Doctors qualify in Somali capital

I found this story very moving take a look!

Student doctors have graduated from a medical school in the Somali capital of Mogadishu - for the first time in nearly two decades.
The ceremony for 12 men and eight women was held inside a barricaded hotel, guarded by police, in the capital. The new doctors come at a time when Somalis in the conflict-wracked country desperately need medical care.

The Horn of Africa nation has been engulfed by chaos since President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Civilians often bear the brunt of the bullet-pocked capital's battles between Islamist forces and government soldiers, backed by Ethiopian troops. The students had to dodge firefights on their way to university in one of the most violent cities in the world.

With the men wearing suits and ties and the women in Muslim headscarves, the graduates smiled for a portrait and hoisted their diplomas in the air at the Shamo Hotel.
They said they would not leave the country because their profession was in high demand in Somalia - and some of them have already joined hospitals in Mogadishu.

They graduated after a six-year programme that is recognised only in Somalia, not overseas.
'Fruit of resilience' "This is a really good moment of my life. I want to work and help my people with this new talent and I'm not leaving," said 20-year-old Na'ima Abdulkadir Mohamed.

Another graduate, Yahye Abdi-rahman, 22, said: "Few can believe that education is available in a city of bullets and violence.
"But God is great, we have overcome all the problems and now we can enjoy the fruit of our resilience."
Abdirizak Yusuf, 25, head of the medical students' association at Benadir University, said: "If we get a good and functioning government we can be a leader among African universities, regardless of security, because we know how to survive in anarchy."

The president of the university was equally optimistic. "The graduation of these students shows something that nobody outside Somalia can believe - that students can still learn despite violence and anarchy," Mohamed Malim Muse said. It has been a good week for health services in Mogadishu.
On Tuesday, the city got its first public ambulance system in 18 years, raising hopes residents will no longer have to resort to wheelbarrows to transport their wounded.
Five emergency vehicles with a team of nurses will answer calls from patients to a new 24-hour emergency 777 helpline, thanks to help from a non-governmental organisation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7765571.stm

Texts tackle HIV in SOUTH AFRICA

This article could not of been more dead on with our focus in class.

As we all have wished for better health, wealth, and happiness in Africa, South Africans become more diversified in their technology through the use of "texting" with cell phones. In efforts to get tested for HIV, a message is sent to the different cellphones in one of the countries that seems to have the worst problem of HIV. South African project Masilulefe will send one million free text messages a day to push people to be tested and treated.

With about six million people in South Africa with Aids, "South Africa is the epicentre of the global HIV epidemic," said Zinny Thabethe, an HIV activist who is part of the project.

With every positive a negative is always lurking. The issue with this project is the results from the message. Based on the 5% that have gotten tested, people will only go when they are sitting on their death beds.

The intention to help is there, but it falls on the education of this nation to work on preserving life for future generations.

Check out the article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7688268.stm

Texts used to tackle South Africa HIV crisis

LONDON, England (CNN) -- One million free text messages will be sent every day for 12 months from Monday in South Africa in a bid to raise HIV awareness and encourage testing for the disease.

The ambitious Project Masiluleke is being rolled out across the country after a pilot period that saw calls to a AIDS national helpline shoot up by 200 percent, organizers say.

The United Nations estimates that there are currently six million people living with HIV in South Africa and just one in 10 get the treatment they need.

"South Africa is the epicenter of the global HIV epidemic," said HIV activist Zinny Thabethe in Octorber at an annual conference for the social innovation network Pop!Tech, an organization instrumental in developing the concept.

'Project Masiluleke,' or 'Project M' was set up to try to encourage people to seek testing and treatment in a country where cell phones are abundant.

Africa is cited as the fastest growing mobile-phone network in the world. In South Africa, more than 80 percent of the population has one -- the country has a population of 49 million, and it is estimated that 43 million have cell phones. Almost 95 percent of the phones are prepaid.

The initiative plans to broadcast millions of health messages every month to phones across South Africa.

