Anxiety in Z’bar as arraignment of Uamsho leader awaited

Field Force Unit members patrol Zanzibar on Saturday as the situation remains tense even after the reappearance of Islamic cleric Farid Hadi Ahmed who was alleged to have been kidnapped. 

Zanzibar. The leader of the Islamic Awakening Group (Uamsho) Sheikh Farid Hadi Ahmed and four others spent two days in police hands undergoing interrogation ahead of possible arraignment today to answer charges of incitement, authorities have said.

Zanzibar Police Commissioner Musa Ali Musa confirmed yesterday that Sheikh Ahmed and four colleagues were still being held for questing, adding that these would be taken to court today if the law keepers would be convinced there were a cause to do so. “We have not yet decided; we are still interrogating them,” Mr Musa told reporters.

Sheikh Ahmed was seized for questioning on Saturday when he resurfaced on Friday, having vanished for four days. 

Tension between the police and the sheikh’s supporters culminated into the death of a police officer on Wednesday evening. The police claimed the Uamsho members were behind the death.

The Uamsho group has been associated with violent clashes, threatening Christians and burning churches in Zanzibar this year. But at the weekend the situation was calm in Zanzibar town as police patrolled many areas.

A religious rally that was to be held at Mbuyuni Mosque, the Sheikh Ahmed’s stronghold, was cancelled as the organisers said they were waiting for the outcome of the interrogation of their leaders.

Meanwhile leaflets were dropped all over the Zanzibar town yesterday, urging Uamsho followers to assemble at the Vuga Court today, where their leader and his colleagues were likely to appear.

“We urge calm. You should assemble peacefully and each one must have in handy their identity card. You should avoid staying in small groups as that would give the police reason to strike you,” the leaflets seen by The Citizen read in part.

Other people who were questioned along with the cleric were Mr Mselem Ali Mselem, Mr Musa Juma, Mr Azan Khalid Amdan and Adam Bakari.

The five were seized for questioning on Saturday morning and have been held by the police since at the Madema police station at Michenzani in Zanzibar town.

The lawyer of the five, Salim Tawafiq, complained that he was barred by the police from being present having been invited by the same police to go to the station where his clients were being held.  

“I was not allowed to witness the interrogation despite the fact that I was at the station. This is against best practices,” he told Media in a telephone interview.

He told reporters who had gathered at his house, after news broke of his resurfacing, that he was handcuffed by State agents, blindfolded and taken to an unknown place where he was questioned about the unrest in Zanzibar, adding that he was also threatened.

Police have denied any involvement in the disappearance of Sheikh Ahmed, which has been at the centre of unrest in Zanzibar.

But Sheikh Farid claimed he was seized by armed men who introduced themselves as security officers, and who took him to an unknown destination before returning to where they had kidnapped him.  He added that he was released under the cover of darkness during a power blackout that hit most parts of Zanzibar.

“Four men who had their faces covered seized me on Tuesday. They were interested in getting information on our activities, my trips to Oman and Saudi Arabia…. They inquired about messages I received in my mobile phone and as we speak they have not returned my handsets,” Sheikh Farid told reporters on Friday.

“At one time they shot on the floor to scare me into telling them what they wanted to hear,” he added.

Sheikh Ahmed told reporters on Friday that his resolve to defend Zanzibar “at any cost” won’t be shaken “until Zanzibar becomes fully autonomous like it were back in 1963.”

Peru doctors 'to suspend strike over pay'

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Thousands of doctors in Peru have agreed to suspend a strike that has left many poor people without medical care for more than a month.

Doctors and other public sector workers have been calling for pay rises

The leader of the doctors' union, Cesar Palomino, said they would return to work while they consider government proposals for a pay rise.

The doctors had complained that their pay was not increasing despite strong economic growth in Peru.

The strike caused huge backlogs in hospitals and clinics.

Peruvian media reported that the decision was taken shortly after the government threatened to cut the doctors' pay unless they returned to work.

Some 1.5m medical appointments were missed because of the strike, the BBC's Mattia Cabitza reports from the Peruvian capital, Lima.

He says it affected mostly low-income Peruvians, who cannot afford private health care.

Unions have blamed economic policies pursued under President Ollanta Humala for blocking wage increases.

The government - which has also faced a teachers' strike - has said pay must be based on performance.

Mr Humala took office in July 2011 vowing to eradicate poverty and social exclusion.

