Billionaires Balk at Buffett and Gates Initiative – A brouhaha has been brewing in China amid rampant speculation that Chinese billionaires are dodging invitations to a banquet hosted by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett later this month… because they are nervous about being hit up for donations. (ABC News)
Uneasy Calm Returns to Mozambique After Last Week’s Violence – The head of news and current affairs at Mozambique television told VOA an uneasy calm has returned to the capital, Maputo, and surrounding areas hit last week by violent protests over rising prices that left at least 13 dead and hundreds injured. (VOA)
Four million poor children dying ‘of neglect’ – Save the Children says there have been four million preventable child deaths over the past 10 years because states have failed to help the poorest. (BBC)
Nigeria army in Maiduguri after ‘Boko Haram attacks’ - The army is conducting joint patrols with the police in Nigeria’s northern city of Maiduguri after a wave of killings blamed on the Islamist sect, Boko Haram. The police have also banned riding motorcycles at night as several of the shootings were carried out by people on motorbikes. Twelve people, including seven policemen, have died in the past month. (BBC)
South Africa Unions’ Strike Suspended – South Africa’s trade unions Monday suspended an almost three-week-old strike by hundreds of thousands of government workers that had closed schools and hamstrung ambitious new efforts to expand urgently needed medical services in the region’s richest but most inequitable economy. (NY Times)
China, South Africa Sign Deals To Deepen Ties In Resources, Energy — China and South Africa on Tuesday signed a raft of commercial deals in mining, finance, nuclear energy and other sectors. The deals were made during a visit to China by South African President Jacob Zuma. China is South Africa’s top trading partner, and South Africa’s economy–more developed than many others in the region–has been a focal point of a broader Chinese push into the continent aimed at securing resources and expanding China’s international clout. (Wall Street Journal)
At Least 33 People Killed in Attack on Somali Hotel — Somali insurgents disguised as police officers stormed a Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday morning and opened fire, killing at least 33 people, including 6 lawmakers, in one of the deadliest attacks in months, Somali officials said. The hotel attack seems to be part of a bigger offensive that insurgents opened on Monday against government forces and shows that the insurgents have figured out how to infiltrate nearly every inch of Mogadishu, even within the parts of the city that the government claims it firmly controls. (New York Times)
Transparency on extractive industries will help beat corruption — Frank Vogl of Transparency International writes that the requirement of oil, gas and mining companies to report their financial dealings with African governments, a new provision included in the recently passed U.S. financial legislation, may now lead to a quantum leap in fighting corruption and bringing needed transparency to such industries. (Financial Times, letter by Frank Vogl)
Billions of aid dollars buy U.S. little goodwill in Pakistan— The U.S. government has provided about $18 billion in civilian and military aid to Pakistan since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Yet according to a Pew Research Center survey released last month, half of Pakistanis believe the United States gives little to no assistance here. For Obama administration officials, that’s a source of deep anxiety — and frustration. U.S. officials say aid money is making a positive impact, if not always a widely noticed one. (Washington Post)
Aid agency warns of ‘double disaster’ for Niger — Niger has been hit by a double disaster as recent floods compound an existing food crisis, the UK aid agency Oxfam said this week. Aid workers are struggling to help thousands of people affected by the floods which have hit many areas of West and Central Africa. Oxfam says the situation is stretching resources to the limit as it also tries to respond to the food shortages. Nearly eight million people, or half the population, are already facing hunger because of failed harvests. (BBC News)
Rwandan Rebels Raped at Least 179 Women in Congo, Humanitarian Officials Say — A mob of Rwandan rebels raped at least 179 women last month during a weekend raid on a community of villages in eastern Congo, the United Nations said Monday. The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or F.D.L.R., was blamed for the attack. The F.D.L.R. is an ethnic Hutu rebel group that has been terrorizing the hills of eastern Congo for years, preying on villages in a quest for the natural resources beneath them. (New York Times)
Cholera outbreak kills 200 in Cameroon: Cholera has killed 200 people in Cameroon and aid agencies feared the outbreak could spread to neighboring regions and nations. The disease is caused by contaminated water and about 70 percent of people living in the country’s far north region, bordering Nigeria and Chad, do not have access to potable water. Sanitation is also limited in the area and recent flooding has aggravated the situation. (CNN)