"This is the largest ever use of cell phones for health information," said Gustav Praekelt, one of the project's originators.

"There is near universal coverage," said Praekelt during the launch of the project. "And in the absence of other services, the mobile phone has become the central component for people to get access to information."

Organizers say 'Project M' will offer South Africans the privacy to get tested and pursue treatment options and counseling by staff who are HIV positive themselves.

The system sends the messages using a so-called "Please Call Me" (PCM) service. This free form of text messaging, common across Africa, allows someone without any phone credit to send a text to a friend asking them to call.

Each sent PCM message has the words "Please Call Me," the phone number of the caller, and space for an additional 120 characters. The extra space is normally filled with advertising, which helps offset the cost of running the service.

The message reads: "Frequently sick, tired, losing weight and scared that you might be HIV positive? Please call AIDS Helpline 0800012322."

Encouraging people to get tested is a huge challenge in a country where people with the AIDS virus still face stigma and shame.

However, 'Project M' appears to be having an impact, since it was initiated in October.

"We have observed a dramatic increase in the call rate to the AIDS Helpline -- from approximately 1,300 calls per day to a new average of 3,600," said Milo Zama, Projects Development Manager for LifeLine, one of the partners.

Trained operators provide callers with accurate healthcare information, and referrals to local testing clinics

Many of the messages are broadcast in English and in local languages such as Zulu.

As well as Pop!Tech, the project has been developed and funded by HIV charities and technology and design firms, including Nokia Siemens, MTN, the Praekelt Foundation, iTeach and National Geographic.

Pop!Tech's Director of Communications Jason Rzepka told CNN there are plans to expand the project to other affected countries after its official launch in February 2009.

He said: "One of the objectives of the February launch event will be to secure additional funding, so we can continue to expand Project Masiluleke into its planned 2nd and 3rd phases beyond South Africa."

Surgeon saves boys life by text

A British doctor volunteering in DR Congo used text message instructions from a colleague to perform a life-saving amputation on a boy.
Vascular surgeon David Nott helped the 16-year-old while working 24-hour shifts with medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Rutshuru.
The boy's left arm had been ripped off and was badly infected and gangrenous.
Mr Nott, 52, from London, had never performed the operation but followed instructions from a colleague who had.
The surgeon, who is based at Charing Cross Hospital in west London, said: "He was dying. He had about two or three days to live when I saw him."
Careful instructions
It is not clear how the boy was injured. It was suggested that he had been bitten by a hippopotamus while fishing, but Mr Nott also heard that he had been caught in crossfire between government and rebel forces.
There were just 6in (15cm) of the boy's arm remaining, much of the surrounding muscle had died and there was little skin to fold over the wound.
Mr Nott knew he needed to perform a forequarter amputation, requiring removal of the collar bone and shoulder blade.
He contacted Professor Meirion Thomas, from London's Royal Marsden Hospital, who had performed the operation before.
"I texted him and he texted back step by step instructions on how to do it," he said.

It was just luck that I was there and could do it
David Nott
"Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting.
"But in the end he would have died without it so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter.
"I knew exactly what my colleague meant because we have operated together many times."
The operation is only performed about 10 times a year in the UK, usually on cancer patients, and requires the back-up of an intensive-care unit. Patients usually lose a lot of blood during the procedure.

David Nott explains the procedure

Mr Nott, from Fulham, west London, had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre, but the operation, performed in October, was a success and the teenager made a full recovery.
The surgeon, who volunteers with MSF for a month every year, said: "I don't think there's more than two or three surgeons in the UK who can do this. It was just luck that I was there and could do it.
"I don't think that someone that wasn't a vascular surgeon would have been able to deal with the large blood vessels involved. That is why I volunteer myself so often, I love being able to save someone's life."
In the absence of intensive-care facilities, Mr Nott said he had personally monitored the boy's recovery from his bedside, tending his wounds.
"It was touch and go whether he would make it so when I saw his face on the MSF website afterwards, it was a real delight," he added.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7761994.stm

