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The Federal Government of Nigeria has relaxed visa requirements for citizens of Kenya and Seychelles with effect from February 11, 2011 following a directive from President Goodluck Jonathan.
Visitors from the two countries will from that date only be required to pay a visa fee of $25 at the point of entry, rather than go through the hassles of visa application at the Nigerian High Commission in Nairobi as was the case currently.
But for the nationals of Seychelles, their valid passport admits them directly into Nigeria without any recourse to visa fees.
This was the outcome of a meeting between the Minister of Interior, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho (retd.) and the ministers of foreign affairs and aviation in Abuja on Tuesday.
1 February 2011 –The Government of Liberia, with support from United Nations agencies, will launch a week-long measles vaccination campaign on Wednesday targeting all children in Nimba County, which hosts over 30,000 refugees who fled the political turmoil in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.
As of the end of January, five Liberian children between one and five years old had died of measles, two cases had been confirmed by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), and just over 100 suspected cases had been reported.
“In a context where there are large numbers of people living in congested spaces, and there’s a severe shortage of food, safe water, sanitation and health care, it is critical that we act quickly to stop this outbreak,” said Isabel Crowley, Liberia Representative for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“The fact that there are measles cases underlines that basic immunization rates are low, and that these communities may not have been fully reached and protected by health services. This is dangerous for these communities and beyond,” Crowley said.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that hits children hardest. Symptoms include high fever and rash, but among malnourished children it can cause serious complications including blindness, severe diarrhoea, and pneumonia. The disease can be prevented by immunization.
The vaccination campaign, led by Liberia’s health ministry with support from UNICEF and WHO, aims to reach all children between six months and 15 years old from both refugee and host communities.
It will also integrate Vitamin A supplementation, which can reduce deaths associated with measles by up to 50 per cent, as well as de-worming for children below five years old.
In addition, women of child-bearing age will be vaccinated against tetanus, and in selected communities with large refugee populations, the campaign will also include nutrition screening, counselling and referrals, according to UNICEF.
UN agencies have called for urgent funding, warning that refugees fleeing the crisis in Côte d’Ivoire – resulting from former president Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to leave office despite his UN-certified defeat by opposition leader Alassane Ouattara – to Liberia could top 100,000 by the end of April.
In addition to the 30,000 refugees in Liberia, at least 20,000 other Ivorians have been internally displaced in western Côte d’Ivoire, where UN officials have warned that ethnic tensions stemming from national, racial and religious affiliation linked to the opposing camps could lead to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
Last month UN agencies and partners launched an $87.7 million appeal for aid in Côte d’Ivoire and five neighbouring countries to face a potential major humanitarian crisis.
31 January 2011 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today highlighted the success achieved by the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) in saving thousands of lives across the continent, saying it offers a good model for tackling other social ills.
“The African Leaders Malaria Alliance is breaking down barriers, forging partnerships and getting supplies to families in record time,” Mr. Ban said in remarks at the ALMA event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of the summit meeting of the African Union.
“This is remarkable progress. We need to encourage it and use the response to malaria as a model for battling other illnesses and social ills,” he added.
Malaria kills almost one million Africans every year and affects over 200 million more, mostly pregnant women and children under five years of age, resulting in at least $12 billion of costs every year through lost development and opportunity.
Launched in September 2009 in New York, ALMA is a high-level forum set up to oversee the efficient procurement, distribution, and utilization of malaria control measures, with the aim of ending unnecessary deaths from the disease by 2015.
“This alliance against malaria is stopping the disease and saving thousands of lives. It is a great success story. You are bringing us closer to our Millennium Development Goal on malaria and showing how we can reach all the MDGs: with commitment at the highest level,” Mr. Ban stated, referring to the goal of halting and reversing the incidence of malaria by 2015.
Just last month, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) announced that malaria deaths declined by 10 per cent between 2008 and 2009. In 11 African countries, the disease’s deadly toll has been cut by more than half since the year 2000.
“Just as malaria is carried by a mosquito that goes from person to person, so does our campaign seek to reach people just as directly,” said the Secretary-General. “We want to give every community health worker, every family, every child the tools and protection they need.
