Tragedy at Sea for African Migrants (News Brief)

Italian rescue workers attend to survivors from the shipwreck off Lampedusa CREDIT: Laura Bastianetto/Croce Rossa Italiana(HN, April 6, 2011) - More than 250 migrants are feared dead after a boat carrying some 300 people sank in the early hours of the morning, some 40 miles off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. 

Forty seven survivors were rescued at sea by the Italian Coast Guard and three by a local Italian fishing boat, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported this morning.

The vessel, which was laden beyond capacity, had left the Libyan coast with migrants and asylum seekers from Somalia, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Chad and Sudan. Some 40 women and five children - including a two-month-old infant - were on board. Only two women survived the shipwreck.  
  
The survivors were transferred to Lampedusa. They told IOM officers who are providing them with first aid and counselling that the boat sank in rough seas. 

They say that when rescuers arrived, the boat was already sinking. Survivors managed to swim towards the approaching Coast Guard ship. Many drowned because they couldn't swim or were dragged down by desperate fellow passengers. 

The journey reportedly took two days in rough seas.

"The survivors are all in a state of shock," says IOM's Simona Moscarelli. "One man told me he had lost his one year old son. One of the two surviving women told me how she had lost her husband."

The Italian Red Cross said the migrants said they hoped for a new life in Europe; among them are tailors, masons and electricians.

The migrants have been transferred to the Loran base, a facility where the Italian authorities are sheltering migrants coming from Libya, in order not to mix them with the migrants arriving from Tunisia.

Since the beginning of February, the island of Lampedusa has been overwhelmed by the arrival of more than 20,000 migrants. The majority of them are Tunisian coming from the Tunisian port of Zarzis, Djerba and Sfax. Over the past ten days, more than 2,000 mostly African migrants and asylum seekers have landed on the island after having sailed from the Libyan coast. 

This latest incident comes as Lampedusa's ability to deal with the large number of refugees "has been stretched to the limit", according to Italian officials.

Since 2006, IOM has been providing assistance to migrants in Lampedusa as part of a project funded by the Italian Government. IOM works alongside UNCHR, Save the Children and Italian Red Cross to monitor reception assistance and to provide legal counseling to migrants who have arrived on the island.

- HUMNEWS staff, IOM

Ivory Coast: Gbagbo Refuses To Go (Update - News Brief)

The carnage from the ongoing violence in Abidjan, near the Brussels Airlines office.(HN, April 6, 2011) UPDATED 2230GMT Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo remains in an underground bunker at the presidential compound in Abidjan.

However one email update from a French diplomat and shared with HUMNEWS suggested its is now only a matter of hours before Gbagbo is defeated. "It will not be long now...Gbagbo is VERY close to end," the email said.

Meanwhile, according to text messages from residents reporting in real time on an online site in Ivory Coast, the Abidjan town and commune of Port Bouet has seen violent clashes between locals and pro-Gbagbo FESCI (Fédération estudiantine et scolaire de Côte d'Ivoire) militia - resulting in many deaths. Witnesses said they saw bodies in the streets, burning houses and campus buildings on fire.

According to The Economist, Gbagbo appeared on television late Tuesday night declaring that he has no intention of stepping down as president, despite the defection of most of his troops and the destruction of artillery by French and UN forces. Gbagbo’s announcement was in stark contradiction to a claim by his official spokesman a few hours earlier that he was negotiating the terms of his departure.

UN forces have been using Mi-24 helicopters to target what they say are weapons and ammunition locations operated by forces loyal to Gbagbo.

Today, the French army commander in Abidjan said he expects it will only be a “matter of hours” before Gbagbo gives himself up. 

Meanwhile the situation for residents of Abidjan continues to deteriorate. Those who can are fleeing the city for safer havens, and aid agencies report that thousands are streaming over the country's borders.

Said one western diplomat in an email shared with HUMNEWS: "It really is getting desperate here. There is no food water or electricity in most of the city. Even if it were all to end today, people are going to go hungry because everywhere has been looted. It is almost certain there will be a humanitarian disaster in Abidjan unless this ends."

According to a HUMNEWS source, several embassies have asked the UN mission to evacuate the last of their personnel in Abidjan.

-HUMNews Staff

Historic Elections in Nigeria Suspended Due to Irregularities (UPDATED)

The EU is heading an election observer mission in Nigeria. CREDIT: HUMNEWSUPDATED -- (HN, April 3, 2011) - In a huge embarrassment for Africa's third largest economy and regional superpower, elections for Nigeria's House of Representatives were suspended just four hours after tens of millions of registered voters started to head for voting stations.

The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) said Saturday it has postponed the elections  for 109 seats in the Senate and 360 seats for the House of Representatives across the country to Monday, April 4th.

INEC chief Attihiru Jega said on TV that he blamed the postponement on ‘ unprecedented late arrival of results sheets’ to the country's 120,000 polling stations.

According to Nigeria's Vanguard newspaper, glitches on Saturday were caused by poor logistics, as materials arrived in many polling stations late. Voting materials reportedly failed to arrive in the capital Abuja and other regions, including Rivers, Bayelsa and Akwa Ibom, Edo and Delta, Plateau and Borno states. 

Later reports attributed the delay to the late delivery of ballot papers from Europe and South Africa. It remained unclear Sunday what would be the fate of the ballot papers already used.

There are fears that the crisis could stoke more violence in an election campaign that has already reportedly claimed the lives of hundreds of people in politically-motivated communal and sectarian violence across the country of 150 million people.

Late Saturday, the Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) said it was "naturally very disappointed" and that it sympathises with the "frustration" felt by the Nigerian people.

"We also call for calm and restraint on the part of all stakeholders, so that the elections can take place in an atmosphere of peace and order," said a statement issued by the Chair of the COG, Festus Mogae.

Some Sunday newspapers in Nigeria called Saturday's failed National Assembly vote an "election fiasco" and a "national shame."

The former Chieftain of the Alliance for Democracy, Musa Umar, told The Vanguard that the postponement was surprising. "This is the first time in the history of Nigeria that an election is postponed on the day fixed for it."

Opposition groups have been quoted as saying that the postponement is a deliberate attempt by the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) to prevent defeat at the polls.

Debo Adeniran, head of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders pressure group, was quoted as calling the postponement "a national shame and a monumental waste of time and resources."

Election posters in Abuja. CREDIT: HUMNEWSWidespread disappointment was visible as ordinary Nigerians tweeted about their disbelief in the postponement. "It seems Nigerians showed up to do their civic duty in hoards but the government failed to do its part...unfortunately," said a student in Nigeria in Twitter post at 1730GMT today.

The debacle comes several weeks after a nationwide registration process had to be extended twice due to chaos involving computers and other equipment.

An election observer mission led by the European Union arrived in the country about two weeks ago to monitor the polls.

Next weekend elections for the presidency are scheduled to take place, followed by governorship elections in 36 states a week after that. Many will see this development as a major blow to Nigeria's desire to break a cycle of election fraud and violence.

- HUMNEWS staff

Update on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 3:50PM by HUMNEWS

A HUMNEWS correspondent in Nigeria reports:

"The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the postponement of the National Assembly again from Monday, April 4,  to Saturday, April 9. INEC has announced a new schedule for the general elections.  The National Assembly, Presidential, and Gubernatorial elections will now occur on April 9, 16 and 26,respectively.  (Please note: the last date is a Tuesday, instead of a Saturday, in deference to the Easter Holiday weekend.)"