Positive: "United States of Africa"

Britain's American colonies did it. Europe's nations did it. Can Africa's disparate countries form their own political union? Jean Ping, the 67-year-old chairman of the African Union Commission, believes they can, despite the troubled history of African unity. Ping, who left his post as Gabon's foreign minister to take the helm of the pan-African body earlier this year, brings a unique personal history to the job. In the 1930s his Chinese-born father, who sold porcelain along Africa's western coast, missed his boat in Gabon and decided to settle in a small fishing village. He wound up marrying the chief's daughter—who became Ping's mother. Now Ping is charged with bringing unity and order to a continent that has seen little of either in its recent history. He recently spoke with NEWSWEEK's Jason McLure at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa about creating a United States of Africa, bringing peace to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Darfur, and his views of American democracy.

NEWSWEEK: There is a debate in the African Union about how long it will take to create a United States of Africa. Libya's Muammar Qaddafi has pushed for its immediate creation. What's your vision?
Jean Ping: For those who want a quick creation it could be three phases of three years. Gradualists talk about 35 years. I think there is a possibility of compromise. We also have a debate on what type of "United States" we will have: be it a confederation, a federation, or a centralized government.

What is the motivation?
We need bigger markets. Some of our countries are too small and too weak. Africa is a big continent full of raw materials. But this big continent is divided by 165 borders into 53 countries. Even the voice of a larger country like Nigeria or South Africa by itself is inaudible in international negotiations on world trade or climate change. But collectively it's impossible to ignore 53 countries with almost one billion inhabitants.
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About eastern Congo, the United Nations has said it will send an additional 3,000 peacekeepers, bringing the total troop force to 20,000. Is that enough to halt the bloodshed?
No I don't think so. The U.N. troops are not generally authorized to use force. They are in very bad shape. It is very difficult for them, not only due to their [small] numbers but due to the nature of their mandate, to do what some Congolese and Africans are expecting. That's why civilians are throwing stones at them.

What about the current ceasefire, signed in Nairobi on Nov. 7?
If the ceasefire is not respected, then we should use force. But those who use force will be Africans, like the countries of the Great Lakes or the African Union. The ex-Interhamwe who are there, the [Hutu] genocidaires who moved from Rwanda to eastern Congo, they are considered by Rwanda to be a threat to their security. This problem, the root cause of the conflict, should be solved. I am confident we can solve it. If this problem is solved there are no more reasons for [renegade Tutsi] Gen. Laurent Nkunda to fight, because he says he is fighting to protect the Tutsi of the Congo.

The African Union has voiced concern about the International Criminal Court's genocide indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, saying it could prevent Sudan from implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the North and South. Why?
We in the African Union, we have to fight impunity. But we say that the step taken by the International Criminal Court is not going to help the situation. We have decided to ask the U.N. Security Council to suspend the implementation [of the indictment] for 12 months. The second thing is we have asked the Sudanese government to prosecute those who are responsible for crimes.

How would President Bashir's government be able to prosecute those involved? You can understand why outsiders would be skeptical.
Well I don't want to go into details, but is it a genocide in Darfur? The U.N. Security Council sent a mission there in 2005 and the conclusion of that mission is that there is no genocide. There are crimes against humanity and war crimes. Crimes against humanity and war crimes are very important, but there is no need to use 'genocide' if it is not proven

(the rest of the interview can be found on NewsWeek.com at this link: http://www.newsweek.com/id/171588 )

Africa gets set for KORA awards

-Project, a Nigerian/ Sierra Leonean trio music group which comprises Majeed, Slez and Saal will be joining other notable Nigerian acts to battle for this year's KORA Music Award. KORA is Africa's version of the Grammy awards.

The KORA Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 1994 by Ernest Adjovi, they are comparable to the American Grammy Awards in intent. The award is named after the KORA, an important West African plucked chordophone.

