Good News Agency – Year III, n° 9
Weekly - Year III, number 9
– 3 May 2002
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations, and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day.
Good News Agency is
distributed free of charge through Internet to the editorial offices of more
than 2,400 media in
46 countries, as well as to 1,000 NGO.
International legislation - Human rights – Peace and safety - Economy
and development
Solidarity - Health
- Environment and wildlife - Culture and
education
UN Agencies announce major
review of international food code
New York, Apr 22 - Aiming to address
emerging health and safety concerns, two United Nations agencies today jointly
announced plans to review the international food code. The review by the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
marks the first time that the "Codex Alimentarius"- already in
operation for 40 years - will be evaluated.
(…) In announcing the review,
the agencies noted that since the Codex Alimentarius Commission was established
40 years ago, public concern over food safety issues has grown dramatically,
with consumers "much more aware of what they regard as threats to their
health, and of their rights to full information on foods." (…)
The review, which will be
carried out by an independent Evaluation Team and an Expert Panel, is scheduled
to be completed in early 2003.
Forum on Biodiversity adopts
first-ever global guidelines on genetic resources
New York, Apr 19 - A United
Nations conference on biodiversity concluded today after adopting guidelines
encouraging companies to pay countries for the right to acquire local plants
used in making drugs and fragrances. In addition to these guidelines, the
two-week meeting in The Hague on the Convention on Biological Diversity also
approved an international work programme on forests and guiding principles on
combating alien invasive species. (…)
The Convention was adopted in
1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and sets out commitments for
maintaining the world's ecological underpinnings as it relates to economic
development. The Convention establishes three main goals: the conservation of
biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components, and the fair and
equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic
resources.
In Sierra Leone, UN and partners adopt new measures to prevent sex abuse
New York, 26 April - The
United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), along with key partners, has
established a committee to look into recent allegations of sexual abuse and
exploitation of children by aid workers in the region.
The panel, officially known as
the Coordination Committee for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse,
includes representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
and the Government of Sierra Leone, has also released a document setting forth
principles of responsibility for all those who are engaged in relief
activities. (…)
Among other provisions, the
Standards of Accountability for all Humanitarian and Development Workers call
for aid workers to promote fundamental human rights without discrimination of
any kind and treat all persons with respect and courtesy, observing Sierra
Leonean law, international law and local customs.
United Nations member states
poised to endorse wide-ranging goals for children
Global effort to reduce
mortality, AIDS, exploitation, and poverty among children
Geneva / New York, 26 April -
Member States of the United Nations are expected to adopt a wide-ranging series
of goals at a global conference next month in New York that will place children
back at the top of the world's agenda and address the pressing issues of child
mortality, AIDS, exploitation and poverty.
The 21 proposed goals promise
to have far-reaching impact on the well-being of the world's young people. They
form the basis of the 8-10 May UN General Assembly Special Session on Children
and are contained in the conference's draft outcome document, A World Fit for
Children, which United Nations Member States are currently finalizing as part
of a yearlong consultative process (available at www.unicef.org/
specialsession/documentation/index.html). (…)
At the Special Session on
Children - rescheduled from last September due to the attacks - governments
will review what has been achieved for children over the last decade and,
crucially, what has not. The meeting is set to conclude with official agreement
on the draft outcome document and its 21 goals, which will make a vital
contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals adopted by
world leaders two years ago. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/02pr5-ssocgoals.htm
Helping China's trade unions
protect workers' rights
22 April - The All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), whose affiliates
represent 120 million workers, is launching an initiative to help workers laid
off in the transition to a socialist market economy and strengthen unions'
ability to protect workers' rights and interests. UNDP and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are supporting the
project. The ACFTU is one of China's largest civil organizations and one of the
largest national trade union federations in the world.