Tanzania and The Sultanate of Oman signed various agreements aimed at enhancing political and economic

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe and Oman Ministry of Financial Affairs Secretary General, Sultan bin Salim Al Habsi signing legal instruments on the Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment.Witnessing the signing in President Dr.Jakaya Kikwete

On Day for Eradication of Poverty, UN highlights needs for a holistic approach to helping word’s poor

A woman and her children collect firewood and paper for baking bread in Ezbet Abd Rabbo, Gaza. Photo: Shareef Sarhan

17 October 2012 – With inequalities growing dramatically both within and between countries over the last 10 years, the United Nations marked the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty today with calls to tackle not only the material aspects of the scourge but also its social and educational dimensions and the unequal access to justice.

“Poverty is easy to denounce but difficult to combat,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day. “Those suffering from hunger, want and indignity need more than sympathetic words; they need concrete support.”

Mr. Ban stressed that during times of economic austerity it is even more crucial to put policies in place that will protect the most vulnerable.

“As governments struggle to balance budgets, funding for anti-poverty measures is under threat. But this is precisely the time to provide the poor with access to social services, income security, decent work and social protection,” he said. “Only then can we build stronger and more prosperous society – not by balancing budgets at the expense of the poor.”

With the fight against poverty at the core of the UN development agenda, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty has been observed every year since 1993, when the UN General Assembly designated this day to promote awareness of the need to eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries.

This year’s theme for the Day, ‘Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace,’ highlights the link between poverty and social unrest, as well as the need to provide people with the necessary skills to contribute to society.

“Poverty is not merely a matter of minimum income thresholds or insufficient resources, nor must it be remedied only through charity or wealth redistribution schemes,” the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in her message for the Day.

“There is educational, cultural, scientific and social poverty, which is the corollary of material poverty and must be combated with the same determination,” she added. “Poverty results in deprivation of individual capacities for development and in the lack of autonomy. Poverty eradication entails building each person’s capacity to create wealth and to tap each human being’s inner potential.”

Ms. Bokova noted that despite overall economic development worldwide, more than one billion people live in extreme poverty, which the World Bank defines as living on less than $1 a day.

“This situation is a violation of basic human rights and an obstacle to development,” she said. “Progress is within our reach. Since 2000, extreme poverty has been halved. This proves that with political will and the joint commitment of States, outcomes can be achieved. To succeed, we must redouble our efforts to combat new forms of poverty and social exclusion. We must also understand all aspects of poverty in order to tailor our response appropriately.”

She stressed that quality education, scientific development and cultural diversity are essential strategic tools for developing human intelligence and enabling people to take control of their future.

In a separate message, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda, called on States to take immediate measures to ensure access to justice by the poorest segments of society, stressing that such access is a human right in itself and essential for tackling the root causes of poverty.

“Without access to justice, people living in poverty are unable to claim and realize a whole range of human rights, or challenge crimes, abuses or violations committed against them,” she said.

She also highlighted the financial, social and physical barriers that prevent the poor from accessing justice and perpetuate and exacerbate their disadvantage, noting that they are often unable to seek justice due to the cost and time of travel to a distant courthouse, fees charged for filing claims or lack of free, quality legal assistance.

“Lack of information about their rights, illiteracy or linguistic barriers, coupled with entrenched stigma attached to poverty, also makes it harder for the poor to engage with the justice system,” she noted. “In such circumstances, a person living in poverty cannot uphold their rights or challenge injustice.”

To mark the Day, representatives of governments and civil society will gather at UN Headquarters in New York to discuss how poverty violates fundamental rights and the need to build on the successes of the anti-poverty goals known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to intensify anti-poverty efforts.

The eight MDGs, agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000, set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a ‘Global Partnership for Development.’

Chaos in Dar as Muslim protest

Commuters abandon a commuter bus they were travelling in as they run for cover at Magomeni Mikumi in Dar es Salaam yesterday after riot police fired teargas as canisters to disperse Muslims after Friday prayers at Kichangani Mosque in the area. 

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Can we see more strong men of Africa leave office?

Late Col. Muhammar Gaddaf Libya's former president and Mr Hosni Mubarrak Egypt's  former President.

There are many reasons for being angry with Africa ’s strong men, whose autocratic ways have thrust some African countries back into the eye of the storm and threatened to undo the democratic gains in other parts of the continent of the past decades.

For those who made ultimate political capital from opposing strongman rule in their respective countries, it is a chilling commentary of African politics that several leaders now seek to cement their places and refusing to retire and watch the upcoming elections from the sidelines, or refusing to hand over power after losing presidential elections.