The awards were last held in 2005, but it is set to re-launch in December 6th, 2008 in Calabar, Nigeria. X-Project, the Lori le exponent has been nominated along side two Nigerian MTV Base award winners - 2Face Idibia and D’Banj. P-Square, Asa, Sasha, Sammie Okposo, Infinity, Olu Maintain, T Y Bello, Yinka Ayefele, are in the West African category.

Nominees from other African countries are Amity Meria from Burkina Faso; Elizio Tcheka from Cape Verde; Espooir 2000, Soum Bill, Les Go Two Koteba, Honakamy and Tour 2 Grade from Ivory Coast; and Gang of Instruments, Jaziel Bros, Patience Dabany and Oliver Wgoma from South Africa. 

From Comoros Island; Chebli & Mpassi were nominated, Micath as nominated from Ethiopia, Jaydee from Tanzania. Ras Munik and Cool is 1 are in the nomination list from Mauritius.

The event manager of the talented group told AfricaNews that X-Project has all what it takes to win this year’s edition of the award. 

“They have every opportunity to win the award. They are the only group in Africa that is very unique. Coming from Sierra Leone and having just only Nigerian in the group gives X-Project leverage above anybody listed in the category,” he said. 

“I will not unveil our strategies now but we are coming out in full force for the campaign in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Gambia, South Africa, Ghana, New York, London and other countries where our songs are making waves at the moment”. 

X-project just returned to Nigeria after making headline performances across the United States. 

Positive Article: UK Doctor Saves Life of Congo Teenager

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/dec/03/congo-text-message-amputation/print

Surgeon carries out amputation by text

• Sam Jones
• The Guardian, Wednesday December 3 2008

A British surgeon volunteering in the Democratic Republic of Congo saved the life of a teenage boy by amputating his shoulder using instructions texted by a colleague in London.

David Nott, 52, a general and vascular surgeon at Chelsea and Westminster hospital, was working with the charity Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) in the town of Rutshuru when he came across the badly injured 16-year-old in October.

The teenager's left arm had been so badly damaged - either in an accident or as a result of the fighting between Congolese and rebel troops - that it had already had to be amputated. But the flesh and bone that remained had become badly infected and gangrenous.

"He was dying" said Nott. "He had about two or three days to live."

The doctor realised the boy's best chance of survival was a forequarter amputation which requires the surgeon to remove the collar bone and shoulder blade. The only problem was that it was an operation Nott had never performed. But he remembered that one of his colleagues at home had carried out the procedure.

"I texted him and he texted back step-by-step instructions," he said.

"Even then I had to think long and hard about whether it was right to leave a young boy with only one arm in the middle of this fighting.

"But in the end he would have died without it, so I took a deep breath and followed the instructions to the letter."

Such an operation, if performed in the UK, would require careful planning with every sort of modern medical product on hand if things went wrong.

But in Congo Nott had just one pint of blood and an elementary operating theatre.

Despite the basic conditions, the operation was a success and the teenager made a full recovery.

More than 5 million people have been killed in Congo since the early 1990s when the Rwandan genocide spread into what was then Zaire.

Ghanaian wins Face of Africa

The striking 23-year-old Ghanaian, Kate Menson was declared winner of the 2008 M-Net Face of Africa last Saturday, November 29 at the SuperBowl in Sun City, South Africa. She was discovered in the Accra casting earlier in the year.

Although Kate had auditioned for the search in 2006, she had not qualified at the time because she needed to hone her talent and work on developing her physique. Her hard work, focus and dedication were finally rewarded as she was named the seventh and newest M-Net Face of Africa. 

She beat nine other bevy of ladies from the continent - Alli (Nigeria), Hamamat (Ghana), Hiwot (Ethiopia), Maria (Namibia), Noxi (Zambia), Joana (Angola), Lucy (Uganda), Sasa (South Africa) and Sola (Nigeria).