With China's economic
transition and entry into World
Trade Organization, reforms by state-owned enterprises have dramatically
changed old arrangements, which assumed that the interests of unions,
management and employees were in harmony. As these enterprises have
restructured and made technological advances, they have let many workers go,
and their fate has become one of the most pressing issues for the ACFTU. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Boost for workers' rights in
Saudi Arabia
Geneva, 18 April - Workers in
Saudi Arabia are now able to defend their rights through committees at the
workplace, a move welcomed by ILO Director-General Juan Somavia as another step
in promoting social and labour rights in the Middle East.
After a visit to Saudi Arabia
earlier this year by a team of ILO experts, the Saudi Minister of Labour, Dr.
Ali Al-Namlah, has now signed into law new labour rules that allow workers in
Saudi Arabia - both national and foreign - to establish committees to guard
their interests at workplaces where 100 or more are employed. (…)
In Bahrain, the ILO has
provided similar technical assistance in helping workers' committees move to
full Trade Union status. (…)
Mr. Somavia visited Bahrain
and Saudi Arabia in October 2001 and signed a cooperation agreement with the
labour Ministers of the Gulf States, under which these countries will benefit
from ILO technical programmes to promote core ILO standards in the fields of
trade union rights, forced labour, child labour and equal opportunities. (…)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2002/17.htm
Mozambique: Army hopes to
destroy stockpiles by next year
Johannesburg, 26 April - The
Mozambican army hopes to destroy the more than 30,000 landmines it still has in
stock by next year, the National Institute for Demining (IND) said on Friday. A
batch of 2,500 of the killer devices was destroyed on 19 April and immediate
plans are to destroy another 10,000 in the central and southern regions, IND
national director Artur Verissimo said. Besides the army's stocks the IND was
also continuing programmes to find the estimated one million mines still in the
ground, he said.
Clearing started in 1993 after
a protracted civil war which saw landmines laid around strategic towns and
installations across the country. (…)
The country is a signatory to
the Antipersonnel Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottowa Convention, and has
committed itself to destruction deadlines. The treaty prohibits the use of
anti-personnel landmines in all situations, and it also forbids their
development, production, stockpiling, and transfer. In addition, it requires
the destruction of mines, whether held in stockpiles or already emplaced in the
ground. (…)
Sudan: US sends mine-clearance
team to Nuba Mountains
26 April - The United States
announced on Tuesday that it would send a landmine-clearance team to the Nuba
Mountains region of south-central Sudan, where a ceasefire between the
government and southern rebels is currently in operation. "The Quick
Reaction Demining Force's mine-clearance operations will lessen the likelihood
of additional casualties, as refugees and internally displaced persons begin
relocation into areas where mines are known to exist", a statement form
the US State Department said. An advance party had already left for Sudan on 19
April, and the main deployment, comprising two squads of 10 persons each, were
expected to arrive in approximately two weeks, the statement said.
Between 1989 and 2001, 1,135
persons had become victims of landmines in the Nuba Mountains, the statement
quoted the Sudanese government as saying.
An agreement to implement a
ceasefire in the 80,000-sq km Nuba Mountains region of Southern Kordofan was
signed by representatives of the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan
People's Liberation Movement/Army in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on 19 January.
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27442
Clear progress in nuclear safety
worldwide: review meeting of International Convention concludes
The Second Review Meeting of
Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety concluded on April 26,
2002 at the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
Vienna. (…) The objective of the Convention is to achieve and maintain a high
level of nuclear safety worldwide. During the two week Review Meeting, parties
engaged in a "peer review" process in which the National Reports from
individual States were collectively examined and discussed, with written
replies provided to all the questions raised. (…)
The Contracting Parties
praised the IAEA's various safety review missions and services, which they use
widely to help enhance the effectiveness of their national safety arrangements.
Forty-six
contracting parties participated at the Review Meeting with over 400 delegates
attending, including many heads and senior officers from regulatory bodies and
experts from industry. To date, the Convention has been signed by sixty-five
States and ratified by fifty-four, representing 428 of the 448 nuclear power
reactors worldwide.