Gays in Africa: Only Protected on Paper (PERSPECTIVE)

Credit: The Red Room.orgBy Richard Pithouse

(HN, March 29, 2011) - It’s now almost three months since David Kato, a former teacher and a leading Ugandan gay rights activist, was beaten to death in Mukono Town in Uganda.

Kato was living in Johannesburg in the salad days of our new democracy and, inspired by the progress made here in recognising the legal right of gay people to an equal humanity, he became a key figure in the Ugandan movement when he returned home in 1998.

Homosexuality was first criminalised in Uganda in the 19th century under the British colonial occupation. That criminalisation of a mode of expressing love and desire that is part of all human communities across space and time was sustained and updated after independence in 1962. As the new century unfolded there were active attempts, often driven by senior politicians and clerics with the support of an increasingly rabid tabloid press, to create a popular moral panic about homosexuality.

Public vilification escalated and there were threats, calls for further state repression, censorship of gay people and organisations and a further tightening of a legal regime already so repressive that it carried a sentence of life imprisonment for certain forms of gay sex.

Of course the vilification of gay people by political elites was not unique to Uganda. In Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe’s public hostility stretched back to 1987 but reached a new level of intensity following his verbal attack on gay people at a book fair in Harare in 1996.

In Namibia Sam Nujoma began a campaign of demonization in 1995, the former Kenyan dictator Daniel arap Moi launched his first major attack in 1999 and here in South Africa Jacob Zuma made extreme homophobic comments on Heritage Day in 2006. In the same year Olusegun Obasanjo introduced a bill that aimed to further criminalise homosexuality in Nigeria.

The sobering reality is that homosexuality is illegal for men in 29 African countries and for women in 20 African countries. But while it is essential to take this reality seriously, it is equally important to put African homophobia in a global context - homosexuality is illegal in 80 countries across the world and in many countries where there is not a repressive legal regime discrimination and harassment remain rife. In 2009 Ian Banyham, a gay man in his 60s, was beaten to death by two young women in Trafalgar Square in central London. In California the right of same sex couples to marry was affirmed in June 2008 and overturned by a right wing campaign five months later.

But we do need to take the active mobilisation of homophobic sentiment by political leaders in our region seriously. The scapegoating of vulnerable minorities is a standard tactic used by political elites to deflect attention away from their own failures and compromises. And the masculinisation of politics that usually accompanies elite driven homophobia can be used to offer ordinary men some power and status amidst the wreckage of societies that offer no real hope for a decent life to most people.

The situation in Uganda is particular serious. In 2002 two women were arrested after the tabloid newspaper Red Pepper reported, hysterically, on their wedding. Their pastor had to flee the country. Four years latter the paper published a list of the names, workplaces and other information on 45 men it claimed where homosexuals. Many of these men were threatened and harassed.

In October 2009 Ugandan MP David Bahati introduced the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill which aimed to extend the criminalization of same-sex relationships and to introduce the death penalty for certain acts, to force Ugandan citizens to report any homosexual activity within 24 hours or face three years in jail, and to authorise the Ugandan state to extradite  its citizens having same-sex relationships outside the country.

In October last year the Rolling Stone , a tabloid newspaper, published names, photographs and addresses of 100 people it claimed were gay, including David Kato, along with a call for their execution. Kato and other activists took the newspaper to court and won the case in November. The newspaper was ordered to stop outing people and to pay compensation to the plaintiffs. Two months later Kato was attacked in his home by a man who smashed a hammer into his head twice and left him dead. Former Anglican Bishop Christopher Ssenyonjo, excommunicated for his principled rejection of homophobia, officiated at a tense political funeral. There is, at the moment, no certainty about who killed Kato and why, but in view of the way in which gay people have been vilified in Uganda, and his courage in opposing this, activists fear the worst and have been calling for a serious and credible investigation.

Here in South Africa our Constitution and our law offer some of the best legal recognition of the equal humanity of gay people and other sexual minorities in the world. We also have a vibrant gay movement and many straight people of real stature, like Desmond Tutu, who take an active and principled position on this issue.

But we have a President who has made his contempt for gay people clear. He did, under some pressure, and without the appearance of much conviction, go through the motion of condemning the arrest of a gay couple in Malawi. But his silence on this issue in the region has more usually been eloquently damning. In the religious sphere he has sought to shift the centre of political gravity from the progressive churches that opposed apartheid to towards the right wing and openly homophobic agenda of Ray McCauly and the National Interfaith Leadership Council. And, incredibly, he dispatched the notoriously and crudely homophobic Jon Qwelane to Uganda as the South African ambassador. And of course Zuma is not the only homophobe amongst our political elite. In March last year the then Minister of Arts and Culture, Lulu Xingwana, stormed out of an art exhibition at Constitutional Hill claiming that photographs of black lesbian couples by Zanele Muholi were “going against nation building.”

Muholi has documented more than 50 cases of violent hates crimes against black lesbians living in townships. Half of these women were raped and some of them killed. In 2006 Zoliswa Nkonyana was stoned to death by a mob of young men in Khayetlisha for being an “out” lesbian. Sizakele Sigasa, a lesbian activist, and her partner Salome Masooa were raped, tortured, and murdered in Meadowlands, Soweto in 2007. In the same year Thokozane Qwabe was found murdered in Ezakheni, Ladysmith and Simangele Nhlapo and her two year old daughter were raped and murdered and sixteen year old Madoe Mafubedu was raped and stabbed to death in Soweto. Eudy Simelane, who played soccer for the national side, was raped and killed in KwaThema, Springs in 2008. It is this reality and not the fact that some women find love and share desire with other women that is perverse.

Muholi’s photographs aim to “create a body of meaning that is welcomed by us as a community of queer black women” and to “ensure that those who come after us have ‘eyes to see’ the beautiful black marks of our existence and resistance.” Her work is entirely within the spirit of the Constitution. Xingwana’s comments were entirely opposed to the letter and spirit of that document which, what ever its limitations, certainly does reflect some of the aspirations to have come out of the best moments of the struggles against apartheid. But as much as it reflects some of those aspirations in principle the reality is that, as Muholi argues, in practice black lesbians are “only protected on paper.”

Legal activism is important and reaching agreements with states on commitments to human rights does sometimes offer a useful yardstick against which to measure the actions of governments and to leverage pressure against them. But the professionalization of activism after apartheid has led too many of us to accept that this should be the horizon of our commitment or that activism should be the preserve of NGO professionals. 

To have any hope of meeting the challenges of our times we need an embodied and popular practice of active, direct and practical solidarity premised on an ethic of immediate equality. We also need to develop an emancipatory vision for a society that can offer a dignified life for everyone, and a strategy to make real progress towards that vision. Right now this is not something that we can vote for. It is something that we have to work for and, when necessary, fight for, where we live, work, play and pray.

Pithouse teaches politics at Rhodes University. This article first appeared on the website of the South African Civil Society Information Service - SACSIS

UN: Fast pace of African urbanization affecting water supplies and sanitation (REPORT)

Rapidly-urbanizing African cities are placing pressure on water supplies. CREDIT: M Bociurkiw/HUMNEWS(HN, March 21, 2011) - Urban centers in Africa are growing at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world.

Today 40 percent of Africa's one billion people live in urban areas - 60 percent in slums - where water supplies and sanitation are severely inadequate, according to the Rapid Response Assessment by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat.