In 2012 one of the longest strong men of Africa, President Abdoulaye Wade’s country Senegal is holding its presidential elections together with other countries like Sierra Leon, Mali, Mauritania, Malagasy, and will be shortly followed by Zimbabwe and Kenya.

Yoweri Museveni and Paul Biya of Cameroon , who are among the longest-ruling leaders of the Africa , won their respective presidential elections and continue to have a stronghold on their respective countries, albeit with charges raised of serious election malpractice. Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo Republic and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe will in one or two years face the electorate in an effort to further cement their authoritarian leadership.

What happened in the second half of 2011 in North Africa and more specifically in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya does not seem to have had any kind of effect on other Sub-Saharan African Leaders.  In fact, they have strengthened their stronghold on power and in some countries even harassed and jailed opposition leaders.

In 2011, Africa for the first time witnessed the removal from power of three sitting presidents without an election. This was historical. Several leaders are preparing for elections and whether they win or lose will entirely depend on them and on which direction their country’s leadership will take.

Many long-serving presidents still cling on power even after the uprising in North Africa . Will the year 2012 see more of them leave office? Will it be through elections or an uprising like the one witnessed in North Africa ?

UN Children's Fund helps Tanzania address homeless children

Tanzania kicked off a programme on Saturday (September 1st) to take more than 3,000 homeless children off the streets of Dar es Salaam and return them to their homes, officials told media.

Homeless children lie on the terrace of the Benjamin William Mkapa
building on Posta Mpya Street in Dar es Salaam. [Deodatus Balile]

In the first phase, the government will remove all children off the streets and place them in shelters by the end of the month, she said. The second phase, which will go on until the end of the year, will involve connecting them back with their families.

Social workers are surveying the city street by street and picking up all under-age children, said Monica Mwaikenda, one of the social workers participating in the programme.

The programme is a continuation of the National Plan of Action for Most Vulnerable Children, which has provided children with temporary shelters, schooling, and connections with their parents or other family members since it started in 2006.

Last month, Assistant Commissioner for Social Welfare Rabikira Mushi announced the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is sponsoring the project.

Reasons for child homelessness in Tanzania

Most homeless children in Dar es Salaam are runaways who left their villages and towns because of poverty or the loss of family members to HIV/AIDS, according to Doctor Theopista Masenge, a child-health specialist and advocate who works with the state-owned Mbeya Referral Hospital.

While some children left their homes to find jobs in the city, research indicates that others have left their home towns to escape abusive parents, Masenge told media. In some cases, extended families are able to absorb those children, but others are left to fend for themselves.

According to a 2009 UNICEF report that surveyed 3,739 females and males age 13 to 24, almost three-quarters reported experiencing physical violence by a relative or authority figure, such as a teacher, or another person close to them prior to age 18.

About 25% of females and almost 30% of males reported experiencing emotional abuse by a relative or authority figure, while between 4% and 5% of females and males reported being threatened with abandonment as a child.

In addition, nearly 30% of females and 13.4% of males reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual violence before turning 18.

Mixed reaction to programme

Executive Director of Legal and Human Rights Centre Helen Kijo-Bisimba told media that the initial programme was underfunded and social workers did not conduct exit interviews with the runaway children before placing them back with their families

Kijo-Bisimba said children must be provided an alternative to returning home to abusive parents.

She said homeless children have untold stories that deserve to be heard, and the reasons that forced them out of their homes should be addressed before attempting to reunite them with their families.

"Some parents are extremely brutal to their children. Not all street children come from poor families, but rather some are terrified by parents, forcing them to run away," Kijo-Bisimba told media.

Kijo-Bisimba said a lasting solution to homelessness among children must address the root causes behind the phenomenon. "[The children] should be asked what they want done for them to go back to their families, and depending on their answers, there will be a solution."

Minister for Community Development, Gender and Children Sofia Mnyambi Simba said that despite some criticism, the project has yielded positive results.

"This project is continuous. We have carried it out successfully for the past five years and this time, our development partner UNICEF has accepted to support our efforts to speed up the process -- not because we have failed, but because they support our success," Simba said.

Perspective of a homeless boy

Adnary Cyprian, 13, a homeless boy who sleeps on Posta Mpya Street in central Dar es Salaam, told media he ran away from his family because of an abusive father.

"My father got married to his second wife and we were all living in one house. He developed the habit of beating us whenever he came back drunk at night," said Cyprian, who is originally from Dodoma.

"I started hiding behind the front door. Then, when he came in, I passed by him to go out without him seeing me," he said. "This continued for about a year, then my friend told me we should follow his brother in Dar es Salaam. We boarded the bus without fare, but thank God the driver was kind enough not to throw us out along the way."