Featuring the fashions of Tanzania’s Mustafa Hassanali, South Africa’s Thula Sindi and Nigeria’s Lisa Folawiyo plus two magazine collections from South Africa’s Cosmopolitan magazine and True Love East Africa, the finale was a glamourous glittering showcase of African talent, style and creative energy, played out against a backdrop of a gleaming black catwalk. 

The very first Face of Africa winner and now global model icon and businesswoman, Oluchi Onweagba-Orlandi made the big announcement and revealed the M-Net Face of Africa 2008. Kate was awarded with a modeling contract valued at USD 50 000 with her (Oluchi) agency OModel Africa. 

M-Net Channel Director for Africa Biola Adekanbi said that M-Net was proud of the project of Face of Africa. Adekanbi said its transformative power is expected to change lives and its enduring continental appeal would continue to be a shining highlight on the M-Net calendar. 

"We wish all of the top 10 finalists well as they go forward and thank them for the courage, and their strength in taking on this challenge and meeting it with such grace and charm. Further, we wish Kate much success as she enters a new chapter in a life, once we are confident she will embrace with enthusiasm and passion. Finally, M-Net will continue to promote African talent and ingenuity, in keeping with our belief that Africa and Africans should be celebrated."

(lead blogger post) Zimbabweans ill and dying from cholera crossing border

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/03/cholera.zimbabwe/index.html

I've been seeing a lot about Africa pop up on CNN's home page lately, and there were several articles that are worthy of a blog but this one caught my eye because it isn't about all the fighting and rebel attacks constantly going on in Africa, but instead about a health issue-something that could be solved if money was put into some sort of plumbing or sanitation system for Zimbabwean's drinking water. 

The article describes how cholera is contracted, but to give you a brief rundown it is contracted by consuming contaminated water. This recent outbreak is believed to have been caused by burst raw sewage pipes that contaminated the rivers, wells and streams around the area, and that is where most of the residents get their drinking water.

While we hear so many horror stories from Africa in the midst of all their civil wars, it is still so sad to hear about people dying from something that can be solved a lot easier than those wars and conflicts (it's estimated between 500-1,000 people have died and up to 12,000 more may be infected). I also think more developed countries outside of Africa need to be doing what they can to help, since they have already overcome problems like this as long ago as medieval times. It would help prevent a lot of unnecessary deaths and many sad stories, including the one of the pregnant woman at the beginning of this article. We spend so much time discussing how we need to help stop genocides and rebel attacks around Africa, but it would be my guess that there are just as many people dying from diseases and other things that don't get our attention or the news coverage they need.

How do you think different countries around Africa, specifically Zimbabwe at the moment, can begin to work on their sanitation systems to help better the public's health?

While so much money is put into finding a cure for AIDS, why is it we hear so little about other diseases being spread around Africa, and even less about what is being done to cure or stop them? Along that same line, do you think it is important that outside countries help, or is this something that countries in Africa need to work out among themselves?

Positive: African Agriculture Journalists Awarded

Posted on Tuesday 2 December 2008 - 12:40

1. Sanday Chongo Kabange, AfricaNews reporter in Lusaka, Zambia

   Two African Journalists have been awarded with the continent's presitgious agriculture awards at a ceremony held in the Mozambique. Patricia Oyella of WBS TV in Uganda and Wandera Ojanji of the East African Standard in Kenya were winners of the CGIAR-FARA 2008 Award for Excellence in Agricultural Science Journalism in Africa.

   

   Oyella won the prize for outstanding broadcast story while Ojanji received the outstanding print media prize. Each award, carrying a cash value of US$5,000 recognizes journalists’ efforts in effectively communicating agricultural science issues to the general public.
   
   This year’s prize was jointly offered by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
   
   “We received an impressive array of entries from about 20 countries in Africa. Oyella and Ojanji impressed the judges most for thoroughly exploring the issues without losing their audience in the complexity of science. We recognize and applaud their efforts in showing how agriculture research contributes to development in Africa,” said Catherine Mgendi of the CGIAR.
   
