Gaia: THE CHILDREN OF AFRICA - News and Publications

High food prices

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 13:58:34 GMT

Introduction A wave of food-price inflation is moving across the globe, leaving in its wake drastically increased levels of hunger and poverty. The phenomenon is affecting everyone on the planet but the poor and hungry are on the front line, as are agencies like WFP that work to help them. [Back To Top] Key facts • Top international experts say millions of people are being pushed deeper into poverty and hunger by high food prices. According to the World Bank, the number is at least 100 million. WFP’s research indicates that it could be as high as 130 million. • On international commodity markets, food prices have gone up 54 percent over the last year, with cereal prices soaring 92 percent. (source: FAO – World Food Situation) • Over the first four months of 2008 WFP paid an average of US$430 for a metric ton of wheat, compared to US$207 for the same period of 2007, an increase of 108 percent. • WFP is also paying more for other key elements in its food basket: 33 percent more for maize, 50 percent more for rice, 73 percent more for vegetable oil and 61 percent more for pulses. • World cereal reserves are expected to fall 5 percent this year, to their lowest point for 25 years. (source: FAO - Crop Prospects) • Approximately 1 billion people still live on less than US$ 1 dollar a day, the threshold defined by the international community as absolute poverty, below which survival is in question. [Back To Top] The challenge High food prices represent the biggest challenge that WFP has faced in its 45-year history. Analysis carried out by the organisation supports World Bank estimates that at least 100 million people have been pushed deeper into poverty by soaring food costs. WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran has called this a silent tsunami for the world’s hungry. Recognising the seriousness of the challenge, on April 29 United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the creation of a UN Task Force to work with donor and beneficiary governments to promote a comprehensive and unified response. On May 20-22 the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) held a special session on the Global Food Crisis. [Back To Top] Roots of the phenomenon Higher food prices are rooted in increased energy costs, rising demand from economic growth in emerging economies, the growth of biofuels and increasing climatic shocks such as droughts and floods. Meanwhile, food reserves are at their lowest for 25 years and commodity markets extremely volatile, subject to sudden spikes and speculation. The situation has been exacerbated by the falling value of the dollar, which is the currency in which all major commodities are traded. In a bid to protect their own populations, many countries have imposed export bans or restrictions on certain food types. This tends to drive prices up further as food becomes less available. [Back To Top] 'New face of hunger' The people hit hardest by this combination of factors are those living on the razor’s edge of poverty. In rich countries people spend 10-20 percent of their income on food so they can afford to pay more. In many poor countries they already spend 60 percent, sometimes even 80 percent, of their budget on food. Affected groups include the rural landless, pastoralists and many small-scale farmers in Africa and elsewhere. But the impact is also on the urban poor. In many of the world’s poorest cities people can suddenly no longer afford the food they see on store shelves because prices have soared beyond their reach. This is the 'new face of hunger'. It's not a matter of availability, as we would see in a drought-like situation. It's about accessibility and it's especially impacting populations who are reliant on the markets. [Back To Top] Impact Higher food prices are already causing social unrest around the world. Lives were lost in April in Haiti during several days of unrest. In recent months there have also been protests in at least 25 other countries, including Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Egypt, Senegal, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and the Philippines. In developing countries across the world, the price crunch means that families which may have had money to pay school fees for their children, to go to clinics when they are sick, or take much-needed nourishing food together with anti-retroviral drugs, will suffer as they cut back in these areas. They are cutting meals and substituting less nutritious foods. As they struggle to cope, we risk seeing a major setback – perhaps as much as seven years – in the Millennium Development Goals. The first objective which the world committed itself to reaching by 2015 was to halve the proportion of hungry people. Food is also the foundation for six of the other MDG goals -- more hunger and more suffering today points to a potential erosion of the hard-won progress we have made. [Back To Top] WFP's Call to Action WFP, which is a voluntarily funded operation, aims to feed more than 70 million hungry people around the world in 2008. Six months into the year, its total budget for 2008 stands at US$4.5 billion, of which US$2 billion has been received. That US$2 billion includes money generously provided by donors in response to the appeal WFP launched in March for special funds to cover the impact of high food and fuel prices on its operations. The target for that appeal was US$755 million, a figure which was reached after only two months, partly thanks to a US$500 million donation from Saudi Arabia on May 22. WFP’s programmed budget for 2008 does not cover those who are joining the ranks of the hungry as a result of high food and fuel prices, the ‘new face of hunger’. Nor does it cover those that may be hit by natural catastrophes – such as the cyclone in Myanmar – which no one can predict and which can devastate hundreds of thousands of lives. All these people will look to WFP for help for their survival and so the organisation’s total budget for 2008 could grow yet higher. [Back To Top] The way forward WFP supports a comprehensive approach to high food prices where all parties, from governments to UN agencies to NGOs, work together. It supports FAO’s appeal for US$ 1.7 billion to implement its Initiative on Soaring Food Prices and welcomes IFAD’s announcement of funding worth US$ 200 million to enable poor farmers to access seeds, fertilizers and tools. As part of a coherent global response by UN agencies, WFP’s role will be threefold: • in the short term, WFP will seek full funding for the life-saving projects programmed for 2008 and for targeted food safety nets and mother-child health programmes in extreme situations. It will seek to scale up school feeding and use it as a platform for urgent, nutritional interventions; • in the medium term, WFP will offer its huge logistics capacity to support life-saving distribution networks. It will also expand cash and voucher programmes and support local purchases from small farmers, helping them to afford inputs and sustain livelihoods; • and in the longer term, it will support policy reform and provide advice and technical support to governments engaging in agricultural development programmes; at the same time WFP will pursue local purchase contracts that can help farmers increase investment and yields. [Back To Top] Quick navigation Introduction Key facts The challenge Roots of the phenomenon 'New face of hunger' Impact WFP's Call to Action The way forward Contacts Martin Penner Public Information Officer +39 06 6513 3254 (office) Martin.penner@wfp.org For more contacts: Addis AbabaAmmanBangkokBeijingBerlinBogotaCairoColomboCopenhagenDakarIslamabadJakartaJerusalemKabulKhartoumLondonNairobiNay Pyi TawNew YorkPanama CityParisPyongyangRome HQTokyoTorontoWashington Why are prices high? Factors contributing to global food price rises include: Rising oil and energy costs Growing competition between biofuels and food Growing demand from burgeoning economies in the developing world Increase in climate and weather-related events destroy crops, reducing food supplies Key documents WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran -biography 'New Face of Hunger' - keynote speech by WFP Executive Director (Center for Strategic and International Studies, April 2008) Factsheet: High food prices Press release-WFP says high food prices a silent tsunami Chief Executives Board Communique-Berne-29 April Press release - WFP completes $755 million appeal with Saudi pledge Video gallery *New video: WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran in Myanmar Video: What's in your cup today? From Sri Lanka to Egypt, people are feeling the crunch of high food prices. Watch this video to hear what people have to say about the direct impact food price spikes have on their livelihoods. Video: High food prices: Around the world, people are feeling the crunch of high food prices, especially at the markets, where crowds and bartering are commonplace. Related news How to Feed the World - Newsweek The Silent Tsunami - The Economist UN Secretary-General warns of food crisis emergency Oped: High food costs hurt the poor - WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran Food for thought - The Economist High food prices may force aid rationing - Financial Times The world's growing food-price crisis - TIME Feed the World - The UK Guardian Useful links UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - World Food Situation Portal UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD ) International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI ) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs -IRI World Food Programme © 2008