Cyprian said life in the streets is harsh, and homeless children are sometimes called thieves, even if they have not stolen anything. Most of the time, street children eat leftovers from city hotels or buy food whenever they get money through begging, he said.

He said the three years he has spent on the streets have been very hard, but he prefers being on the streets to going back to his family.

"If they are gathering us to go to school, even now I am ready to go, but if they plan to send me back to Dodoma, I would rather die here," he said. "I want to go to school, where I will study hard and become a member of parliament after getting the qualifications."

Lake boundaries, tensions in eastern DR Congo, among topics discussed in Ban’s meeting with Tanzania President

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania.   (Photo By U.N.)

2 October 2012 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met today with the President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, for a wide-ranging discussion on issues of regional importance.

The African country’s constitutional review process and efforts underway by Malawi and Tanzania to find a solution on the delineation of Lake Nyasa – one of the largest lakes in Africa and located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania – were among the topics discussed by the two men, according to Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

They also discussed the leadership role of Tanzania as current chair of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) Organ for Politics, Defence and Security, in particular with regard to Madagascar and Zimbabwe.

In addition, Mr. Ban expressed his appreciation for the efforts of President Kikwete to diffuse tensions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), noting Tanzania’s offer to contribute troops to an international neutral force.

The eastern DRC – particularly its provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu – has been plagued by violence in recent months, primarily by a group called the M23, made up of renegade soldiers from the country’s national army.

The M23 has clashed with national army troops, which have been supported by peacekeepers from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), and has caused massive displacement of local residents, in addition to raising concerns about the region’s stability. Over 260,000 people have fled the violence since the M23 mutiny began, and an additional 60,000 have fled over the borders into Rwanda and Uganda.

Also on Tuesday, the Secretary-General met with Belarus’ Foreign Affairs Minister, Vladimir Makei.

They exchanged views on UN-Belarus cooperation and on the importance of continued international efforts toward sustainable development and energy issues, in addition to discussing Belarus’ relations with international partners.

The two men also exchanged views on east European’s human rights challenges, and Mr. Ban commended Belarus for its efforts to combat human trafficking.

On World Teachers' Day, UN flags need for 1.7 million more teachers to reach universal primary education by 2015

Kisojo Model Primary School in Kyenjojo District in Uganda. Photo: UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1482/Shehzad Noorani

5 October 2012 – Some 1.7 million more teachers are needed to achieve universal primary education by 2015, the second of the eight anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the heads of various United Nations agencies said today in a joint statementmarking World Teachers' Day.

“On this day, we call for the creation of supportive teaching environments, adequate teacher training and safeguards for the rights of teachers,” the agency chiefs said, calling on governments to provide required training and fair salaries reflecting the importance of the profession while teachers, in turn, must be accountable to their students and communities.

“We must break the vicious cycle of declining professional conditions for teachers in order to improve the quality of learning for all,” they added. “The world expects a lot from teachers – they, in turn, are right to expect as much from us.”

The statement was issued by UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova; the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director, Anthony Lake; the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Administrator, Helen Clark; the UN International Labour Organization's (ILO) Director-General, Guy Ryder; and Fred van Leeuwen, the General Secretary of Education International, which represents teachers' organizations across the globe.

“Attracting committed and diverse teachers requires environments that value professional autonomy and equality,” they said. “Teachers need to be supported in fulfilling their responsibilities to students, and their voices must be listened to by school leaders, education systems and public authorities.”

According to UNESCO, teacher shortages remain a major obstacle for countries to achieve the goal of universal primary education, with a quality education offering hope and the promise of a better standard of living, while also noting that there can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers.

World Teachers' Day, held annually since 1994, commemorates the anniversary of the signing in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers, and celebrates the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers has, essentially, served as a charter of rights for teachers worldwide.

The slogan for this year's observance is 'Take a stand for teachers!' which, according to UNESCO, relates to the need to provide adequate training, ongoing professional development, and protection for teachers' rights.

The 63-year-old UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which assists some five million registered Palestine refugees in the Middle East, marked the Day by launching two programmes focussed on school-based teacher development and quality improvement that underscores the Agency's broader human development and humanitarian agenda.

Education is UNRWA's largest programme, accounting for more than half of the Agency's regular budget, with one of the largest school systems in the Middle East, providing half a million Palestine refugee children with free-of-charge basic education every day.

