Hard hit Africa leads fall in new HIV infections,

African nations whose populations have been devastated by AIDS have made big strides in fighting HIV, with new infections down 25 percent since 2001 in some of the worst hit places, a U.N. report said on Friday. African countries with the biggest epidemics like Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are leading the decline, thanks to better use of prevention methods and greater access to life-preserving drugs, the United Nations AIDS programme (UNAIDS) report said. "For the first time change is happening at the heart of the epidemic," executive director Michel Sidibe said in a statement. The report charts progress towards a globally agreed Millennium Development Goal to halt and start to reverse the spread of AIDS by 2015.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region hardest hit by HIV, accounting for 67 percent of all people living with the virus worldwide, 71 percent of AIDS-related deaths and 91 percent of all new infections among
children.The report said that between 2001 and 2009, new HIV infections fell by more than 25 percent in 22 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Sidibe warned that a $10 billion shortfall in the funding for AIDS in 2009 could put further progress at risk.UNAIDS said an estimated $15.9 billion was available for the global AIDS response, which is $10 billion short of the estimated need.

Although the number of new HIV infections is steadily falling or stabilizing in most parts of the world, the report said major problems still existed in certain regions and among particular high risk groups.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia have rapidly expanding HIV epidemics - the disease is spreading in that region at a rate of 500 new infections a day - and in several high-income countries there has been a resurgence of HIV infections among gay men. World leaders are due to meet in New York next week to take stock of the Millennium Development Goals, which were agreed a decade ago and aimed at drastically reducing poverty and hunger.

UNAIDS said access to treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - an incurable viral infection that causes AIDS and infects around 33.4 million people around the world - has increased 12-fold in six years, and 5.2 million people are now getting the drugs they need. But another 10 million who need AIDS drugs don't get them. "To sustain the gains we are making, further investments in research and development are needed - not only for a small wealthy minority, but also focused to meet the needs of the majority," Sidibe said.

UNAIDS recommends national governments allocate between 0.5 percent and 3 percent of government revenue to HIV and AIDS, depending on the prevalence of disease in their country. The report said that while domestic investments in AIDS have increased over the past decade, for a majority of the countries severely affected by the disease, those would not be enough to meet their needs.

Reuters

Vietnam and China to boost agricultural ties with Africa

Vietnam has "huge potential" for further collaboration with Africa on agriculture as part of its policy towards the continent, one of its leaders has told a forum on cooperation with Africa in Hanoi. More than 300 Vietnamese agricultural experts have worked in African countries since 1996, Diep Kinh Tan, vice minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at the three-day forum 'Vietnam-Africa: Cooperation for Sustainable Development' held last month (16-20 August). "We have huge potential for further cooperation," Tan added.

Vietnam is the world's second-largest rice exporter after Thailand. African delegates said they hope to learn from Vietnam's agricultural example."We are impressed by the way Vietnam has changed from a net importer of food, particularly rice, to the second-largest exporter of rice just within ten years," Moses Adewuyi, director of agro-processing in Nigeria's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, told SciDev.Net.
Promoting food security in Africa is consistent with Vietnam's "expansion and deepening of cooperation" with African nations, deputy prime minister Pham Gia Khiem told the meeting.


Khiem said he hoped that Vietnamese companies will build infrastructure, hospitals and schools, as well as extract oil, gas and precious metals in African countries.Jean-Paul Adam, minister for foreign affairs of the Republic of Seychelles, told the forum that the rise of China and India as important players in global trade is now followed by Vietnam, which is becoming an economic force in Africa. But how far Vietnam's role in Africa will extend is unclear.

David Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, said that Vietnam's "forays into Africa" are likely to be part of its foreign policy of "widening cooperation and making as many friends as possible". "Vietnam has also been quite successful in its agriculture - especially in higher productivity rice. It can share its experiences, and Africa does need help," Koh told SciDev.Net.

The forum followed soon after a Beijing meeting of the China-Africa Agriculture Forum last month (11 August), in which Chinese vice premier Hui Liangyu also proposed stepping up agricultural cooperation with Africa. Delegates there agreed to enhance cooperation in the fields of agricultural technologies, information, and produce processing; crop varieties; the fostering of talent; and infrastructure. The meeting, which was attended by about 400 representatives from Chinese and African political parties, government departments and enterprises, established guidelines for cooperation, according to Guo Jianjun, a researcher from the Development Research Center of the State Council.

"Our goal is to help African countries solve their own food problems, make them less dependent on the international food market, and strengthen Africa's food security," he told SciDev.Net, adding that this would stabilise the international food market, thus benefiting China. A core message that emerged from the forum was that China's private sector should be encouraged to do business in Africa, he said. The forum proposed a China-Africa agriculture cooperation fund to help Chinese companies who intend to enter the African market. African representatives proposed that this fund should also provide help to African companies.