“We’ve delivered over 290 million nets to Africa since 2008. More nets and treatments are on their way. Universal coverage is not just a hope; it is within our reach.”
Africa Union leader currently meeting holding a summit in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa have roped in one of their controversial counterpart, Robert Mugabe to mediate in the Ivory Coast crisis.
News from Ethiopia of Mugabe’s drafting in has angered human rights activists and his political foes in Zimbabwe.
Reports say Mugabe, 86 joins in the expanded mediating team that includes South Africa leader, Jacob Zuma, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria and the President of Mauritania.
The AU on Friday announced the setting up of a five-member heads of state panel to make binding recommendations on the Ivory Coast rivals within a month.
AU Commission chief Jean Ping said Saturday the panel would help Ouattara “exercise power” through a negotiated deal, reports say.
African Union leaders began talks Sunday to reach a common strategy on resolving Ivory Coast’s protracted crisis and tackle other continental trouble spots.
The drafting in of Mugabe has been seen by his rivals as an endorsement of being ‘legitimately elected” by African leaders.
“This is a travesty of justice. How does Mugabe whose country is under South Africa Development Community (SADC) mediation be chosen to be a peace broker in another country whose problems are similar his” asked Steven Chivero of Stand Up for Zimbabwe.
Chivero said this shows that African leaders “fear Mugabe”.
Other groupings said Mugabe’s appointment would “have a negative bearing on SADC mediation role” in Zimbabwe.
Mugabe, who participated in Friday’s Peace and Security Council decision kept power through a negotiated agreement after an apparent electoral defeat.
Ivory Coast has been gripped by a political crisis since the Election Commission named Alassane Quattara, 69, as the winner of presidential elections in November 2010. But incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, 65, has refused to concede defeat, alleging voter fraud.
Last week, a Harare based think tank, Mass Public Opinion Institute said Mugabe still wields too much political influence despite the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that’s stipulate that he should share it with premier Morgan Tsvangirai.
The think tanks survey says the majority of Zimbabweans felt that the government has failed to ensure a fair distribution of power, with Mugabe wielding excessive power compared to his counterparts in the coalition.
“Power was not shared equally in this inclusive government as an overwhelming 76% believe that the President has real executive power compared to the prime minister,” reads part of the findings of the survey conducted between August 18 and August 23 2010.
Thirty-one per cent of the respondents felt that the partners in government were not co-operating, while 25 per cent were in between and 14 per cent felt the partners were working together fairly well.
About 16% felt that the inclusive government was working “very well’, 27 per cent felt Zanu-PF was not committed at all to the GNU.
Public opinion showed that 11 per cent thought that the MDC-T was not committed at all, while 25 per cent said the MDC-M was also not committed.
On free political activity, 35 per cent of those polled felt the GNU performed badly.
Germany has halted its annual payments of 200 million euros ($274 million) to the Global Fund Against AIDS, TB and Malaria due to concerns over allegations of corruption against the Fund.
Announcing suspension of the funds, German Development Minister Dirk Niebel said on Wednesday: “I take the allegations of corruption and breach of trust carried by media against the Global Fund very seriously, and I expect that the fund will promptly clear them up.”
Stressing that an investigation was urgently required into the allegations, Niebel indicated that he had halted all “further payments to the Fund until it is fully cleared up.”
With its annual contribution of 20 million euros, Germany is the third-largest donor to the U.N.-backed Fund that has an annual budget of more than $20 billion. The Fund is the single largest source for fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria across the world.
The latest developments come after an international news agency raised allegations of misappropriation and corruption against the Fund. The news agency alleged in a report that funds might have been misappropriated in several countries where the Global Fund’s controls were poor.
Following the report, the Fund acknowledged that its internal investigations had revealed some minor misappropriation of funds in several cases. But the Fund insists that it has taken strict measures to tackle the problem in all identified cases.
According to the Fund, internal investigations and audits carried out in 33 of the 145 countries where the it has grants have unearthed $34 million in misappropriated or unsubstantiated funds.