Africa's urban population without access to safe drinking water jumped from close to 30 million in 1990 to well over 55 million in 2008.

Over the same period, the number of people without reasonable sanitation services doubled to around 175 million says the report launched on World Water Day 2011 - which is tomorrow, March 22.

One of the most urbanized countries in Africa is Gabon, where 85% of the population lives in urban areas. Almost half of Nigeria's 150 million people live in urban areas, and the country is urbanizing at 3.8% annually. Within the next few years, its commerical capital, Lagos, will be Africa's largest cities.

"These are the stark realities and the sobering facts which need to be addressed as nations prepare for the landmark UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012," said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

The conference, also known as Rio+20, takes a Green Economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication as one of its two major themes.

"There is growing evidence from work on the Green Economy that a different path in terms of water and sanitation can begin to be realized. Indeed, public policies that re-direct over a tenth of a per cent of global GDP per year can assist in not only addressing the sanitation challenge but conserve freshwater by reducing water demand by a fifth over the coming decades compared to projected trends," added Mr Steiner.

Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, said: "Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent on the planet and the demand for water and sanitation is outstripping supply in cities. As cities expand, we must improve our urban planning and management in order to provide universal access to water and basic services while ensuring our cities become more resilient to the increasing effects of climate change".

The report, which underlines the growing cooperation between UN-HABITAT and UNEP on such issues, provides case studies of cities in several parts of the Continent where high urbanization rates are not matched with adequate water and sanitation infrastructure.

Addis Ababa, for the past 50 years, the capital of Ethiopia and one of the largest cities in Africa, has grown from 100,000 to 3.5 million people and is today facing severe challenges to provide its residents with enough freshwater and sanitation services. According to the report, only five percent of the solid waste collected in Addis Ababa is recycled and the rest is often piled on open ground, banks of streams and near bridges where it is washed into the rivers. Moreover, fears of food poisoning are worsened by the fact the 60 percent of the city's food consumption is supplied by urban farmers who irrigate their crops using wastewater.

Grahamstown in South Africa is another case study highlighted in the report. Located in a dry part of the country with frequent droughts, the city has seen its population more than double from 76,000 in 2004. Inspiring water initiatives, such as the Blue Drop System which is a regulatory tool used by South Africa's Department of Water Affairs to monitor the quality of drinking water, and rainwater harvesting has helped the city to provide adequate water services to its growing population. However, the city predicts future crises as climate change brings more droughts and water shortages.

Nairobi, Kenya's largest city, has seen its population increase from 119,000 in 1948 to 3.1 million today, many in the more than 200 slum settlements spread across the city and have limited access to safe water and sanitation. The largest slum, Kibera, receives about 20,000 m3 of water per day, 40 percent of which is unaccounted for as it is lost through leakage or dilapidated infrastructure. With half of Kenya's population expected to be living in urban settlements by 2015, the country is looking for solutions and in 2002 introduced the Water Act to improve the legislative framework for effective management and control of water resources.

But while there are solutions, much more needs to be done, notes the report, to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation for urban areas. Moreover, it is essential that the long-term solutions make a connection between urbanization, water and ecosystems and recognize that urban areas in Africa will continue to grow and will the demand for water and sanitation services.

According to the report, solutions and policy interventions should consider some of the following options:

• Mainstream the environment into urban water management;
• Acknowledge and support the role of the private sector in complementing government and municipal authorities in delivering water and sanitation services especially to the poor urban areas;
• Take into account the generally high levels of income poverty in Africa by acknowledging that market-based approaches are not always the best option to supplying water in urban areas in a sustainable way;
• Inform residents about how the links between forests, protected areas and water supply;
• Demonstrate that it pays to protect watersheds, instead of building expensive water purification systems;
• Raise awareness on the impact of poor water quality on health, economy and the environment;
• Mainstream the environment into urban water management through approaches such as Payments for Ecosystems Services, Integrated Water Resources Management, and Water Demand Management

“We’re Changing the Order of the Alphabet” (Report)

(HN, February 14, 2011, Las Vegas) – This was how Sebastian Kopulande, Chief Executive Officer of the Zambian International Trade and Investment Centre opened the historic first ever Africa-USA Business Executives Conference tonight in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The conference runs February 14^th-15^th.

For the first time, the city of Las Vegas, has welcomed hundreds of African business executives from countries such as Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia for two days of meetings with their counterparts from the US, for the first-annual Africa - USA Business Executives Convention and Expo.

The conference is designed to explore and create relationships and alliances between business leaders of both continents, allowing them to meet investment partners in a dynamic and vibrant environment of panels and exhibits for the purpose of forming sustainable and capacity-building agribusiness partnerships locally, regionally and internationally.

Why Africa?  

“Many global commentators agree that this is the `African Century’.  For investors, this means an understanding of the available opportunities as well as offering the chance to develop meaningful relationships among those doing business together,” says Ted Alemayhu, Executive Chairman of the event.  

Five areas have been identified as being the most attractive for growth, namely agriculture, banking and finance, energy, telecommunications and aviation, travel and tourism. All will be featured at this year’s meeting.  

Realizing the need to go beyond discussing issues, ideas and strategies for increasing  livelihoods in Africa, the organizers say they are taking bold steps to not only learn how to “fish for our own food but to create partnerships to sell the fish”. 

(Chisokone Market, Kitwe. CREDIT Wikipedia)One of the most prominent delegations at the conference are the Zambians.

Zambia is one of the most highly urbanized countries in sub-Saharan Africa with 44% of the population concentrated in a few urban areas, the largest city being the capital Lusaka with more than 1 million people. Unemployment and underemployment are serious problems, while most rural Zambians are subsistence farmers. Yet, in 2010 The World Bank named Zambia as one of the worlds fastest economically reforming countries.

The Zambian economy has historically been based on the copper mining industry, yet attendees here say they are interested in talking about issues such as solar power, farming (agriculture) and financial services.     

Over the past 30 years the infrastructure in Zambia has been crumbling and the government is seeking not only new investment from the likes of Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Societe Generale - who are all here too - but also from the entrepreneurial Diaspora Zambian community here in the US to help make their homeland a star in the African growth landscape.

This element is so important in fact that the central Zambian government has set up a special office as a representative from the President’s office to the Diaspora community, and given the community a full time staff member.  

The country has sent 54 people from Zambia to the first of its kind gathering. More than 50 other people who now live in other countries around the world - such as Belgium, the UK and Canada, and the US - have also come to see how they can be a part of `making Z the first letter of the alphabet’ as Angel Mondoloka, Chief Operating Officer of the Zambian International Trade and Investment Centre, says.

(Nkana Copper Mine. CREDIT Wikipedia)“We are lucky that the previous President Levy Mwanawasa began intensive business reforms in our country before his death (in 2008),” said Mondoloka. “This is our future and we are going to make it happen with smart investment, and entrepreneurship”.   

The conference is serving as a matchmaker between small and medium sized businesses in Africa, US counterparts, and investment firms.  Participants were asked to submit proposals before the convention began so they could be matched with the most appropriate contacts.

Patrick Kolata, who had travelled from Lusaka, wanted to create a solar power business and has been matched with a solar panel manufacturer. He said, “We have had to learn as Africans to be resourceful, now we want to be cutting edge entrepreneurs. Solar power will be a big industry for us in our future.”

He finished by saying, “We’re ready!”

The formal panels and business expo begin later today.