A summary report of the
meeting will be issued separately. For background information on the
Convention, see http://www.iaea.org/ns/nusafe/safeconv.htm
http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/Press/P_release/2002/prn0207.shtml
More than 320,000 Afghans repatriated as returns gather pace
New York, Apr 23 - Repatriation movements
of Afghan refugees have been gathering pace the last six weeks, with more than
320,000 Afghans returning home from neighbouring countries with assistance from
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Since 1 March, Afghan refugees
have been returned home from Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, a
spokesman for UNHCR said at a press briefing in Geneva. (…)
Since December, the UN refugee
agency has helped more than 25,600 IDPs return to their homes in central and
eastern Afghanistan and plans to assist the return and reintegration of some 400,000
IDPs in 2002. Afghanistan has more than 1.2 million IDPs.
For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
UN Development Agency plans $400,000 emergency relief effort for
Palestinians
New York, 25 April - Concerned
about the evolving humanitarian crises in the occupied Palestinian territory,
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today announced plans for a
$400,000 emergency relief and recovery plan to help rebuild the area.
The UNDP Programme of Assistance to the
Palestinian People, using funds provided through the Islamic Development Bank,
will distribute food, baby milk, bedding, medical kits and essential household
items to those worst affected by curfews and house demolitions during the
recent operations, especially in Nablus and Jenin.
The agency said that while it
is too soon to accurately estimate the cost of the damage, it could well run to
hundreds of millions of dollars. (…) To that end, UNDP has received
approximately $40 million in new contributions from donor governments to
immediately repair the area's infrastructure, including roads, water supply
systems and damaged buildings. Earlier this month, an initial sum of $1.5
million has already been used to purchase and distribute urgently needed
medical relief supplies and to begin immediate infrastructure repairs in the
affected areas.
Mali groups use -- and
conserve -- forest bounty
24 April - Communities in the
Kita district in south-west Mali are selling wood, honey and other products
from local forests to increase their earnings while improving forest management
to ensure that future generations can enjoy the bounty.
A project supported by UNDP
has helped set up more than 90 rural groups to manage marketing of wood from
the forests. The groups cooperate closely with the Ministry of Rural
Development on sustainable use of forest products. These efforts have helped
put more than 110,000 hectares of forest under management and set up seven
protected forest areas. The project also aided 15 villages in setting up land
management plans.
The International Labour Organization is a partner in
the initiative, along with the Ministry of Rural Development. The governments
of Mali and Norway and UNDP have provided US$1.7 million for the project, begun
four years ago. (…) The project supports these activities through training --
conducted in Bambara, the local language -- in management, forestry,
sustainable charcoal production, and soap making. The project has also provided
training for elected officials from local communities and the district in
public administration to promote decentralization and natural resources
management.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Lesotho looks to trade to help
reduce poverty
23 April - A recent national
conference in Maseru, the country's capital, marked the launch of an initiative
to make trade a part of the government's poverty reduction strategy.