“Across the Arab World, countries are striving to improve the quality of their education system through reform,” UNRWA's director of education Caroline Pontefract said. “Many lessons have been learned about what is important, what to focus on, and the way in which to change and improve on what we have. UNRWA's education reform reflects these lessons with the focus it places on teachers and school leaders, who are key actors in achieving quality education.”

UN launches into World Space Week highlighting contributions of space science to humanity

A NASA satellite image shows a vast alluvial fan blossoming across the landscape between the Kunlun and Altun mountain ranges that form the southern border of the Taklamakan Desert in China. Credit: USGS/NASA

4 October 2012 – The United Nations launched into World Space Week today, with the presentation of a navigation satellite model, donated by Russia, for display at the world body’s offices in Vienna, while also highlighting the contribution space science and technology has made to human development.

“Effective satellite navigation benefits users worldwide. While many of us are familiar with satellite navigation systems for cars, this is just one of the many applications of this technology,” said the Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna (UNOV), Yury Fedotov, at the presentation of the satellite model.

“Satellite navigation-related technology supports many civil, scientific and commercial functions,” he added. “It is widely used in the areas of telecommunications, transportation, meteorology and disaster forecasting.”

Satellite navigation-related technology supports many civil, scientific and commercial functions,” he added. “It is widely used in the areas of telecommunications, transportation, meteorology and disaster forecasting.

Thanking Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna, Ambassador Vladimir Voronkov, and along with Anatoly Shilov, the Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Space Agency – known as Roscosmos – Mr. Fedotov unveiled the Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) satellite model at the permanent Space Exhibit of the UN Vienna International Centre, in Austria.

Director-General of the UN Office at Vienna Yury Fedotov (right) points to the navigation satellite model donated by Russia. UN Photo

The donation of the satellite came on the first day of World Space Week, the largest annual space event in the world. Observed during the week of 4-10 October, the General Assembly proclaimed World Space Week in 1999, to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of the human condition.

The dates recall the launch, on 4 October 1957, of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, and the entry into force, on 10 October 1967, of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

“This Week has become a world-wide celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition,” said the Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Mazlan Othman.

“UNOOSA, together with its partners,” she added, “has been working to bring the benefits of space to Earth, to make the seemingly remote and abstract world of outer space of concrete use to people worldwide.”

In a message for the Week, the UNOOSA chief said that coupled with advances made in other fields of science and technology, space science and technology and their applications offer a wide range of specific tools and solutions that can enable and support States in overcoming obstacles to sustainable development.

“To be able to benefit from all aspects of science and technology, space science and technology represent a vital component and thus it is very important to have a well-planned space and educational programme tailored to meet the requirements according to the resources available,” she said.

UNOOSA, together with the International Astronomical Union, is organizing a capacity-building workshop on astronomy for secondary teachers in Ethiopia, in cooperation with the Ethiopian Space Science Society, which will be held in the African country’s capital, Addis Ababa, next week. A similar workshop was held in 2011 in Bangladesh.

The aim of the workshops is to enhance capacity of secondary school teachers in their teaching of basic and modern astronomy and introducing it to the school curricula. The workshops cover basic and modern astronomy, including hands-on sessions with access to the telescope.

“UNOOSA supports countries in their actions and programmes aimed at attracting young people to this field by making them aware of the importance of space science, technology and applications and, in doing so, inspire the future generations to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Ms. Othman said.

In addition to the GLONASS satellite model on show at the permanent Space Exhibit in Vienna, UNOOSA is displaying, during World Space Week, a series of images taken by a fleet of Earth-observing satellites that form part of the so-called Landsat programme, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Landsat monitors changes caused by natural processes and human practices, for example marine algal blooms and desertification, and is managed jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Geological Survey.

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Three more African countries to roll out new meningitis vaccine, UN says

9 December 2011 – Three more countries in the so-called “meningitis belt” stretching across Africa will this month introduce a new vaccine designed to eliminate a particular strain of the often deadly disease, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.

Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad will vaccinate millions of their citizens with MenAfriVac, which was created to target Group A meningitis, responsible for millions of cases in sub-Saharan Africa over the past century.

Alison Brunier, a spokesperson for WHO, told journalists in Geneva that the three countries plan to vaccinate about 22 million people between them, focusing on the highest-risk demographic category – those aged between one and 29 years.Meningitis bacteria, which affect the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord, are transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions.

She said the immunization campaign should be completed within a couple of weeks.

A year ago Burkina Faso became the first country to conduct a nationwide campaign using MenAfriVac, and Ms. Brunier said the campaign would be extended to 19 other countries in the belt by 2016.

The belt stretches from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and has the highest rates for the disease worldwide.