Child neglect tops rights abuses

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:09:51 GMT

CHILD neglect tops human rights abuses in Uganda, according to the Ugandan Human Rights Commission. More

Floods displace many and a state of emergency is declared

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 14:23:29 GMT

Floods have hit badly the eastern and northern parts of uganda, as a result the president has declared a state of emergency. Read more

UGANDA: High sexual violence places females at greater HIV risk

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:42:11 GMT

[NAIROBI, 21 August 2007] - Almost 40 percent of Ugandan women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, a statistic that is "unacceptably high", gender experts said.

One in four Ugandan women said their first sexual intercourse was against their will, according to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2006 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS). "Women in Uganda continue to lack power over their sexual rights," Elizabeth Kyasimire, a commissioner at the Ministry of Gender, told IRIN/PlusNews.

"This is rooted in our society's cultural and social make-up, where women are in subordinate positions," she said. More than two thousand women were interviewed, almost half of whom said their husband or partner had been sexually violent.

General physical abuse was also common, with an estimated 60 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 experiencing some form of physical violence. "Overall, seven in ten women and about 60 percent of men believe there are at least some situations in which a husband is justified in beating his wife," the survey found.

"Nineteen percent of men and almost one-third of women believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife if she refuses to have sex with him," according to the report.

Although the survey indicated that the likelihood of a woman experiencing sexual violence decreased with her educational attainment, Kyasimire commented that "Women still lack economic empowerment and feel they must follow the will of their partners or risk losing their homes and livelihoods."

She said her ministry was working with the UBOS to carry out research into the link between HIV and sexual violence, but "We need authentic data, so that we can go to the relevant authorities, who can then focus their programmes on sexual violence, which definitely has a correlation with HIV in this country. Knowledge about HIV exists in the population, but women can't use it because of their low status."

Northern situation unclear

The UBOS survey found that sexual violence in the conflict-affected populations of war-torn northern Uganda was lower than elsewhere. An estimated 27.7 percent of women living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) reported having experienced some form of sexual violence, compared with 56 percent of women in the east of the country and 42 percent in the west.