Textiles, the major driver of
Lesotho's economic growth, got a big boost from the US African Growth and Opportunities Act last year, with
exports to the US surging more than 50 per cent, creating about 10,000 new jobs
and attracting more than US$100 million in new foreign investment. The US law
provides only a temporary advantage, however, and Lesotho is seeking new
strategies to add exports, investment and jobs. (…)
The first step will be an
in-depth study on linkages between trade and poverty, market access, services,
and investment climate, coordinated by the World Bank. A UNDP-administered Integrated Framework Trust Fund
is providing $300,000 for the study. UNDP is providing additional funds for
trade and investment policy reviews, and Ireland Aid and the UK Department for International Development have given
technical assistance to support the initiative. (…)
Building on Lesotho's
experience, the World Bank and UNDP are working to extend international
collaboration on an integrated framework on trade and poverty reduction to
other countries in the region.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
IFAD Executive Board approves
USD 98.85 million for six development projects
Rome, 23 April - The 75th
Executive Board of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
met at the Headquarters in Rome, and approved loans for 6 development projects
for a total worth of USD 113.61 million. The projects approved are for Cameroon, Eritrea, India, Laos, Haiti and Egypt. The Executive Board
also approved seven Technical Assistance Grants. (…)
IFAD is a
specialised agency of the United Nations with the specific mandate of combating
hunger and poverty in the most disadvantaged regions of the world. Since 1978
IFAD has financed 603 projects in 115 recipient countries and in the West Bank
and Gaza for a total commitment of approximately USD 7.3 billion in loans and
grants. Through these projects, about 250 million rural people have had a
chance to move out of poverty. IFAD makes the greater part of its resources
available to low-income countries on very favourable terms, with up to 40 years
for repayment and including a grace period of up to ten years and a service
charge of 0.75% per year.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2002/23-02.htm
Draft World Development Report
2003: sustainable development in a dynamic economy
The "World Development Report 2003:
Sustainable Development in a Dynamic Economy" will be the World Bank's
contribution on development, the environment and other sustainability issues to
the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg in
August 2002. The report discusses the many experiences and lessons
learned in the area of environmental and social development over the past
couple of decades.
A draft of the WDR and
comments on its approach and content are on line at:
http://econ.worldbank.org/wdr/structured_doc.php?sp=2433&st=&sd=13545 .
For more information, please
contact World_Dev_Report@worldbank.org
Afghanistan: UN agencies bring more relief supplies to flood-stricken
town
New York, Apr 25 2002 -
United Nations and other humanitarian agencies have continued to deliver relief
supplies to a flood-stricken province in northwest Afghanistan, a spokesman for
the UN Assistance Mission (UNAMA) said today in Kabul. (…) The deliveries
rushed to the area included oil, high energy biscuits and 13 tons of wheat
flour, as well as tents, blankets, clothing, sleeping bags and medical supplies
from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and Medicins Sans Frontiere, the
spokesman added. (…)
WFP welcomes Japan’s aid in Sri Lanka, urges more help for war victims
Colombo, 25 April – The United Nations World Food Programme in Sri Lanka
today welcomed a donation from the Government of Japan of $1.1 million to be
used for the purchase of canned tuna for some 217,000 people whose lives have
been damaged by the country’s long civil war.
The Japanese Government will give a total of 280 metric tons of canned
tuna to WFP for distribution to programmes designed to assist conflict-affected
people as they try to build new, and stable, homes amid the hopes inspired by a
ceasefire and upcoming peace talks. (…)
Taft-Dick, WFP Country Director in Sri Lanka, noted that the donation
replenishes the WFP food “pipeline” as the country moves slowly toward peace
after 19 years of war. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/subsections/year.asp?section=13#
Afghanistan - ICRC
starts food aid for detainees
25 April - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last
week started a therapeutic feeding programme in Shibergan prison, in northern
Afghanistan, after delegates detected malnutrition at the end of March among
detainees being held there. The
organization immediately distributed rations of the food it had on hand and
began taking the logistical steps needed to provide nutritional therapy. Four
large tents, each with a capacity of over 500 patients, were brought in and set
up inside the prison compound. The prison's 2,800 detainees were then screened
to select the most severely malnourished cases requiring intensive treatment. (…) The ICRC is supplying the remaining
detainees rice, legumes and ghee to increase the quality and quantity of their
food intake. Special high-protein and vitamin-enriched biscuits are also being
distributed.
Meanwhile the organization is
making representations at all levels – local, national and international – with
a view both to ensuring that the detaining authorities shoulder their
responsibility to provide proper conditions of detention and to bring about a
lasting solution. (…)
ADRA completes Bethel
secondary school in Rwanda
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA,
25 April --The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has completed the
third and final phase of the Bethel Secondary School project. This school
serves more than 240 students in the Gitarama Province, located in the southern
part of Rwanda.
