IN A RAPIDLY AGING WORLD, STRUGGLE FOR WIDOWS' RIGHTS GAINS GROUND

8 October 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: We live in a rapidly aging world; by 2050, over one in five of the world’s population will be over the age of 60. While this shift in age demographics will have profound impact on healthcare systems, governments, and social wellbeing, the politics of age receive little, if any, sustained attention. “Like environmentalism 30 years ago, aging does not secure the media coverage needed to drive it up the political agenda to ensure that the issue is addressed before it becomes a crisis,” David Russel of HelpAge International told MediaGlobal. This week, HelpAge is promoting a worldwide campaign to bring age-related issues to the forefront of national and international conversations in conjunction with the United Nations International Day for Older People. One issue integral to age politics is that of rights for widows, a group that currently lacks basic protections and inheritance rights in many parts of the world. In Tanzania, for instance, accusations of witchcraft can force older women from their homes, often ending in violence and even death. Julia Pitman of HelpAge told MediaGlobal, “This is very much linked with issues of widows’ status and inheritance since older women are particularly vulnerable in Tanzanian society. When they become widows, they have no status and are also not allowed to inherit, so they are forced out of the family homes, with the accusation of ‘witchcraft’ often being used as an excuse.” HelpAge is currently working with the Tanzanian government to put protections for older women in place and has submitted extensive evidence to the United Nations Convention for Elimination of Discrimination Against Women on the issue.

SOUTH AFRICA POSITIONS ITSELF AS A DONOR NATION

3 October 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Despite reports of widespread poverty in South Africa, Marius Roodt, Researcher at the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), remains confident that the country does not need aid. “Our country is not all that reliant on aid, and manages to meet its needs with its own resources,” Roodt told MediaGlobal. Poverty alleviation is gaining momentum in South Africa. A recent Presidency’s Development Indicators 2008 Report said that the standard of living for a large number of people had improved over the 2000 and 2007 period. “The improvement in people’s lives could be attributed to economic growth and expanding employment as well as government’s poverty alleviation initiatives, provision of basic services to indigent households, social assistance support and better housing,” the Report stated. According to 2007 SAIRR statistics, ‘acute’ poverty peaked in 2002, but declined since then largely because of job growth and social grants. But growing inequality undermines this glowing review. SAIRR acknowledges this: the number of people living on less than $1 a day rose from 1.9 million in 1996 to 4.2 million in 2005. This reveals a staggering increase of more than 121 percent. Despite this problem, Roodt said, “Aid money is often returned to donors unspent, as South Africa itself is positioning itself to be a donor nation.”

WEB BASED HEARINGS ADDRESS WORLWIDE ALCOHOL ABUSE

3 OCTOBER 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Worldwide, more than two million people die each year from alcohol related causes, reports the World Health Organization (WHO). Research shows “harmful use of alcohol is the leading cause of death and disability in developing countries with low mortality, like many countries in South America, Asia and the Pacific, the third among the leading risk factors in developed countries and eleventh in developing countries with high mortality rates, like many countries in Africa,” Dag Revke of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse told MediaGlobal. In addition, further research is being done on the deleterious effects of alcohol on infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, sexually-transmitted infections and HIV, Revke added. In an attempt to address this issue and to create a global strategy, WHO has organized a one-month, web-based hearing that will run throughout October. “This web-based public hearing is broad and inclusive and will provide an opportunity for everyone, including the public, to present their views on effective strategies to reduce the burden resulting from the harmful use of alcohol,” says Dr. Ala Alwan, Assistant Director-General of WHO’s Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Cluster. Contributions to the hearing will be posted on a WHO website. The submissions may be a part of the documentation to be discussed at roundtable meetings held at a later date with health professionals and economic operators from the alcohol industry.

REMOVAL OF SOUTH AFRICAN HEALTH MINISTER

3 October 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s days in the South African government were numbered since she aired her controversial views on AIDS treatment. But now they are over. The former South African Health Minister was removed last week, much to the delight of AIDS activists. Widely dubbed as ‘Dr. Garlic’ because of her promotion of nutritional ingredients such as garlic, lemon and olive oil for the treatment of AIDS, she was accused of causing several deaths because of her distrust in anti-AIDS medicines. David Bryden, Communications Director at the Global Aids Alliance, told MediaGlobal that there was a grain of truth in what she said, as nutrients are important. “AIDS treatment is essential for survival,” he said. But Tshabalala-Msimang gave another reason for her avid dislike of antiretroviral drugs. “She talked a lot about the toxicity of drugs. While it is true that there are side effects, there are new drugs available in the United States that have much less toxicity,” Bryden said. “We must find a way to make them available to Africa,” he added. On the other hand, the question of whether Tshabalala-Msimang actually believed in what she was saying is open to debate. “She could be using it as an excuse to hide the slowness of the implementation of the programs she’s been entrusted with,” Bryden observed. Whatever her reasons were for making such controversial remarks, her removal from office could signal an important step towards confronting the reality of the high prevalence rate of AIDS in South Africa. “We believe that the period of politically supported AIDS denialism has ended,” a statement by South Africa’s leading AIDS lobby group, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), noted.