However, these findings contradict those of 'Suffering in Silence: A Study of Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Pabbo IPD Camp', jointly carried out by the government and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2005.

"Research revealed that six out of 10 women in Pabbo Camp are physically and sexually assaulted, threatened and humiliated by the men in whom they have the greatest trust." The UNICEF study also found that rape was often considered a "normal" part of life in Pabbo, the largest IDP camp in Gulu district.

Some activists said the UBOS figures for the north might have been skewed by a perception of what constitutes sexual violence. UNICEF's study found that cases of sexual assault in Pabbo were reported as lesser crimes or went completely unreported. The abduction of young girls for use as sexual slaves has been a common practice of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.

"Sexual violence is definitely high in the north: throughout the war, the women have been raped and young girls have been defiled," said Hilda Akabway, acting executive director of the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Uganda).

Akabway said FIDA-Uganda was setting up a desk in the Acholi region, which suffered the most during the war, to empower women with the knowledge and skills to prevent sexual and other forms of violence.

She stressed that there was an urgent need for the government to create awareness about women's sexual rights across the country, to start changing society's harmful gender perceptions.

The Ministry of Gender's Kyasimire said although there were laws to protect women and obtain justice for the survivors of sexual violence, implementation of the laws was often not user-friendly, especially in rural areas.

"If a woman is raped and reports it to the police, the legal process is very lengthy and economically costly; poor girls and women usually abandon their cases because of this."

A national domestic violence bill is being drafted, and parliament recently passed an amendment that can impose the death penalty on any HIV-positive person who wilfully infects a minor through sexual intercourse.

Further information

HIV and AIDS: UN call to tackle 'feminisation' of AIDS (6 July 2007)
Intersecting Human Rights: HIV and Violence against Women and Girls (22 March 2007)

SUDAN: Women Abducted, Raped and Kept as Sex Slaves [report]

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:29:23 GMT

[21 August 2007] - The Government of the Sudan must protect women and children from sexual and gender-based violence, says a new report from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that details cases of abduction, rape and sexual violence in South Darfur.

The report, a follow-up to a report issued in April 2007, contains testimonies from victims and eyewitnesses describing how women were abducted, kept as sex slaves or subjected to other human rights violations in Deribat and surrounding towns by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and affiliated groups. These and other violations occurred in late December 2006 in the wake of air and ground attacks on civilians in the area.

The report, prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), stresses the Government’s responsibility for the actions of the armed forces and other informal allied groups, notably the Popular Defense Forces and the Southern Liberation Army/Abu Gasim faction. The report says the abuses may also constitute war crimes, recalling that no investigation had been carried out by the Sudanese Government. Local authorities have indicated that they have forwarded the allegations to the Sudanese Armed Forces. Meanwhile, Sudan's Advisory Council on Human Rights has informed UNMIS that it is proposing to establish an investigation committee jointly with the African Union Mission in Sudan to inquire into the allegations contained in the report.

Among its recommendations, the report urges:

The Government and rebel factions to cease all attacks against civilians, especially women and children;
The Government to establish an independent body to investigate abduction, rape and sexual slavery committed in the region, and those suspected of being responsible should be brought to justice in trials that meet international standards of fairness. The results of the investigation should be made public;
The Government to suspend immediately, pending investigations, any member of the Sudanese Armed Forces suspected of having committed or ordered rape, abduction and other forms of sexual violence;
The Government to issue immediate clear instructions to all troops under its command including PDF and other militias that rape and other forms of sexual violence will not be tolerated;
The Government to undertake a review its legislation, in particular articles 145 and 149 of the 1991 Criminal Code, so that women are not deterred from reporting rape through fear that their claims will be associated with the crime of adultery· The African Union to maintain a presence in the area; this should be negotiated with the non signatories of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Further information

Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Darfur (Group of Experts on Darfur appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, June 2007)

Child labour

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:26:02 GMT

CHILD LABOUR: Caution - Children at Work: Galvanizing Communities to End Child Labour [publication]

CARE USA has just published a new report to provide realistic and concrete examples of how to tackle and eliminate hazardous and exploitative child labour.

Caution - Children at Work calls attention to the institutional commitments and priorities outlined in CARE’s Organisational Policy Regarding Working Children and Hazardous Child Labour, adopted in 2006. The theme of “galvanising communities to end child labour” resulted from a strategic review of interventions to combat hazardous and exploitative child labour around the world - specifically, the significant contributions made by local communities.

CARE believes these experiences can significantly increase the collective understanding of the problem. Child labour and its associated problems cannot be considered in isolation. They must be addressed by holistic interventions that focus on the cross-cutting dimensions of child labour, and that articulate a common vision of success.

This report is divided into three sections.