In 1998, ADRA Rwanda built
Bethel Secondary School with funds provided by the Canadian International
Development Agency. (…) In Phase II, the government of Japan allocated funds to
build six additional classrooms (…) After community participation helped
complete Phase II under budget, the Japanese government expanded the project in
December 2001 into its third phase (…) http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/042902.html
ADRA distributes medical
supplies in Serbia
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, 23 April - In February 2002, the
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Germany completed distribution
of essential medical supplies in Serbia. The project provided medicines and
medical supplies to homes for physically-challenged children (…)
Special surgical thread for
use after mothers give birth is an example of the desperately needed medical supplies.
This project provided to the maternity clinic in Novi Sad enough of the
scarcely available thread for 3,436 mothers.
The German Government donated
USD $210,000 to the medicines and medical supplies project, while ADRA Germany
and private donors contributed USD $30,000.
In the past year, ADRA Germany
has shipped more than ten truckloads of new and nearly new medical equipment to
the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/042302.html
Architecture for Humanity Announces
International Design Competition: mobile HIV/AIDS health clinic for Africa
May 1 - Architecture for Humanity, a non-profit organization that promotes architecture and design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises, announces its 2002 International Design Competition. For this year's project, participants are asked to develop designs for a fully equipped, mobile, medical unit and HIV/AIDS treatment center specifically for use in Africa.
The deadline for design submissions is
November 1, 2002. In mid-November a team of internationally renowned
architects, HIV/AIDS professionals, and representatives from relief and research
organizations in the field will jury the entries.
Founded in 1999, Architecture
for Humanity’s advisory board members include architects Shigeru Ban (Japan),
Frank Gehry (U.S.), Rodney Harber (South Africa) and Reuben Mutiso (Kenya). For
this project, the advisory board has been joined by HIV/AIDS medical
professionals Kate Bourne (IAVI, U.S.), Dr. Johannes van Dam (Horizons Project,
Population council), Dr. Sunanda Ray (SafAIDS, Zimbabwe), and Dr. Michael Sweat
(John Hopkins University, U.S.). Finalists will be announced on World AIDS day
(December 1, 2002) at an exhibition to be held in New York City. Money raised
from the $35 entry fee, donations and additional fundraising activities will be
used to build a prototype of the winning concept. Once developed, it is
hoped that refined versions of this cost-effective and mobile design can be
built for Africa-and eventually, easily replicated in other regions around the
world. A detailed set of design criteria, developed by a team of advisors, will
be available at www.architectureforhumanity.org.
Contact: Cameron Sinclair,
Founder/Executive Director, csinclair@architectureforhumanity.org
Pfizer Foundation:
International HIV/AIDS Health Literacy grants initiative
26 April - Call for proposals:
The Pfizer Foundation is launching the International HIV/AIDS Health Literacy
grants initiative. The Pfizer Foundation will award a total of up to US
$1,000,000 in 2002 to support five to eight organisations with one year grants.
Final decisions will be made in July 2002.
(…) The Foundation will
support programmes that use creative approaches to effectively convey key
messages regarding HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. This year the
grants programme is targeted at the 20 countries where Pfizer Inc's Diflucan
Partnership Programme is operating and expanding this year: Botswana, Cambodia,
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti,
Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Swaziland, South
Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Applications are due June 3,
2002. For more information: e-mail to Grantinfo.AIDS@pfizer.com
Organisations selected for
grants will be invited to a workshop on health literacy to assist them in
implementing their programmes.
Ethiopia: EU to fund organic
pest control project
Addis Ababa, 26 April - The
European Union has pledged almost one million euros (about US $897,400) to fund
an innovative organic pest control-farming project in Ethiopia.
Millions of farmers in the
north of the country are expected to benefit from the scheme, which was set up
by Save the Children Fund UK (SCFUK). The three-year project, which uses
naturally-found, environmentally friendly pesticides rather than chemicals, has
won plaudits worldwide.