The Fund acknowledged that the amount found to be misappropriated was a large enough figure by itself, but pointed out that it amounted to only 0.3 per cent of the $13 billion the Fund has distributed to countries so far.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
A new set of laws that are set to be introduced by the government of Malawi will be the first of their kind on the globe
There are things we do in life which are just natural responses to biology and we take them for granted. In Malawi, those days are over.
The Bingu wa Mutharika led administration is to introduce a push of legislation that will criminalize the “passing gas” or flatus in public. And the intention?, to “mould responsible and disciple citizens”
The bill will also punish “any person disturbing religious assemblies, trespassing on burial places,” or “insulting the modesty of a woman”.
The Local Courts Bill of 2010, according to Malawi media reports, is to be presented in the forthcoming Parliament sitting by Minister of Justice, George Chaponda. The bill, reports say, also deals with citizens who hinder the burial of dead bodies as well as people who pretend to be fortune tellers.
Commenting on the bill, a Malawian is quoted as saying: “How can this government criminalize the release of intestinal gases …. Everyone does that, even if it’s in public or it has an accompanying sound which is boring, making it criminal is a joke of democracy”
Public flatus to be criminalized in Malawi
Another said he “support(s) the bill and is welcome. Sometimes breaking wind in public or during meetings is a disturbance of the peace”.
One assembly man who says he supports the bill gave the following reason: “A couple of years ago, before I entered public service, one day I was late for a meeting with my boss and we decided to use the elevator. In the elevator we met this gentleman who did not even open his eyes to say hi but just gave out this ‘bomb’. It’s so pungent that it left us gasping for air. I believe such a law will reduce this public flatus”.
Do you think making ‘passing gas’ in public a criminal offense is right in Malawi?
Update: Feb 4, 2011
Update:
Two of Malawi’s judicial officials are at variance over whether a new bill includes a provision that outlaws breaking wind or passing gas in public.
Justice Minister George Chaponda says the new bill would criminalize public flatus to promote “public decency”.
“Just go to the toilet when you feel like farting,” he told local radio.
However, he was directly contradicted by Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga, who says the reference to “fouling the air” means pollution.
“How any reasonable or sensible person can construe the provision to criminalizing farting in public is beyond me,” he said, adding that the prohibition contained in the new law has been in place since 1929.
The Local Courts Bill, to be introduced next week reads: “Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighborhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Mr Chaponda, a trained lawyer, insists that this includes farting.
“Would you be happy to see people farting anyhow?” he asked on the popular “Straight Talk” program on Malawi’s Capital Radio.
He said that local chiefs would deal with any offenders.
When asked whether it could be enforced, he said it would be similar to laws banning urinating in public.[ad#Adsense-200by200sq]
A Nigerian foreign minister has said that An ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) delegation will meet U.S. President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week to discuss the Ivory Coast crisis.
“The delegation is led by President (Ernest Bai) Koroma of Sierra Leone and comprises the president of the ECOWAS Commission, James Victor Gbeho, myself and our ambassador in Washington,” Odein Ajumogobia told Reuters on Tuesday.
The ECOWAS delegation is set to meet Obama in Washington on Wednesday before heading to the United Nations in New York to meet Ban and Security Council members on Thursday.
The incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, is locked in a power struggle with rival Alassane Ouattara, who was declared winner of a November 28 election by United Nations-certified results before they were overturned by a pro-Gbagbo legal body, which alleged fraud.
ECOWAS has threatened to use force to remove Gbagbo.
A research carried out by a hospital in Vancouver, Canada, showed that obese children carry a greater risk of developing atherosclerosis. And this precursor of cardiovascular accidents and early mortality is usually seen in people in their 50s.
The Researchers conducted a study on children with average of 13. They measured the blood pressure, blood lipid levels and body mass index (BMI) of 63 obese children and 55 youngsters of normal size and weight.
At the early age of 13, the researchers identified deterioration in the elasticity of the arteries in the obese children.
This is an distressing result. These, it is an increasing phenomenon for young kids to stayed glued to computers and video games instead of engaging in physical activity. Such sedentary lifestyle is a precursor for child obesity and obesity later in life.
Child obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of child obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.
Healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and physical activity, can lower the risk of becoming obese and developing related diseases.