Section I: Framing the Debate explores why a practice that has generated universal condemnation is still so prevalent in societies. It examines the global community’s response to child labor, focusing on the development of international labor standards and the role education systems have played.

It also explores the idea that poor quality education reinforces a belief among marginalised families that education is not useful or relevant to them. This section highlights the root causes of rural child labour. It stresses the idea that focusing interventions on rural-based forms of child labour, especially agriculture, can directly impact the number of children at risk for, or engaged in, the worst forms of child labour.

Section II: Initiating Action takes a results-oriented approach to examining various community-based strategies to empower change. At the heart of these strategies is the realisation that if communities are empowered with the necessary skills, they are their own best resource for addressing the participation of children in the labour market.

This section shows that quality education significantly contributes to reducing child labour, especially when education systems are able to evolve to meet the needs of those they aim to serve. Also examined are the dual roles women play in both exacerbating and mitigating rates of child labour, and the added value that youth participation for self-empowerment (YPS) strategies have on combating child labour.

Section III: Empowering Our Futures investigates the ramifications and responsibilities associated with empowering communities. Advocacy for and by empowered communities has a ripple effect once change is set in motion. A set of key findings and recommendations in the final chapter of this report aims to shift attitudes and practices in favour of those that empower individual and collective action. Finally, a challenge is issued for a heightened sense of personal responsibility for actions that directly or indirectly influence rates of child labour.

Further information

CRIN's issues page - child labour

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:24:35 GMT

Thank you Michael, you always give me more reasons to serve the minority.

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://Morgenlicht.gaia.com — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 17:00:04 GMT

i am sorry to hear about the flooding and the causes for the flooding.

i hope you were able to make some progress on the clean up and the education. we had some very minor flooding in our town over the weekend and watching kids playing in the water reminded me of how it must be even more of a monumental challenge with the number of kids and people probably swimming in the water in your case.

i wish you success with your work and thanks for your commitment.

i am still trying to learn more everyday and hope i can be part of change in the world. your work and efforts keep me energized!

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:08:31 GMT

I have kind of been out of Zaadz, I am organising a community sensitization week for one of our flood affected areas. More that 10,000 were submerged last week. The floods have been largely caused by heavy rains, the contruction of northern by-pass (aimed at reducing traffic in city centre) , narrow water channels since the area was build in a swamp, and the locals throwing garbage in the channel to be carried by water. this ends up blocking the channel and water finds its own level!

Of course there are both water and insecticide borne diseases by floods andy stagnant water where many children find it enjoyeable playing and swimming in it.

We will participate in cleaning the channel, sensitizing people on risky health hazzards and educating them on proper garbage disposal. We will also use the same event to bring the plight of these people to the attention of local leaders, policy markers and the development partners. Please pray for its success.

Thank you for continued support for peace in Darfur and beyond.

Peace and love, In all partners we are!

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://Morgenlicht.gaia.com — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:12:06 GMT

Thanks for your kind words Moses. I am trying to contact someone at the Enoughproject site and see if they could answer some of our questions, specifically the ones you are asking about what Ugandans can do.

I also found this other site that you may like to check out, I am bookmarking here at zaadz too.
http://www.resolveuganda.org/home

I hope to try and meet with one of my State Senators and get some answers from him as well. I will keep you posted with anything that I find out.

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:51:37 GMT

Thank you for keeping the fire burning for Darfur and beyond. You have no idea on the impact you are creating.

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://Morgenlicht.gaia.com — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:55:45 GMT

I will look into this and see what I can find out.

Re: Building Peace in Uganda

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 16:30:21 GMT

how can ugandans themselves put pressure on the US and international community to support the peace talk in Juba. Its like most ugandans are a sleep, juba peace talks seem not to be their business!

Is there any pressure we can exert to the US embassy and the international community to appropriately intervene in the peace talks and ENOUGH suggests.

Building Peace in Uganda

http://Morgenlicht.gaia.com — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 15:08:26 GMT

The Northern Uganda peace process will not succeed unless the United States and other influential outside actors engage on the ground to help broker a deal, according to an ENOUGH Project strategy paper released today.

Read ENOUGH's latest strategy paper: http://capweb.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=276148335&url_num=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.enoughproject.org%2Freports%2Fleverage_uganda_20070807.php

"The rebel Lord's Resistance Army has yet to be convinced that a peace agreement is their best and only option," says report author and ENOUGH co-chair John Prendergast, "and no one currently involved in the peace talks can provide the kind of pressure and persuasion necessary to push it to this conclusion."

Unfortunately, the United States government has remained largely on the sidelines of the negotiations, taking place in Juba, southern Sudan. The recent decision -- largely due to activist and Congressional pressure -- to appoint a DC-based "senior advisor" focused on longer-term development and reconciliation will not move the process forward, the paper argues, unless the job is based in the region and re-focused to support the peace process.