   “Extensive and well-researched coverage of these important issues contributes to the mission of the CGIAR and FARA, and we are grateful for their contribution.”
   
   Saving the Cooking Banana
   
   Patricia Oyella, editor and reporter at WBS TV in Uganda, received the award for her broadcast feature, “Saving the Cooking Banana,” shown on WBS TV and on Business Africa, a program broadcast on a network of more than 45 African and five European partner channels. 
   
   Combining powerful, captivating imagery with precise narratives, the feature demonstrated the importance of this food crop in Africa, the problems faced by banana farmers, and the solutions offered by researchers.
   
   The panel of judges comprising senior journalists and editors across Africa applauded her entry as “a brilliant story well told with strong human interest.” The judges commended Oyella for a story well-researched that also employed unforgettable images and experts who explained the issues clearly.
   
   Endangered Species
   
   Wandera Ojanji, science and environmental writer at the East African Standard newspaper in Kenya, received the outstanding print award for his article, “Endangered Species,” published on September 2, 2007.
   
   In his article, Ojanji effectively highlighted the plight of diminishing indigenous livestock breeds in Kenya and neighboring countries, and advocated strongly for the conservation of their genetic diversity through research, local breeding programs, and policy
   interventions.
   
   “‘Endangered Species’ is a good agriculture research story and the journalist has done proper justice to a difficult theme,” said the judges.
   
   The CGIAR-FARA 2008 Award for Excellence in Agricultural Science Journalism in Africa attracted 49 print and broadcast entries on issues affecting Africa’s key crops (banana, cassava, maize, rice) and livestock, namely biofuels, climate change, the role of biotechnology, food safety, access to fertilizers, pest management and efforts to control noxious weeds such as striga.
   
   “In this day of information overload, journalists have to be concise, accurate and relevant. They additionally have to present agricultural information attractively and innovatively. Their choice of words and images sometimes has more impact than loads of scientific evidence,” said Francois Stepman, Communications Specialist for the Accra-based Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa. 
   
   “We truly laud the efforts of journalists to inform and educate the public about the
   importance of issues affecting agriculture in Africa, and solutions offered by research.”

http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/21933

South African honoured as one of world's most innovative teachers

Sarietjie Musgrave, a Grade 10 Teacher from the Free State, has been recognised as one of the world's most innovative teachers in Microsoft's 2008 Worldwide Innovative Teachers of the Year awards. Held as part of the annual Worldwide Innovative Teachers Forum, the awards honour outstanding teachers who practice exceptional learning methods and incorporate the creative use of technology in their classrooms.

Musgrave, who teaches at Eunice High School in Bloemfontein, won second prize in the Innovation for Collaboration category for her 'Spread the Sunshine' project.

The project for Grade 10 Computer Applications Technology pupils sees learners investigating the needs of disabled people and then creating useful Information Technology-based applications for disabled people.

Among the projects Musgrave's pupils from the all-girls school embarked upon include teaching a dyslexic pupil how to read and write using drawings on a computer, reconnecting an elderly woman with her family through email and teaching a paralysed six year old girl how to write her name on a computer.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Musgrave said. "I wanted to teach them how to conduct research and, being the year of the Olympics and the (Paralympics), we decided to focus on disabilities."

Musgrave added that she believes that she only was honoured because of her pupils' hard work. "I was just amazed at their creativity and willingness. They have realised it doesn't cost money to make a difference."

Now in its fourth year, the Innovative Teachers Forum brought together over 250 teachers from 64 countries to collaborate together and discuss ways of using technology to enhance learning.

Musgrave said the forum in Hong Kong provided teachers from around the world with a "meaningful" chance to share ideas on how technology transformed learning.

"This reminds me of why I began teaching: to share my love of learning new things and to change people's lives," she told the Sunday Times.



http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/sa_teaching_the_world/south_african_honoured_as_one_of_worlds_most_innovative_teachers_2.html

South Africa Aids Vaccine

Amazing, isn't it!!