--HUMNEWS staff

Cancer in Africa is 'Like a Runaway Train'

Of the 16 million new cases of cancer that are predicted to occur annually by the year 2020, the majority (70%) will be in developing countries.

A "call to action" to address cancer in developing nations was proposed last year by experts writing in the Lancet (2010;376:1186-1193), and the problem has been highlighted in the run-up to today's World Cancer Day.

Among the developing world, African countries are the least able to cope, according to Afrox, the Africa Oxford Cancer Foundation, a registered charity based in the United Kingdom.

"Lack of resources and basic infrastructure mean that most Africans have no access to cancer screening, early diagnosis, treatment, or palliative care. Consequently, a diagnosis of cancer leads, in most cases, to a painful and distressing death," AfrOx reports.

The rising incidence of cancer in Africa is like a runaway train.

"The rising incidence of cancer in Africa is like a runaway train coming down the track," said Alan Milburn, chair of AfrOx, and former British Secretary of State for Health.

"The global community must act now to prevent the situation from deteriorating," he said in a statement. "One third of cancers affecting people in the developing world are potentially preventable and another third treatable if detected early."

Highlighted in Latest Global Report

The problem of cancer in Africa is highlighted in a special section of a new report being publicized by the American Cancer Society: Global Cancer Facts & Figures . It is also emphasized in a report of global cancer statistics published online February 4 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

In Africa, the incidence of cancer is increasing, but it remains a low public health priority because resources are limited and there are other pressing medical problems, such as AIDS/HIV infection, malaria, and tuberculosis.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that there were 681,000 new cancer cases and 512,400 cancer deaths in Africa in 2008. These numbers are projected to nearly double by 2030 because of the aging and growth of the population; this rise might be even sharper, the report warns, because unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles associated with economic development and urbanization, including smoking, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity, are increasingly being adopted.

The most dominant cancers in Africa relate to infectious agents (cervical, liver, Kaposi's sarcoma, urinary bladder). In 2008, cervical cancer accounted for 21% of all new cancer diagnoses in women, and liver cancer accounted for 11% of all new cancers in men.

Another issue is that most cancers diagnosed in Africa are at an advanced stage of the disease, the American Cancer Society notes in a commentary on the report. This is due to a lack of screening and early detection services, but there is also a limited awareness of the early signs and symptoms of cancers among the public and healthcare providers. In addition, there is a stigma associated with a diagnosis of cancer in most parts of Africa.

Survival after a diagnosis of cancer is much worse in the developing world than in the developed world, especially for cancers that can be detected by screening. For example, the 5-year survival rate for breast cancer in Gambia,

Uganda, and Algeria is less than 50%, in contrast to the 90% seen in the United States.

AfrOx Working With ESMO

AfrOx is working with the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) to "galvanize the global community" into doing something about this problem.

ESMO president David Kerr, MD, professor of cancer medicine at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, was one of the founders of AfrOx in 2007.

A series of cancer prevention and awareness posters designed for use in Africa has been developed in collaboration with the ESMO Developing Countries Task Force. These posters aim to demonstrate how simple lifestyle changes can greatly reduce the likelihood of developing many cancers, and highlight, among other things, smoking cessation, daily exercise, healthy diet, and the importance of hepatitis B vaccination in preventing liver cancer.

The posters have already been launched in Ghana, where several other projects have begun, all in collaboration with the Ghanaian Ministry of Health.

The initial focus is in Ghana, AfrOx explains, because of its historic ties with Britain, its record of good governance, and the commitment of local policy makers and clinicians to control cancer.

Ghana has a population of 23 million, and the most common cancers are liver, prostate, breast, and cervical. However, there are only 2 oncology centers (in Accra and Kumasi), only 4 oncologists, and no specialist cancer nurses.

"The long-term aim is to establish a framework in which Ghana could potentially serve as a regional hub for supporting the development of cancer services in neighboring countries in West Africa," AfrOx reports.

One focus is improving the treatment of childhood cancers, focusing in particular on Burkitt's lymphoma (which accounts for 50% tumors), Wilms' tumor, and retinoblastoma. All of these can be treated successfully at an affordable cost, the Foundation notes, but cure rates for childhood cancer are currently only around 5% in Africa, compared with 75% to 80% in the United Kingdom.

One of the projects involves a 5-year twinning program between a British hospital and the pediatric cancer unit at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. Korle-Bu sees about 90 to120 new childhood cancer cases each year, and has access to good surgical and radiotherapy facilities, but there are major problems with understaffing and inadequate diagnostic capacity. Another problem is that the costs of drugs, blood products, and investigations are borne by the parents. AfrOx aims to set up "long-term sustainability funding" for this center, and hopes that it will be used as a template for developing other cancers centers in the region.

Other Projects in Africa

Other organizations also have ongoing projects to improve cancer care in Africa, as previously reported by Medscape Medical News.

In Malawi and Rwanda, Partners in Health, a nonprofit healthcare organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, is working with national ministries of health to operate health centers and hospitals in rural undeserved areas. That organization was cofounded by Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, and Harvard-based facilities have provided support and training for local physicians and nurses. Even in the absence of oncologists, these trained healthcare personnel have begun to treat a variety of cancers that generally respond well to therapy, including breast, cervical, rectal, squamous head and neck cancer, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Kaposi's sarcoma.

One success story in Africa has been the improvement already seen in some areas in the treatment of Burkitt's lymphoma, the most common childhood cancer found in Equatorial Africa. Much of that achievement is credited to Ian Magrath, MB, BS, president of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research, who has worked in Africa for decades.

In a recent article in Cancer World, Dr. Magrath reflects on some of the lessons he has learned from that experience. The obstacles to good cancer care in resource-poor countries are completely different than those in wealthier nations, he points out, and emphasizes the necessity of understanding local resource limitations. "You have to be prepared to train and educate the professional staff — select a disease or discipline, and 1 or more centers, and try to develop those into centers of excellence or reference centers," he says.

These centers then become resources in their own countries, and serve as training facilities and improve access to diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care in other countries, he notes.

-        Reprinted from Zosia Chustecka, Medscape, and CA Cancer J Clin. Published online February 4, 2011.

World food prices at an historic high (Report)

photo courtesy UN News(HN, February 3, 2011) --  World food prices have surged, for the seventh consecutive month, to a new historic peak in January, according to the updated FAO Food Price Index, a commodity basket that regularly tracks monthly changes in global food prices.

The index averaged 231 points in January and was up 3.4 percent from December – the highest level since the FAO started to measure in 1990 and higher than in June 2008 when the cost of food sparked violent protests in countries including Egypt, Haiti and Cameroon.

“These high prices are likely to persist in the months to come, FAO economist Abdolreza Abbassian said.

The individual group components of the index, apart from meat, all registered rises in January.

The Cereal Price Index averaged 245 points in January reflecting rises in the price of wheat and grain which had already gone up due to poor weather conditions this past year in countries such as Russia and the Ukraine and was driven higher by flooding in Australia, which is a major wheat exporter.

Political unrest

The high price of food seems to have been the spark that has unleashed a series of anti-government demonstrations, protests in several countries in the Middle East, beginning in Tunisia, where a young man set himself on fire after being prevented from selling fruits and vegetables, and spreading to Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and Egypt.

The Middle East and North Africa are the two regions that import the largest amount of cereal and countries in the area have been hit especially hard by the harvest shortages in Russia and the Ukraine this year.