The EU pledge comes just days
after the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned of a "toxic time
bomb" facing Africa from highly poisonous chemicals currently used by
farmers.
Under the scheme - known as
Integrated Pest Management - SCFUK has been teaching farmers in rural areas how
to use natural pesticides to control pests and improve soil fertility. (…)
Nigeria: Polio on the decline,
river blindness in north
26 April - The spread of the
polio virus has declined sharply in Nigeria but river blindess is affecting
tens of thousands of people in the north of the country.
The UN Children's Fund said
this week that 57 cases of poliomyelitis were recorded in 2001 against 2,000 in
the previous year. Nine cases have been recorded this year from a surveillance
of 12 of Nigeria's 36 states, UNICEF added on Thursday. About 40 million
children under five years were immunised against the virus in 2001, achieving
over 95 percent coverage.
West Africa: Regional efforts
to fight tuberculosis underway
26 April - Regional efforts
are underway to fight tuberculosis with last week's creation of the West Africa
Tuberculosis Control Initiative (WATCI).
One of the ways WATCI aims to
foster joint efforts to combat tuberculosis is through the exchange of
information. It aims to set up a joint tuberculosis data base as well as the
publication of a twice-yearly scientific bulletin on the disease.
WATCI was created in Togo at a
16-18 April meeting that brought together the heads of anti-tuberculosis
programmes and departments from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire,
The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra
Leone and Togo.
Africa: Ministers to review
new drug control strategy
26 April - The first ministerial meeting
organised by the Organisation of African Unity on drug control in Africa will
be held on 6-11 May in the Ivorian capital, Yamoussoukro, the UN International
Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) said in a news release. The ministers will
review a proposed drug control strategy developed by African experts and UNDCP,
and commit their governments to more decisive action against drug trafficking
and abuse.
Tanzania: Funding boost for
fight against malaria
26 April - As the continent
marked its second Africa Malaria Day on Thursday, it was confirmed that
Tanzania was to receive a substantial amount of money to fund its fight against
the disease, which kills up to 100,000 people in the country every year. The UK
government's Department for International Development (DFID), told IRIN on
Wednesday that both DFID and the Royal Netherlands Embassy had set aside a
"considerable" amount of money jointly to fund a continued
Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) and social marketing campaign in the country.
Paul Smithson, DFID's Health
and Population Adviser, told IRIN the anti-malaria campaign was an ambitious
one. "It has been approved, and we will be supporting a major ITN and
social marketing campaign that we hope will help us to achieve our aim of 80
percent ITN coverage all over the country," he said. At the moment, there
was 25 percent ITN coverage in Tanzania, but this was hoped to expand to 60
percent by 2005, and to 80 percent by 2007, he added. (…)
http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=27468]
Communities roll up their
sleeves to roll back malaria
Home based management
initiative saving thousands of children's lives each year
Geneva/New York, April 25 - In
celebrating Africa Malaria Day, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF),
the World Health Organization and other Roll Back Malaria partners have
commended a new government-led initiative that is providing rapid, appropriate,
effective and affordable malaria treatment to poor populations in some African
countries.
The Home Based Management
approach to the treatment of malaria is a simple and effective initiative that
is revolutionizing the treatment of malaria, putting knowledge and essential
drugs into the hands of those who need them most - mothers, caregivers and
neighbours. (…)
Home Based Management has been
tried in selected areas in several African countries with good results. In
Ethiopia, the provision of basic training and simple antimalarial drugs to
mothers to treat their sick children at home reduced under-five mortality by 40
per cent. In Nigeria, pre-packaging of anti-malarial drugs, with the correct
dose for the age of the child, was shown to double the proportion of children
who received proper treatment. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/02pr19malaria.htm
New Global Fund disburses over $375 million to fight AIDS, TB and
malaria
New York, Apr 25 - A new Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, first championed by Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, today awarded $378 million to programmes to prevent and treat the three
diseases in severely affected countries. The grants, which cover 40 programmes
in 31 countries, support a wide range of prevention and treatment programmes
over a two-year period, including the provision of antiretroviral treatments
for people living with HIV/AIDS in 21 nations. The Board also agreed to
fast-track an additional $238 million for 18 proposals in 12 countries, plus
three multi-country proposals, provided certain conditions are met. This would
bring the total funding over two years to $616 million. Funding after the
second year will be approved based on performance. (…)
UN agencies sit on the Global Fund's
Board as non-voting members, and provide technical assistance to interested
States in preparing grant proposals.