Read ENOUGH's latest strategy paper: http://capweb.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=276148335&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.enoughproject.org%2Freports%2Fleverage_uganda_20070807.php

To ensure the Juba peace talks continue apace, the paper outlines five immediate steps that must be taken. Prendergast asserts that strong U.S. engagement could play a critical role in supporting direct talks between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony.

"With the right level of international engagement -- supported by strong U.S. leadership -- the current peace process could succeed soon," says Prendergast, "but only if sufficient leverage is brought to bear."

To read "Let's Make a Deal: Leverage Needed in Northern Uganda Peace Talks," go to http://capweb.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=276148335&url_num=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.enoughproject.org%2F.

The ENOUGH Project is an initiative to end genocide and crimes against humanity.

Uganda still needs to fight malaria

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:25:31 GMT



Carlos Odora MALARIA kills between 320-350 Ugandans daily. If these mortalities were accident induced, we would see tremendous national concern to halt them. Our best shot at the target is operating 300 pharmacies, 5,000 drug stores and the many private clinics, which according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, dispense up to 60% of the anti-malarials through the private sector. Of the most efficacious drugs for the treatment of malaria, artemesinin combination therapies (ACTS) are the drugs of choice. In April 2006, the Government launched the treatment as first line due to the proven knowledge that combination therapies warded off the plasmodium parasite. Despite the knowledge about the efficacy of ACTS and Government policy on their use, the drugs are no where to be seen and if they are seen, they are too expensive for the majority of the people. Efforts by the international community to avail the drugs are yet to be seen as there are challenges right from corruption, the management of the supply chain up to the stocking of the drugs where the poor can access them. Recently, I visited a number of pharmacies and drug stores which dispense anti-malarials and found chloroquine, sulphadoxine pyrimethamine and quinine as the most common in all because they are cheap. This does not augur well for the poor because malaria parasites have become resistant to these drugs. How can Uganda fulfil its promise to its people to halve down the number of malaria death and cases by 2015 according to the Abuja Declaration? Where as it is important to promptly treat every malaria case, it is more important to prevent people from getting malaria in the first place. In September 2006, the WHO announced the re-introduction of DDT for indoor residual spraying. In the same year, the country benefited from the President Bush’s Malaria Initiative Fund, which provided funds for indoor residual spraying (IRS) in Kabale. The programme has brought malaria level down from 30% to 3% according to Dr. John B. Rwakimari, the head of the National Malaria control Programme. Increasing IRS as the Government wants to do is a key component in fighting malaria because nets alone cannot stem the rising tide of malaria. The writer is a fellow of Africa fighting malaria for East Africa based in Kampala http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/579080

ZAMBIA: New HIV testing set to improve child survival

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 17:57:43 GMT

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73437

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[LUSAKA, 26 July 2007] - A new testing method will make it possible for babies below the age of 18 months to be accurately screened for HIV. Infants up to this age still carry their mother's antibodies and, using the usual testing method, can test HIV positive when, in fact, they are negative.

"Until now, the only sure way available for mothers to know their baby's status has been through confirmatory HIV tests after the baby is 18 months old," Dr Albert Mwango, antiretroviral coordinator at Zambia's Ministry of Health, told IRIN/PlusNews. The new testing method uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines to detect the virus.

Only three laboratories in Zambia have PCR machines: the University Teaching Hospital and the Kalingalinga Clinic, both in Lusaka, the capital, and the Arthur Davison Hospital in Ndola, in northern Copperbelt Province, but tests can now be conducted on dry bloodspot samples, which are easy to collect and send through the post.

Sending one batch of hundreds of dry bloodspot samples by an express mail service would cost between US$3 and $5, which is cheaper than buying PCR machines for every district hospital.

"This is something we can sustain with the help of our cooperating partners. But, most importantly, we will no longer have to delay treatment by waiting for confirmatory tests after [babies reach] 18 months," Mwango said.

Studies show that without intervention, 40 percent of HIV-positive mothers transmit the virus to their children, leaving an estimated 80,000 Zambian children infected. If there is no diagnosis or treatment, about 50 percent of these children will die before their second birthday.

The new testing method will make it possible to test over 30,000 children a year. Training manuals developed in conjunction with a number of donor agencies will provide health workers with guidance on how to use the new method.

Dr Max Bweupe, coordinator of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) at the health department, told IRIN/PlusNews that HIV testing for mothers at antenatal clinics was already routine, and about 25 percent of infected children were receiving treatment. This number is expected to increase as routine HIV testing is integrated into reproductive health services.

But according to Dr Chipepo Kankasa, head of paediatrics at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH), the country's only referral facility, rising numbers of children are being infected with HIV because many pregnant mothers are still being missed by the PMTCT programme.