90 ABDUCTED DRC CHILDREN STILL NOT RELEASED

2 OCTOBER 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) calls for the immediate, unconditional release of the 90 children abducted from their schools in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Two weeks ago, the children were kidnapped by the Lord’s Army Resistance (LRA) during simultaneous attacks on three different villages in the Orientale Province. The safety and health of these children are of grave concern due to past documented cases of what happens to kidnapped children in this region. “Past behavior of the LRA shows that it is probable these children will be subjected to forced military training, used as sex slaves, and used in any and all ways to support the LRA’s objectives,” UNICEF’s Laurence Gerard told MediaGlobal. “LRA is one of the 16 persistent violators of children’s rights in armed conflict, and is explicitly named and listed by the Secretary-General for four years for failed response to the calls of the Security Council urging them to release children previously abducted.” Gerard noted that thus far there has been no communication with the LRA, but that UNICEF and the UN Mission in the DRC is consulting with the UN system as to what actions are needed to secure the release of these and other children in the LRA and to prevent future abductions from happening.

US APPAREL COMPANY HOPES TO RAISE AWARENESS AND FUNDS TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

2 October 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Marshalls, one of the United States’ leading family apparel and home fashion retailers, kicked off its two-week long fund and awareness-raising campaign for Domestic Violence Awareness Month on Thursday with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Safe Horizon. Marshalls has been involved in domestic violence for the past 15 years, and they use their annual “Shop ‘Til It Stops” program, in which they donate $1 for every pair of shoes purchased from October 2 to 16 to a charity, to raise money and awareness for the issue. This year, the money is going to Safe Horizon, the nation’s leading victim assistance organization, and awareness is being raised for UNIFEM’s “Say NO to Violence Against Women” campaign, which calls on governments around the world to make ending violence a national priority. UNIFEM Communications Coordinator Nanette Braun told MediaGlobal, “When it comes to violence against women, it’s shrouded in silence; there’s not enough awareness, so it’s very important to involve different partners to raise awareness and get the private sector involved.” The event on Thursday was at Union Square in New York City and, according to Braun, it was a time for people to “engage in conversation about the issue.” Braun further said that the number of people at the event showed “there really is a great interest to sign on to this call for action.”

REPORT ENCOURAGES WORLD’S YOUTH TO ENGAGE IN PREVENTING CLIMATE CHANGE

1 October 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: YouthXchange, this year’s revision of a 2002 joint initiative from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is again encouraging today’s youth to take an active role in living a more sustainable lifestyle. “YouthXchange works at three levels – beginning from the individual to the community, then to the global community,” Morgan Strecker, UNEP’s YouthXchange Representative, told MediaGlobal. YouthXchange’s individual is the 15-25 year old youth in developed countries, but the effects are aimed at being felt on a global level. “Using resources efficiently (water, electricity, food, etc.), being able to differentiate between needs and wants and most importantly through their purchasing power, being able to influence and send signals to industries and stakeholders are some of the important changes young people can make in their day to day life, changes that have repercussions on themselves, their environment, their community and hopefully their economic infrastructure,” Strecker explained. These actions encourage sustainable consumption in economies that encourage gross consumer practices. While YouthXchange is currently only geared towards the youth in developed countries, expanding to a version which focuses on the developing world or on growing economies as a pro-active step to global sustainable consumption, is on the top of YouthXchanges’ priority list, Strecker said. While youth in developed countries often feel overwhelmed by the concept of how small changes in their lifestyle can effect a global environment and developing countries half a world away, YouthXchange aims to close that gap and make sustainable living a habit for the next generation.