SA Aids vaccine makes medical history

Monday, 01 December 2008

After eight years of research, two South African developed HIV vaccines are to become the first African vaccines to undergo human clinical trials in the United States. The South African Aids Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI), which is a programme of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and is supported by the South African government, announced that the first phase of safety trials will begin in Boston, USA this week. The vaccines were developed at the University of Cape Town's Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM). After eight years of research, two South African developed HIV vaccines are to become the first African vaccines to undergo human clinical trials in the United States. The South African Aids Vaccine Initiative (SAAVI), which is a programme of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and is supported by the South African government, announced that the first phase of safety trials will begin in Boston, USA this week. The vaccines were developed at the University of Cape Town's Institute for Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IIDMM) with funding from SAAVI and the US National Institute for Health. Both vaccines are based on HIV subtype C which is the dominant strain circulating in southern Africa, where the global AIDS pandemic is highly prevalent. "This clinical trial represents a milestone for South Africa, as one of the few developing countries to have developed an HIV vaccine and progressed it into human clinical trials," says Prof. Anthony Mbewu, President of the MRC. "It is progress in the search for an HIV vaccine which would provide the best chance to halt the global HIV epidemic; as well as a significant step in South Africa's growing competence in complex vaccine development," he added. The trial called SAAVI 102/HVTN 073 will involve 12 participants in the US and a further 36 participants from South Africa. These trials will take place in January next year with participants from the Western Cape and Gauteng. Anna-Lise Williamson, SAAVI product development director at IIDMM, says that the aim of the vaccine is to prime the body to recognise the HI virus and to therefore speed up the immune system response. "At best the vaccine will stop infections, but it is more likely that it will slow the progression of the disease." Williamson adds that the vaccines could also lower the viral load of an infected person thus lowering the possibility of transmission. The vaccines will have to undergo three trial phases before they can be deemed successful, a process that could take between five to eight years. "SAAVI is extremely gratified that these test HIV vaccines are entering human clinical trials," says the Interim Director of SAAVI, Elise Levendal. "However, there is still a long way to go before we will know if these products will be in any way successful in preventing HIV infection."

http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/south_africa_in_the_world/sa_aids_vaccine_makes_medical_history.html

Ethiopia starts coffee exchange

Ethiopia starts coffee exchange

Ethiopia, Africa's largest coffee producer, has started trading the crop on a national commodity exchange.

In a move aimed at both increasing quality and the amount farmers get paid for their beans, coffee is being traded on the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange.

Replacing the previous, more informal, system of sales through middlemen, farmers will now be able to get direct access to current market prices.

The exchange has set up a network of warehouses to collect the beans.

Dominant crop

The Ethiopian government, which is backing the move, hopes it will prevent fraud, such as traders passing off beans from a lesser growing area as being those from a higher quality region.

Although the largest growers and co-operatives will be able to continue to sell directly to the global coffee firms, everyone else will have to use the electronic exchange.

Set up earlier this year, the exchange already trades in maize, wheat, sesame seeds and haricot beans.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee cultivation and the crop continues to account for more than a third of its export earnings.

It earned $525m (£354m) from coffee exports in the 2007-08 financial year.

However, Ethiopia still remains one of the world's poorest nations, and is ranked 170 out of 177 on the United Nation's Human Development Index.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7760321.stm

Published: 2008/12/02 10:23:15 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

From child refugee to Rwanda's reconciliation president

By Ken Shiffman
CNN Senior Producer

KIGALI, Rwanda (CNN) -- As leader of the Tutsi rebels in 1994, Paul Kagame pleaded with the world to stop the Rwandan genocide.

Paul Kagame: "We say every Rwandan has the same opportunity to life ... as the other."

"All along we thought that's why they were here," Kagame said, referring to the U.N. troops sent to monitor a peace agreement between the minority Tutsis and ruling Hutus.

But the nations of the world, he said, turned a deaf ear and a blind eye.

"They didn't care. They were totally indifferent. It was just another bloody African situation where just people kill each other and that's it."