The use of PCR testing at UTH makes early diagnosis possible, greatly improving an HIV-infected infant's chances of survival. Sixty percent of children at the hospital who test positive are younger than six months.

Zambia has an estimated adult HIV infection rate of 17 perce

CHILD SOLDIERS: Mental health problems - more must be done

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:39:37 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6925384.stm

[LONDON, 31 July 2007] - Reconciliation efforts in countries where children have been press-ganged into fighting wars need to pay more attention to the severe trauma suffered by many of these combatants, German researchers have said.

The United Nations estimates some 250,000 children worldwide are currently fighting in wars - mostly in Africa - but very little research has gone into the effects of such violence on the mental health of young combatants, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, based on interviews with former Ugandan and Congoloese child soldiers, underlines the role psychological trauma may play in their ability to reconcile and one day help put an end to cycles of revenge killing in war-torn regions, the researchers said.

"Our findings indicate that mental distress and mental illness, namely, symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), are associated with war-affected children's attitudes toward reconciliation and could therefore impose barriers to sustainable and long-term peace building," the researchers at Germany's University of Hamburg wrote.

Experts say PTSD symptoms include irritability or outbursts of anger, sleep difficulties, trouble concentrating, extreme vigilance and an exaggerated startle response. A person may initially respond to the trauma with horror or helplessness, then may persistently relive the event.

The study focused on 169 former child soldiers in the two countries in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, a vast area struggling to patch together societies torn apart by years of savage conflict.

The children aged 11 to 18 years were living in rehabilitation centres in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the time of the study. The two centres have been home to some 20,000 former child soldiers over the past 10 years.

Victims and perpetrators of violence

The children surveyed reported that they had been violently recruited, served an average of 38 months and witnessed beatings, shootings and rape, the study said. More than half said they had killed somebody.

With these traumatic experiences leaving about a third of these children with post-traumatic stress symptoms, the researchers wanted to see how the condition might impact a willingness to forgive.

They asked the children to respond to yes/no questions such as: "I am going to pay back the persons who harmed me for what they did" or "I am ready to forgive the persons who harmed me."

The former child soldiers with more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress were significantly less willing to consider reconciliation and regarded acts of retaliation as a way to overcome their experiences, the study found.

The results indicating a link between post-traumatic stress and an attitude toward reconciliation support the need to promote both physical and psychological care for children affected by war, the authors added.

"Therefore, post-traumatic stress might be an important factor influencing post-conflict situations and may contribute to cycles of violence found in war-torn regions," the researchers said.

Further information

Early to War: Child Soldiers in the Chad conflict (July 2007)
Independent Evaluation of Special Projects for Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (January 2007)
Review of State Party reports to the CRC on the OP to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (November 2006)
Read CRIN's latest children and armed conflict CRINMAIL
CRIN thematic page on children and armed conflict
Related Resources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6925384.stm

[LONDON, 31 July 2007] - Reconciliation efforts in countries where children have been press-ganged into fighting wars need to pay more attention to the severe trauma suffered by many of these combatants, German researchers have said.

The United Nations estimates some 250,000 children worldwide are currently fighting in wars - mostly in Africa - but very little research has gone into the effects of such violence on the mental health of young combatants, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study, based on interviews with former Ugandan and Congoloese child soldiers, underlines the role psychological trauma may play in their ability to reconcile and one day help put an end to cycles of revenge killing in war-torn regions, the researchers said.

"Our findings indicate that mental distress and mental illness, namely, symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), are associated with war-affected children's attitudes toward reconciliation and could therefore impose barriers to sustainable and long-term peace building," the researchers at Germany's University of Hamburg wrote.

Experts say PTSD symptoms include irritability or outbursts of anger, sleep difficulties, trouble concentrating, extreme vigilance and an exaggerated startle response. A person may initially respond to the trauma with horror or helplessness, then may persistently relive the event.

The study focused on 169 former child soldiers in the two countries in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, a vast area struggling to patch together societies torn apart by years of savage conflict.

The children aged 11 to 18 years were living in rehabilitation centres in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the time of the study. The two centres have been home to some 20,000 former child soldiers over the past 10 years.

Victims and perpetrators of violence

The children surveyed reported that they had been violently recruited, served an average of 38 months and witnessed beatings, shootings and rape, the study said. More than half said they had killed somebody.

With these traumatic experiences leaving about a third of these children with post-traumatic stress symptoms, the researchers wanted to see how the condition might impact a willingness to forgive.

They asked the children to respond to yes/no questions such as: "I am going to pay back the persons who harmed me for what they did" or "I am ready to forgive the persons who harmed me."

The former child soldiers with more severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress were significantly less willing to consider reconciliation and regarded acts of retaliation as a way to overcome their experiences, the study found.

The results indicating a link between post-traumatic stress and an attitude toward reconciliation support the need to promote both physical and psychological care for children affected by war, the authors added.