SciDev.Net

SYSTEMS ENCOURAGES DOMESTIC VIOLENCES

First and foremost, let me express sadness and disappointment as a result of this news (Mr. Namegabe Kelekele Mushegero killing his wife with a hammer). I am saying disappointed and feeling sad because as a community member, I knew this family, especially the kids with whom I played soccer a while ago. It never occurred to me (Five years ago ) that he (Mr. Mushegero) was capable of something so disgusting, deplorable and unbelievable. But I guess we can’t go wrong with the saying; we cannot judge the book by its cover. As I heard the news yesterday, I felt let down and shamed (Both as a human being and as a community member) by someone who was once revered to be a loyal servant of God, a person who seemed to care about his family and their well-being. Oh well, changes happen don’t they? We may never know exactly what led the violence to such a point of no return, but we know an innocent woman has lost her life as a result and her children are now left in the unknown. In addition, not only are her children left to wonder what their future will look like, many are those who relied on this woman for help in different ways. She watched over other people’s kids for absolutely nothing! She was that good a person who did not deserve such an evil act. Yet again, if more is to be understood about this family and maybe speculate why what happened, happened, one has to look from the community lenses, because so many are secrets buried within the core of such horrible acts. 

From a community (African) centered on a patriarchic (In this case total male dominance) family system, comes ongoing abuses of all kinds (Verbal, Physical, Psychological, Emotional, so on and so forth). Unfortunately in Ms. Nabintu’s case, her life was not spared. Using these lenses, one can understand Mr. Mushegero’s actions. However, this is not to give him any reason for what he has done, because there can never and should never be any excuse for anyone putting hands on somebody else body (Whether wife or husband), let alone taking their lives! Only God who gives life should be the one deciding when and how he takes it back. And as once a religious person, I know Mr. Mushegero was well aware of this. Anyhow, I believe what happened yesterday was just a tip of the Iceberg. There seems to be so much happening within many houses’ walls that we do not know about, as far as domestic violence is concerned. One because these poor, innocent women do not know where to go for help when they need it, and even where help should supposedly be, is not always there for some reason. Secondly, the community (African) is so secretive that anyone wanting to “Go public” with “Internal” issues facing a particular family, they get literally crucified and/or rejected by the entire community, with no one asking any questions and/or wanting to know more about the situation. Hence the reluctance to come forward and seek help when it is needed most, because most victims are afraid to be abandoned and their lives being rendered miserable. They are afraid about the “Outcast” status, especially when they rely so much on the community for support. What’s even surprising is the fact that when an abuse has taken place and a woman (Mostly) threatens to leave, other women in the community who should support her, almost always turn their backs on her. And usually, she is labeled a “Living infection” that no one should approach. Using such a label forces her to stay and gives the abuser reasons to abuse even more, as she is turned from a subject into an object. But what’s worse is the fact that even if she chooses to stay, she still is viewed as a “Bad influence” to other women. And to make sure such “Influences” don’t happen, she is isolated more from a community created to supposedly support her in times of needs. 

However, having said so, it saddens me hearing comments from people responding to the incident with racially charged sarcastic tone. While KATU News, as well as News Channel 8 decided to delete some negative racial comments, which I concluded may have been in the same lines as this one: “Hey, that guy looks like the GEICO Caveman. Whacking somebody with a hammer, so easy a caveman can do it.” I still feel that there should be some responsibility on the part of the media to make sure people’s privacies are respected. Some of these people have gone through a lot and the last thing they need is a bunch of negative comments at a time of such sadness. Not surprising enough, a letter of response I sent to them was not published.

Refugees pursue university education at camp in northern Kenya

A university education is not what you expect to get at a refugee camp in Africa. But it, indeed, is possible at a camp in northern Kenya. Under such harsh conditions, obtaining a university degree seems like an impossible dream. But refugee students can get a degree at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya. The University of South Africa and the Jesuit Refugee Service have teamed up to offer bachelor degrees at the Kakuma Distance Learning Center.


Daniel Macharia, a tutor from Kenya, said, "They are given very good materials whenever the materials come, although the materials sometimes are late. When I compare the materials they are getting to the ones I used when I was in campus, theirs are very good materials. They are very explanatory and are easy to understand."

The curriculum is the same as at other distance learning centers, but these students face special circumstances. Homes in Kenyan refugee camps have no electricity or running water. Even food is in short supply. Computers are powered by generator or solar power available only during certain hours of the day. The heat also can be unbearable, and fighting occasionally breaks out in the camp or surrounding areas.

Macharia says students commonly do their homework in the center until about 8 p.m., then study in their makeshift homes with a paraffin lamp.

Reverend Chris Jenkins is education coordinator for the Jesuit Refugee Service's Kakuma Camp education program. He noted, "They can come virtually any time and study here. We provide the library, we provide some tutoring, and as best we can, we help with the Internet. Now as you can imagine, problems with power and Internet connection here are very great and so we are flexible with that, too."

Ababe Gelaw Mengistu graduated from Kakuma Distance Learning Center with a bachelor's degree in economics and sociology. He is now an administrative assistant at the center. "As a child I had a dream to be somebody, and my dream was cut short, which was not my choice. I felt like a shepherd who lost his sheep and I was totally empty. So when I got the paper, I feel as if I am just somebody," said Mengistu.

Current student Gessesse Temesgen said he is happy to resume his education. "I am specializing in development in politics and taking economics courses. These things can help me to have better opportunities. I am thinking (about) a job." Twenty-one people have graduated from the Kakuma Distance Learning Center since its inception 11 years ago.

Reverend Jenkins says many of the graduates returned to southern Sudan following the signing of the north-south peace deal and have taken up high-level jobs in the southern Sudanese government.

VOA News