Standing Up for Africa – Former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, argues that “there has never been a better opportunity for investment in Africa than right now,” maintaining that African governments and the private sector “must seize this opportunity.” A farmer in his spare time, Mr Obasanjo has become a vocal advocate of agricultural reform and has called on African leaders to prioritize food security following a year in which drought-induced food shortages spread throughout the Horn of Africa. (Michelle Price, WSJ)
A smarter way to fight AIDS in Africa – Daniel Halperin, an epidemiologist, and Washington Post editor, Craig Timberg, argue that “keeping sexual behavior at the center of the conversation about preventing HIV is essential to reversing the spread of the virus.” The authors highlight a number of recent innovative efforts to reverse HIV’s spread, including a South African soap opera exploring the dangers of sexual networks and a Kenyan program that sent text messages to help people understand the perils of having multiple partners. (WaPo)
Vatican stats: percentage of Catholics in Europe dips; rises in Africa, Southeast Asia – The Vatican’s latest worldwide statistics find that the percentage of Europe’s Catholics has dipped while rising in Africa and southeast Asia. The number of priests rose in Asia and in Africa, a trend that appears will continue since seminary enrollment was also up in Africa and Asia. For some time now, many priests from Africa and Asia have come to Europe to help parishes. (AP)
7 stories on Africa this week, other than Kony2012 – Blogger Jina Moore highlights news stories that were overshadowed by the Kony2012 Campaign, including the firing of 25,000 striking nurses in Kenya, on the basis that “nurse strikes endanger patients’ lives.” Moore also highlights the International Peace Institute’s underreporting of certain topics, “namely, security in West Africa,” including the “combination of terrorism, drugs, crime and insurgency in the Sahel region.” (CSM)
UN, OECD reports call for ‘reforms’ in water policies, management – Representatives attending the World Water Forum in France this week “will have to address the growing imbalance between the demand and supply of water around the world.” A new report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found that rapid urbanization and the global economy are putting pressure on the water supply. It projects global water demand to rise 55 percent by 2050, placing at least 40 percent of the world’s population at risk of living in water-stressed areas. (Devex)