Reform in Rwanda: The Financial Times argues there are two reasons Paul Kagame was re-elected to Rwandan president with 93 percent of the vote. First, Kagame has turned Rwanda into one of the least corrupt, most secure countries in Africa. Second, he eliminated any opposition. (Financial Times)
Party Says Nigeria President Can Run in Vote: Nigeria’s ruling party is allowing President Goodluck Jonathan to run in next year’s election, despite an informal agreement calling for a Muslim candidate. The unwritten agreement calls for the presidency to alternate between Christians and Muslims. (Wall Street Journal)
Sierra Leone: New Agriculture Plan Sprouts: Sierra Leone’s finance minister has announced the government will increase the agriculture budget from 7.7 percent to 9.9 percent. The budget will go to facilitating and strengthening small and medium scale farmers as well as promoting large scale farming and the development of agri-business. The budget is also intended to facilitate access to markets for selected commodities like rice, oil palm, cocoa and fisheries. (Mohamed Fofanah, AllAfrica.com) Uganda: Donors Should Review Aid Cut: Development partners plan a 10% cut of their $360M contribution to Uganda’s budget this year because of government corruption. The New Vision argues however that donors should know that the aid cut will impact the poor more negatively than the state officials, as social services will most likely be cut because of budget constraints. (New Vision)
Kenya not out of woods despite constitution vote: Kenya’s long-awaited new constitution is facing a lengthy implementation process that could take years. The law that aims to check presidential powers and curb the corruption, political patronage, land-grabbing and tribalism faces challenges of competing politicians sharing positions on the implementation committee. The concern is whether politicians who opposed the law will try to block it if chosen to be on the committee. (James Macharia, Reuters)
This is our very first post from ONE’s government relations intern, Zach Kelly. Make sure to give him props in the comments section!
Last week, ONE had the exciting opportunity to partner with the U.S. Department of State to host a luncheon discussion with the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program.
At the lunch, women from 35 African countries shared their experiences about working in the African business world. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Pearl Alice Marsh of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, provided a congressional perspective of women’s challenges and opportunities and the role they play in commerce and job creation on the continent.
She emphasized that both the public and private sector must make special efforts to remove obstacles that impede the success and growth of African businesswomen because they are proven and effective agents of development in their society.
During our discussion, we learned that African women have difficulties in gaining access to capital and other financial resources when starting and operating a business because of their gender. A participant from Ethiopia said she is working a solution to the problem: partner with other Ethiopian businesswomen to start the first-ever commercial bank owned by a majority of women. This would make it easier for women to access financial capital.
A participant from Nigeria shared her advocacy victory. By teaming up with local cassava farmers in securing assistance and support from the Nigerian government and the USAID, she saved a faltering cassava-processing factory in rural Nigeria. The factory is now fully functioning and ready to supply the beverage industry with glucose-syrup, creating jobs and real economic growth for the area.
These were only some of the amazing stories shared at the event, but each one highlighted the fact that these women are pioneers and leaders in their countries. They are passionate and committed to advancing the role and prosperity of future generations of women in African society, and with the help of global partners and investors, will certainly achieve these goals.
CNN is running an interesting piece about the oil leaks in the Niger Delta (which we’ve blogged about here). With the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, this appears to be getting renewed attention in the press.
CNN reports some frustration with the amount of worldwide attention given to the situation in the US Gulf, while the spill in the Niger Delta has been an ongoing problem for 50 years. Nigeria is the fifth-largest exporter of oil to the United States.
Clip below– you can read more about this report here.
Ayuba Gufwan is a polio survivor and the Executive Director of Wheelchairs for Nigeria and the Beautiful Gate Initiative. He is in Geneva today to help formally launch the new 2010-2012 Strategic Plan for eradicating polio. I had the pleasure of asking Ayuba a few questions about his experience with polio and how he is working to improve the lives of other polio victims.
How old were you when you got polio?
I had polio at the age of 4. I was getting ready to celebrate my fifth birthday. I remember when I was very small — when I used to use my two legs — but that was only a very short experience.
What do you remember about those first few years with polio?
I was very frustrated. I remember one time in my village, which is in a rural part of Nigeria — when you grow up in a rural area, your childhood and teenage years are characterized by adventures.