Today the Moldovan government has decided to ban all wheat exports until the next harvest in an effort to prevent a large increase in the price of bread. The Prime Minister stated that the order should have been made earlier to avoid the “panic” that he says has already taken hold of the population.

wheat, file photoChallenges

Surging global food prices are just one of the many challenges that people face throughout the world. Climate change, growing population, and water sources are also affecting the overall food production and availability. As many countries grow increasingly dependent on food imports, they grow more vulnerable to natural disaster and market fluctuations taking place half-way around the world from them.

In India, The Financial Times reported earlier this week that food prices have hit their highest point in more than a year. Food prices are up by at least 18 percent from last year in a country where millions are spending more than 50 percent of their total income on food.

Rises are particularly high for dairy products, up 6.2% from December. Prices were driven higher by a combination of lower supply and increasing demand in emerging economies such as China and India.

The demand for food is expected to continue to grow as a result both of population grown and rising incomes according the FAO. Demand for cereals (for food and animal feed) is projected to reach some 3 billion tons by 2050. Annual cereal production will have to grow by almost a billion tons (2.1 billion tons today), and meat production by over 200 million tons to reach a total of 470 million tons in 2050, 72 percent of which will be consumed in developing countries, up from the 58 percent today.

The production of biofuels could also increase the demand for agricultural commodities, depending on energy prices and government policies.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick has asked global leaders to “put food first” and tackle the problem of price volatility.

“We are going to be facing a broader trend of increasing commodity prices, including food commodity prices”, he said.

Commodities prices have been on the rise generally with copper hitting a record high of $10,000 a ton.

Oil was also up on Thursday with Brent crude rising to $103.37 a barrel.

- HUMNews Staff

Social Media Boom Takes Off in Africa (Feature)

By André-Michel Essoungou

In the mid-1990s, as the use of mobile phones started its rapid spread in much of the developed world, few thought of Africa as a potential market.Increasing numbers of young people on the continent - such as these Egyptian women - are using mobile technologies to access social media tools on the Internet. CREDIT: ITU

Now, with more than 400 million subscribers, its market is larger than North America's. Africa took the lead in the global shift from fixed to mobile telephones, notes a report by the UN International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Rarely has anyone adopted mobile phones faster and with greater innovation (see A bank in every African pocket?, Better health at the click of a button).

A similar story now seems again to be unfolding. Africans are coupling their already extensive use of cell phones with a more recent and massive interest in social media — Internet-based tools and platforms that allow people to interact with each other much more than in the past. In the process, Africans are leading what may be the next global trend: a major shift to mobile Internet use, with social media as its main drivers.

According to Mary Meeker, an influential Internet analyst, mobile Internet and social media are the fastest-growing areas of the technology industry worldwide, and she predicts that mobile Internet use will soon overtake fixed Internet use.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube in Africa

Studies suggest that when Africans go online (predominantly with their mobile phones) they spend much of their time on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and so on). Sending and reading e-mails, reading news and posting research queries have become less important activities for Africans.

In recent months Facebook — the major social media platform worldwide and currently the most visited website in most of Africa — has seen massive growth on the continent. The number of African Facebook users now stands at over 17 million, up from 10 million in 2009. More than 15 per cent of people online in Africa are currently using the platform, compared to 11 per cent in Asia. Two other social networking websites, Twitter and YouTube, rank among the most visited websites in most African countries.

Along with regular citizens, African stars, thinkers, political leaders and companies have rapidly joined the global conversation. The Facebook fan base of Côte d'Ivoire's football star and UN goodwill ambassador Didier Drogba is more than 1 million people. Zambian best-selling author and economist Dambisa Moyo has more than 26,000 followers on Twitter. Media organizations in South Africa and companies such as Kenya Airways are using various social media platforms to interact better with customers and readers. During recent elections in Côte d'Ivoire candidates did not only tour cities and villages; they also moved the contest online, feverishly posting campaign updates on Twitter and Facebook.

Africa's upward trend in the use of social media is even more striking given the low number of Africans connected to the Internet and the many hurdles Africans face in trying to go online.

Tremendous Room for Growth in Africa

Africa's Internet users (more than 100 million at the end of 2010) represent just a small percentage of the 2 billion people online around the world. In the US alone, more than 220 million people use the Internet. Within Africa, one person out of every 10 is estimated to be an Internet user (up from one in 5,000 back in 1998), making the continent the region in the world with the lowest penetration rate.

Even young Africans are taking to mobile phones and social media. CREDIT: ITUAmong the many reasons for this poor showing are the scarcity and prohibitive costs of broadband connections (the fastest means of accessing the Internet), and the limited number of personal computers in use.

But these challenges simultaneously contribute to Africa's impressive growth rate in the use of mobile Internet, which in recent years has been the highest in the world.

"Triple-digit growth rates are routine across the continent," notes Jon von Tetzchner, co-founder of Opera, the world's most popular Internet browser for mobile phones. "The widespread availability of mobile phones means that the mobile Web can reach tens of millions more than the wired Web." Mr. Tetzchner believes that like mobile phones, whose use has grown rapidly in Africa in recent years, the "mobile Web is beginning to reshape the economic, political and social development of the continent."

‘Seismic shift’ coming

Erik Hersman, a prominent African social media blogger and entrepreneur who helped drive development of the ground-breaking platform Ushahidi, is equally enthusiastic. In an e-mail to Africa Renewal he notes that "with mobile phone penetration already high across the continent, and as we get to critical mass with Internet usage in some of Africa's leading countries (Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt) … a seismic shift will happen with services, products and information."

The sense that the future holds more promise is inducing major companies to show special interest in Africa's expanding pool of Internet users. Facebook, after launching versions in some of the major African languages (including Swahili, Hausa and Zulu) in May, has announced it will offer free access to its platform to mobile phone users in various countries around the world, including many in Africa. In October Google started testing a new service for Swahili speakers in East and Central Africa. Tentatively called Baraza ("meeting place" in Swahili), it will allow people to interact and share knowledge by asking and answering questions, many of them of only very local or regional interest.

Africans are also getting ready to benefit from the fast-growing mobile Internet sector. In South Africa, MXit, a free instant messaging application with an estimated 7 million users, is the most popular local social networking platform. From Abidjan and Accra to Lusaka and Nairobi, African programmers are designing, testing and launching new homegrown platforms and tools to keep the African online conversation going.

- United Nations Africa Renewal

Goodluck for Nigeria (Exclusive Report)

By HUMNEWS in Abuja

(HN, January 14, 2011) - "We have money - that is not our problem." That's what taxi driver Geoffrey Gumaju repeated as he navigated his battered, green taxi along the roads of the Nigerian capital.Mention of Nigeria's children was almost absent from the PDP convention CREDIT: HUMNEWS

Like many of his countrymen, he complains of a horribly-decaying infrastructure, despite the country's oil wealth. Roads are in bad shape, the health system has been described by DFID as on the brink of collapse and millions of youth are unemployed. "I have to bribe someone to get a job," says Gumaju.

Gumaju and Nigeria's 150-million people woke up this morning to news that incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan has won the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for the April presidential elections, handily defeating his opponent - former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

Ordinarily, the presidency of this oil rich nation rotates between the predominantly Christian South and the majority-Muslim North. Jonathan, who assumed the presidency last year after the death of Umaru Yar'Adua, a northern Muslim, is a Christian from the South.

The PDP has captured every single presidential vote since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999. It gained independence from Britain in 1960.

