africa plays its part Barack Obama is promising a great deal in return including assistance to boost agriculture, trade and healthcare.
But, in a difficult economic climate, the US may be hard pushed to fulfil some of its promises.
In Uganda, for example, there is mounting concern as funding constraints are forcing health centres to stop enrolling new patients for US-funded anti-retroviral treatment under the President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) initiative which George Bush started.
Being an African-American means Barack Obama is listened to as a brother in Africa rather than as a condescending visitor.
Whiff of hypocrisy
People agreed with him rather than dismissing him when he hit out at some of the practises holding back the continent.
"No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20% off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt.
"No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny and now is the time for it to end," he said.
Inside the conference centre, Ghanaian politicians cheered, applauded and gave a standing ovation. Some smelt hypocrisy there.
"The political leaders were clapping and cheering the speech. But when we plead for an end to the same problems that Obama highlighted we are threatened, abused and sidelined," said Mr Aning.
He commended the speech for being honest, direct and lacking spin but suggests the same cannot be said for some of the politicians who were listening to it.
"You have the power to hold your leaders accountable," Mr Obama said, aiming his message at the youth.
But it can be dangerous trying to stand up and call for better governance.
In March, two Kenyan human rights activists – Kamau Kingara and John Paul Oulo – were gunned down in broad daylight shortly after helping an investigation into extrajudicial killings by the Kenyan police.
"It won’t be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks," Mr Obama stated as he called for the continent to take responsibility for its future.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Obama Ghana Speech: FULL TEXT
July 11th, 2009 |
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Here are President Obama’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, from his speech to Ghana’s parliament, Saturday July 11, 2009.
Good morning. It is an honor for me to be in Accra, and to speak to the representatives of the people of Ghana. I am …
Hope amid horror
July 11th, 2009 |
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By Komla Dumor
BBC World Service, Cape Coast
The 17th Century Cape Coast Castle overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Ghana is a testament to man’s inhumanity to his fellow man.
A few metres below where I am sitting, thousands of black African captives were kept in conditions that make me shudder even to imagine.
They were chained, naked and hungry in hot filthy conditions – waiting for slave ships that would cart millions to a life of degradation and humiliation.
As I went below into the darkness of the cells, those who came through here whispered stories to me in the silence – women clutching crying babies, groans of pain, and tears, yes, so many tears.
I saw the faces of those dragged and whipped, kicking and screaming through the door of no-return into the belly of a slave ship.
This is a desolate, dark, miserable place.
I have been to the Cape Coast Castle before and it is always traumatic.
But in this place of human shame there is a light.
It is a tiny square in the corner of the high wall that the architects of this place provided to ventilate the thousands they so insensitively crammed into this dungeon – through it a single powerful stream of light shines.
No ordinary visitor
Two centuries after the first major attempt to end the slave trade, another visitor with an African father and a white American mother will stand close to where I am and perhaps battle with the same emotions.
But he is no ordinary visitor – Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States.
"Coming to Ghana is, for many African Americans, the equivalent of a spiritual journey"
He is the man who is widely seen to embody the hopes a generation of black, white, Hispanic and Asian people around the world.
The people of Ghana are extremely excited about President Obama’s arrival.
His pictures are everywhere. Songs have been written in his honour.
His choice of Ghana is significant on many levels.
Ghana was the first black African country to attain independence from British rule in 1957 – an inspiration to others across the continent.
At the time, many African Americans, burdened by segregation and discrimination, looked to Ghana and its founder Kwame Nkrumah as a beacon of hope.
The story is told of Vice-President Richard Nixon – the US guest of honour at our independence celebrations – who greeted a well-dressed black man with the question: "So how does it feel to be free"
The man replied: "I don’t know… I am from Alabama."
Frustration
The local papers have been running pictures of a young Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King celebrating Ghana’s independence.
Coming to Ghana is, for many African Americans, the equivalent of a spiritual journey so common to all faiths.
Generations of African American doctors, lawyers teachers and educators still call Ghana home.
At independence, Kwame Nkrumah declared that this was "Our chance to show the world that… the black man can manage his own affairs."
Decades later we are still struggling to prove it.
The frustration runs deep across Africa, from Ghana through Nigeria to Kenya and Zimbabwe.
Contemporary politics does not take notice of something as vague as the word "hope".
The Obama presidency will be measured by how he deals with a global economic crisis, the threat of terrorism and the spiral of environmental degradation.
It would be naive for Africans to assume that the election of Barak Obama means an economic windfall for the continent or that the president does not have a strategic interest in securing this region’s oil.
That ‘thing’
Bill Clinton and George Bush both came to Ghana during their presidencies.
Nonetheless, the emotion involved with the arrival of Barak Obama is immeasurable.
What Barak Obama represents is that "thing" – the thing that Maya Angelou says "Makes the caged bird sing."
I see it in the faces of young girls from northern Ghana who carry back-breaking loads for a few cents in the markets clutching dreams of owning their own business.
I see it in the face of the taxi-driver who works extra hours so his children can go to a better school than the one he attended.
I’ve seen the same look on the face of a young doctor at Korle Bu teaching hospital who is overworked and underpaid and still delivers some of the best medical practice in Africa.
They do not want a handout, they just want a fair chance to achieve their potential.
That look is called "enyidaso" in the Akan language of West Africa.
It is the light that shone hundreds of years ago on the tear-stained faces of the human beings who passed through the Cape Coast dungeons.
Barak Obama calls it "hope."
Komla Dumor presents BBC World Service’s The World Today programme. Born and raised in Ghana, he worked for Accra-based Joy FM, Ghana’s leading commercial radio station before joining the BBC.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.