Weekending Sunday, 27 April 2008

PEACEKEEPERS WORK TO INCREASE ACCESS TO WATER IN DARFUR

22 April 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: In a region where competition for water and land has fueled violent conflict, the realization of an effective UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur requires careful planning and resource management. Orchestrating the placement of troops and creating supply lines so as not to sap limited local reserves is slowing the process, UN officials told the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. The scarcity of water “is at the heart of so much of the privation in the region,” said Jane Holl Lute, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, according to a report by the Associated Press. “We are trying to increase the availability of these resources, particularly water. We make sure that we are not taking [water] from the population,” Rodolphe Adada, Head of the Joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission in Darfur, told MediaGlobal. The Darfur region has experienced decades of drought, often attributed to climate change. Rainfall has dropped by as much as 40 percent in the past 20 years, contributing to age-old tensions between Arab nomads and African farmers. “The Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in an editorial in the Washington Post. Increased drought in many areas of sub-Saharan Africa may be partly caused by a warming Indian Ocean, and water shortages in areas from Somalia to the Ivory Coast have contributed to tensions and prolonged conflicts.

ANIMATED PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS BRING CULTURALLY-TAILORED MALARIA EDUCATION TO AFRICA

22 April 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: A new series of animated shorts aimed at educating the public about malaria prevention was launched this week at UN Headquarters, in anticipation of the first-ever World Malaria Day on Friday. The shorts, starring two animated female anopheles mosquitoes (Buzz and Bite), are available on DVD to NGOs, broadcasters and health clinics in developing nations, free of charge. Currently there are 30 animated shorts and five audio shorts, ranging from 30 seconds to one minute in length, and are available in 20 different languages. “Our number one target is sub-Saharan Africa,” Firdaus Kharas, the creative force behind the campaign, who acts as producer, director and co-writer for the series, told MediaGlobal. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of the one million deaths caused by malaria each year are in sub-Saharan Africa. Critically, the campaign emphasized that it does not simply translate the shorts, it adapts them. In order to ensure that the material is humorous and culturally relevant, the scripts are completely re-written for each country. There are, for example, currently five different versions of English recordings, ranging from British to East African. While this adaptation requires more time and energy, Kharas feels strongly that it is worth the effort to ensure that the message gets through. “[With this adaptation] we have the ability to get into the communities, in their own language, and make this material available to them,” he said. These efforts, however, are “only complementary to the handing out of the bed nets, which really save a life,” said Kharas. Kharas and the Buzz and Bite Campaign are partnering with the Canadian Red Cross, as well as UNICEF and other international organizations that distribute millions of bed nets across Africa. “Malaria is a preventable disease,” Kharas told MediaGlobal. “I think if we combine to put both the political will and the financial resources together, we have the ability to at least control malaria in the next five years, and ultimately perhaps down the road, to eradicate malaria,” he said. “This is my contribution.”

ASIAN COUNTRIES WORK TOGETHER TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE

23 April 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Developed and developing countries from Asia and the Pacific met in Bangkok today to share experiences on actions which cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while alleviating poverty. The meeting, organized by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), also launched an Asia-Pacific Gateway for Climate Change and Development, a web-based platform for sharing information and experiences on activities and adaptation action. ESCAP points to the use of landfill gas as an example. Decaying trash creates large amounts of greenhouse gases, and when these gases are burned to generate electricity, their effect on the climate is decreased, which creates a source of energy for development while mitigating climate change, according to ESCAP. “This integrated approach addresses both the global GHG emission reduction and poverty alleviation, in several ways.” Masakazu Ichimura, an ESCAP officer involved in the meeting, told MediaGlobal. “One example is that source reduction/segregation, separate collection and processing of organic wastes will provide additional employment and livelihood opportunity for the poor and marginalized, lessen the financial burden of municipal government for investing on development and operation of landfill sites, and reduce methane (a strong GHG) emission from the landfill sites,” he added. Participants at the meeting also explored ways of aiding developing nations to make adaptation to climate change an integral part of their development efforts. “The Gateway is intended to provide a tool for developed countries and developing countries to share information on ways to address climate change, and a link between information exchange activities and substantive actions,” said an ESCAP spokesperson.

PARTNERSHIPS KEY TO ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE

24 April 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: As people all over the world become more aware of climate change and its effects, the institutions best positioned to protect the planet are finding themselves short of personnel, funding and information. Efficient mechanisms of environmental governance on regional and global levels are crucial to protecting the world’s natural resources and curbing emissions, a panel of experts agreed during a discussion on capacity building for environmental governance, held Thursday at UN Headquarters. New partnerships need to be formed between governments, NGOs and businesses, said Adil Najam, professor of International Relations at Boston University and Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center. No one sector can or will protect the environment alone, and real progress will come only if “government does what government is best at, business does what business is best at, and civil society does what civil society is best at,” he said. Decreasing mankind’s environmental impact will create both winners and losers, particularly in the private sector, and, if adaptation is encouraged, the financial sacrifices may not be as great as many in the energy and manufacturing industries fear. “Let’s say we go to a non-oil economy. Exxon sacrifices, but the solar energy producers actually benefit,” Najam told MediaGlobal. “The question always in policy is whether society has a mechanism where winners and losers can pay off each other so that society is better off.” Such a system can exist if all sectors play their part. “The role of government is to create regulatory frameworks that give the right incentives. The role of business is to create the incentive and make money out of it, and internalize the externalities. And the role of civil society is to keep the two honest,” Najam said. With proper incentives, promoted by civil society and effectively carried out by governments, businesses will make environmentally sound decisions on their own. Najam referred to the combination of advocacy and regulation that successfully limited the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), an environmental threat. “Remember when we moved from CFCs? The same companies that used to produce the bad stuff now produce the good stuff. The oil companies are learning that they’re not really oil companies, they’re energy companies,” he said. “If they’re energy companies, they’re in the business of selling energy. And if it comes from renewables, they will have no problem selling that too.”