In what was mainly a lackluster series of speeches, the three PDP presidential aspirants had little to offer in terms of concrete change. In fact, Jonathan, who spoke last before voting last night, said one of the biggest accomplishments during his term of office is that airplanes no longer get lost in Nigerian airspace. "The whole country is covered by radar now," he said.

Sarah Jibril, a colourful candidate and the lone female contender, was the only speaker to emphasize the need to lift the country's women and children out of poverty.

She said: “I represent ‘zoning neutraliser’. When you vote me, Nigeria will not be called one of the corrupt countries again. We did it in Liberia when we elected a female president. I have the mental capacity to lead Nigeria…I will be Mama President from whom there will be a rebirth. ”

The World Bank on Thursday boosted its growth forecast for Nigeria to 7.1 percent in 2011, from a previous estimate of 5.7 percent. Fresh spending on infrastructure is expected to contribute.

According to the UN, however, more than half of Nigeria's population of 150-million live in poverty, and 20 percent of Africa's poor call Nigeria home. The country accounts for 20 percent of global maternal mortality.

- From a HUMNEWS special correspondent in Abuja

South Africans Ask: Should Murder Suspect Shrein Dewani Apologize? (Perspective)

By Roxy Marosa

(HN, January 3, 2011) One of the pieces I wrote in 2010 was about my tour with friends of one of the first townships in Cape Town - the sprawling and impoverished Langa. I expressed my emotions on a video clip.

It’s a township where a large number of poor black South Africans reside. Although there are a few residents regarded as middle class, the majority of the people are poor and face daily security and health hazards. On the tour, our guide explained that people freely roam around the streets during daylight hours but, as early as 7:30pm, most retreat into their homes - due to the security risks at night.

Their fears are well-grounded: there have been a number of muggings and even murders in Langa. People have reported these to the authorities, and in some cases, the perpetrators were never caught or brought to justice.

Fed-up, the community has taken charge and formed a community policing forum - essentially a group of responsible residents who receive crime reports and take swift action. They also work together to quickly bring the crimes to the attention of law enforcement authorities, who are then forced to act fast on the crimes. When a member of the forum witnesses a crime, they punish the perpetrators immediately, in addition to making a formal police report. This innovative collaboration has seen the crime rate in Langa decline. The members of the forum are known and respected in this township.Langa women returning from church services. CREDIT: Michael Bociurkiw/HUMNEWS

These acts of crime are a clear indication that South Africa is a country still overcoming it’s apartheid history. The highly-publicized November 2010 murder in nearby Guguletu Township of Annie Dewani - allegedly by a hit-man hired by her wealthy British businessman husband Shrien Dewani - reinforced the doubt many people here have in the security of the country and in the government.

It is no secret to South Africans that many people who were previously disadvantaged before apartheid are still mired in grinding poverty. Indicative of this is is the reported $2,200 payment received by the perpetrator and killer of Annie - in what has now become known as the "Honeymoon Murder." Although many people, especially the disadvantaged, want situations to change fast or have their society changed already, it is logical that this will not take place overnight. And the past 16 years have demonstrated change as a process, that it takes time - sometimes a painfully long time.

South Africa’s political future is also capturing worldwide attention. The blood and sweat of many who have contributed to the country’s current prosperity are seeing a growth in tourism fuelled, in part, by the 2010 World Cup.

Although an attractive tourist destination for many, South Africa still attracts ample criticism from others, due to a high murder rate (nationwide an average of 46 murders occurred daily last year, among the world’s highest rates), low level of safety and security and other reasons.

Having said this, the murder of Annie left many South Africans apologetic and doubting their own country. Even many South Africans government officials, fearing a backlash to tourism, offered apologies or felt compelled to explain what happened. As friends reflect on the country’s aftermath of the killing, interesting views were expressed to me, particularly about South African’s lack of confidence in the country. It came to light that these friends had pride over the country’s legal system.

In the end, the murder was solved (the suspect is on $350,000 bail in the UK, facing extradition back to South Africa) with the puzzle put together in a relatively short space of time. My friends acknowledged the soundness of the legal system and saluted it for the action and fast resolution.

All this begs the question: ‘Do South Africans have overall trust in their country?’ Responded to by friends, the answer was a clear ‘NO’. More views about other countries were expressed. ‘If Shrien had taken Annie to what is regarded a dangerous area in America, and she got killed there, Americans would protect their country by saying ‘What were they doing in that area at that time? People should not be hanging around the streets during that time,' " said one friend.

Is this confidence and love for a country or what?

So, knowing that South Africans are still recovering from the apartheid history and that the healing process will take years, should the accused Shrien Dewani apologise to playing on the vulnerability of South Africans?

Cape Town-based Roxy Marosa is host of the Roxy Marosa Show and runs several projects assisting people affected by HIV and Aids in South Africa. 

(EXCLUSIVE) (Perspective) - `Obsession with Political Power: the Case of Laurent Gbagbo’

The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire AKA Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. (CREDIT: Wikipedia--- By Adama Burkari

Did I know that Africa was just about setting in motion it’s own system of democracy where two presidents rule one nation when I authored “AFRICA’S LEADERSHIP QUAGMIRE: any way forward?” Dear reader, I had not the slightest hint that Ivory Coast was the nation to redefine democracy in the African context in such a vague and unrealistic form it has just done! Please, do me the honour by reading the full publication which featured concurrently on the Ghana’s myjoyonline.com and humnews.com.

I shudder at the reality that the once peaceful nation called Ivory Coast is almost on the verge of sinking again into the dregs of political conflict which engulfed the country some years ago. The sight of fallen victims of the conflict most of whom were women and children was such as despicable scenario that the eyes had to behold! Things had virtually fallen apart and the war resulted in the loss of innocent souls. The tears of children could not stop the blood-thirsty and power-obsessed political ‘trustees’ from firing gunshots indiscriminately!

Laurent GbagboI certainly can’t bring back the pains and undignified savagery that went on in the land of Ivory Coast and no one should try re-opening unhealed wounds! Not even the Gbagbo’s or the Ouattara’s should revisit sane minds with such a toxic pain! It surely should not happen again for Africans are neither savages nor cannibals; we are humans with a sense of dignity and pride. Sorry, reader if I sound harsh in your ears but must we not condemn the on-going political garbage in Ivory Coast in the strongest terms? It is so sad that we live on a continent that prides itself as the premier to human civilizations yet we seem far from the realities and the application of common sense in our political governance systems to the extent that political conflict has virtually become engrained in Africa’s politics. What a shame!

Until the death of its longest serving President, Felix Houphouet-Boigny who ruled the country right from her time of independence, Ivory Coast lacked any real experience in democratic governance. This is because under his dictatorial claws, Felix Houphouet-Boigny held onto power for over 3 decades baring any democratic political activities in the country. It was after his death that multi-party politics started to unfold and then the thorny issues such as who qualified to vote in Ivory Coast became contentious. As if these issues were light-weighted, they became so thorny that conflict finally reared its ugly head and split the nation apart.

Felix Houphouet-BoignyIn my article “AFRICA’s Leadership Quagmire; any way forward?”, I talked about political dynasty in Africa and cited Togo and Gabon as two among the several African countries that have experienced the unfortunate scenario where political leaders simply pass on the reigns of governments to their kinsmen and one wonders if the late Houphouet-Boigny would have ever ceded power to anybody apart from his kinsmen. Because of his long stay in power, the political aspiration of the people was curtailed. Even though under his reigns, the country was not only politically stable but also economically viable, it must be emphasized that his long stay in power was by itself a breach of trust and a denial for a fair and democratic political activities in Ivory Coast. Certainly, that was a trait of dynastic rule and the rippling effect is vivid for all to see.