Benin, Sudan, Senegal and Ghana are expected to begin national campaigns involving MenAfriVac next year, according to WHO, with as many as 300 million people across the entire region eventually being vaccinated by 2016.

Meningitis bacteria, which affect the lining surrounding the brain and spinal cord, are transmitted from person to person through droplets of respiratory or throat secretions. Close and prolonged contact such as kissing, sneezing and coughing, and sharing eating or drinking utensils, facilitates the spread. The disease can result in death, brain damage, hearing loss or learning disability in 10 to 20 per cent of survivors.

MenAfriVac was developed by Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) – a partnership between WHO and the global non-profit organization PATH, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

UN-backed vaccination drive seeks to protect West Africans from seasonal meningitis

A child receives a vaccine injection in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: GAVI/R. Gangale

4 October 2012 – Over 50 million people in West Africa are to be immunized against seasonal meningitis over the next three months, marking a major step in a United Nations-supported campaign to eliminate the potentially fatal disease.

The immunization campaign, spearheaded by the GAVI Alliance, will cover Benin, Cameroun, Chad, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan.

“Meningitis takes a terrible toll on the people living in vulnerable parts of Africa every year. It is a painful disease which can kill quickly and often leaves victims with disabilities that will blight their lives,” said Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, the members of which include the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Meningitis Vaccine Project, amongst a range of other bodies.

The seven countries targeted are vulnerable to seasonal severe outbreaks of meningitis with up to 430 million people at risk from the illness, according to a news release issued by GAVI.

“Nobody really understands exactly why just in that region. But every five to seven years there would be an epidemic. There would be hundreds of thousands if not millions of cases. And it would completely drive the economies to a halt,” said Dr. Berkley.

The vaccination drive will ensure those at high risk, particularly children and young adults, are vaccinated by the end of December.

The disease can kill the most severely affected patients within 48 hours and causes brain damage, hearing loss or learning difficulties in 20 per cent of sufferers. The most recent major outbreak, in 1996, saw 250,000 people contract meningitis, of which 25,000 died.

For its 2011-2016 programme, the GAVI Alliance plans to support immunisation efforts in all 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Geneva-based GAVI Alliance is a public-private partnership aimed at improving health in the world’s poorest countries. Since its establishment in 2000, GAVI has financed the immunization of more than 325 million children and prevented more than five million premature deaths.

Anti-Islam Filmmaker Identified By Law Enforcement As Egyptian

Kopt Nakoula Basseley Nakoula

The U.S. law enforcement has identified Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, as the man behind "Innocence of Muslims," the anti-Islam movie that is widely blamed for riots around the world, the AP reports.

Nakoula (see the first photo) had previously claimed he had a role in the film's creation, but insisted he was not the director. Earlier reports centered around a certain Sam Bacile, but many doubts have been cast on Bacile's identity. Cell phones tied to Bacile and Nakoula traced to the same address.

News agencies reporting on him earlier that he only managed logistics for the company that produced "Innocence of Muslims," which mocked Muslims and the prophet Muhammad.
Nakoula ran afoul of the law in 2010, when he pleaded no contest to federal bank fraud charges after being indicted in a somewhat intricate scheme involving fake bank accounts created using stolen Social Security numbers. He was given a 21 month prison sentence and had to pay $790,000.

Actors in "Innocence of Muslims" say they were duped by the man claiming to be Bacile, and that the film as they knew it was not about Islam. One actress claims all the offensive references were dubbed over the lines the cast actually read. The movie was originally titled "Desert Warriors."

Nikolai, Egyptian Coptic Christian sometimes seen as part of Christian Orthodox Church, first claimed it is mysterious Israeli director Sam Bacile who made the film. Claim was rejected by Israeli officials who quickly issued statement that they don't have record of any Israeli with that name.

Now, the reports confirm that it is actually Nakoula Basseley Nakoula who is the author of the film.

A Christian activist involved in the film project, Steve Klein, (see the second photo) told the AP on Wednesday that Bacile was a pseudonym and that he was Christian.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups, said Klein is a former Marine and longtime religious-right activist who has helped train paramilitary militias at a California church. It described Klein as founder of Courageous Christians United, which conducts protests outside abortion clinics, Mormon temples and mosques.

Klein said he vowed to help make the movie but warned the filmmaker that "you're going to be the next Theo van Gogh." Van Gogh was a Dutch filmmaker killed by a Muslim extremist in 2004 after making a film that was perceived as insulting to Islam.

"We went into this knowing this was probably going to happen," Klein said. 