WHO takes major steps to make
HIV treatment accessible
22 April - In a decisive move
to strengthen action against AIDS in developing countries, the World Health
Organization (WHO) has today announced the first treatment guidelines for
HIV/AIDS in poor settings. Parallel to that, WHO has endorsed the inclusion of
AIDS medicines in its Essential Medicines List. The action is a breakthrough in
a comprehensive "prevention through care" package that could
contribute to dramatically wider access to treatment over the coming years.
WHO estimates that nearly six
million people living with HIV/AIDS need access to care and support including
antiretrovirals (ARVs). Currently, fewer than five per cent of those who
require treatment in developing countries can access these medicines. WHO
believes that at least three million people needing care should be able to get
medicines by 2005 — a more than ten-fold increase. (…)
http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-28.html
New "Life-Cycle Initiative"
launched to help combat environmental impact of rising consumption patterns
UNEP global Cleaner Production
meeting opens in Prague
Prague/Nairobi, 29 April - In response to
the growing environmental risk created by rapidly rising consumption patterns
around the world, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched
a new way to make production processes and products cleaner.
The "Life-Cycle
Initiative," a collaboration between UNEP and the Society of Environmental
Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), will help governments, businesses and
consumers to adopt more environment friendly policies, practices and
life-styles. It will develop and disseminate practical tools for evaluating the
opportunities, risks and trade-offs, associated with products and services over
their whole life cycle. (…)
The Life-Cycle Initiative was
launched here today at the start of UNEP's 7th International High-Level Seminar
on Cleaner Production (CP-7), the biennial global forum that looks at progress
made in promoting sustainable production and consumption. The seminar brings
together senior-level decision-makers from around the world to address the
challenges facing sustainable production and consumption. Over 300
participants from 85 countries are attending the meeting which is hosted by the
Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.
22 April -
After years of mistrust and fear, Albanians and Serbs are coming together over
a common interest: protecting the environment. In a project funded
by the Norwegian and Dutch governments, environmental groups in Kosovo are
setting up an electronic network to enable the former enemies to share
resources and information on protecting the environment. The network,
known as Sharri.Net, was created in February, and a website dedicated to the
cause should be up and running by June. "It's sort of a success for
a multi-ethnic Kosovo," said Blerim Vela of Kosovo's Regional
Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe, which is coordinating the
program. Ethnic conflict in the region exacerbated environmental problems,
including water pollution, deforestation, and heavy urban smog.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1939000/1939121.stm
22 April - Three Gwich'in
Native Americans who battled oil development in Alaska's Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge have been doubly rewarded for their efforts: Last week,
the Senate voted to block oil drilling in the refuge, and today, the activists
are being honored with this year's Goldman Prize, the world's biggest and most
prestigious award for environmentalists. Other recipients of the prize
include a Somali fighting deforestation, an ecologist restoring mangroves on
the Thai coast, a Guyanese-Amerindian trying to stop mining in native
territories, a Polish organic-agriculture advocate, and an entrepreneur
opposing open-pit mining projects in Puerto Rico. The brainchild of San
Francisco philanthropists Richard and Rhoda Goldman, the $125,000 prizes have
been awarded since 1990 to individuals who are acting to protect the
environment at "great personal risk" on each of the planet's six
inhabited continental regions.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/22/MN179164.DTL
World Press Freedom Day to be
observed at UN Headquarters on 2 May 2002
New York , 29 April - The UN Department of Public Information will
hold an observance of World Press Freedom Day at Headquarters on 2 May 2002
beginning at 10 a.m. in Conference Room 2.