CAMPAIGN CALLS FOR $10 DONATIONS TO BUY “NOTHING BUT NETS” TO PROTECT AGAINST MALARIA

24 April 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Bed nets, a simple and inexpensive intervention, could prevent hundreds of thousands of malaria deaths and infections every year, according to UN officials. Meeting this week at UN Headquarters in New York, representatives from UNICEF, the UN Foundation, the National Basketball Association and other partners called for renewed efforts to support the grassroots campaign “Nothing But Nets,” which seeks donations of $10 to send a bed net to a country where malaria still runs rampant. Malaria kills over one million people every year, mostly children, with another 350 to 500 million people infected with the disease annually. While medicines are available to treat symptoms, there is no vaccine and no simple cure. Bed nets, however, offer a simple, practical tool for preventing initial infection. Because the anopheles mosquitoes that carry the malaria pathogen only fly and feed at night, the vast majority of infection happens as a result of people in malaria-endemic areas being bitten while they sleep. By covering the bed with an insecticide-treated net, the chances of being bitten and infected are greatly reduced. Thus, while nets are only one of a variety of tools used to combat malaria, they are increasingly popular, both because of their ease of use and their efficacy. “Nets have the most proven impact [of all interventions]” Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, CEO of Vestergaard Frandsen Disease Control Textiles, the world’s largest manufacturer of malarial bed nets told MediaGlobal. “Nets used to be filled with all sorts of problems – they had to be retreated [with insecticide] every few months. But today we have the long-lasting net, so you no longer need to do any repeat intervention.” A single net can keep the user protected for up to 5 years. “That’s why bed nets are so popular, that’s why bed nets work, and that’s why they’re the preferred tool in preventing malaria,” said Frandsen.

MEDICAL SCIENCE AFFECTED BY CONTINUED BIODIVERSITY LOSS

25 April 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: New generations of antibiotics and cancer treatments may be lost unless the world acts to reverse the present alarming rate of biodiversity loss, says a new book called “Sustaining Life,” by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “The natural world holds secrets to the development of new kinds of safer and more powerful pain-killers; treatments for a leading cause of blindness – macular degeneration – and possibly ways of re-growing lost tissues and organs,” said UNEP in a recent press release. However, experts warn that the planet may lose many of the land- and marine-based life forms of economic and medical interest before scientists can learn their secrets and benefits. Hardest hit are people in the world’s poorest countries. “For one, the developing world relies even more heavily on natural products for medicines than the developed world,” Aaron Bernstein, one of the authors of the book, told MediaGlobal. “So, the developing world stands to lose even more than the developed world in terms of medicines.” UNEP states that the new book is the most comprehensive treatment of the relationship of medical science to biodiversity and fills a major gap in the arguments made to conserve nature.

GLOBAL HAPPENINGS

NEW: Project for Nuclear Awareness’s Conference
Philadelphia, PA (10 May 2008): MediaGlobal is co-sponsoring a one-day, multidisciplinary conference together with the Project for Nuclear Awareness and a dozen partner organizations to “connect the dots” on the environment, security, and global health. Experts, advocates, and interested citizens will be brought together at the Sheraton University City Hotel Ballroom in Philadelphia, PA for a discussion on engaging more people in these critical issues.
For tickets information, click: www.projectfornuclearawareness.org/news.aspx/pub/4/id/45

International Workshop on HIV/AIDS 2008
Varadero, Cuba (4-9 May 2008): Organized by the Cuban Society for Immunology and Latin American Association of Immunology, it will explore latest experiences in HIV/AIDS.
Email: tapanes@ipk.sld.cu or Rolando.tapanes@gmail.com
www.sci.sld.cu

First Global Business Conference and Competition for Off-Grid Lighting in Africa
Accra, Ghana (5-8 May 2008): The World Bank Group and its partners are proud to announce Lighting Africa 2008, the first global business conference and development marketplace competition for off-grid lighting in Africa. The conference is designed for investors, financiers, private firms, end users, and development agencies to showcase and expand business opportunities targeting low-income populations in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Website: www.lightingafrica.org

Fashion Africa 2008
Nairobi, Kenya (8-11 May 2008): This exhibition is the place to discover the latest ideas and attract a whole new audience. FASHION AFRICA will be the international meeting point for fashion designers / companies to showcase their new fashion and style products, innovations, equipment and concepts from the fashion industry.
Website: www.arabianexposition.com

International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
Accra, Ghana (28-30 May 2008): The 3rd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training is the premier gathering place for all experts and stakeholders engaged or interested in ICT-based projects in Africa.
Website: http:// www.elearning-africa.com

SOURCE: South-South Solutions http://tcdc1.undp.org/enews/index.html