Innovative Maternal Health Program in Tanzania Expected to Impact At Least 50,000 Mothers and Children by 2016

- Expected to Impact  At Least 50,000 Mothers and Children by 2016

Bloomberg Philanthropies and New Partner Announce New Funding

for Life-Saving Maternal Health Program, Bringing Total Commitment to $15.5 Million

H&B Agerup Foundation Joins Effort

NEW YORK (October 2, 2012) – An innovative maternal health program in Tanzania funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies is projected to impact at least 50,000 mothers and their children over the next three years, Mayor and philanthropist Michael R. Bloomberg announced today.

More than 100 local non-physician clinicians including assistant medical officers and nurse midwives in Tanzania’s most isolated areas have been trained to perform life-saving procedures including caesarean sections since the program began. The number of maternal deaths from bleeding and other complications in Tanzania have been reduced; in one district alone, maternal deaths declined by 32% in less than 2 years due to the project.

To date, more than one thousand babies have been delivered by c-section in villages where women previously had to travel several hours to receive care – often when it was too late. Women in Tanzania deliver an average of 5.5 children in their lifetime, meaning every mother’s life saved not only impacts her and her newborn but also the well-being of her other children.

Tanzania has the eighth highest number of maternal deaths in the world; a woman dies from complications of pregnancy and childbirth almost every hour in Tanzania.

“No one should have to die giving birth,” said Michael R. Bloomberg. “Sadly, in some parts of the world, too many women die due to complications in childbirth because of inaccessible and inadequate care. We are implementing a pilot in Tanzania, a country with one of the world’s highest rates of maternal deaths, where we have built a unique program that we know is already saving lives by providing emergency obstetric care in rural communities.”

“Reducing maternal deaths requires innovative approaches to delivering care in the hardest to reach places,” said Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations. “I am encouraged by this type of partnership which, as we see in Tanzania, promises to improve the lives of women, their families and communities.”

“Through the efforts of Bloomberg Philanthropies and their partners, we are making progress in reducing maternal deaths in Tanzania which has been a high priority for my government,” H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of Tanzania, said.

“The results-oriented approach of this program has provided life-saving procedures to thousands of women, and we look forward to expanding this effort with the additional support of the H&B Agerup Foundation to save lives and improve the health of Tanzanians.”

“After traveling to Tanzania to see firsthand the work, progress and results of this maternal health program, we saw an opportunity to contribute to the continued development and implementation of this program,” said Helen Agerup, chair of H&B Agerup Foundation. “As an entrepreneur and medical professional, I was impressed by how this program challenged conventional medical approaches to improve mothers’ and children’s health and to save lives in some of the most remote parts of Tanzania.”

“With the contribution of H&B Agerup Foundation and the cooperation of the Tanzanian government, we can deepen this program’s impact in some of the most remote regions of the country,” Bloomberg said. “Early results show a two-fold increase in the number of health center-based deliveries, an important step towards reducing maternal death. As we monitor the progress of this ground-breaking work, we think it has the potential to become a model for other countries in Africa where maternal deaths are unacceptably high.”

Facts About Bloomberg Philanthropies Maternal Health Initiative

According to the United Nations, almost 300,000 women die globally from pregnancy and childbirth every year. For every woman that dies, another 20 suffer an injury, illness or disability, often with life-long consequences.

99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries with over half of these in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tanzania has the fifth highest number of maternal deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Access to comprehensive emergency obstetric services can prevent most maternal deaths, yet women continue to die because there are few facilities with skilled personnel and the distances are long. The crux of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Maternal Health Program is the decentralization of life-saving health care services to the level of the village, where it is needed the most. The approach has two components:

1) Upgrading Infrastructure

Almost every community in Tanzania has access to a health care center that can provide basic health care services. The Bloomberg Maternal Health Program has upgraded these health centers by constructing operating rooms and other critical infrastructure needed for comprehensive emergency obstetric care.

2) Training healthcare workers

Most remote communities of Tanzania do not have a medical doctor, and obstetricians are almost non-existent in rural areas. Tanzania was an early adopter of a practical solution known as "task-shifting" which allows non-physician clinicians to provide health care services. Non-physician

clinicians are much more likely to work in isolated communities than doctors. Recognizing this, our program trains non-physician clinicians - called Assistant Medical Officers (AMO) - to manage complicated deliveries, including caesarian sections, and nurse midwives to administer anesthesia.

Today, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a new investment in the program through a partnership with Geneva-based H&B Agerup Foundation over the next 3 years -- bringing the total commitment to $15.5 million since late 2006. The program operates in close consultation with the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. It is implemented by the World Lung Foundation and is evaluated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in partnership with the CDC Foundation.