"Therefore, post-traumatic stress might be an important factor influencing post-conflict situations and may contribute to cycles of violence found in war-torn regions," the researchers said.

Further information
- Early to War: Child Soldiers in the Chad conflict (July 2007)
- Independent Evaluation of Special Projects for Child Soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (January 2007)
- Review of State Party reports to the CRC on the OP to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (November 2006)
- Read CRIN's latest children and armed conflict CRINMAIL
- CRIN thematic page on children and armed conflict

Far too many children still at risk of malnutrition in Niger

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 17:35:35 GMT

Just got this peace of information from UNICEF website.

NIAMEY, 31 July 2007 – On the onset of the lean season, when communities are most vulnerable, still too many children are at risk of malnutrition. The response put in place has proven to be efficient for thousands of children, but needs to be scaled up to benefit every child in need.

The latest national nutrition survey reveals that the proportion of children suffering from acute malnutrition is contained at 11.2 per cent at the national level, from 15.3 per cent in October 2005. More importantly, as compared to October 2005, the severe form of acute malnutrition has been cut in half.

This illustrates the impact of the large scale intervention put in place in response to the 2005 nutritional crisis. “It means that thousands of child lives were saved but it also means that far too many child lives are on the brink” says Noel Zagre, Nutrition Chief at UNICEF Niger.

The national average however conceals alarming disparities and trends at the regional level and for different age groups.
- Children under three years old are the most affected: 15.5 per cent of these are acutely malnourished. The situation is especially worrying in the region of Agadez, Diffa, Maradi and Zinder where severe acute malnutrition in children under three has sharply increased in the last months.
- In two of the eight regions, levels of acute malnutrition are above the emergency threshold (>15 per cent), revealing a recent and significant deterioration of the nutritional status of children under five. The global acute malnutrition rate is at a troubling 19.6per cent in Diffa and at 17.5 per cent in Agadez. In the regions of Maradi and Zinder, considered as prime farming areas, the situation is critical. Acute malnutrition rates increased sharply in the last six months, now respectively at 11.8 per cent and 14.2 per cent.
- High rates of malnutrition in young children are rooted in the lack of access to age-appropriate food and feeding practices and the lack of access to basic health services. The situation is compounded by the lack of access of women and caregivers to life-saving information, education and support within a context of massive and pervasive poverty.

This updated picture of the nutrition situation of children enables UNICEF and its partners to fine-tune the intervention already under way to attend to an estimated 275,000 malnourished children during the months of the lean season (July to October).

In response to the findings of the survey, UNICEF is stepping up its support to the Government in coordinating a network of 21 NGOs to:
- Scale up therapeutic care to reach children in need not yet covered by the more than 900 facility and community-based feeding centers already operational. UNICEF provides staff training, therapeutic foods, essential medicine, anthropometric equipment and monitoring and counseling to nutritional centers.
- Provide, in cooperation with the World Food Programme, all children under three in all the regions, except Niamey, with free distribution of supplementary food covering their needs for two months. In the region of Diffa, the operation will be extended to all children under five and to pregnant and lactating women and will include deworming and vitamin A supplementation.
- Intensify community-based activities to prevent children from slipping into malnutrition and identify and refer malnourished children to care and feeding centers.
- Intensify policy and programme action to prevent malnutrition. A particular focus is placed on the protection, promotion and support of improved infant feeding practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding and age-appropriate complementary foods and feeding practices together with vitamin and mineral supplementation, deworming and malaria control.
- Provide women and caregivers with life-saving education and counseling.

Among the recommendations coming out of the survey are the following:

- Ensure that all children have access to age-appropriate foods, feeding and hygiene practices for optimal nutrition and growth
- Ensure that all children have free access to essential health services for optimal survival, growth and development
- Ensure that the most vulnerable households and communities have access to support measures to reduce food insecurity and alleviate vulnerability.

“A lot has been done to improve the nutrition situation of children” says Akhil Iyer, UNICEF Representative in Niger. “We must be ready and must scale up the response to save thousands child lives at risk during the lean season. However, improvement of the situation will come only from a sustained support to improve access to health care, access to life-saving information and practices, especially for women, access to education, especially for girls, and rural and community development.”

Since the beginning of the year, UNICEF and its partners treated 152,934 children and they expect to treat a total of 370,000 malnourished children over the course of the year.

Woman hacks grand child over sh200

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:14:41 GMT

POLICE in Gulu is holding a 55-year-old woman, who allegedly hacked her granddaughter for diverting sh200 meant for crude waragi.
Christine Lanot of Pece Pawel, Pece Division, allegedly cut Maurine Atimango, 11, using a panga. The girl had used the money to buy cooked maize instead of alcohol, which angered her grandmother.