I was very outspoken with my peers and I used to come up with a million suggestions like, “Let’s do this. Let’s go here.” I had all sorts of ideas, but when it came to the implementation of those ideas I was limited by mobility. And normally my friends would say, “Well, you stay here while we go into the bush and hunt for the food and we’ll come back for you when we find something.” But in most cases they never came. But if I insisted on going with them I’d have to go on the ground and it would take the whole day and they would never get there in time for what they wanted to do. So, they devised a plan. They would say, “Ready . . . one, two, three . . .” and then they would take off running and I was left there and I was really, really frustrated. Sometimes I would just break down and start crying and crawl back home very slowly and very sadly. I was really bitter growing up because of the effects of polio.
In fact, polio made it impossible for you to attend school?
It was very difficult. You know one effect of polio for me as a child was that I developed an inferiority complex. My parents saw polio as the end of my life. In fact my name is “Burki.” And “burki” means to apply the brakes. My father’s friend was the one that gave me the name. What that meant, according to my parents was, “This boy would’ve amounted to something great in life, but this polio has put the brakes on his progress in life.” And so, he didn’t want me to go to school.
How did your life change when you got your first wheelchair?
So, when I got a bicycle wheelchair at the age of 19 I started going back to school. Then I had my hope, dignity, and self-worth restored. And it was then that I started overcoming the inferiority complex that had developed in me because of polio.
That wheelchair was the turning point in my life.
I felt as if my legs had been restored. I felt that all of my obstacles came tumbling down. I was able to move from one point to another comfortably and that changed my life. I remember that day very, very well. It was on the 14th of April and the events of that day are still evergreen in my memory. That was a wonderful day.
And that is part of the reason I am moved to do what I do now with Wheelchairs For Nigeria; because I know that if you’ve come down with polio or any other crippling disease that the wheelchair can actually restore your hope and turn around your life.
Instead of practicing law, you decided to make wheelchairs for polio survivors. What made you choose that direction?
As a small boy I always dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but it was hard for me because I didn’t get to go directly to the university. I went to a college of education and took a teaching appointment. I came back to the faculty of the University of Jos for five years, and as soon as I graduated I started thinking about myself and what career I should take.
I knew law could give me money and give me fame, but I was wondering, “What about the hundreds and hundreds of kids who have polio? What can I do to help them?” So I put my ambition for the law aside and decided to give my time, my energy, and my strength to working with the thousands of polio survivors.
What do the recipients of your custom wheelchairs say to you?
Oh my goodness. When I give someone a wheelchair, and I look straight in a person’s eyes, I see the joy and the restoration of hope. As soon as you pick up a child and place them down in a wheel chair they break down into tears of joy. It really touches me. And I say, let’s get on to the next child!
Almost everyone has the same feeling I have when I got my wheelchair. When you live the remotest part of Nigeria like I do you can’t get around unless someone volunteers to carry you on the shoulders.
Over the last ten years we’ve given away over 3,000 wheelchairs. The people who have received the wheelchairs have gone back to school, they’ve learned a trade.
How are you and other polio survivors spreading the message of immunization?
When we meet with people I raise their awareness about polio immunization and ask them to spread the word. There’s been tremendous effort. People are doing this in their communities, in their churches, wherever people are gathered. There are so many people who are taking the initiative and they are doing an excellent job in reaching out to people.
What message would you like to share with the world about polio eradication?
I would plead with the world community to sustain the tempo so that polio can finally be eradicated.
Growing up in my village we had an adventurous lifestyle. A part of that adventure was going to hunt for birds with our slingshots. Sometimes we would aim at a bird and shoot and miss. We’d say, “Oh! I nearly got it!” And the tendency is to want to celebrate because you nearly got the bird. An elder friend of ours said, “Nearly does not kill the bird. You have to hit the bird and that is when you should celebrate.” When it comes to polio eradication, if the global community stops today because we have done 99% and they say, “We deserve an A,” that doesn’t end the matter. We have to get 100%. If we all stop today, polio will roll back and we’ll go backwards. We’ll lose all of our achievement. So, when it comes to polio, “Nearly does not kill the bird.”
We have to say we eradicated polio . . . not that we almost eradicated polio.
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
How old were you when you got polio?