Tanzania: By The Numbers

The United Nations' Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 calls for a 75% reduction in maternal mortality rates by 2015. At the current rate of progress, Tanzania is not on track to reach MDG 5. Our program strives to accelerate progress and early results suggest we are headed in the right direction. We are showing that women will use life-saving medical treatments and facilities when they are easily accessible and provide high-quality care.

So far:

1. Nine extremely remote heath centers have been upgraded. Prior to the program, patients had to travel 3-4 hours to the nearest hospital. Now, emergency obstetric care is available in the community.

2. More than 100 non-physician clinicians have been trained in comprehensive emergency obstetric care or anesthesia.

3. Health center utilization for delivery care has increased substantially, from about 3,500 deliveries per year in all 9 health centers prior to the program to about 9,000 in 2011 after the intervention.

4. More than 1,000 c-sections have been performed

5. The Ulanga district, one of 7 districts where the program is operating, saw a 32% decline in maternal deaths after the program was implemented.

6. Conservative projections show that at least 50,000 women and children will be impacted by our work. 

NEW FUNDING WILL SAVE MOTHERS AND CHILDREN’S LIVES IN TANZANIA

Commitments from Bloomberg Philanthropies and H&B Agerup Foundation Expected to Impact At Least 50,000 Mothers and Children by 2016-

(October 3rd, 2012, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and New York, USA) – World Lung Foundation (WLF) today welcomed an extension of funding for its Maternal Health Initiative in Tanzania.

WLF has run the initiative with financial support from Bloomberg Philanthropies since 2006, working closely with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and with Tanzanian partners like the Ifakara Health Institute, to implement a state-of-the-art maternal health program in Tanzania. The aim of the initiative has been to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by improving women’s access to good-quality emergency obstetric care, particularly in rural and isolated areas.

News of the extended funding was announced yesterday, October 2nd, by Bloomberg Philanthropies in New York City, in the presence of President of the United Republic of Tanzania, the Hon. Jakaya M. Kikwete and Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations. In addition, H&B Agerup Foundation joins as a new co-founder of the initiative, which will have received a total commitment of $15.5 million since late 2006. Conservative projections estimate that World Lung Foundation’s work in Tanzania will positively impact at least 50,000 mothers and their children over the next three years.

Peter Baldini, Chief Executive Officer, World Lung Foundation, commented: “Bloomberg Philanthropies enabled a proof-of-concept initiative to prove itself. By investing in a comprehensive model of medical personnel and infrastructure, they have shown that maternal deaths can be greatly reduced. We also commend the H&B Agerup Foundation for recognizing the value of a strong network of personnel and facilities, which enables us to expand it, and prevent more needless deaths.

“Recently published data from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA and The World Bank estimate that Tanzania, which accounted for 3% of global maternal deaths in 2010, reduced its Maternal Mortality Rate by 47% between 1990 and 2010. We know from our work on the ground that even more needless deaths could and should be prevented through the extension of our initiative to other rural areas. Women should not risk their lives and those of their unborn babies just to reach a hospital. We look forward to working with the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to in taking further steps toward safe motherhood and childhood in Tanzania."

World Lung Foundation pointed to a number of accomplishments, across geographically strategic health centers and hospitals in seven districts in the Kigoma, Morogoro and Pwani regions. Since 2006: 

·      Nine extremely remote heath centers have been upgraded. Prior to the program, patients had to travel 3-4 hours to the nearest hospital. Now, emergency obstetric care is available in the community.

·      More than 100 non-physician clinicians have been trained in comprehensive emergency obstetric care or anesthesia.

·      Health center utilization for delivery care has increased substantially, from about 3,500 deliveries per year in all 9 health centers prior to the program to about 9,000 in 2011 after the intervention.

·      More than 1,000 c-sections have been performed

·      The Ulanga district, one of 7 districts where the program is operating, saw a 32% decline in maternal deaths after the program was implemented.

·      Conservative projections show that at least 50,000 women and children will be impacted by our work.

 About World Lung Foundation:

World Lung Foundation was established in response to the global epidemic of lung disease, which kills 10 million people each year. The organization also works on maternal and infant mortality reduction initiatives. WLF improves global health by improving local health capacity, by supporting operational research, by developing public policy and by delivering public education. The organization’s areas of emphasis are tobacco control, maternal and infant mortality prevention, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, asthma, and child lung health. For more information, please visit worldlungfoundation.org