The theme of the observance, which is taking place in the context of the
meetings of the Committee on Information, is “Covering the War on Global
Terror”. (…)
A panel of distinguished print
and broadcast journalists will discuss freedom of the press in the context of
terrorism, addressing such issues as national and international security vs.
freedom of the press, televised coverage of terrorism trials, and safety of
journalists. (…)
World Press Freedom Day (3
May) was established by General Assembly decision 48/432 of 20 December 1993,
with reference to the Windhoek Declaration, adopted at the Seminar on Promoting
an Independent and Pluralistic African Press, which was co-sponsored by DPI and
UNESCO in Namibia in 1991. The
Declaration states that "the establishment, maintenance and fostering of
an independent, pluralistic and free press is essential to the development and
maintenance of democracy in a nation, and for economic development" and
defines an independent press as free "from governmental, political or
economic control or from control of materials and infrastructure essential for
the production and dissemination of newspapers, magazines, and
periodicals", and a pluralistic press as having no monopolies of any kind
and "the greatest possible number of newspapers, magazines and periodicals
reflecting the widest possible range of opinion within the community".
The World Press Freedom Day
observance will be webcast live on the Internet. The webcast can be accessed via the special web page created for
WPFD at www.un.org/events/pressday2002/
Source: UN Information Centre, Rome.
First 12 students in the world
earn an Online Master of Arts in Gerontology
29 April - Mich felt it was a kind of “calling” that
would help him better serve elderly residents of rural Oklahoma communities.
Ann wanted to be a pioneer in the dynamic field of aging and strengthen her
entrepreneurial and consulting opportunities in New York City. Mike, who has
cerebral palsy, recognized that quality services for the aged in Northern
California often mix a little bit of teaching with a little bit of theatre
arts. These three professionals bring diverse perspectives to the field of
aging, but they share with 9 others a unique accomplishment: the first students
in the world to earn an Online Master of Arts in Gerontology. The Leonard Davis
School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California confers the
Master of Arts (MAG) degree to its inaugural online class during commencement
ceremonies May 10.
Administered by AgeWorks.com,
the online division of the Andrus Gerontology Center at USC, the MAG program is
the first online graduate program to be accredited by the Western Association
of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Since November 1998, the program’s goal has
been to meet the needs of professionals who work in organizations serving older
adults but cannot enroll in a traditional on-campus academic program. The
multidisciplinary nature of the MAG program encompasses study in areas as
diverse as health and long-term care, business, housing, government, research,
and education. (…)
For additional information,
contact: Maria Henke, Program Manager AgeWorks.com Andrus Gerontology Center
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA mhenke@usc.edu
Ethiopia: two teenagers to
promote child concerns at UN session
Addis Ababa, 26 April - Two
Ethiopian teenagers are set to make history at a landmark United Nations
session dedicated to children. Zerihun Mamo and Weinshet Asfaw, who are both 15
and have never travelled outside Ethiopia before, are to act as special
ambassadors for every child in their country. They will fly to the UN
headquarters in New York in May and urge member states to help end the
suffering of children in their country. The teenagers will join hundreds of
other children from around the world in attending the first-ever UN Special
Session on Children, specifically aimed at helping young people. It will also
be the first time ever that such a large number of children have actively
participated in debates at a major UN conference. (…)
The Special Session - to be
held from 8 to 10 May - will hear how 150 million children across the planet
are still malnourished and 100 million do not go to school. At least half a
million children have died of AIDS and two million were killed in conflicts in
the 1990s. The startling figures will be spelt out at the UN conference, which
is to be attended by a record number of world leaders.
The conference will also spell
out a Plan of Action to improve the lives of children over the next 10 years
and issue a UN Declaration.
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