What We’re Reading 5/8/09

May 8th, 2009 10:30 AM UTC
By Steve Wilson

Reuters—Africa must manufacture own AIDS drugs: AU
Africa must manufacture its own generic medicine if it is to continue to fight HIV/AIDS during the financial crisis and ensure its faltering economies can benefit from drug production, the African Union (AU) said yesterday. “Africa shouldn’t just import drugs all the time,” AU Commisioner for Social Affairs, Bience Gawanas, told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference of African ministers for health in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

Financial Times—Africa has to find its own road to prosperity (op-ed by Paul Kagame)
Rwandan President Paul Kagame writes in the Financial Times that the rich world and multilateral institutions like the World Bank and IMF most not only have a heart for the world’s poor; they also need to have a mind for the world’s poor. Kagame writes that aid must be employed more effectively and with stronger partnership from African nations, and that ultimately entrepreneurship and business will lead Africans out of poverty.

Financial Times—UN agencies scale up malaria battle
United Nations’ health and environment agencies are scaling up efforts to combat malaria without using the toxic pesticide DDT, following the success of experimental projects in central America. Officials from the UN environment program and the World Health Organization said this week the aim was to slash DDT use by 30 per cent by 2014 and phase it out by the early 2020s. New projects planned or already under way will test non-chemical methods of fighting malaria in some 40 countries in Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and central Asia.

Associated Press—Study of Gates Foundation shows global influence
A new study of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation illustrates its global reach with spending on health issues, but notes a need for accountability on whether the money is being spent in the most effective way.

Associated Press—Nearly 1 billion hungry people in world
The number of hungry people in the world could soon hit a record 1 billion, despite a recent drop in food prices, the U.N. food aid organization said Wednesday. The recent financial crisis, though it has helped bring global food prices down, also has led to falling trade and lower development aid, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s general director, Jacques Diouf.

VOA News—Zuma Becomes South African President Saturday
In South Africa preparations are entering the final stages for the inauguration Saturday of President-elect Jacob Zuma. Zuma Wednesday was overwhelmingly elected president by the South African parliament after an intense campaign that deeply divided the South African people. Zuma has promised to pursue the vision of a united, non-racial, non-sexist nation. And he listed five priorities for his government: “We’ll focus on education, health, land reform and rural development, the fight against crime, as well as creating decent work,” Zuma said.

-Steve Wilson

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