African First Ladies: “Untapped Influences” in Promoting Health on the Continent

Global Challenges | 15 African First Ladies Meet in Los Angeles To Promote Health, Development Initiatives

[Apr 22, 2009]      First ladies from 15 African countries met earlier this week at the African First Ladies Health Summit in Los Angeles to discuss efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria; improve nutrition for children and pregnant women; and promote education for girls, the AP/Google.com reports.

The first ladies met with representatives from several groups — including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, RAND, USAID, the World Bank and the World Health Organization — to discuss ways to improve health and development infrastructure in Africa and improve access to inexpensive interventions, such as insecticide-treated nets. The summit was co-sponsored by U.S. Doctors for Africa and African Synergy Against AIDS and Suffering, a group formed by 22 African first ladies (Mohajer, AP/Google.com, 4/22).

Melanne Verveer, U.S. ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, said the Obama administration would support efforts to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other infectious diseases and promote other issues, such as maternal health care. Ted Alemayhu, founder of U.S. Doctors for Africa and an immigrant from Ethiopia, said he hopes the summit will engage U.S. residents in African health and development issues. “People are not paying too much attention anymore because of the global economy, a number of other things,” Alemayhu said, adding, “Even with that challenge, we still have to bring the issue of health care that Africa is suffering from on the global scale.” Jean Stephane Biatcha, executive director of African Synergy, added, “I am sure that after these two days of meetings, people will know more about what they do and we will surely see people more interested in one or two projects that they intend to carry out” (O’Sullivan, VOA News, 4/21).

Gery Ryan, a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, said that African first ladies are “probably one of the largest untapped influences and influencers in these places.” Sia Nyama Koroma, first lady of Sierra Leone, added, “As first ladies, people listen to us, people want to see us, the crowd goes with us” (Zavis, Los Angeles Times, 4/22). Cora Neumann, an organizer for U.S. Doctors for Africa, added, “First ladies have a unique role. They exist outside the political realm to some degree but have a very powerful role in the communities” (AP/Google.com, 4/22).

In addition to the first ladies from 15 countries — including Angola, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia — representatives from six other African nations, including South Africa, attended the summit. California first lady Maria Shriver and several U.S. celebrities also attended the meeting, VOA News reports (VOA News, 4/21).

 Source: http://www.kaisernetwork.org

France is burning…again.

Almost exactly two years after the 2005 riots, France was once again thrown into a period of civil unrest this past week, as a number of youths took action against public infrastructures, as well as actual police officers, in the Parisian suburb of Villiers-le-Bel.

This situation is eerily reminiscent of the 2005 riots, when two teenage boys died while trying to escape from police chasing them. What followed was an eruption that had not been known to France in a long time, expanding throughout the country. For about five weeks, youths expressed their anger towards public authorities and the State by burning cars and other public buildings, leading the president to reinstate the state of emergency that had not been used since the Algerian war!

This time around, anger escalated quickly, but has not so far stretched out through France. The riots were triggered by another encounter between two youths and police officers, when the two youths were killed riding a motorcycle that collided with a police car. According to the rioters, the police fled the scene without ensuring that appropriate medical care was given to the two youths, who were fatally injured in the crash.

Quickly following the crash, groups of youths from this suburb organized themselves against the police, attacking a number of local buildings such as libraries, and using various weapons against police officers, including Molotov Cocktails. This continued over several nights after the incident. While enquiries are being made into the nature of the accident, obviously strong reprisals are taken against the rioters, with a number already being sentenced.

What is important to note here, however, is that the main issues leading to the 2005 riots have not yet been dealt with. French youths, especially those of foreign origin, are feeling abandoned by the State, and face extremely high levels of discrimination in employment, housing and education as well as constant harassment by the police. After 2005, many promises were made to attempt to rehabilitate the economic and social slump existing in the suburbs, but these promises have not yet been kept.

While the current uprisings seem to have quieted for the moment, I can only wonder, when will the next round be?

“Waterboarding is torture, period.”

Big ups to former Navy interrogator Malcolm Nance, who testified in front of a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, and emphatically declared that waterboarding is indeed torture.

Picture courtesy of http://www.intelligencesummit.org/speakers/MalcolmNance.php

As if we need someone to sit in front of our public servants to tell them that strapping someone to a inclined board, wrapping a cloth around the head, and pouring water over the mouth and nose to induce the beginning stages of drowning is cruel and unusual.

While Attorney General nominee Mukasey dodges questions and invokes the most innocuous euphemisms (a la this Administrations claim that waterboarding is an “enhanced interrogation technique”), a large majority of Americans believe that waterboarding is torture. To no surprise, today’s Judiciary Committee hearing was not call-and-response; the Bush Administration didn’t allow its designated whipping boy to testify on the supposed merits of waterboarding and other forms of their, um, “enhanced” techniques.

Nance’s testimony was frightening, especially his description of the process of waterboarding: “water overpowering your gag reflex, and then feel(ing) your throat open and allow pint after pint of water to involuntarily fill your lungs.”

Eyes on Zimbabwe

                                  

2005, Harare, Zimbabwe     An MDC party member with his face wrapped in party campaign materials at a mass rally on the outskirts of Harare. MDC is the opposition party to Mugabe’s ZANU-PF.     Credit: Halden Krog/Polaris

The following video, with interviews from Zimbabwe human rights advocates, explores the increasingly desperate political and economic situation. 

After helping his country become Africa’s breadbasket, Mugabe has now created a basket case.

Michelle Bachelet, Pres. of Chile, on Democracy

On Monday, I had the privilege and honor of hearing Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s first woman president, speak on the meaning of Democracy in Chile, Latin America, and the world.  She presented her remarks at the World Leaders Forum.  In an attempt to increase the accessibility and reach of these kinds of lectures, I thought I would briefly summarize President Bachelet’s most salient points:

• In order to achieve democracy, we should focus more on the outputs rather than the inputs of politics.  In other words, instead of focusing all of our time and energy on political parties and campaigns, we should be more concerned about policies and their outcomes.
• True democracy can only be achieved through popular representation, not through indirect representation of the people via political parties, congresses, or electoral colleges.
• Economic growth is not enough to decrease poverty.  We must also tackle social and economic inequality to achieve this goal.  In addition, we should strive to implement social policies that counter the negative effects of the liberal economic market in the areas of health care, education, and income assistance.  Along the same lines, economic growth needs to be paired with social equity and social justice initiatives in order to decrease poverty and achieve true democracy.
• The weariness and disenchantment of youth towards politics is a direct threat to democracy.  It is essential to include youth in the political process in order to ensure true democracy.
• It is not enough to just be concerned with “implementing” democracy.  We must also be concerned with improving its quality.  For example, we must tackle social inequality (e.g., gender and racial inequality) in order to guarantee that the benefits of economic growth reach all citizens.  In additon, we should strive to build consensus among parties of differing social, economic, and political interests in order to create win-win situations for all.  The process of concensus building will in turn ensure the greater sustainability of social policies.
• Lastly, representative democracy is not enough.  We need to actively build a culture of democracy that values diversity, equity, human rights, and social justice and includes the voice of all people.

For more on women world leaders: http://www.terra.es/personal2/monolith/00women2.htm.

For more on democracy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy.

For social commentary on U.S. democracy: http://www.logosjournal.com/west.htm.

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