“I was hungry and there was no food. So I used the sh200, which my grandmother had sent me to buy alcohol, for a cob of cooked maize,” said Atimango, who is admitted at Gulu Hospital.

Lanot was on Tuesday arrested from her home by members of Laroo and Pece Women Association (LAPEWA), a child protection group.

Kerobina Kal-Okwera, the Pece
LC 3 Woman Councillor and a member of LAPEWA said: “We reported Lanot to Police because she violated the rights of the child and we want her punished according to the law. She mistreated the child, denied her food and preferred alcohol.”

Richard Oceng, the officer in-charge of Criminal Investigation at Gulu CPS, said Lanot would be charged with causing grievous bodily harm using a dangerous weapon, if found guilty.

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/578256

Death In Mulago Hospital

http://nbkmoses.gaia.com — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:08:36 GMT

Babies die because mothers wait too long for caesarean .
By Harriet Onyalla
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/578255
DAVID died. He was just a day old. This chubby baby, who weighed 5.5kg at birth, bled to death because his umbilical cord had been cut ‘badly’.

In fact, David was named after the shepherd boy in the Bible long after his little heart stopped beating. The Alur culture demanded that either way, he be named.

Every two hours, a baby dies at Mulago Hospital’s maternity ward as a result of birth-related complications. Hospital records indicate that on average, nine babies die from birth-related complications every day, nine little souls like David. This means, about 270 babies die every month.

“Some days, over 15 babies die,” a hospital source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says.

David’s only day in this world went terribly wrong. “We spent the whole day at the hospital but nobody cared,” his father, Clinton Oketcha, narrates. “The baby was bleeding. The baby really cried. Then a nurse helped us and put him on oxygen but she said we should pray because the machine was not working properly.”

Oketcha will forever be haunted by the blank face of the doctor to whom he turned in desperation. “He just looked at me and walked away,” he says as a slight tremor creeps into his deep voice.

Mulago Hospital, Ward 5C, Sunday 9:00am: The air in the corridor of the labour ward seems to stand still. Over 20 women in labour are sitting or lying on the floor. “Musawo nyamba, nfaa!” (Doctor, help I am dying), one woman wails.

She is kneeling on all fours. She jerks forward, then crawls rapidly back. Groaning in pain, she puts her elbows on the cold, stained marble floor, rising swiftly. The white blouse she is wearing slides over her shoulder, leaving her naked.

“The baby is coming,” another woman, swaying in pain next to her, shouts. A third expecting mother sits calmly next to them, a stream of waterish blood running from under her skirts towards the middle of the corridor. The woman opposite her tries to move away from the blood running towards her. She stands up, looks around, then slowly shakes her head and sits down again as her wrapper gets soaked. There is no other place to sit. The corridor is packed to capacity.

According to Dr. Samuel Kalisoke, the in-charge of Mulago’s gynaecology and obstetrics department, about 70 mothers are admitted and 60 deliver every day, yet the place was meant to cater for only 20. Some give birth in the corridors. “We are delivering three times the number we are supposed to handle,” he says.

“Most of these mothers are referred from other hospitals when their condition is already critical. In fact, many babies are born with the skin already peeling off, meaning that they died 24 hours earlier.”

On average, one third of the mothers received at Mulago need to deliver by caesarean section. The operation theatre, which has only one bed, handles an average of 18 mothers a day.

The doctors work day and night but hardly manage to cater for the influx. A proper operation, including preparations, takes two hours. Some have to wait for a day to find a slot.

“Many times we have 21 emergency operations,” says nurse Rose Violet Nakayiza. “Babies end up being born stressed or dead because the mothers waited too long for the caesarean operation. Imagine you have 15 patients waiting for an emergency operation, all of them in a critical condition. Whom do you operate and whom do you leave out?”

Apart from lack of space and equipment, the maternity wing suffers from acute lack of staff. There are between eight and 12 staff members for the five wards at any one time, according to Dr. Kalisoke. These include nurses, midwives and doctors.

“In the labour suite, there are only three staff to cater for over 60 mothers a day, yet there should be 24,” he says.

Mulago is Uganda’s national referral hospital. It has become the only place where mothers around Kampala go to give birth. Most health centres around the city shun women who are about to give birth because they lack the operation facilities in case the delivery goes wrong.

Many private clinics only give antenatal care and refer the mother to Mulago when the labour pain starts.

“Some refer the women when it is too late”, explains nurse Nakayiza. “They don’t tell the women what the problem is or even notify us of the condition of the patient and the reason for referral. Many times, the baby is already dead in the womb. And when they come when we have a lot of work, it is difficult to give them the attention they need. So the lives of the mothers are also at risk.”

Another problem, she says, is ignorance and poverty.

“Some mothers arrive here after labouring at home for days. “Others don’t have transport and are brought in by neighbours when it is very late. Many times we are just helpless."