After 100 days of fighting between the two ethnic groups, the Tutsi militia defeated Hutu government forces, ending the war and the genocide. But the Hutus' three-month slaughter of Tutsis left more than 800,000 dead. Today, Kagame is president of Rwanda, and he insists on reconciliation between the warring groups.

It was an incredible transformation for both Kagame and his country.  Watch as Kagame discusses Rwanda's past and future »

In the late 1950s and early '60s, Kagame's family and other Tutsis were under siege as Hutu gangs went from village to village, pillaging and killing. The Kagames, including 3-year-old Paul, fled to Uganda.

Paul Kagame would spend the next three decades as a refugee. During that time he rose through the ranks to become a senior officer in the Ugandan army. All the while, he and other refugees longed to return home to Rwanda.

In 1990, Kagame was attending a training course at Fort Leavenworth in the U.S. state of Kansas when Tutsi rebels invaded Rwanda. After some initial success, the rebel forces were forced to retreat.Among the casualties was their leader, who had been killed on the second day of the attack. When news of the failed invasion reached Kagame, he left the United States, resigned from the Ugandan military and took command of the Tutsi rebel militia.

Kagame instilled strict discipline in his growing rebel army. They would launch successful attacks that eventually brought the ruling Hutu government to sign a power-sharing agreement in 1993 known as the Arusha Accords.

But the peace agreement was a façade. Hutu extremists had no intention of sharing control of the Rwandan government. And in April 1994, they began their attempt to exterminate the Tutsi population.

Kagame's forces resumed their attacks, desperate to save their fellow Tutsis. The Hutu government had far more troops, but Kagame's soldiers had far more discipline. In battle after battle, they were victorious, gaining control of more and more of Rwanda, ultimately declaring victory in July 1994 -- but not before more than 800,000 were dead.Kagame recently sat down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour in his presidential compound to talk about the hope of reconciliation as well as the international community's indifference to the plight of Rwandans during the 1994 genocide.

"The common interests we have for a better future of this country [are] more important than any other interests, especially such interests as of different groups," Kagame said. "And we say every Rwandan has the same opportunity to life, to the sources of this country, as the other."

Nigerian forces impose peach after deadely riots

JOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Calm returned to Jos on Monday as hordes of police and military personnel descended on the central Nigerian city to enforce order after three days of deadly Christian-Muslim riots.
Authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew on some parts of the city and a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the rest.
As day broke, people milled about and surveyed the damage from the riots. Burned-out buildings, mosques and churches greeted them. Several families were seen leaving the city, with belongings in tow.
"It's pretty clear they are definitely trying to keep the lid on things," said CNN's Christian Purefoy, who visited the area.
A local religious leader told CNN Sunday that more than 340 people have been killed in the three days of fighting. The central mosque in the city said it alone buried 209 people.
Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, the imam of the mosque, said the violence stemmed from a local election for a "government council" in which a Muslim candidate was running against a Christian candidate. The results of the election were disputed by both sides, and the disagreement sparked the clashes.
"We do not feel secure," said Abubakar. "Our homes and mosques have been targeted and burned to ashes. We have many people who have been displaced."
The violence is the worst in Nigeria since 2004, when up to 700 people died in Plateau State during Christian-Muslim clashes.
Jos, the capital of Plateau State, lies in Nigeria's "middle belt," where dozens of ethnic groups live in hotly contested land separating the Muslim north from the predominantly Christian south.
Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is on a fault line between Islam and Christianity that crosses the continent from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic.
The violence is a major challenge for the government of President Umaru Yar'Adua, who came to power in a 2007 election that was criticized by international observers.
Few Nigerian elections have been deemed fair since independence from Britain in 1960, and civilian rule has often been interrupted by military takeovers.
More than 10,000 Nigerians have died in sectarian violence since civilian leaders overthrew a military junta in 1999. Political strife over local issues is also common and government offices control huge revenues from the oil industry