By: Augustine N. Myers – Media practitioners from the West African Sub-region have established a partnership to give more attention to water, sanitation and hygiene otherwise known as the WASH sector. Madam Mariame Dem, Head of WAWA speaking at the start of the General Assembly Mr. Augustine N. Myers, Chairman of WASH R&E Network-Liberia, giving success report The partnership known as the West Africa WASH Journalists Network, was established in Accra, Ghana at the close of the first General Assembly which brought together thirteen Countries from the region. The 3-day Assembly which was held from April 27-to-29, 2011, brought... Continue Reading
MSF treating more than 1,000 children for lead poisoning in Nigeria, but more needs to be done – BERN/LONDON, 18 May 2011—International medical aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières MSF (Doctors Without Borders) today accepted a 2011 Green Star Award for leadership in environmental emergencies, at a ceremony in Bern, Switzerland. MSF’s most recent environmental emergency response began in northern Nigeria in March 2010, and is still ongoing. There MSF is treating more than 1,000 children for lead poisoning in several villages in Zamfara state. It is one of the most serious cases of acute heavy metal poisoning ever recorded. “MSF... Continue Reading
KHAYELITSHA, 17 May 2011 (PlusNews) – Ten years ago, Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, was the first place to make antiretroviral drugs available to the public sector, marking a milestone in the beginning of the end of AIDS denialism and the fight for treatment in South Africa. With more than half its population unemployed, Khayelitsha is one of South Africa’s largest and fastest-growing townships, and home to one of the highest burdens of HIV and TB infection nationally and globally. In 2009, antenatal HIV prevalence was 30 percent and the case notification rate for TB was at least 1,500 per 100,000... Continue Reading
By Gambian Correspondent – There have been mixed public reactions at the current state of escalation of prices of basic commodities in the country, a situation that makes one to sit up with profound concern. The issue, according to businessmen and women we spoke to yesterday, on the current market standards and prices of essential commodities in the country, has implications for the majority of the citizens, especially those receiving a minimum monthly salary. Many business people whom we spoke to called for reduction of tariff duties on goods. They said high tariffs and taxes are responsible of the recent... Continue Reading
Story and Photos by Fredrick Mugira – Uganda, – The smell of fresh water and vegetation filled the air. It was a smell reminiscent of a cool feminine perfume in an air conditioned room. The sun had veiled itself under the clouds in a hazy sky. To our right side, leaves strewed the path beneath short trees where four monkeys sat evenly watching us. About twenty meters ahead of us, lay a motorised boat. It had been arranged evidently for eight people. It did not take long before we boarded it clad in orange life jackets. But not all of... Continue Reading