The Ivory Coast’s civil war was prompted by the new law ushered in through a referendum that required a presidential candidate to have both parents born in Cote D’Ivoire. Obviously, this bared the main opposition leader Alassane Ouattarra from contesting in the country’s election. With his huge support base in the country especially the north and the obvious game of political gymnastics Gbagbo sought to pursue against Ouattara, it was not surprising that civil war finally broke out in the country.

Events leading up to the peace process had been difficult but the Marcoussis Accord of January 2003, supposedly the most comprehensive peace pact, was expected to end the crisis. Importantly, the main characters of the conflict signed this agreement which among other things dealt with the issues of nationality, eligibility for citizenship and land ownership. With these thorny issues having been resolved under mutual consent and satisfaction, it was expected that Ivory Coast was on the road to national cohesion. Unfortunately, elections after the Marcoussis Accord had been delayed for six consecutive times.Alassane Ouattarra

In the events leading up to the October 31^st, 2010 elections, there were concerns over possible vote rigging and as a result ballot papers had to be printed in Europe and a new Independent Electoral Commission comprising representatives of all the political parties was put in place. In the face of all these, it was the expectation that peace would be restored after the October 2010 elections. For now, one can say no to this expectation and unless a fast and decisive approach is adopted, Ivory Coast would sink again into political chaos!

In my view, the single person who should rationalize his position and make way for peace is Laurent Gbagbo. As a history professor and a critic of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny regime, and having suffered political imprisonment from 1971 to 1973 he should be the last person to provoke war in his cherished home country. Becoming president in October 26, 2000 after Robert Guei had fled the country, Laurent Gbagbo has perhaps become so obsessed with power that is why he could defy the will of the people and over-turn their verdict. I daresay that he is trying to entrench himself on the seat of the presidency and I am not surprised at all. In my recent publication of November 24, 2010, I did indicate that “having the entire state apparatus under their control for a few years nurtures an unbridled desire to remain in control even after the expiration of their mandatory regime”. This is Gbagbo’s ailment.

Indeed, it is shocking that the two personalities under the Ivory Coast saga are high-profiled public figures. As an economist, Alassane Ouattara has had extensive working relationship with international organizations. He served as the Deputy Managing Director for the International Monetary Fund, in Washington DC. As mentioned earlier, Laurent Gbagbo is a history professor. Both personalities have what it takes to be statesmen if only they will exercise restraint and allow due process to take its course. My worry is; if elite personalities will engage in such political sycophancy, then where are we heading towards?

It is important to state that regional and international bodies must remain resolute in their decision not to recognize the government of Laurent Gbagbo. The AU must bite now or remain mute forever! I am however excited at the stance of ECOWAS. At its extraordinary meeting held in Abuja, Nigeria on Tuesday December 7, 2010, the West African regional body unequivocally called on Gbagbo to step down and hand over power to Ouattara. That is indeed a refreshing call coming from ECOWAS.

It is expected that the African Union and other regional bodies would continue to exert pressure to stop the power-obsessed Gbagbo from holding on to political power. Africans are tired of backslapping behaviours of leaders who are expected to blaze the trail of democratic governance. Surely, the world is watching to see how at the continental level, African leaders can stop this show of tyranny coming from Gbagbo. His conduct smacks of hypocrisy at the highest level and an indictment to his academic laurels. Quoting from my earlier publication, I wish to ask Gbagbo, “Why must people think that they and their lineage are the only one who must rule?” How I wish to hear the history professor whose academic records are undoubtedly akin to a genius respond to this question. How does he expect the people of Ivory Coast and the world not to wonder if his desire to stay in power is not a way of covering up any excesses under his regime?

Peace is the foundation to progress and we must not allow one man to deny the good people of Ivory Coast from leaving in peace and tranquility. The era of fear and political intimidation in Africa cannot be revisited. The success story of Ghana’s journey to democratic governance must remind the likes of Gbagbo that times have changed and bully tactics would not be countenanced in Africa. Let the world tell him to deal with his own obsession privately. Eyes are watching! Long live Ivory Coast; Long Live Africa!

The writer, Adama Bukari, is a full-time author/publisher and the C.E.O of Exceed Media Ltd, a company that delivers superior services in publishing, media consultancy, business communications and advertising. He is also a motivational speaker and the editor-in-chief of JUVINILE INSPIRER; a youth magazine which seeks to deal with youthful inertias. Currently, he is studying Master of Philosophy in Global Leadership at the Institute of Professional Studies, Legon, Ghana. He was a finalist in the JoyFM’s MY BUSINESS 2010 Entrepreneurial Mentorship Programme.

Email: adamab2@yahoo.com

60% of Africans City Dwellers by 2050 - UN (News Brief)

(HN, November 25, 2010) - Incredible urban growth and population migration will swell the size of major African cities - in some cases tripling their size over the next 40 years.

According to a new report by UN Habitat, The State of African Cities 2010: Governance, Inequality and Urban Land Markets, urbanization is occurring faster on the African continent than anywhere else, and that by 2030, the Africa will no longer be predominantly rural.Traffic is worsening in many African cities due to urban migration. CREDIT: Michael Bociurkiw/HUMNEWS

“No African government can afford to ignore the ongoing rapid urban transition taking place across the continent. Cities must become priority areas for public policies, with hugely increased investments to build adequate governance capacities, equitable services delivery, affordable housing provision and better wealth distribution,” said Joan Clos, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT.

The report also found that:

- By 2015, Lagos will be Africa's largest city with 12.4 million people - overtaking Cairo (however Cairo is said to have an unofficial population as high as 17 million at times)

- Luanda has recently surpassed Alexandria and is now Africa’s fourth largest agglomeration. It is projected to grow to more than 8 million by 2040.

- Africa's population will be 1.23 billion by 2050

- Slum dwellers in Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia decreased to 11.8 million in 2010, from 20.8 million in 1990.Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Is one of the largest slums with more than a million residents struggling with limited access to basic services. CREDIT: UN Habitat

- Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is becoming the fastest-growing city in Africa: its population will almost double over the next decade.

- 70 per cent of all African urban population growth will be in smaller cities and those with populations of less than half a million.

- Projected proportional growth for the 2010−2020 for some cities defies belief: Ouagadougou’s (Burkina Faso) population is expected to soar by no less than 81 per cent, from 1.9 million in 2010 to 3.4 million in 2020.

The report also noted that, since many large cities (such as Lagos and Alexandria) are situated by the sea, climate change and coastal flooding may erode their size.

- HUMNEWS staff, UN

Africa’s leadership quagmire; Any way forward? (Perspective)

Writer, Adama Bukari (photo courtesy of myjoyonline(HN, November 24, 2010) -- The Paradox of Africa’s Wealth. The case that Africa records the highest levels of poverty is paradoxical. This is because Africa remains the richest continent in terms of natural resources, yet its people are engulfed in poverty. There is no doubt that Africa’s problem is nothing but a leadership failure and I am not a lone-ranger in this assumption. In an article titled Africa, a new economic frontier by H.E Kofi Annan which was published in the Daily Graphic of May 28, 2010, the immediate past Secretary General of the UN posed the question; “Given our continent’s wealth, why are so many people trapped in poverty? In a response to his own question, H.E. Kofi Annan declares; “It is political will which is the issue, both internationally and in Africa”. Annan succinctly hit the nail on its head when he indicated that the prime responsibility of ensuring equitable development lies in the hands of African leaders. This is how he puts it; “African leaders need to have more confidence in their bargaining position, and greater legal and negotiating capacities to ensure that they secure deals that bring benefits”.