LIBERIA’S MAJOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SUCCESS SEEN AS ROLE MODEL FOR AFRICAN STATES

30 September 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: After a decade of civil war that ended in 2003, Liberia’s remarkable social and economic progress has often been cited as the quintessential example of Africa’s recent success stories. Liberian gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 9 percent last year, schools and hospitals are rapidly modernizing, and the country is home to Africa’s first elected female head of state, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Addressing the United Nations this week, Johnson-Sirleaf spoke of her country’s progress but urged the international body to extend the stay of its peacekeeping mission “until the peace is properly consolidated, thereby removing the threat of the country relapsing into conflict again as some others before Liberia have experienced.” According to Dorina Bekoe, Senior Researcher with the United States Institute of Peace’s Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, an often overlooked product of the peacekeeping force, which include the United Nation’s first all-female team of peacekeepers, is a substantial boon to women’s participation in all aspects of Liberian society. “We now see women in the army, and there is an active recruitment of women in the police force and security services,” she told MediaGlobal. Following the arrival of the all-female peacekeeping troops, the number of Liberian women applying to the national police force tripled.

UGANDA LAUNCHES HEALTH UNIT TO DEAL WITH NEGLECTED DISEASES

29 September 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: The Uganda Human Right Commission (UHRC) launched a health rights unit Monday at its head office in Kampala. Though the Right to Health Unit has been operational since 2006, it did not have the adequate resources in terms of personnel, equipment and finances. UHRC Director of Monitoring and Inspections Roselyn Kaugonjo-Segawa told MediaGlobal, “On September 29, 2008 when we launched it, we had required the personnel as was recommended by the UN Special Reporter on the Right to Health, Paul Hunt.” Before the launch, the unit was “operational in the sense that the Directorate was carrying out all the functions of the unit,” explained Kaugonjo-Segawa. The goals of the unit are to build the capacity of the Ministry of Health on a human rights based approach to health, to promote the right to health as a human right, to act in compliance with international and regional standards on human rights and health, to document violations, and to prepare an annual report to highlight progress made by the unit. In building the capacity of the Ministry of Health, the unit hopes to increase its ability to deal with neglected diseases. “The purpose of the launch was to let people know that this unit exists and is available to offer any assistance in terms of promotion and protection of the right to health in Uganda,” said Kaugonjo-Segawa.

CLASS OF 2015: “EDUCATION FOR ALL” INITIATIVE REMINDS GOVERNMENTS ABOUT COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION

29 September 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Director-General of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koichiro Matsuura, hailed the Class of 2015: Education for All initiative, a $4.5 billion commitment intended to educate 15 million children over the next three years. “Class of 2015: Education for All has launched a new effort to build the political will to achieve education goals and remind world leaders of their promise that every child will get the opportunity of an education by 2015. A remarkable line up of supportive governments, faith groups, NGOs, sports, private sector organizations and education advocates registered their commitment to action on education,” Chief of Editorial, Press Relations and UNESCO Courier, Sue Williams, told MediaGlobal. Williams explained that primary education is UNESCO’s top priority, but that attention will also be paid to early childhood care and education, tertiary education, and literacy for adults. “The current economic slowdown and financial crisis cannot be a pretext for reneging on the fight against poverty,” said Matsuura while introducing the Class of 2015 initiative. He also reminded the international community that their pledges and promises towards education must not be forgotten. Mr. Matsuura called on the governments of developing countries to “invest at least 20 percent of their national budgets on education” and for donors “to respect their past pledges and focus on countries most in need and live up to the compact they made with developing countries in 2000”.

MELAMINE MILK CRISIS TO MAKE COUNTRIES ENSURE SAFE FEEDING OF INFANTS

29 September 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Over 54,000 infants in China required medical treatment because of consuming melamine-contaminated formula. Almost 12,900 of these infants are currently hospitalized. “Melamine contamination has been found in a number of different brands of powdered infant formula, in one brand of a frozen yogurt dessert and in one brand of canned coffee drink. All these products were most probably manufactured using ingredients made from melamine-contaminated milk,” Sari Setiogi, Media Relations Officer at the Assistant Director-General’s Office for Health Security and Environment, told MediaGlobal. Melamine causes bladder and/or kidney stones, stopping the production of urine, causing kidney failure and sometimes death. The weaker immune systems of infants make them more susceptible to the damages of melamine contamination. Following this ongoing melamine mild crisis in China, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are alerting countries about the possible spread of melamine contaminated dairy products. They instructed countries to closely monitor their markets, following reports finding imported melamine-contaminated products in several states over the past two weeks. The FAO and WHO also urged countries to assure safe feeding for infants. “The WHO recommends that all infants should be fed exclusively with breast mild for the first six months of their life. No other liquid or food, not even water, is needed during this period,” said Setiogi. Events such as these do not help towards reaching the fourth Millennium Development Goal aimed at reducing child mortality.