What is Leadership?
Leadership permeates the very fabric of human existence in a sense that its principles and practices are vital towards the achievement of personal goals and success; family unity; social cohesion; organizational objectives; educational aims; and in the broader sense, national development in an atmosphere of peace, stability, equity, freedom and justice. Leadership then serves as the framework within which the leader translates positive values, traits, ingenuity, rules and productive behaviours to achieve set goals and objectives of the entity so governed. Leadership therefore demands conscious and pragmatic strategies to affect a change process for a desired result to be achieved. It must be said that the achievement of national growth is neither mythical nor a chance-based situation but through the effect of good leadership.

Indeed, family and social cohesion will become elusive in the absence of an effective leadership personality. This explains why leadership spans every aspect of life starting from family, business, and national as well global governance systems. As an academic discipline, leadership studies gained prominence in the 1960s, attracting much attention in the last two decades. Great leaders across the globe have earned accolades not on mere chances of luck but based upon the application of principles and ideals all of which have contributed to the institutionalization of leadership studies in the academia. Frankly, Leadership as a field of study will continue to attract students as the world gets more complicated with the emergence of new economies, governance systems, growing family life responsibilities, enormous socio-cultural challenges and environmental concerns among others. It therefore takes people with positive leadership traits and passion to make the deserving impact in any given society.

The Creation of Political Dynasty in Africa
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines dynasty as “a succession of rulers of the same line of descent”. This practice was prominent centuries ago but now, it has outlived its usefulness especially in our pursuit of democratic governance. Unfortunately, most African leaders cannot do without the thought of building political dynasties - a major bane to our development. Typically, most of our leaders rule for as long as they live with power transferred to their kindred only after their death. Instances of this situation are not uncommon. President Faure Eyadema ‘succeeded’ his father Gnassingbé Eyadéma who ruled Togo for thirty-eight years - the longest serving president in Africa! Same can be said of Gabon where former president Omar Bongo Ondimba took power in 1967 and had his third re-election in November 2005 until he died in June 2009. Like Togo, the presidency of Omar Bongo is ‘succeeded’ by his son Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Why would some leaders pursue ‘dynastic’ rule? At least two conditions may account for this unfortunate scenario. The first factor is to control state institutions in order to entrench corruptible practices. When leaders hold on to political power for far too long, they control state institutions charged with the responsibility of fighting corruption and injustice. As a result, such leaders virtually become immune to the legal systems so long as they remain in power. They become untouchable and unaccountable to the state thus controlling state resources in the manner that suits their egos and selfish interest. Job appointments especially those made into higher institutions of the state are extended to family friends, kinsmen and political cronies who hold sacred allegiance to the leader. They become the demigods of the states. Usually, such leaders unleash venom to critics of their corrupt practices. In Africa, journalists and political activists who have often been critical of these excesses have always suffered gross human rights abuses and sometimes death.

The second factor is simply an obsession with power. Having the entire state apparatus under their control for a few years nurtures an unbridled desire to remain in control even after the expiration of their mandatory regime. Power certainly corrupts. It is strange that even under democratic dispensations the supposed democratic leaders circumvent due process and change constitutions just to extend their stay in power. This is the kind of power obsession characteristic of most African leaders! Why must people think that they and their lineage are the only one who must rule? There surely must be a paradigm shift to this line of thought in Africa.

Any Way Forward?
Yes! Admittedly, there are a few leaders whose leadership ideals have yielded positive results. The story of Nelson Mandela who after suffering 27 years of jail term under the apartheid system; becoming the first black president of South Africa; and stepping down after serving only one full term of the presidency will continue to inspire African leaders and cause them to refrain from the pursuit of political dynasties. Nelson Mandela of South Africa has indeed ignited a passion for leadership excellence and his sterling leadership traits in the perspectives of global politics will continue to be a benchmark especially in the African context where political leadership is often associated with corruption, nepotism, and general failure to deliver social justice and economic advancement to the good people that they govern.

Today, the call for transformational leadership in Africa is gaining favourable responses. Nations that have risen above their challenges were led by transformational leaders. These are the people who recognize the enormity of challenges confronting their countries and exemplify selfless leadership to actualize the dreams and aspiration of the people. We must celebrate African leaders who did not follow the trail of dynasty by stepping down upon the expiry of their terms in office. We need to continually applaud such leaders who transfer power especially to the opposition parties upon their electoral defeats. They are the statesmen!

However, transformational leaders do not come by chance. Leaders must be nurtured through educational curricula, coaching and mentoring leadership activities among others. Ghana needs to incorporate leadership studies into her educational curricular especially at the tertiary levels so that students will learn and appreciate positive leadership traits and values. Since it is most of the students at the tertiary levels who later in life assume leadership positions in the country, it would be better if they acquire the right leadership mindset and skills even before they encounter the reality. The story must be told someday soon that the new crop of African leaders are selflessness and they have the right mindset and a sense of purpose to pursue the interest of the poor masses who live in a continent blessed with abundant resources. Africa must surely get there. Yes we can and we will!

--- The writer, Adama Bukari, is a full-time author/publisher and the C.E.O of Exceed Media Ltd, a company that delivers superior services in publishing, media consultancy, business communications and advertising. He is also a motivational speaker and the editor-in-chief of JUVINILE INSPIRER; a youth magazine which seeks to deal with youthful inertias. Currently, he is studying Master of Philosophy in Global Leadership at the Institute of Professional Studies, Legon.

Hundreds Subjected to Sexual Violence During Mass Expulsions From Angola to Congo - UN Report

(CREDIT: Africamap.com) (HN, November 8, 2010) - A new report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says more than 650 people were sexually abused during mass expulsions from Angola to Congo.

"The conditions of expulsion are still terrible. In many cases, sexual violence is reported and even cases of torture," said the report.

It documents 657 instances of sexual violence based on evidence collated by welcome committees in the two territories of Luiza and Tshikapa/Kamonia, in Western Kasai province, in two waves during October.

The UN has called for an immediate investigation into the reports.

"I call upon the authorities of both countries to investigate these allegations and to proceed in compliance with relevant legislation," said Margot Wallström, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict, in a statement issued yesterday. "I expect the authorities of Angola and the DRC to respect human rights and to do everything in their power to prevent abuses of all kinds during any further expulsions."

Word of the allegations comes after publication of reports of systematic rape of up to 500 civilians in eastern Congo between July 30 and August 3 by rebel militiamen in the town of Luvungi, while UN peacekeepers were stationed nearby.

Atul Khare, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, said UN peacekeepers had "failed" to protect the victims.

Meanwhile, UNICEF has raised the alarm on a polio epidemic in Angola.

Polio was on the brink of eradication in Angola at the end of 2004, UNICEF says, when the country had experienced three consecutive years without new cases. Then, in 2005, the wild poliovirus reappeared, and Angola now has one of the biggest polio caseloads in Africa. So far this year, 25 cases have been reported.

“While stopping the transmission of polio by the end of this year is on track,” says UNICEF Representative in Angola Dr. Koen Vanormelingen, “more effort and funding is still required."

-HUMNEWS staff